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October 1994 - November 2017
Publications
Publications (59)
Previous research into the relationship between attributions and academic performance has produced contradictory findings that have not been resolved. The present research examines the role of specific dimensions of attributional style in predicting subsequent academic performance in a sample of pupils (N 5 979) from both high-and low-achieving sch...
Two studies examine preferences for a long-term partner who conforms to traditional or non- traditional gender roles. The studies both demonstrate a link between benevolent sexism and preference for a traditional partner. However, Study 1 also demonstrates a strong preference among women for a non-traditional partner. We measured ambivalent sexist...
This is the first national survey of prejudice for over a decade. It measures prejudice
and discrimination in Britain experienced by people with a wide range of protected
characteristics: age, disability, race, sex, religion or belief, sexual orientation,
pregnancy and maternity, and gender reassignment.
Our report demonstrates the value of using a...
Much of the research on individual attainment in educational settings has focused on individual differences. This chapter sets out the role of groups and group processes. After reviewing evidence for the role of social comparison in the classroom, and theory and research on ethnic group differences, we consider the impact of category memberships, s...
Allport (1954) proposed a series of preconditions that have subsequently been shown to facilitate effects of intergroup contact on attitudes toward outgroups (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). The present study examines whether objective threat, in the form of the 2005 London 7/7 terror attack, can inhibit the positive effects of contact. We tested hypothe...
This study investigated whether having a dual identity as both a mother and an employed person constitutes a threat to well-being, or whether it is a positive resource. The study focused on indices of life satisfaction and self-esteem. A convenience sample of 208 mothers were exposed to a manipulation of identity conflict, whereby we manipulated wh...
Much of the research on individual attainment in educational settings has focused on
individual differences. This chapter sets out the role of groups and group processes. After
reviewing evidence for the role of social comparison in the classroom, and theory and
research on ethnic group differences, we consider the impact of category memberships,
s...
This is the first national survey of prejudice in Britain for over a decade. It measures prejudice and discrimination experienced by people with a wide range of protected characteristics. The aim of this report is to demonstrate the value of using a national survey of this type to measure people’s experiences of prejudice in Britain, as well as peo...
Allport (1954) proposed a series of preconditions that have subsequently been shown to facilitate effects of intergroup contact on attitudes toward outgroups (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). The present study examines whether objective threat, in the form of the 2005 London 7/7 terror attack, can inhibit the positive effects of contact. We tested hypothe...
Allport (1954) proposed a series of preconditions that have subsequently been shown to facilitate effects of intergroup contact on attitudes toward outgroups (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). The present study examines whether objective threat, in the form of the 2005 London 7/7 terror attack, can inhibit the positive effects of contact. We tested hypothe...
Two cross-sectional nationally representative surveys designed by Abrams and Houston (2006) were conducted approximately 6 weeks before and 1 month after the July 7 attacks in London. TNS United Kingdom (U.K.) was commissioned by the U.K. government’s Women and Equality Unit (now called the Government Equalities Office) to collect the data through...
Two cross-sectional nationally representative surveys designed by Abrams and Houston (2006) were conducted approximately 6 weeks before and 1 month after the July 7 attacks in London. TNS United Kingdom (U.K.) was commissioned by the U.K. government’s Women and Equality Unit (now called the Government Equalities Office) to collect the data through...
Major terrorist events, such as the recent attacks in Ankara, Sinai, and Paris, can have profound effects on a nation's values, attitudes, and prejudices. Yet psychological evidence testing the impact of such events via data collected immediately before and after an attack is understandably rare. In the present research, we tested the independent a...
In Western culture, there appears to be widespread endorsement of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (which stresses equality and freedom). But do people really apply their equality values equally, or are their principles and application systematically discrepant, resulting in equality hypocrisy? The present study, conducted wit...
In Western culture, there appears to be widespread endorsement of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (which stresses equality and freedom). But do people really apply their equality values equally, or are their principles and application systematically discrepant, resulting in equality hypocrisy? The present study, conducted wit...
This study involved 219 women participants. The main aim of the present study is to examine the perceived consequences of a work-related promotion for the female partner in a heterosexual relationship. The impact of the promotion was manipulated - both partners share paid and domestic work, the male partner taking responsibility for all the domesti...
To date, the work-family literature has examined conflict between work and family and family and work. In this research the use of the word “family” usually denotes child-care responsibilities. Furthermore, scales developed to measure conflict have concentrated on a family structure defined in this way. Little is known about conflict between work a...
The UK’s flexible working strategy has developed progressively since 2000, reflecting changes in the economic, political and social climate. Research has shown employees to be concerned about the effects of flexible working on career success. This paper (N=266 & N=1093) examined male, female, managerial and non-managerial evaluations of employees w...
In this chapter, the social exclusion of women as a group within UK society is demonstrated by examination of data from a number of national surveys. The Burchardt, Le Grand and Piachaud (2002) framework is employed to demonstrate that women, as a group, are socially excluded in terms of their participation in consumption, production, political eng...
Dweck has emphasized the role of pupils' implicit theories about intellectual ability in explaining variations in their engagement, persistence and achievement. She has also highlighted the role of confidence in one's intelligence as a factor influencing educational attainment.
The aim of this paper is to develop a model of achievement aspiration i...
Britain is an increasingly diverse and multifaceted society. Consequently, manifestations of inequality, prejudice and discrimination are potentially becoming more varied and complex. The meaning of equality itself is a matter of considerable debate. Perceptions, attitudes, stereotypes and emotions permeate social relationships between groups, whet...
