1. Predicting Attitudes on Controversial Social Policies: The Role of Factual Knowledge About Human Development
Rachel Champagne, Holger Elischberger, & Jacque Carlson
Poster presented at the 22nd Annual Convention of the Association for Psychological Science, Boston, MA, May 2010
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Goal
Examine the relationship between attitudes toward social policy and knowledge of policy-relevant research in developmental psychology
Participants
172 students (52% female) ages 18 to 22 years (M = 18.96, SD = .98) from a small Midwestern college
Predominantly Caucasian (79.50%)
Predominantly introductory psychology students
Given class credit for their participation or entry to a lottery for $50
Materials
Demographic questionnaire
Attitude assessment
Rated 5 statements per issue from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree)
E.g., I think that… Gay men and lesbian women can be good parents
Summary attitude scores ranged from 5 to 25
Higher score indicates an attitude in line with relevant research findings
Knowledge assessment
Indicated True, False, Do Not Know for 5 statements per issue
E.g., Research has shown that… the sexual orientation of a parent does not affect the
quality of their parenting
Summary knowledge scores ranged from 0 to 10
Higher score indicates more knowledge of relevant research
Results
Simple correlations between knowledge and attitude scores
Results cont’d.
Hierarchical regression models
Step 1: Predicting attitudes from demographics
Common demographic predictors: Age, gender, ethnicity (white vs. non-white), general political attitude (conservative, moderate, liberal), political attitudes toward social issues (very liberal to very conservative)
Individual demographic predictors (varied by issue): E.g., personal affiliation with someone from GLB community
Step 2: Predicting attitudes from demographics plus knowledge
Background
Exposure to information should develop and change people’s attitudes
E.g., College students’ sociopolitical attitudes over their college career changed as a function of academic major, suggesting informational influence (Guimond, 1999)
Change in knowledge leads to change in attitudes for a variety of issues
E.g., Students’ level of support for the death penalty decreased after learning about capital punishment (Cochran & Chamlin, 2005)
The Present Study
Six social policy issues of interest:
1. Gay and Lesbian Parenting
Should homosexual people be allowed to legally adopt?
Children in planned lesbian-parent families do not differ in well-being or adjustment when compared to children of heterosexual parents (Bos, vanBalen, & van den Boom, 2007)
2. Sex Education
Should government fund fact-based or abstinence-only sex education programs?
Comprehensive fact-based programs delay initiation of sex, reduce the frequency of sex, and reduce the number of sexual partners (Kirby, 2008)
3. Parental Leave
Should government fund extended work leave for parents?
Shorter maternity leave impairs attachment and threatens the development of the child (Clark, Hyde, Essex, & Klein, 1997)
4. Adoption
Should government restrict the time frame during which biological parents are allowed to reclaim their child from its adoptive parents?
Biological parents often continue to provide an unstable environment for their children; many children return to foster care within a few years (Terling, 1999)
5. Science Curriculum
Should basic scientific concepts be introduced in elementary school?
The earlier the cultural tools of science are introduced in school, the higher children test on scientific literacy assessments (Driver, Asoko, Leach, Mortimer, & Scott, 1994).
6. Physical Punishment
Should government restrict use of physical punishment by teachers and parents?
When physical punishment is used as the primary method of discipline, children are more likely to develop psychological problems (Larzelere & Kuhn, 2005)
Hypotheses
H1: Positive relationship between knowledge and attitudes
H2: Knowledge will predict attitudes above and beyond demographics
Discussion
Knowledge of relevant research predicts people’s attitudes on social policy
above and beyond demographic variables
Cannot specify causal relationship
Knowledge may lead people to form certain attitudes (Cochran & Chamlin, 2005)
Attitudes may lead people to seek out information to affirm attitudes (confirmation
bias; Nickerson, 1998)
Limitations
Homogeneity of sample
Knowledge assessments may measure beliefs rather than knowledge
Future Directions
Does change in knowledge lead to change in attitudes?
Does change in knowledge only affect cognitive aspects of attitudes or emotional aspects?
Does change in attitudes translate into change in behavior?
References
Bos, H. M. W., vanBalen, F., & van den Boom, D. C. (2007). Child adjustment and parenting in planned lesbian-parent families. American Journal of
Orthopsychiatry, 77(1),
Clark, R., Hyde, J. S., Essex, M. J., & Klein, M. H. (1997). Length of maternity leave and quality of mother-infant interaction. Child Development, 68(2),
Cochran, J. K., & Chamlin, M. B. (2005). Can information change public opinion? Another test of the Marshall hypotheses. Journal of Criminal Justice, 33,
Driver, R., Asoko, H., Leach, J., Mortimer, E., & Scott, P. (1994). Constructing scientific knowledge in the classroom. Educational Researcher, 23, 5-12.
Guimond, S. (1999). Attitude change during college: Normative or informational social influence? Social Psychology of Education, 2,
Kirby, D. B. (2008). The impact of abstinence and comprehensive sex and STD/HIV education programs on adolescent sexual behavior. Sexuality Research & Social
Policy, 5(3),
Larzelere, R. E., & Kuhn, B. R. (2005). Comparing child outcomes of physical punishment and alternative disciplinary tactics: A meta-analysis. Clinical Child and
Family Psychology Review, 8(1), 1-37.
Nickerson, R. S. (1998). Confirmation bias: A ubiquitous phenomenon in many guises. Review of General Psychology, 2(2),
Terling, T. (1999). The efficacy of family reunification practices: Reentry rates and correlates of reentry for abused and neglected children reunited with their
families. Child Abuse & Neglect, 23(12),