Despite the importance of chemistry in addressing many of society's most significant challenges, there is a growing stigma associated with chemicals in our nation, often termed "chemophobia". We sought to appeal to the public, not only through education, but also through art as an avenue for appreciation with the development of a new…

Stigma is considered an important barrier to seeking mental health services. Two types of stigma exist: public stigma and self-stigma. Theoretically, it has been argued that public stigma leads to the development of self-stigma. However, the empirical support for this assertion is limited to cross-sectional data. Therefore, the goal of this…

This lesson plan is designed to help students become more aware of how advertisements play a role in shaping societal attitudes about gender and sexuality and how these messages effect their own beliefs. This lesson plan will outline how to effectively accomplish this goal in any course focusing on gender and/or sexuality.

In 2007 the film-maker Michael Noonan embarked on a project initially entitled "Laughing at the Disabled" (a title then changed to "Laughing with the Disabled"), a collaboration between himself and three people with intellectual disabilities. A doctoral candidate in the Creative Industries at Queensland University of Technology…

Four studies investigated whether political allegiance and salience of outgroup membership contribute to the phenomenon of acceptance of false, stigmatizing information (smears) about political candidates. Studies 1-3 were conducted in the month prior to the 2008 U.S. Presidential election and together demonstrated that pre-standing opposition to…

Background: Social norms posters usually contain a normative message, branding, campaign tagline and sponsoring coalition/contact information. There are limited data on which campaign components promote recognition of Campus Alcohol Coalitions (CAC). Purpose: To determine the most effective media channels/incentives to promote recognition of CAC…

A 14-site randomized trial tested the effectiveness of social norms marketing (SNM) campaigns, which present accurate student survey data in order to correct misperceptions of subjective drinking norms and thereby drive down alcohol use. Cross-sectional student surveys were conducted by mail at baseline and at posttest 3 years later. Hierarchical…

Fear of being stigmatized is the most cited reason why individuals avoid psychotherapy. Conceptually, this fear should be strongest when individuals consider the reactions of those they interact with. Across 5 samples, the authors developed the Perceptions of Stigmatization by Others for Seeking Help (PSOSH) scale. In Sample 1 (N = 985), the 5…

Describes a survey administered to 628 undergraduate students at Kent State University to determine their beliefs about profit, degree of trust in major institutions, believability of sources, and perceived priority of national problems; suggests ways to change the unfavorable image of big business found to be held by college students. (TA)

The college administrators, who push homosexual rights so vigorously, are confused. They routinely flout the law, abandoning any pretense of neutrality, by censuring organizations that do not embrace gays into their midst. Again and again they punish or expel individuals for whom certain behaviors remain perverse or sinful. David French represents…

College students were questioned concerning their attitudes on the environmental movement and the causes and remedies of environmental degradation. Findings showed that students are aware of the problems, but do not accept the ecologists views about the needs for restructuring consumption and production patterns. (AJ)

College student and adult subjects were studied in five experimental formats to gauge how well people can estimate the frequency of death from specific causes. Subjects tended to overestimate the rate of rare causes, underestimate likely causes, and be influenced by drama or vividness. (Author/SJL)

Subjects read a supposedly real news account of a medical experiment in which the scarcity of the treatment employed and the amount of scientific justification for the experiment were experimentally varied. Factors that might influence public attitudes about social experiments are explored. (Author/DEP)

This pilot study examined the relational-behavior model (RBM) as an HIV/AIDS assessment tool for at-risk college populations. Based on this theory, a survey was constructed to assess the six areas associated with HIV/AIDS prevention: personal awareness, knowledge deficiency, relational skills, HIV/STD stigmatization, community awareness, and…

The purposes of this study were to analyze two variables in the communication situation which may affect the influence of polls: the "ideology" of the individual respondent, consisting of three dimensions, conservative, liberal, and moderate; and the "attitude" of the individual as to information contained in the poll, consisting of two…