Frank Siebler

Social Norms and the Likelihood of Raping: Perceived Rape Myth Acceptance of Others Affects Men's Rape Proclivity

Research showing that rape myth acceptance (RMA) causally affects rape proclivity (RP) was extended by examining the impact of RMA-related norms on RP. Male students (total N = 264) received feedback about the alleged responses of other students to RMAitems either before (Experiment 1) or after (Experiment 2) they reported their own RMA, and then their RP was assessed using acquaintance-rape scenarios. The level of RMA feedback was varied. Results showed that higher norms led to higher RP. In Experiment 1, this effect was mediated via selfreported RMA. Experiment 2 yielded main effects of both RMA feedback and self-reported RMA and an interaction effect showing that RMA feedback was particularly influential at higher levels of own RMA. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

A Connectionist Model of Attitude Formation and Change

This article discusses a recurrent connectionist network, simulating empirical phenomena usually explained by current dual-process approaches of attitudes, thereby focusing on the processing mechanisms that may underlie both central and peripheral routes of persuasion. Major findings in attitude formation and change involving both processing modes are reviewed and modeled from a connectionist perspective. We use an autoassociative network architecture with a linear activation update and the delta learning algorithm for adjusting the connection weights. The network is applied to well-known experiments involving deliberative attitude formation, as well as the use of heuristics of length, consensus, expertise, and mood. All these empirical phenomena are successfully reproduced in the simulations. Moreover, the proposed model is shown to be consistent with algebraic models of attitude formation (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975). The discussion centers on how the proposed network model may be used to unite and formalize current ideas and hypotheses on the processes underlying attitude acquisition and how it can be deployed to develop novel hypotheses in the attitude domain.

When Small Means Comfortable: Relations Between Product Attributes in Two-sided Advertising

The processes that mediate the effectiveness of 2-sided advertising were studied. We predicted that (a) 2-sided (vs. 1-sided) advertisements increase perceived source credibility and that (b) the logical relation between the negative and positive product attributes mentioned in the 2-sided ad (e.g., little space, implying a cozy atmosphere) facilitates favorable inferences about the positive attributes, especially when recipients have sufficient time to process the message content. Results supported these predictions. However, the effects of message type and processing time on attitudes were mediated by inferences about positive attributes but not by perceived source credibility. Implications of these findings for consumer judgment and decision making are discussed.

A REFINED COMPUTER HARASSMENT PARADIGM: VALIDATION, AND TEST OF HYPOTHESES ABOUT TARGET CHARACTERISTICS

A refined computer paradigm for assessing sexual harassment is presented, validated, and used for testing substantive hypotheses. Male participants were given an opportunity to send sexist jokes to a computer-simulated female chat partner. In Study 1 (N = 44), the harassment measure (number of sexist jokes sent) correlated positively with self-reported harassment proclivity. Study 2 (N = 77) included a more elaborate cover story, variations of the female targets attitude (feminist vs. traditional) and physical attractiveness (low vs. high), and additional measures for construct validation. Results showed that harassment correlated positively with self-reported harassment proclivity, hostile sexism, and male identity. Feminist targets were harassed more than traditional targets, whereas target attractiveness had no effect. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed.

Situational Flexibility of In-Group-Related Attitudes: A Single Category IAT Study of People with Dual National Identity

An experiment was conducted to examine the situational flexibility of in-group-related attitudes at the implicit and explicit level. Seventy-one men and women with dual, Turkish-German, national identities were asked to think about positive aspects of either their German or their Turkish identity. Later, attitudes toward Germans and Turks were assessed using a single category implicit association test (SC-IAT) and self-report scales. Results showed that attitudes toward Turks were generally more positive than attitudes toward Germans, that SC-IAT scores reflecting attitudes toward Turks and Germans were unrelated, and that the identity priming affected mens, but not womens, SC-IAT scores. This finding is discussed in terms of mens greater flexibility in national identification. Explicit attitude measures were largely unaffected by the priming.

Rape myth acceptance and judgments of vulnerability to sexual assault: An internet experiment.

