Alona Raviv

Says Who?: Epistemic Authority Effects in Social Judgment

Publisher Summary This chapter features the concept of ascribed epistemic authority offered as a unique perspective on source effects in social judgment. It assumes that both the self and external sources may be assigned different degrees of epistemic authority in different domains and that this determines the ways in which individuals process information, make decisions, and undertake actions. The present framework traces the socio-developmental aspects of epistemic authority assignments and considers individual differences in the distribution of authority assignments across sources. The chapter conceives of epistemic authority ascriptions as meta-cognitive beliefs about a source of information. It introduces a perspective on source effects framed from the subjective standpoint of the informations recipient. This perspective highlights the developmental, individual differences, self-related, and applied aspects of source phenomena. The treatment of source effects in several major models of persuasion is reviewed. A final discussion highlights the unique properties of the epistemic authority and considers its implications for the place of source effects in notions of information processing and human judgment.

Teachers and Students: Two Different Perspectives?! Measuring Social Climate in the Classroom

This study compared teachers’ and classes’ perceptions of the actual and preferred classroom environment in 78 sixth grade classes in Israel. The Classroom Environment Scale (CES) (Moos & Trickett, 1974) was administered, and similarities between the perceptions of teachers and classes were found, particularly pertaining to the preferred or ideal classroom. The teachers and classes differed most in their respective perceptions of the real classroom. The validity of the CES and the relationship between the organizational factor of classroom seating arrangement and the environment perceptions were explored. The results of this study were discussed in relation to previous research conducted in different cultural settings. Implications of the consistent finding of teacher and student agreement on the characteristics of the ideal setting and means of implementing the comparison of teachers’ and classes’ perceptions of the classroom environment were suggested.

Individual measurement of exposure to everyday violence among elementary schoolchildren across various settings

One hundred and thirty-four second- and fourth-grade students from two schools in Israel were measured individually using a Hebrew adaptation of the Violence Exposure Scale—Revised (VEX-R), a self-report scale measuring childrens exposure to everyday violence. Children reported exposure as a function of situation (witness or victim) and setting (home, school, or neighborhood). They also reported on their own distress symptoms. The childrens mothers also completed the VEX-R, indicating how they expected their child would report, and the Child Behavior Checklist. Children reported more exposure to violence at school compared to either the home or neighborhood, and more as witnesses than victims. Most of the violence reported was mild (e.g., pushing, chasing), while severe violence (e.g., shooting, stabbing) was rare in all settings. Children who reported themselves as frequent victims of violence were rated by their mothers as exhibiting more behavior problems than those reporting less victimization. The results support the validity of the VEX-R as a measure of exposure to violence for young children.

Moving as a stressful life event for adolescents

In this study, 15 stressful elements and 18 supportive elements relating to moving house were identified based on the reports of 69 male and 71 female adolescents and pre-adolescents. Three primary stress factors and three basic support factors were found. It seems that pre-adolescent girls represent the group most sensitive to the level of stress and to the amount of received support surrounding a move. Adolescents who move from one city to another report greater stress than do those who move house within the same city.

The Influence of the Ethos of Conflict on Israeli Jews’ Interpretation of Jewish–Palestinian Encounters

This study investigates the psychological effects of a set of societal beliefs termed the ethos of conflict, which develops in the context of intractable conflict—as, for example, the Israeli—Arab conflict. The premise was that the ethos of conflict constitutes a type of ideology that serves as a powerful prism through which individuals perceive the reality of an intractable conflict. The studys findings confirmed this premise, showing that participants with a high level of ethos of conflict tended to perceive photos depicting encounters between Jews and Palestinians differently than did those with a low level of ethos of conflict. The former tended to perceive the Palestinians as more aggressive, to blame them more for such attributed aggressiveness, and to explain this perceived aggressiveness more in terms of internal and stable causes. They also tended to stereotype Palestinians more negatively and Jews more positively.

