Browsing by Author "Jones, David Blodgett"

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    Attitudes towards ex-mental patients as a function of gender
    Jones, David Blodgett (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1977)
    The major purpose of the present study was to examine the attitudinal differences between males and females toward males and females labeled as either an ex-mental patient or an ex-medical patient. Undergraduate students first read a personal history questionnaire which was identical in all experimental conditions except for the type of patient described under the heading of "Medical History," i.e., ex-mental or ex-medical patient. Subjects then watched an eleven-minute videotaped interview of a college student who was presented as the person described in the personal history questionnaire. These videotaped interviews were identical except for the sex of the interviewee. After viewing the videotapes, subjects completed a questionnaire composed of six bi-polar adjectives regarding the interviewee's adjustment, a questionnaire containing six questions about how the subject might interact with the interviewee, and an information questionnaire containing twelve questions based on the personal history questionnaire and twelve items from the videotaped interview. The position that the label ex-mental patient is a stigma and will produce negative attitudes toward those so labeled was clearly not supported by this research. While males displayed some negative attitudes toward individuals labeled as ex-mental patients, this was not a consistent effect. The notion that females do not display differential attitudes toward someone labeled as an ex-mental patient and someone not so labeled was supported. Several methodological issues possibly affecting the results were discussed.
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    Directiveness in promotional communications
    Jones, David Blodgett (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1987)
    The style of a communication may influence a receiver's responses as well as the message's factual, informational content. The degree to which a promotional communication attempts to control a receiver's responses can be defined as a relational and therefore a stylistic variable. This dissertation operationalizes a stylistic variable, directiveness, as the degree to which a persuasive communication instructs the receiver how to respond in terms of action, attitudes and beliefs. Directive messages attempt to limit the receiver's responses while less directive or suggestive messages encourage the reader to make up his or her own mind. Using Attribution Theory and the Cognitive Processing Model as theoretical bases, experimental hypotheses were tested involving the impact of directive versus suggestive messages on receiver responses to one-sided and two-sided communications and high and low involvement topics. Directiveness was found to have significant impact on receiver responses depending on the receiver's level of involvement. The main implication of this research is that how a persuasive communication is worded may influence a receiver's responses to what informational content is presented.