Autonomy and Resistance to Authority

2015 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Auzoult

This research examines the impact of autonomy on the behavior of participants faced with an authority figure. More specifically, it examines obedience behaviors and behaviors related to subterfuge, as studied by Milgram in his work on obedience to authority. The protocol used here is a new measure of obedience and disobedience which allows us to record compliant behavior, withdrawal from the activity, and sabotage (subterfuge). A total of 105 participants, separated into groups, were asked to perform a tedious and pointless task (copy down a page from the telephone directory) after their autonomy had been assessed using Beck’s Sociotropy-Autonomy Scale. Only one participant refused to participate. The results show that autonomy is associated with disobedience. This study suggests that individuals faced with an authority figure show greater freedom than has been suggested by previous experiments, producing less visible forms of disobedience than the refusal to participate. The nature of the measure of obedience is discussed, particularly because of the role of attention in the activity.

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amira Galin

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to obtain insight into court-referred mediation in the Israeli Labor Courts, by analyzing its processes and outcomes, as a function of tactics used by both the disputants and the mediator. Design/methodology/approach – Observation of 103 court-referred mediations, for each of which a detailed process and outcome were documented. Data on disputants' refusal to participate in the mediation was also collected. At the end of each mediation case, disputants were given a questionnaire in which they expressed their satisfaction with the outcome and their evaluation of the mediator's contribution. Findings – A low rate of refusal to participate in court-referred mediation was found. Also, the higher the ratio of soft tactics to pressure tactics employed (by all parties involved) during the process, the higher the rate of agreements. Mediators use significantly more soft tactics than disputants, and are more active in using tactics. The two significant variables that predict the mediation's agreement are the ratio between soft tactics to pressure tactics used by all parties, and mediator contribution to the process. Practical implications – The significant role of soft tactics in the process, outcome, and satisfaction of court-referred mediation may serve as a guideline for disputants and mediators. Originality/value – This unique research, which examines the impact of tactics on court-referred mediation, may provide added and significant theoretical insight into its process and outcome, as well as a better understanding of other “hybrid” (compulsory at the beginning, voluntary at the end) mediations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renaud G. Rinaldi ◽  
Lionel Manin ◽  
Sébastien Moineau ◽  
Nicolas Havard

The performance of a table tennis racket is often associated with subjective or quantitative criteria such as the adhesion, the control and the speed. Overall, the so-called performance aims at characterizing the impact with the ball. Ultimately, the polymeric layers glued onto the wooden blade play a key role, as evidenced in a previous work where the normal linear (no spin) impact of a ball onto polymeric layers was experimentally and numerically investigated. In this work, more realistic loading conditions leading to varying the incident angle and spin of the ball, were explored. While the sole linear restitution coefficient was determined in the anterior normal impact study, new physical metrics were identified to describe fully the trajectory of the reflected ball after impact. A companion 3D finite elements model was developed where the polymeric time-dependent dissipative compliant behavior measured with dynamic mechanical analysis and compression tests was accounted for. The confrontations with the experimental data highlighted the key role of the polymer intrinsic properties along with the friction coefficient between the ball and the polymer external layer.


2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
María José Rendón ◽  
Guerda Nicolas

Haitian women constitute a group that is lauded within Haiti as the “pillar of society” and yet is also often silenced both within Haiti and abroad. Given the role of the media in shaping attitudes and behaviors toward Women of Color, evaluation of media portrayals is critical to challenge oppressive discourses about these groups. Therefore, in this study, the authors conducted a thematic analysis of 650 photographs of Haitian women in the Associated Press Photo Archive in the years 1994–2009. The analysis comprised a two-step process: First, the authors identified coding categories through an inductive analysis of the data; later, these categories were analyzed from a feminist poststructuralist framework to generate themes that could describe how Haitian women are positioned in relation to media consumers. The three themes generated—“Negotiating Power and Resistance,” “Enacting Haitian Culture,” and “Showcasing Affliction”—delineate the media’s tendency to emphasize the “otherness” in Haitian women, as well as to characterize this group as victims in need of rescuing by powerful others. The authors conclude by emphasizing the impact of these images on the identity of Haitian women and Women of Color, as well as on the attitudes and behaviors of media consumers toward these groups.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Zhen Wang

<p>This paper examines the role of China’s national identities and the impact on its foreign aid policies and practices. The multiple identities shape China’s role as a development partner in pursuit of economic cooperation with aid recipients and that seek to engage with traditional aid donors in terms of aid delivery. To explore the influence of national identities-the victimhood identity, the developing country identity and the rising responsible power identity behind China’s foreign aid policies and behaviors, this thesis uses a solid theoretical foundation-Constructivism. It analyses two empirical cases, the Fiji and the Cook Islands from 2006 to 2013, drawing from a large chunk of literature from English and Chinese publications, government documents, and relevant websites. The thesis finds that China’s aid policies and behaviors are mainly consistent with its victimhood and developing country identities. The country regards itself as a development partner rather than an aid donor and places great emphasis on mutual benefit and non-interference principles with a large proportion of its aid focused on infrastructure, construction-based projects. However, it also uncovers that China has started to address aid recipients’ demands. The country has also learned how to handle aid programs from other donor countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, which is incorporated into China’s new rising responsible power identity. The research aims to challenge the dominated rationality-based analysis and hopes to trigger further discussion about China’s aid and development.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Zhen Wang

