Dynamics of attitudes and genetic processes. Nonlinear Dynamics Psychol Life Sci 2008 Jan;12(1):75-86
Date
12/26/2007Pubmed ID
18157928Scopus ID
2-s2.0-38349011709 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 4 CitationsAbstract
Relatively new discoveries of a genetic component to attitudes have challenged the traditional viewpoint that attitudes are primarily learned ideas and behaviors. Attitudes that are regarded by respondents as "more important" tend to have greater genetic components to them, and tend to be more closely associated with authoritarianism. Nonlinear theories, nonetheless, have also been introduced to study attitude change. The objective of this study was to determine whether change in authoritarian attitudes across two generations would be more aptly described by a linear or a nonlinear model. Participants were 372 college students, their mothers, and their fathers who completed an attitude questionnaire. Results indicated that the nonlinear model (R2 = .09) was slightly better than the linear model (R2 = .08), but the two models offered very different forecasts for future generations of US society. The linear model projected a gradual and continuing bifurcation between authoritarians and non-authoritarians. The nonlinear model projected a stabilization of authoritarian attitudes.
Author List
Guastello SJ, Guastello DDAuthor
Stephen Guastello BA,MA,PhD Professor in the Psychology department at Marquette UniversityMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdolescentAdult
Attitude
Authoritarianism
Culture
Fathers
Female
Genetic Variation
Humans
Intergenerational Relations
Linear Models
Male
Middle Aged
Midwestern United States
Mothers
Nonlinear Dynamics
Personality
Personality Inventory
Psychometrics
Regression Analysis
Socialization
Surveys and Questionnaires
