Chapter 6: Attitudes, Values, and Interests Flashcards
Define attitudes
Attitudes will reveal behavior”
“Attitude may be said to connote response consistency with regard to certain categories of stimuli” (Anastasi & Urbina, 1997, p. 405)
May be thought of as separate from opinion
Classic Tripartite Model
- Emotion component (how strongly one feels)
- Behavior component
- Cognitive component (thinking)
Domino and Domino (2006) list precautions
- Attitudes are inferred from a person’s words and actions; thus, they are not measured directly.
- Attitudes are complex; feelings, beliefs, and behaviors do not always match.
- Attitudes may not necessarily be stable, and so the establishment of reliability, especially when viewed as consistency over time, can be problematic.
- Often we study attitudes without necessarily having uniform agreement as to their nature.
Ways to study attitudes
- Ask directly
- Observe directly
- Assess directly
- Sociometric procedures
- Records
Rating scale advantages
- Administered to large groups at once
- Anonymity
- Own pace
- Uniformity of procedure
- Greater flexibility
- Easy to analyze
Equal Appearing Intervals (Thurstone Method)
Process:
1. Select target
2. Generate pool of items
3. Experts sort items
4. Calculate median or mean value of item
5. Calculate variability (IQR)
6. Retain items
7. Administer items
Summated Ratings (Likert Method)
Process:
1. Select target
2. Generate pool of items
3. Items administered to sample
4. Total score for each subject calculated
5. Internal consistency calculated for items
6. Retain items
7. Administer items
Bogardus Method
– measure responses on a continuum of social distance
- I would be willing to accept (group member) as a close relative by marriage
- I would be willing to accept (group member) as a close personal friend
- I would be willing to accept (group member) as a neighbor living on the same street
- I would be willing to accept (group member) as a coworker in the same office
- I would be willing to accept (group member) as a citizen in this country
- I would be willing to accept (group member) as a visitor in this country
Guttman Scaling
Determine whether a set of statements is unidimensional
Statements are ordered along a continuum of intensity or difficulty of acceptance
If a person agrees to a certain statement, then they will agree to a milder statement
If we know the most extreme statement an individual will accept, we should understand how they will respond to the other items
Semantic Differential (SemD)
Two levels of meaning to words
* Denotative – dictionary meanings
* Connotative – personal meaning
Develop a series of bipolar adjectives
Respondents rate a concept using a scale (e.g., 5-point, 7-point)
Half the items should be reverse scored
Process:
1. Choose the concept(s)
2. Select the adjectives
Checklists
- Respondents may be careless in responding
- Doesn’t allow for degree of preference
The C Scale
Liberalism - Conservatism
Self-anchoring scales
Ask the respondents to describe their top and bottom anchoring points
What are vocational interests?
A person’s preferences for behaviors, situations, contexts in which activities occur, and/or the outcomes associated with the preferred activities
What do interest test not reflect?
a pesons abilities
What do interest tests not predict?
do NOT predict success
does predict satisfaction
Measures of Interest: The RIASEC Model
An individual’s interests may be sufficiently solidified by age 15 that they can be useful in
career planning.
RIASEC model has been the consensus model of vocational interests for many decades.
Nobody finds everything equally interesting.
Although diverse specific interests cluster in predictable patterns
What is an interest measure?
An instrument designed to evaluate test-takers’ likes, dislikes, leisure activities, curiosities, and involvements in various pursuits for comparison with groups of various occupations and professions.
Explain Holland’s RIASEC theory in terms of R
Realistic
- “Do-ers”
- People who have athletic or mechanical abilities, prefer to work with objects, machines, tools, etc. and prefer to be outdoors
- Example jobs:
Mechanics
Carpenters
Electricians
Explain Holland’s RIASEC theory in terms of I
Investigative
- “Thinkers”
- People who like to observe,
investigate, evaluate and solve
problems - Example jobs:
Physicians
Computer programmers
Psychologists
Professors
Explain Holland’s RIASEC theory in terms of A
Artistic
- “Creators”
- People who have artistic, innovating
or intuitional abilities. Like to work in
unstructured settings using
imagination and creativity. - Example jobs:
Journalists
Dancers
Attorneys
Explain Holland’s RIASEC theory in terms of S
Social
- “Helpers”
- People who like to work with people to
enlighten, help, train, or cure them.
Skilled with words. - Example jobs:
Counselors
Social workers
Nurses
Explain Holland’s RIASEC theory in terms of E
Enterprising
- “Persuaders”
- People who like to work with people
influencing, persuading, performing,
leading, or managing - Example Jobs:
Politicians
Travel Agents
Stockbrokers
Explain Holland’s RIASEC theory in terms of C
Conventional
- “Organizers”
- People who like to work with data,
have clerical or numerical ability,
carry out tasks in detail or follow-
through on others’ instructions - Example Jobs:
Accountants
Computer operators
Insurance Adjusters
