Semantic Differential Instrument Research Articles

Transformação do significado de palavras sem sentido via relações arbitrárias de comparação com faces alegres


 O presente estudo teve como objetivo investigar a transformação de significado de palavras sem sentido via relações de comparação estabelecidas com faces alegres. Adultos foram expostos a um treino em que duas figuras abstratas tinham função de dicas contextuais de comparação, controlando diferencialmente a escolha de diferentes quantidades de objetos. Em seguida, tais figuras foram utilizadas para estabelecer a seguinte rede relacional de comparação envolvendo palavras sem sentido e faces alegres: A < B < FACE ALEGRE < D < E. Depois de estabelecidas as relações arbitrárias de comparação e testadas as relações derivadas (e.g., A < E, E > A), os participantes avaliaram o significado dos estímulos A e E por meio do (a) diferencial semântico, de um (b) teste de preferência e do (c) IRAP. Os resultados do diferencial semântico demonstraram transformação de função dos estímulos A e E em acordo com relações de comparação. Neste instrumento, o estímulo E foi avaliado pelos participantes como mais positivo que o estímulo A, resultado confirmado estatisticamente quando comparado às avaliações do grupo controle. Os testes de preferência, embora tenham variado entre participantes, apresentam uma tendência de evitação do estímulo A e de preferência pelo estímulo E. Diferentemente das medidas anteriores, não foi possível verificar uma diferença clara entre as avaliações dos estímulos A e E por meio do IRAP, sendo ambos avaliados como igualmente positivos em termos de medida implícita. Os resultados observados demonstram que apesar de A ser avaliado como menos alegre do que E, este não foi considerado triste, produzindo a inconsistência observada no IRAP

Words Matter

Beyond the standard definitions found in the dictionary, words commonly used in the recreation field have subtle, yet powerful connotations of which senders and receivers of information may not be consciously aware. These words elicit different conscious and subconscious reactions that likely bear significant consequences for recreation agencies and university departments. This study measured the attitudes of three distinct populations (university students, citizens and recreation professionals) toward five words commonly used in the field: recreation, leisure, play, activity and sport. A semantic differential instrument was used to gather responses and interpret connotative meanings relating to the words. Further, a survey was administered to a random sample of citizens in a Midwestern state regarding applied questions (e.g., asking citizens if it were more appropriate to spend tax money to provide recreation services or to provide leisure services). A factor analysis yielded three factors: evaluative (good-bad), potency (powerful-powerless) and activity (fast-slow). Within and across subject group comparisons were subsequently performed on the three factors and significant differences amongst the three populations in the evaluative, potency and activity factors were found for each of the five words.

Becoming a Teacher in the United States: Are Attitudes of Incoming Candidates Malleable?

In the United States over the course of the last few decades, teacher education programs have been intentionally truncated. This often leaves teacher educators somewhat discouraged as to whether they are able to make any differences in teacher candidates during this relatively short period of time. Research seems to say that while we can teach prospective teachers specific knowledge and skills, we will find it much more difficult to change teacher attitudes or dispositions. The study reported in this article examines whether beliefs about teaching change during a two and one-half year undergraduate teacher education program. The study recorded the beliefs and attitudes of students as they entered a teacher education program and compared these with their attitudes upon graduation five semesters later, using a semantic differential instrument that demonstrates differences in perceptions of certain words. The results of this study are presented, and then this study is compared to a similar study undertaken with students in a one-year teacher education program. Finally, implications of the study for teacher education programs are discussed. In the United States, the teaching profession and teacher preparation programs have been the perennial targets of wide-ranging but largely illinformed criticism. At least beginning with the 1983 publication of A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education), teachers have borne the brunt of all the evils of the United States from economic woes to global warming. Through it all, generation after generation of teachers have kept right on. We find them meeting their classes, honing their craft, and shielding their students to the best of their abilities against the worst excesses of United States educational policies. Teacher preparation programs, especially those traditional programs housed in universities, have also been routinely criticized for failing to produce more able teachers. The same distrust and lack of respect that is unthinkingly heaped upon teachers themselves is also extended to the programs which educate these teachers. This has resulted in increasing governmental intervention and control in teacher education. The simplest area to target for this has turned out to be the curriculum of teacher education. Because the

A Comparative Study of Tastes and Preferences for Local and Foreign Wines in Bulgaria

On the base of semantic differential instrument we assess the main factors in wine demand attitudes of Bulgarian customers. We aim to find out whether specific marketing techniques could alter the demand for such a traditional product as wine in Bulgaria. Given the fact that Bulgarian customers only recently received the possibility to taste imported wines, we find that foreign wines are evaluated mainly through the prejudice of past knowledge, not linked to the actual product. Most likely the demand for wine in Bulgaria will continue to be focused on local products. Furthermore we examine how the region of origin determines tastes and preferences for consuming a specific type of wine and the price the consumer is ready to pay.

