
Jerome TobacykLouisiana Tech University | Louisiana Tech · Department of Psychology
Jerome Tobacyk
Ph.D.
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88
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Introduction
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September 1996 - May 1997
September 1985 - February 1986
September 1977 - present
Publications
Publications (88)
Although proactive personality (Bateman & Crant, 1993), as a relatively stable disposition to bring about change in one's environment, is a central construct in the management and organizational behavior literature, questions have arisen about its definition and structure. To answer these questions, we present a tripartite model of proactive person...
This research describes the development and validation of a consumer locus of control (CLOC). CLOC is presumed to reflect the degree to which the individual consumer holds an Internal (i.e., an agentic, personally-responsible), rather than an External (i.e., a passive, dependent) expectation toward the marketing exchange. Rotter (1966) originally f...
This paper discusses the myth of consumer sovereignty (CS). In doing so, the paper examines how marketers impose further constraints on the already bounded rationality of consumers. The purpose of this paper is multifold: (1) to examine the full CS myth and its implications for the consumer and for society, (2) to present evidence from the behaviou...
Summary.—A Latvian version of the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale (RPBS) was completed by 229 Latvian university students. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed six relatively independent factors labeled Magical Abilities, Psychokinesis, Traditional Religious Belief, Superstition, Spirit Travel, and Extraordinary Life Forms. Based o...
The research applies the Material Values Scale (MVS; Richins and Dawson, 1992) cross-culturally by comparing materialism among Polish and American business students. Cultural differences (e.g., greater humanistic/collectivistic/Christian values in Poland) suggest lower MVS scores for Poles than for Americans. This prediction is consistent with the...
The acceptance phenomenon (i.e., the general tendency for persons to accept almost any bogus personality feedback; Layne, 1979) may be related to certain paranormal beliefs (Alcock, 1981; Hyman, 1981). Paranormal beliefs are beliefs in phenomena that, if authentic, violate basic limiting principles of science (Broad, 1953; Tobacyk & Milford, 1983)....
English-language versions of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (Form G) measure of psychological type and the NEO-FFI measure of the Big Five personality factors were completed by 57 Polish university students fluent in the English language. The pattern of correlations between MBTI and NEO-FFI scales for the Polish sample was compared to the pattern...
This research explored the relation between culture and creative potential in highly educated adults. It was hypothesized that culture would influence creative potential and achievement, largely through how individualistic (citizens serving themselves) or collectivistic (citizens serving society) the society of origin was. To this end, 55 American...
A 26-item Revised Paranormal Belief Scale is introduced which provides a measure of degree of belief in each of seven dimensions: Traditional Religious Belief, Psi, Witchcraft, Superstition,Spiritualism, Extraordinary Life Forms, and Precognition. Improvements from the original 25- item Paranormal Belief Scale (Tobacyk & Milford, 1983) include adop...
A quaternary model of temperament constructed from orthogonal axes defined by Extraversion-Introversion and Thinking-Feeling resulted in four groups: Introverted Thinking, Introverted Feeling, Extraverted Thinking, and Extraverted Feeling. Hypothesized relationships between quaternary groups and defense cluster preferences were tested by giving 158...
The effectiveness of an ecologically oriented approach in changing the self-concepts of 80 high-risk adolescents was investigated. Participants were administered a self-esteem scale before and after an eight-week psychoeducational program designed for dropout prevention. Results indicated significant reductions in dropout rates and increased self-e...
We tested whether persons with similar Psychological Types are found in the same occupation and academic majors in Poland and in the United States. A measure of Psychological Type was completed by three Polish samples: 71 managers; 107 marketing and management (M&M) students; and 75 English Language (EL) students. As hypothesized, the Psychological...
Reporters of out-of-body experiences (n = 21) and nonreporters (n = 159) showed no significant differences on the Spheres of Control Scale, Self-efficacy Scale, and Purpose in Life Scale. However, reporters of out-of-body experiences showed significantly greater belief in Psi, Spiritualism, and Extraordinary Life Forms than nonreporters.
Several problems are noted with Lawrence, Roe, & Williams' (1997) confirmatory factor analyses of Tobacyk's (1988) Revised Paranormal Belief Scale. The most serious problem is the misattribution of the Big Orthogonal Seven model of paranormal belief to Tobacyk and Milford. Because Tobacyk and Milford never proposed an Orthogonal Seven model of para...
