At 3:42 AM -0500 10/11/01, jim clark wrote: >Hi > >My honours stats class is doing a research project this term on >Beliefs About Social Science (e.g., accept validity of scientific >research with humans, believe that such research has practical >value, ...). I'm curious what variables those "Teaching in the >Psychological Sciences" think would predict positive or negative >Beliefs About Social Science? >
I would recommend the Altmeyer & Hunsberger scale of religious fundamentalism a scale of ideology on the liberal-conservative spectrum Lerner's Just World Scale I would also be willing to send you a 4 dimensional scale of moral reasoning I have been developing for the last few years. The four dimensions are: justice (a'la Kohlberg), care (a'la Gilligan), sacredness, and self interest. As you can see from my comments, I think part of the issue has to do with moral beliefs. But another part, more cognitive, probably has to do with the extent to which people hold naive beliefs about science (both the process and the results). I do not know if there is a scale that taps this. I also recommend the items you mention above (practical value of research) be measured with multiple item scales rather than single item. I expect these sorts of belief structures are multifaceted. An excellent article on scaling issues can be found in the recent Handbook on Research Methods in the Social and personality Psychology. -Chuck -- - Chuck Huff; 507.646.3169; http://www.stolaf.edu/people/huff/ - Psychology Department, St.Olaf College, Northfield, MN 55057 --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