Recalled attributes of parents with Alzheimer's disease: relevance for caregiving

Health psychology has long been involved in studies of factors that lead to more effective caregiving. Drawing on the theory of distributive justice, the underlying hypothesis of this paper was that perceptions of what a demented parent was like, prior to becoming ill, influence an adult child caregiver's provision of care, as well as the caregiver's own well-being. A secondary question dealt with the nature of retrospective ratings by caregiver informants. The sample consisted of triads of two adult children (N = 385) and a parent (N = 201) diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, although in a few instances only one adult child was interviewed. Both retrospective and current ratings of the parent were made by caregivers, who were administered a semantic differential instrument twice over a 10-month period. Comparison of ratings from first and second interview waves suggested that perceptions of what a parent was like, prior to the onset of dementia, were more stable over time than perceptions of what the parent was currently like, at each interview. Ratings of premorbid attributes were more strongly related to ratings of the present for those parents who displayed the least evidence of cognitive decline. Regression analyses supported the hypothesized relationship between adult children's perceptions and both provision of care and well-being variables. Results have implications for projections of caregiver burden and for placement into long-term care.

University students’ explanations for their descriptions of people who stutter: An exploratory mixed model study

Semantic differential instruments are often used to assess fluent speakers’ attitudes toward people who stutter (PWS). Such instruments are prone to response bias and often lack the power to explain respondents’ general impressions of PWS. To address these concerns 149 fluent university students completed an open-ended questionnaire in which they described PWS and provided an explanation for their descriptions. A mixed model design with a qualitative emphasis allowed for thematic as well as quantitative data analysis. The results suggest that individuals may have simultaneously positive and negative attitudes toward PWS regardless of gender or familiarity with PWS. Multiple explanations were provided and took into account personal and societal reactions to stuttering. Fluent speakers appear to perceive PWS as being likeable individuals who are poor communicators, a combination of high-warmth and low-competence that elicits pity and passive harm from listeners according to social psychologists ( Cuddy et al., 2008). The implications of these findings and future research directions are discussed. Educational objectives After reading this article, the reader will be able to: (1) describe issues of concern related to the measurement of attitudes toward PWS; (2) describe how mixed (qualitative and quantitative) designs can contribute to a deeper understanding of fluent speakers’ attitudes toward PWS; and (3) discuss how the ways in which fluent speakers’ thoughts about stuttering and PWS can influence their emotions and behaviors when in the presence of someone who stutters.

Assessment of matriculating medical students’ knowledge and attitudes towards professionalism

Background: Students’ perceptions of traditional attributes of professionalism are important for understanding their professional development needs, and determining appropriate curricular initiatives and assessment methods.Aim: This study assessed the knowledge and attitudes towards professionalism of three classes of matriculating students at two institutions.Methods: Subjects completed four instruments: a multiple-choice test and a clinical scenario instrument assessed knowledge; and a semantic differential scale and Likert-format statement instrument assessed attitudes. Items reflected traditional professionalism attributes. Factor analysis identified scales and descriptive statistics were computed for each scale.Results: Six hundred and forty six students (82%) completed the instruments. Correlations among scales were low to moderate. Knowledge scores were highest for the attributes ‘humanism’ and ‘professional responsibility’ and lowest for the attribute ‘professional commitment’. Attitude scores were highest for ‘humanistic values’ and lowest for ‘subordinating self-interests’.Conclusions: Results indicate students’ attitudes are positive about several of the attributes associated with traditional professionalism definitions; however, there were cases where students’ knowledge and attitudes towards professionalism appear incongruent with traditional definitions. Further development of self-assessments of knowledge and attitudes towards professionalism are suggested.