This report examines possible causes of gender segregation and its link to skills shortages in the UK labour market, by investigating young people’s perceptions about work and their preferences for jobs. In particular, the aim is to identify ways of ensuring that young people’s occupational choices are not determined by their gender or stereotypica...
During the last two decades of the 20th century the work participation of women with preschool children almost doubled from 28 per cent in 1980 to 53 per cent in 1999 (McRae, 2003). This increase now appears to have stabilised, with Labour Force Survey (LFS) figures for 2004 showing that 53 per cent of women with preschool children are in employmen...
Book synopsis: Psychology, published in association with the British Psychological Society, is the definitive introductory textbook for students starting their study of psychology.
Working longer and longer hours is not good for business - or for you. Worrying about childcare or eldercare will only add to your stress levels. Returning to work too soon after a major life event such as birth, death or illness is likely to take its toll in the end.
The present study tests both corollaries of the self-esteem hypothesis from social identity theory derived by Abrams and Hogg (1988). Greek students completed a pre-test collective self-esteem (CSE) measure and then rated Greek students and either American or Turkish students. They then completed a post-test collective self-esteem measure. Inconsis...
Value priorities were analyzed as they relate to nationality (American vs. British) and gender in a study involving 207 university students from the 2 countries. Participants responded anonymously to S. H. Schwartz's Value Survey (1992, 1994), consisting of various individualistic and collectivistic values. American students assigned greater import...
The paper reports a longitudinal study of the post-pregnancy work outcomes for full-time working women who were pregnant with their first baby. Regression analyses revealed that women who did not return to work as intended were differentiated from those who did return to work by the amount of planning they had done in pregnancy, as well as having l...
This report is the first to examine attitudes towards flexible working and family life. Drawing on a study of over 1500 members of the Amalgamated Electrical and Engineering Union (AEEU) and interviews with 53 AEEU shop stewards, the report: · examines attitudes to, and uptake of, flexible working practices among employees who work full-time; · com...
The appropriateness, reliability and convergence of differing methods and associated instruments for the assessment of quality of life and well-being in frail older people was examined in 60 ( S 65 years of age) nursing home residents. The feasibility of measuring quality of life and well-being via a variety of instruments was explored through obse...
A questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate the factors that shape high-achieving young women's plans about further education, career development, having a child and combining work and motherhood. A sample of 92 grammar school girls aged 15 to 17 took part in the study. It was found that the education and career plans of these young women w...
The present study examines the impact of personal success or failure feedback on collective self-esteem and bias. The second corollary of the self-esteem hypothesis - that low or threatened self-esteem will motivate intergroup discrimination and Crocker and Luhtanen's (1990) self-enhancement hypothesis were examined. Collective self-esteem was affe...
A great deal of psychological research has examined predictors of compliance with health screening programmes. Previous research has not examined the impact of health 'scares' on these predictors. The present study examines changes in perceptions of the cervical screening programme from 1995 to 1998 as a consequence of the publicity surrounding scr...
This study examines the effects of an intervention that involves the compilation of a book of wartime experiences on a group of housebound older people who live in the community with the support of social services. Using the theoretical framework of the Hopelessness Theory of Depression (Abramson, Metalsky, & Alloy, 1989), we examine the impact of...
Since the 1970s the rate of change in the pattern of womens working lives has started to increase and this is particularly true of women with pre-school children. Approximately fifty percent of women with children under five now work. To date, research into womens participation in the labour force has tended to document trends and predict future ch...
The project will explore the manner in which young people aged 15-19 explain and evaluate their academic performance. Houston (1994) found that high ability individuals may explain their success and failure in a different manner from those who are less able, and differently from that predicted by previous research. The research will explore pattern...
The present study followed junior house officers from a study conducted by Houston and Allt (1997). Doctors were contacted at the end of the junior year and again eight weeks into the senior house officer year. Changes in psychological health and propensity to make errors were examined. It was predicted that there would be a significant decrease in...
The impact of a structured humorous activity on the psychological wellbeing of older people in residential settings was assessed. Residents who participated in the humorous activity were found to have significantly reduced levels of anxiety, as measured by the General Health Questionnaire, and significantly reduced levels of anxiety and depression,...
Objectives. The study examined the impact of beginning a junior house officer post on possible changes in psychological health and propensity to make errors. It was predicted that there would be a significant increase in psychological disturbance and error making following the onset of the post.
Design. Questionnaires were administered at two times...
A replication of Metalsky, Halberstadt & Abramson's (1987) test of the revised hopelessness model of depression was conducted. Depressive mood response to examination outcome was assessed in undergraduate students across two periods of examination. In phase 1, consistent with Metalsky et al. (1987), examination outcome was the sole predictor of dep...
Abramson, Metalsky and Alloy's (1989) revision of the reformulated model of helplessness and depression to hopelessness theory introduced the possibility of additional diatheses for depression. The present paper describes a laboratory-based test of the hopelessness model which provides an opportunity to explore the role of efficacy in relation to t...
The social psychological literature concerning the relationship between attribution and performance has documented the detrimental effects of particular types of attributional pattern on performance, expectancies and mood. The present paper reports three studies in which there was a consistent relationship between attributional style and actual per...
Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Kent at Canterbury, 1991.
The Cognitive Failures Questionnaire and the Self-Consciousness Scale were administered to a sample of undergraduate students. The Private Self-Consciousness and Social Anxiety subscales were significantly correlated with CFQ, suggesting that dispositional self-focused attention may be one underlying cause of cognitive failure. Similarities in the...