Processing strategies in risk assessment were studied in an Internet experiment. Women (N = 399) who were either low or high in rape myth acceptance (RMA) were asked to recall either two or six behaviors that either increase or decrease the risk of being sexually assaulted. Later they judged their personal vulnerability to sexual assault under either no time pressure (no response deadline) or time pressure (response deadline of 5 s). Without time pressure, the results were opposite to previous research: Women low in RMA relied on ease of recall and reported higher vulnerability after recalling few rather than many risk increasing behaviors, or many rather than few risk-decreasing behaviors; women high in RMA relied on the amount of information recalled, which resulted in an opposite pattern of vulnerability judgments. No influences of ease of recall or amount recalled on vulnerability judgments were detected under time pressure.

“Social Robotics” und Mensch-Maschine-Interaktion

Zusammenfassung: Aus aktuellen Entwicklungen zur Mensch-Maschine-Interaktion (MMI), insbesondere auf dem wachsenden Feld der Social Robotics, entstehen neuartige Perspektiven fur die sozialpsychologische Forschung. Da Computer und Roboter sich in besonderem Mase als Objekte einer Anthropomorphisierung eignen, sollten psychologische Zugange auch in diesem Forschungsfeld hilfreich sein. Ausgehend von Unterscheidungen zwischen verschiedenen Typen dieser Maschinen werden mogliche Beitrage der Sozialpsychologie zur interdisziplinaren Forschung und Entwicklung skizziert. Vorliegende Befunde zur sozialen Dimension der MMI werden vorgestellt und diskutiert: das Forschungsprogramm “Computer als soziale Akteure” sowie Ansatze zur Menschenahnlichkeit der Maschine als unabhangiger und abhangiger Variablen. Abschliesend schlagen wir spezifische Themen fur die zukunftige sozialpsychologische Forschung in drei klassischen Bereichen vor (Urteilsprozesse im Kontext der MMI, “interpersonelle” Prozesse und Intergruppenbezie...

Actitudes implícitas y explícitas hacia personas con síndrome de Down: un estudio en colegios con y sin programas de integración de Chile

Resumen La integración escolar puede disminuir el prejuicio entre sus miembros a través del contacto. En esta área, las investigaciones suelen utilizar medidas explícitas pero son escasas las que han usado mediciones implícitas. En este artículo se pretende evaluar ambos tipos de actitudes hacia las personas con síndrome de Down (PCSD). Ochenta estudiantes chilenos entre los 11 y 15 años, pertenecientes a colegios con y sin programas de integración, participaron de este estudio. Las actitudes implícitas fueron medidas a través del Test de Asociación Implícita (IAT). Los resultados mostraron que los estudiantes, independiente del sistema escolar, mostraron sesgo implícito hacia las PCSD. En las actitudes explícitas, si bien ambas muestras exhibieron bajos niveles de prejuicio, en los colegios integrados se expresó menos ansiedad hacia las PCSD. Finalmente, la calidad, cantidad y saliencia se asociaron con menor ansiedad y más estereotipos positivos hacia las PCSD.

Predictors of Respiratory Protective Equipment Use in the Norwegian Smelter Industry: The Role of the Theory of Planned Behavior, Safety Climate, and Work Experience in Understanding Protective Behavior

Previous research has revealed a higher prevalence of respiratory symptoms in Norwegian smelter workers compared to average population controls. Nevertheless, respiratory protective equipment (RPE) is not always used, even in situations with high exposure risk. A questionnaire was distributed to workers in the Norwegian smelting industry to investigate the relationship between psychological factors and self-reported use of RPEs. Response rate was 567/1,253. A scale measuring attitudes toward behavior (ATT), subjective norms (SN), perceived behavioral control (PBC), and behavioral intention (BI) was constructed based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Reliability and Confirmatory Factor Analyses partially supported the theoretical structure of the TPB-based scale, the Work Experience Measurement Scale (WEMS) and the Short Scale for Safety Climate (SC). A model explaining the relationship between observed variables, latent constructs from TPB, WEMS and SC was developed by SEM-analysis. Significant influence on BI from ATT (β = 0.31 p < 0.01), SN (β = 0.36 p < 0.01), and SC (β = 0.19, p < 0.01) emerged. Among the observed variables included, relationship status (β = −0.12 p < 0.05), education level (β = 0.09, p < 0.05), previously completed respirator fit-testing (β = −0.09, p < 0.05) and average hours spent in exposed areas (β = −0.09) p < 0.05) had significant influence on behavioral intention. The model explained 48% of the variance in BI. BI and PBC significantly predicted PB, with β = 0.65 and β = −0.06, respectively. Results of this investigation can help facilitate further work and development of health & safety routines within industrial settings.