Targeted high and low speech frequency bands to right and left ears respectively improve task performance and perceived sociability in dyadic conversations

Past research shows that the lower nonverbal frequencies of the human voice, beneath .5 kHz, transmit an acoustic signal promoting social convergence and status accommodation between human interlocutors. We conducted a laboratory experiment and a validation study to explore the possible communications benefits of targeting the low-frequency band to the left ears of human participants and the high-frequency band to the right ears. We compare this “Enhanced” condition with two other conditions: a “Confounded” condition, in which the low-frequency band was targeted to participants’ right ears and the higher-frequency band to their left ears; and a Control condition, in which the entire unaltered frequency band was targeted to both ears. For the duration of their interaction, experiment participants engaged in dyadic conversations while attempting to complete a task via an audio-visual communication system. Our results show that both the speed and accuracy of task completion were significantly improved in the Enhanced condition. In the second validation study, groups of participants rated the quality of videotaped conversations from the experiment using a semantic differential instrument. The Enhanced condition conversations were rated significantly more affectively favourable than either the unaltered Control or Confounded condition conversations. Overall, our results exhibit potential for enhancing two-way electronic communications and improving task performances in media environments.

Attitude toward Chemistry: A Semantic Differential Instrument for Assessing Curriculum Impacts

The development of a 20-item semantic differential assessment instrument for measuring student attitudes toward the subject of chemistry is described (Attitude toward the Subject of Chemistry Inventory—ASCI). Instrument subscales and survey items pertain to interest and utility, anxiety, intellectual accessibility, emotional satisfaction, and fear. Detailed information on validity is provided by means of exploratory factor analysis, comparisons between different populations of students (general chemistry, peer leaders, chemistry majors), and comparisons with course performance. Reliability is established by estimation of internal consistency of subscales and retesting correlation. The instrument is useful for assessing student attitude for any curriculum setting for longitudinal change or intercomparison of groups. Specific application in an inquiry-based, nonmajors chemistry course is described.

Teachers' Negative Affect Toward Academically Gifted Students

A frequent reason for teachers not making special provisions for a gifted child is that the child is “not fitting in socially.” The conjecture that a psychological source of such negative affect has evolved along with human language was tested with a large sample ( N = 377) of teachers in England, Scotland, and Australia who were undertaking continuing professional development (CPD) in gifted education. Quantitative indicators of teachers' subconscious feelings toward gifted children were measured using a five-dimensional semantic differential instrument. Oblique factor analysis produced a three-factor structure, namely, general characteristics of gifted children including high cognitive abilities, social misfits, and antisocial leaders. Teachers' negative affect toward gifted children concerns the potential use of high intelligence toward social noncompliance. The factor scores for teachers completing the CPD programs were lower for the social noncompliance factors and higher for the general factor compared with scores of teachers commencing the programs. Putting the Research to Use: The results of this research can be used by designers and presenters of teacher professional development (PD) programs in gifted education to address implicit negative attitudes of teachers toward gifted students. The major cause of such negative affect is a deep concern about potential antisocial applications of the intelligence of gifted students, and this should be made explicit to PD participants. The results show that teachers' unconscious negative attitudes can be reduced through PD courses in which teachers become more familiar with the characteristics of gifted students and their learning needs. In future PD programs, teachers could be asked to reflect on their personal responses to questions based on this research: Are gifted students potential social misfits? Are gifted students disrespectful of authority? Are gifted students sensitive to the feelings of others? Could gifted students use their intelligence for antisocial leadership? Would gifted students make good schoolteachers?

Psychometric Properties of the Grandparent Perceptions of Family Scale (GPFS)

Background: For the majority of grandparents, rarely are their perceptions of family assessed, acknowledged, or viewed in the context of potential effect on individual and family health. Objective: To develop and test an instrument to measure grandparent perceptions of family. Method: An inductively derived semantic differential instrument comprising 112 items, 8 stimuli, and 27 adjective pairs within 2 domains and framed by the Becoming a Grandparent theoretical model was content validated by an expert panel, revised, and evaluated on a convenience sample of 306 community-dwelling grandparents, aged 41-92 years (M = 64, SD = 9.8), 72% female, 93% U.S. born, 62% college educated, 55% economically comfortable, and 71% living with a spouse or partner. Assessment procedures included internal consistency reliability, item and scale correlation coefficients, and principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation to evaluate construct validity, structure, and magnitude of the scale. Results: The final scale consists of 25 items using 3 stimuli (grandparent's view of grandchild, mother of grandchild, father of grandchild) measuring a single domain (overall view of family). The Grandparent Perceptions of Family Scale (GPFS) includes 5 factors for a total explained variance of 60%. Coefficient α for the total scale is .90. Discussion: The GPFS should be helpful to clinicians and researchers in their assessment of grandparents within multigenerational families and in planning appropriate interventions to address the roles and relationships of grandparents within families. Further GPFS evaluation is suggested with grandparents of diverse racial or ethnic identification; social economic position; education; and family definition, roles, composition, and structure.