<p>This paper examines the role of China’s national identities and the impact on its foreign aid policies and practices. The multiple identities shape China’s role as a development partner in pursuit of economic cooperation with aid recipients and that seek to engage with traditional aid donors in terms of aid delivery. To explore the influence of national identities-the victimhood identity, the developing country identity and the rising responsible power identity behind China’s foreign aid policies and behaviors, this thesis uses a solid theoretical foundation-Constructivism. It analyses two empirical cases, the Fiji and the Cook Islands from 2006 to 2013, drawing from a large chunk of literature from English and Chinese publications, government documents, and relevant websites. The thesis finds that China’s aid policies and behaviors are mainly consistent with its victimhood and developing country identities. The country regards itself as a development partner rather than an aid donor and places great emphasis on mutual benefit and non-interference principles with a large proportion of its aid focused on infrastructure, construction-based projects. However, it also uncovers that China has started to address aid recipients’ demands. The country has also learned how to handle aid programs from other donor countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, which is incorporated into China’s new rising responsible power identity. The research aims to challenge the dominated rationality-based analysis and hopes to trigger further discussion about China’s aid and development.</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 7948
Author(s):  
Sejung Park

This research adds to the growing body of literature on the role of celebrities as emergent spokespersons in climate advocacy using Twitter. This study investigates the effects of framing of celebrities’ messages (emotional framing and framing of celebrity involvement) on public attitudes and behaviors to address climate change. A sequential mediation process is examined with structural equation modeling. In addition, this study assesses the role of parasocial relationship (PSR) with celebrities as predictors and moderators of the impact of framing of celebrity involvement. The results indicate that fear appeals were more effective than hope appeals in driving participation in activism, but emotional framing did not affect any other variables. Framing of celebrity involvement appeals using first-person pronouns led to more positive attitudes, but had no effect on behaviors. In addition, PSR was a strong positive predictor of attitudes and behaviors.


Crisis ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bonnie Klimes-Dougan ◽  
David A. Klingbeil ◽  
Sarah J. Meller

Background: While the ultimate goal of adolescent suicide-prevention efforts is to decrease the incidence of death by suicide, a critical intermediary goal is directing youths toward effective sources of assistance. Aim: To comprehensively review the universal prevention literature and examine the effects of universal prevention programs on student’s attitudes and behaviors related to help-seeking. Method: We systematically reviewed studies that assessed help-seeking outcomes including prevention efforts utilizing (1) psychoeducational curricula, (2) gatekeeper training, and (3) public service messaging directed at youths. Of the studies reviewed, 17 studies evaluated the help-seeking outcomes. These studies were identified through a range of sources (e.g., searching online databases, examining references of published articles on suicide prevention). Results: The results of this review suggest that suicide-prevention programming has a limited impact on help-seeking behavior. Although there was some evidence that suicide-prevention programs had a positive impact on students’ help-seeking attitudes and behaviors, there was also evidence of no effects or iatrogenic effects. Sex and risk status were moderators of program effects on students help-seeking. Conclusions: Caution is warranted when considering which suicidal prevention interventions best optimize the intended goals. The impact on adolescents’ help-seeking behavior is a key concern for educators and mental-health professionals.


2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 311-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Brambilla ◽  
David A. Butz

Two studies examined the impact of macrolevel symbolic threat on intergroup attitudes. In Study 1 (N = 71), participants exposed to a macrosymbolic threat (vs. nonsymbolic threat and neutral topic) reported less support toward social policies concerning gay men, an outgroup whose stereotypes implies a threat to values, but not toward welfare recipients, a social group whose stereotypes do not imply a threat to values. Study 2 (N = 78) showed that, whereas macrolevel symbolic threat led to less favorable attitudes toward gay men, macroeconomic threat led to less favorable attitudes toward Asians, an outgroup whose stereotypes imply an economic threat. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding the role of a general climate of threat in shaping intergroup attitudes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 56-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna Hofmann ◽  
Carl-Walter Kohlmann

Abstract. Positive affectivity (PA) and negative affectivity (NA) are basic traits that affect work-related perceptions and behaviors and should be considered in any assessment of these variables. A quite common method to assess healthy or unhealthy types of work-related perceptions and behaviors is the questionnaire on Work-Related Coping Behavior and Experience Patterns (WCEP). However, the association of PA and NA with WCEP remained unclear. In a sample of teachers, physiotherapists, and teacher students ( N = 745; Mage = 35.07, SD = 12.49; 78% females), we aimed to identify the relevance of these basic traits. After controlling for age, gender, and type of occupation, we found main effects of PA and NA, with the specific combination of PA and NA being decisive for predicting the assignment to a WCEP type. The results highlight the need to include PA and NA in future assessments with the WCEP questionnaire.


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