The dimensions underlying perceived sexual atttitudes

Tucker, R. Wayne (Robert Wayne) (1995) The dimensions underlying perceived sexual atttitudes. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The perceptual process of implicit attitude theories was investigated by way of a dimensional perspective. Button, Grant, Hannah, & Ross (1993) suggest that perceived attitudes are two-dimensional, the two largely orthogonal dimensions being Liberal-Conservative and Traditional-Radical. The present study examined perceptions of others' sexual attitudes. Phase 1 investigated the dimensions of perceived sexual attitudes; Phase 2 focused on the identification of the most appropriate labels for the dimensional solution observed in the first Phase. In Phase 1, 25 females and 25 males in each of two data sets judged the similarity of pairs of attitude statements by indicating whether they thought a person who agreed with one statement, would also agree with the other. A multidimensional structural analysis indicated a clear elbow in the stress values and suggested that for both data sets a two-dimensional solution provided the best fit. In Phase 2, 30 males and 30 females for each of data sets A and B rated (on four different scales) hypothetical individuals who agreed with a series of attitude statements (same statements as in Phase 1). Multiple regression analyses identified Liberal-Conservative as the most suitable label for Dimension 1. For Dimension 2, both Traditional-Radical and Warm-Cold proved to be acceptable labels as reflected by the amount of variability accounted for, but the Traditional-Radical label was recommended as the best based on past validations of this label. The results were interpreted as consistent with a two-dimensional structure underlying implicit attitude theories. The results were also discussed in relation to other models, as well as in terms of their application to the issue of sexual intimacy.

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