Color Influence on Student' Perceptions of Satellite‐Imagery

A study conducted at Kansas State University focused on the impact of color respective of student' perceptions of satellite‐imagery. Three treatments consisting of interpreting gray, red and blue‐tone color scheme satellite‐images using a semantic differential instrument were administered. A Random Block Design statistical method was utilized to determine statistically significant results. Statistically different responses were recorded for each treatment, indicating that the blue‐tone satellite‐imagery ranked most positively by subjects, followed by gray and red color schemes. Descriptive factors within the semantic differential instrument were parallel in ranking.

Measuring emotional intelligence of medical school applicants.

To discuss the development, pilot testing, and analysis of a 34-item semantic differential instrument for measuring medical school applicants' emotional intelligence (the EI instrument). The authors analyzed data from the admission interviews of 147 1997 applicants to a six-year BS/MD program that is composed of three consortium universities. They compared the applicants' scores on traditional admission criteria (e.g., GPA and traditional interview assessments) with their scores on the EI instrument (which comprised five dimensions of emotional intelligence), breaking the data out by consortium university (each of which has its own educational ethos) and gender. They assessed the EI instrument's reliability and validity for assessing noncognitive personal and interpersonal qualities of medical school applicants. The five dimensions of emotional intelligence (maturity, compassion, morality, sociability, and calm disposition) indicated fair to excellent internal consistency: reliability coefficients were .66 to .95. Emotional intelligence as measured by the instrument was related to both being female and matriculating at the consortium university that has an educational ethos that values the social sciences and humanities. Based on this pilot study, the 34-item EI instrument demonstrates the ability to measure attributes that indicate desirable personal and interpersonal skills in medical school applicants.

A Report from the Field: Mediating, Interpreting, and Negotiating The Meaning of Works of Art in Galleries and Museums

In this paper I describe the mediation of specific resources and learning strategies for sustaining pupils’ perceptions of a work of art. Participants in the research were aged between 8 and 11 years and of mixed gender and ability. Three complementary forms of intervention were designed. The first took the form of a video to explain the artist’s work and her working methods. In the second intervention I used the semantic differential instrument to support pupils’ perceptual exploration and interpretation of a piece of sculpture made by the artist. In the third intervention I used a semistructured interview to prompt pupils to evaluate and reflect about their recorded interpretations of the work in question. These interviews are presented in a case study format. The results show that the interventions had a substantial influence on the way participants were able to structure their perceptions and justify interpretations of the meaning of the sculpture in question.

A New Name For Dietitians? Attitudes Of Registered Dietitians Toward Three Possible Titles

This study tested the null hypotheses that registered dietitians would report significantly different attitudes toward the titles dietitian, nutritionist and medical nutrition therapist, that there would be differences in attitudes among dietitians from different areas of practice, and that age and years of practice would be correlated with the attitudes. The titles medical nutrition therapist and nutritionist were selected on the basis of their having been frequently mentioned in the literature as alternative titles for dietitians. The sample was one thousand RDs randomly selected from a list purchased from ADA; 45% of the mailed surveys were completed and returned. Most respondents were clinical dietitians in practice 16-20 years and between 41 and 45 years of age. The attitude section of the survey used a semantic differential instrument, with four pairs of adjectives applied to each title from three perspectives: the respondent's own, patients’, and health care professionals’. The respondent indicated how (on a five point scale) each adjective pair would be applied from each perspective to each of the three titles. The three perspectives were combined to yield a total score (15 possible points) for each title. Analysis of variance (ANOVA), repeated measures of analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), Pearson correlations and means comparisons were calculated using SPSS statistical software. Using repeated measures of ANCOVA with age as the covariate, neither interaction of age, nor main effect of title or area of practice was found. Neither was there an interaction of title and area of practice. Mean attitude scores revealed that all areas of practice, except for community dietitians, gave their highest scores to medical nutrition therapist, while community dietitians showed the highest mean score for nutritionist. However, the fact that the differences were not significant and that the mean scores were all in the range of 7.9–9.5 (of 15 possible points) indicate that no title was highly regarded and that the level of support for the three names was approximately equal. Based on the data obtained there is no indication that there is a commitment to change the professional title of dietitian.