This study examines the effects of the use of structuring on participants' impressions of a counselor during an initial career counseling session. A total of 232 undergraduate students viewed a videotape of an initial career counseling session. Both groups observed the identical tape with the exception that one group was additionally shown a brief...
This article presents a definitional and theoretical critique of Mittelman's notion of openness. An alternative conceptualization of self-actualizers as exemplars of loosely coupled personality systems is introduced. This loosely coupled personality system notion allows for a dialectical model of self-actualizers that might resolve seeming personal...
Relationships between sex-role self-concept and sales performance were investigated in a sample of majority Black female saleswomen. Although neither masculinity, Femininity, nor Androgyny were associated with higer sales performance, data revealed strong evidence for selection factors in these saleswomen. Sixty-four percent of these salespersons r...
This two-part study used Rotter's Social Learning Theory as a framework for comparing university students from Poland and from the Southern United States on (a) four belief-based personality constructs: paranormal beliefs, locus of control, irrational beliefs, and social interest; and (b) personality correlates of paranormal beliefs. Both Poles and...
In 1985, 100 Polish university students completed a Polish translation of Rotter's (1966) Internal-External Locus of Control Scale. A second group of 100 Polish students, selected for similarity of age, sex, major, and university to the first group, completed this same scale in 1991, following the profound sociocultural changes associated with demo...
University students from Finland and the southern United States were compared in (a) paranormal beliefs; (b) four personality adjustment constructs-alienation, anomie, death concerns, and death threat; and (c) relationships between paranormal beliefs and these personality adjustment constructs. Americans reported significantly greater belief in Tra...
Examined the relationship between paranormal beliefs (traditional religious belief, psi, witchcraft, superstition, spiritualism, extraordinary life forms, and precognition) and preferences for games of chance (GOC). 235 college students completed the Paranormal Belief Scale and 6 items concerning preference for GOC. Significant correlations were fo...
109 female and 71 male university students completed the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale and the Self-efficacy Scale. Superstition subscale scores showed significant inverse correlations with general self-efficacy and social self-efficacy among the women, supporting the link between superstitious beliefs and less effective personality functioning....
Administered the Paranormal Belief Scale and the Prediction of Future Events Scale to 235 university students. As hypothesized, greater belief in superstition was significantly associated with greater belief in 2 prediction of future events dimensions: paranormal divinatory procedures and psychically gifted persons. Findings are consistent with the...
-In 1981 Nideffer stated that sport performance could be predicted if attentional demands of the task and the attentional abilities of the athlete were known. A simple closed type skill was chosen (powerlifting) where attentional demands were later suggested to be narrow and internal. Attentional style was assessed bv Pratt and Nideffer's abbreviat...
The lunar hypothesis, that is, the notion that lunar phases can directly affect human behavior, was tested by time-series analysis of 4,575 crisis center telephone calls (all calls recorded for a 6-month interval). As expected, the lunar hypothesis was not supported. The 28-day lunar cycle accounted for less than 1% of the variance of the frequency...
Three hundred forty-nine American college students rated 60 beliefs about predicting future events. The items were factor analyzed revealing seven dimensions: Paranormal Divinatory Procedures, Psychically Gifted Persons, Scientifically Validated Forecasting Procedures, Animal Behavioral Prediction, Everyone Can Predict the Future, Religious Determi...
211 college students completed the Self-monitoring Scale, the Traditional Religious Belief subscale of the Paranormal Belief Scale, and the Threat Index measure of death threat and self-esteem. As hypothesized, the low self-monitoring group showed the largest and only significant rs between Traditional Religious Belief and the two criteria—death th...
The Belief in Lunar Effects scale and the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale were given to 102 college students and 87 crisis center workers. Similar patterns of correlations between these scales were recorded for both samples. Belief in Lunar Effects scale scores showed significant direct correlations with belief in Psi, Extraordinary Life Forms, Wit...
Paranormal beliefs of 250 black and 208 white university students from the Southern United States were compared on the Paranormal Belief Scale. This sample of black students reported significantly greater belief than the sample of white students in Superstition, Witchcraft, Spiritualism, and Precognition. The white students showed significantly gre...
Relationships between paranormal beliefs and locus of control were studied, using multidimensional operationalizations of both constructs. The Paranormal Belief Scale and Paulhus's Spheres of Control Scale were administered to 349 introductory college students. As hypothesized, significant correlations showed predicted relationships between (a) gre...