Children's Self-Report of Exposure to Violence and Its Relation to Emotional Distress

Over 1,000 second and fourth graders from schools reported to have high or low levels of violence completed a group-administrated questionnaire designed to assess exposure to violence in young children. Exposure was measured for the school environment and for TV. Children also completed a questionnaire assessing symptoms of distress in children. Results showed that students in the high violence schools reported more exposure to violence than children in the low violence schools, boys reported more exposure than girls, and fourth graders reported more exposure than second graders. These results also add to the validity of the instrument used, showing that young children are capable of reporting their experiences accurately. Scores on the exposure to violence questionnaire were correlated with expressions of distress in children: children who reported high levels of exposure to violence also reported high levels of emotional distress.

Parents of Adolescents: Help-Seeking Intentions as a Function of Help Sources and Parenting Issues.

This study examined the declared intentions of parents of adolescents to seek help from potential sources for a variety of hypothetical problems related to parenting. The relationship between hypothetical help-seeking and certain characteristics of the help-seeker (sex, educational level, parenting, self-confidence, birth order, and sex of the adolescent), and the source of help (natural support system, professional support system, and media); and the problem type were investigated. The research population included 187 parents of adolescents. A questionnaire was formulated for the purpose of the study which examined help-seeking from nine sources of help on eight hypothetical parenting issues. Intention to seek help was found to be a function of both the particular problem type and the potential source of help. In general, parents declared their intention to seek help from and rely on a variety of sources. It was found that parents said that they were most likely to seek help from their spouses regardless of the issue, whereas professional sources were most likely to be consulted in their area of expertise.

LDs' Expressions of Anxiety in Terms of Minor Somatic Complaints

The prevalence of the minor somatic complaints for learning-disabled children (N = 130) was compared to that of two control groups: normal (N = 559) and EMR children (N = 69). The learning-disabled children demonstrated a significantly higher prevalence of complaints, but the extent of resulting absenteeism was lesser than that in regular schools. No significant differences was found in the prevalence of headaches and stomach-aches. Fatigue was more frequent for the learning-disabled group. Explanations of the phenomena in terms of the coping strategies of the learning-disabled children and an ecological model were suggested.

Mothers' attitudes toward seeking help for their children from school and private psychologists

What inhibits parents from seeking psychological help for their children? This study examined the attitudes of mothers of school-age children toward seeking psychological help from school psychological services and from private psychologists. Mothers express greater and more intense worries in relation to seeking help from school psychological services as compared to private psychologists. Hypothetical vignettes about a problematic child also showed that mothers prefer to refer both their own child and that of a friend to a private psychologist. Reducing the threat aroused by public sector psychologists should increase the utilization of psychological help for children. Many children in need of psychological help do not receive it. In fact, only a small percentage of those requiring psychological help reach mental health services (Garland & Zigler, 1994; Kolko & Kazdin, 1993; Pavuluri, Luk, & McGee, 1996). The gap between the number of individuals in need of help and those receiving it has been called the “service gap” (Stefl & Prosperi, 1985). It appears that several emotional barriers prevent individuals from receiving psychological help. It is important that psychologists, particularly those in the public sector, and school authorities become aware of this problematic phenomenon. Research in the field of help-seeking behavior examines the processes an individual undergoes from the onset of emotional distress to the stage of seeking professional help (Rogler & Cortez, 1993). Coping with ongoing emotional distress generally arouses the motivation to bring about relief. Fischer, Winer, and Abramowitz (1983) outlined five stages in the process of seeking help. In Stage 1, the individual recognizes that a problem exists and that it has or will have harmful consequences. In Stage 2, the individual reviews possibilities for resolving or reducing the problem. In Stage 3, the individual considering seeking help weighs the benefits and losses that turning to professional help is likely to incur. Although the individuals can benefit from professional help and as a result fulfill instrumental needs, seeking help is also associated with psychological costs that may prevent individuals

The Reaction of the Youth in Israel to the Assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin

of the youth, who gathered in large crowds, at the site of the murder and in other places, and engaged in various mourning behaviors of a ritual nature. This drew the attention of the media in Israel and around the world. A study ofapproximately 700 teenagers conducted after the assassination examined their emotional reactions, participation in ritualistic mourning activities, and assessments of the reasons for feeling shocked. In all areas, differences were found as a function of gender, and attitudes toward Rabins peace policy. An attempt was made to explain the youths behavior in terms of the formation of groups and group identity.