The relationship between law-related education diversion and juvenile offenders’ social- and self-perceptions

A main purpose of Law-Related Education (LRE) programming in juvenile justice is to teach attitudes and perceptions that are inconsistent with delinquent behavior. This study examines the perceptions of juvenile offenders who participated in Kentucky’s LRE diversion program. Using a semantic differential instrument and a quasi-experimental design, pretest and posttest data were obtained on juveniles’ perceptions of themselves, their parents, their neighbors, their best friends, judges, teachers, and the police. Analyses of pre to post change and comparisons of the perceptions displayed by divertees with those displayed by a comparable group of high school students revealed some favorable outcomes associated with LRE participation. The recidivism of divertees over a one year follow-up period was also low. The limitations and implications of the study are discussed. The study concludes that LRE may be a viable diversionary option in juvenile justice.

The development and evaluation of computer assisted instruction modules for an introductory, college-level nutrition course

The purposes of this study were to develop a coordinated set of seven Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) modules for a one-semester, introductory, college-level nutrition course and to compare the effectiveness of the CAI Modules with traditional lectures. A quasi-Solomon four-group experimental design was used. Two instruments were used to collect pretest and posttest data: a nutrition knowledge test and a Likert-type attitude instrument containing three scales designed to assess students' attitudes toward computers. After finishing each of the seven CAI modules, students in the experimental groups completed a semantic differential attitude instrument containing four scales designed to evaluate student attitudes toward each CAI module. The results of analysis of covariance procedures indicate that the adjusted mean post scores of the experimental group on the knowledge test and Likert-type attitude scales Computers Help Me Learn and I Am Capable of Using Computers differed significantly from those of the control group. Mean scores on the semantic differential instrument scales tended to rise steadily for the first four modules assigned, then decline to a plateau. The findings indicate that CAI can improve nutrition knowledge and that students enjoy using CAI; thus, CAI modules may be a valuable and effective educational tool for nutrition educators.

Perceptions of Submissiveness: Implications for Victimization

Some researchers have suggested that a precondition of affective submissiveness may increase the likelihood of female victimization in sexual assault, whereas others have suggested that criminal offenders use perceptions of vulnerability when selecting a victim. In this study, based on American college students, men (decoders) rated videotaped women (encoders) dominant versus submissive using a semantic differential instrument. Cue evaluators analyzed the body language and appearance of the videotaped women using a Likert instrument. The results suggest that (a) men form differentiated perceptions of dominant versus submissive women, (b) such perceptions substantially rely on nonverbal cues, (c) dominant and submissive women display visually different behaviors and appearances, and (d) men tend to select submissive females for exploitation.

The Image of Resource Teachers in Schools and Colleges

THE IMAGE of resource teachers, as perceived by a representative sample of 600 administrators and teachers in Queensland secondary schools and TAFE colleges, was measured using a semantic differential instrument. Results show that resource teachers as a group enjoy a strongly positive image, and that a significantly more positive image of resource teachers is held by those who use their services than by those who do not. Few significant differences of perceived image were found between administrators and teachers, and teachers of different subject areas while none was found between male and female respondents, and less and more experienced teachers. Ways are suggested in which resource teachers can extend their influence with administrators and teachers.

Attitudes of Fourth and Sixth Graders Toward Peers With Mild Articulation Disorders

This study examined attitudes of fourth and sixth graders toward peers with and without mild articulatory errors. A video-tape was developed with the following peer speakers: a boy with no errors, a girl with no errors, a boy with /r/ errors, a girl with /r/ errors, a boy with /s/ and /z/ errors, and a girl with /s/ and /z/ errors. This videotape was shown to 348 fourth and sixth graders. Attitudes toward speaking ability, the speaker as a peer, and what the speaker would be like as a teenager were measured through the use of semantic differential instruments. Significantly more negative attitudes were found toward the peers who exhibited articulatory errors. Implications for school district policies were discussed.