71 members of a retirees' group ( M age = 68 yr.) in northern Louisiana completed the Paranormal Belief Scale. The elder sample showed significantly less belief than a university student comparison group on Psi, Witchcraft, Superstition, Spiritualism, Extraordinary Life Forms, and Precognition. Findings probably reflect both generational and develo...
We present a psychological interpretation of the effects of Pope John Paul II's 1979 visit to Poland. It is demonstrated that participation in the massive gatherings that accompanied this papal visit facilitated experiences of self-transcendence in participants, and further that the effects of these gatherings on societal consciousness played a sig...
When the relationship between narcissism and social interest was investigated by administering a social interest scale and a narcissistic personality inventory to 78 counselors-in-training (age 23–54 yrs), results suggest a tendency for increased social interest to be associated with less narcissistic tendencies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012...
Relationships between the out-of-body experience and personality adjustment were studied. A total of 445 college students, including 65 reporting out-of-body experiences, completed self-report measures of death orientation, defensive style, narcissism, paranormal beliefs, self-concept, and social desirability. No significant differences were found...
Administered the Narcissistic Personality Inventory and a paranormal belief scale to 383 college students. Significant direct correlations were obtained between narcissism and belief in psi and in precognition. When the Ss were divided into 56 who reported out-of-body experiences and 327 nonreporters, an interaction emerged. Among the former, narci...
A method for increasing student involvement and understanding in histo7 of psychology courses is described. The method is based on a modification of the Role Construct Repertory Test from Kelly's personal construct theory.
This study further extended the application of Holland's typology by predicting which magazines certain personality types would select.
Conducted 2 studies based on constructs derived from G. A. Kelly's (1955) personal construct theory and A. Ellis's (1962) rational emotive therapy to measure the predictability of anxiety using Kelly's measure of threat and Ellis's measure of irrational beliefs. In Exp I, 33 college music majors were tested at the beginning of the academic quarter...
The 1780 census estimates indicate that 15% of elderly persons suffer from depression and that the suicide rate for those 55 yr. of age or older (18.5 per 100,000) is almost a third higher than that for the general public (12.6 per 100,000). In addition, 16% of nursing home residents age 65 yr. or older have a primary diagnosis of mental illness or...
The Paranormal Belief Scale, Alienation Scale, and Anomie Scale were given to 168 college students. Significant hypothesized relationships linked belief in Superstition with greater alienation and anomie and greater belief in Spiritualism with greater alienation. No evidence was found that greater Traditional Religious Belief was associated with si...
This study tested the correspondence between the general semantics notion of intensionality and Ellis' Irrational Beliefs. It was hypothesized that greater intensionality would be associated with greater endorsement of irrational beliefs. 73 introductory college students completed the “Is” of Identity measure of intensionality and an Irrational Bel...
38 high school students identified their top 15 hassles and uplifts. The results tend to support previous findings with this particular population. Counseling considerations are mentioned.
The Paranormal Belief Scale and the Is of Identity Scale were given to two different samples of college students ( ns = 75 and 171). As hypothesized, for both samples but for men only, greater reported belief in Superstition was associated with Is of Identity scores reflecting greater intensionality.
The Paranormal Belief Scale was given to high school students in Grade 11 (95 boys, 98 girls). This scale provides a total Paranormal Belief Score, plus scores on each of seven paranormal subscales: Traditional Religious Belief, Psi Belief, Witchcraft, Spiritualism, Superstition, Extraordinary Life Forms, and Precognition. Paranormal scale/subscale...
The Paranormal Belief Scale and a self-report item concerning college grade point average were given to 307 introductory psychology students. As hypothesized, greater reported belief in both Superstition and in Witchcraft subscales were significantly associated with lower grade point average. These relationships, although statistically significant,...
Data on a brief mental status schedule (Memory Check) and a behavior rating scale of mental impairment (Functional Behavior Survey) are presented which support the use of these instruments in research and survey work with both community and institutionalized aged. Based on a factorially derived concept of mental competence, the two instruments show...
The Paranormal Belief Scale, Interpersonal Trust Scale, and Social Interest Scale were administered to 60 college students. No significant correlations were obtained between interpersonal trust and paranormal beliefs. Social Interest, as hypothesized, showed a significant direct correlation with Traditional Religious Belief as well as significant i...
Relationships among death threat, death concerns, and paranormal beliefs were investigated in a personal construct theory framework. First, the Threat Index measure of death threat and the Paranormal Belief Scale, which provides a measure of degree of belief in each of seven paranormal dimensions, were administered to 78 college students. As hypoth...
A 25-item self-report questionnaire designed to assess belief in the paranormal was constructed, based on the results from factor analysis of a 61-item pool administered to 391 college students. Factor analysis revealed 7 independent dimensions composing belief in the paranormal. These factors were Traditional Religious Belief, Psi Belief, Witchcra...
110 college students were given the Paranormal Belief Scale and a 10 (people) × 15 (constructs) form of Kelly's (1955) Role Construct Repertory Grid from which a measure of cognitive complexity (differentiation of the person's personal construct system) was derived. Contrary to hypothesis, no relationship was found between cognitive complexity scor...
73 college students completed the Paranormal Belief Scale and the Trait Anxiety Scale. Contrary to hypotheses, neither full Paranormal Scale Scores nor any of seven paranormal subscale scores showed significant correlations with Trait Anxiety Scale scores. These findings support the notion that paranormal beliefs are not associated with less adequa...
Tested the validity of Ellis' contention that irrational beliefs (1) are held dogmatically and (2) interfere with logical inference making. Ninty-two introductory psychology students completed an Irrational Belief Scale (based on Ellis' Irrational Beliefs), a Dogmatism Scale, and an Uncritical Inference Test. As hypothesized, significant correlatio...
Personality differentiation was measured by an index computed from 72 female undergraduates' rod-and-frame test and Embedded Figures Test scores. Effectiveness of personality integration was measured by the Ego Identity Incomplete Sentences Blank. Personal Feelings scales were used as the mood assessment instrument. The final sample of 31 Ss rated...
College students (122 males and 88 females) completed the Group Embedded Figures Test measure of field-dependence, and Sensation-Seeking Scale, and performed preference ratings on 40 slides of paintings. Factor analysis revealed six hypothesized and one unhypothesized preference dimensions that underlay preference ratings of paintings. It was hypot...
89 college students completed the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire and made ratings of preference on 23 selected slides of photographs. Factor analysis of students' ratings of preference indicated factors corresponding to photograph themes of aggression, form, and innocence/children. Four of six hypothesized relationships between 16 Personality...
The Bem Sex-role Inventory and the Sensation Seeking Scale were completed by 129 female and 159 male undergraduates for whom it was hypothesized that masculinity would be directly associated with sensation seeking, while femininity would be inversely associated with sensation seeking. As hypothesized, for both males and females, masculinity was sig...
A four part investigation of death orientation in college students using the provided-construct form of the Threat Index and the Death Concern Scale was conducted. Part I investigated the construct validity of the Threat Index, reporting significant predicted correlations of the Threat Index with the Death Concern Scale, Trait Anxiety Scale, and Re...
College students (49 males and 40 females) completed the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire and performed 5-point preference ratings on 25 slides of paintings. Factor analysis of preference ratings gave seven dimensions of preference that underlay judgments. Eight significant relationships were found between source traits, measured by the Six...
Challenges E. Gologor's (1978) contention that research concerning positive characteristics of people might be disruptive, as it could be discovered that people possess considerable potential for evil. A paradigm is presented that allows an objective evaluation of the effects of deception-disclosure on a given psychological phenomenon or procedure.
Firstborn college students showed more death threat than middle- or laterborns. The firstborns also reported less conscious concern about death than the other two groups. Larger samples are needed as well as controls for factors like family size.
values might be viewed as providing a reflection of the more general expressive or instmmental orientations. To speculate, the 'end states' described by terminal values appear congruent with the expressive orientation (reflecting the internal affairs of a system), while the 'modes of conduct' described by instrumental values appear congruent with t...
Rotter's (9) Internal-External Locus of Control Scale was translated into Polish and administered to 199 female Polish university students. Item responses were intercorrelated and factor analyzed. Findings were compared to results previously obtained for a female American university student sample. Consistent with hypotheses, two factors were obtai...
Studied H. Lefcourt and M. Telegdi's concepts of congruence and incongruence between perceptual skills and expectancies. 132 undergraduates were given Rotter's Internal-External Control Scale and the rod-and-frame test. 4 groups were formed, with 5 male and 5 female Ss with extreme scores in each group. As predicted, the 2 theoretically congruent g...
Typescript. Thesis--University of Florida. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 154-157).