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Biomedical subjects

K L Dion

Publications and source records attributed to K L Dion.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Using and misusing factor analysis to explore group cohesion.

Group cohesion is an important construct in understanding the behavior of different types of groups. However, controversy exists about how to conceptualize and measure cohesion, and a central issue is its dimensionality. Consequently, researchers have used factor analysis to examine the structure of the construct of cohesion and measures of it. Our goals in writing this article were to review critically how factor analysis has been used to understand group cohesion, make some recommendations for future factor analytic work, and point out some weaknesses and strengths in using factor analysis to explore cohesion.

Bias↗
PubMed1992

Correlates of appearance anxiety in late adolescence and early adulthood among young women.

The relation of childhood and early adolescent social experiences with young women's concern over physical appearance (appearance anxiety) in late adolescence and early adulthood was examined. Female under-graduates completed questionnaires assessing appearance anxiety and a questionnaire assessing childhood and early adolescent experiences hypothesized to relate to appearance anxiety as well as current behaviors hypothesized to reflect it. The results suggest that appearance anxiety in women is related to reported negative social experiences in childhood and early adolescence. These experiences were suggested to lead to dissatisfaction with their childhood and early adolescent appearances which in turn was related to appearance anxiety in late adolescence and early adulthood. Appearance anxiety was also found to be related to current social experiences. The most obvious manifestation of appearance anxiety in young women was relatively greater reported attention to improving their appearance.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Ethnicity and sex as correlates of depression symptoms in a Canadian university sample.

Differences in the extent of depression symptoms were explored in a sample of Canadian university students representing Anglo-Celtic, South European, North European, East European, South Asian, and East Asian ethnocultural backgrounds in Toronto, one of the world's most ethnically diverse cities. Consistent with expectations, sex and ethnic differences in the self-reported strength of depression symptoms, as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), were found. Women scored higher overall on total BDI scores and were proportionally more apt to be classified as mildly depressed (by having scored 10 or more on the BDI) than men. Similarly, as regards ethnicity, students from South Asian and South European ethnic backgrounds scored higher on the BDI and were also more likely to be classifiable as mildly depressed than those from either East European or Anglo-Celtic backgrounds. An explanation emphasizing the role of societal discrimination in producing feelings of learned helplessness and subsequent depression is proposed to account for the sex and ethnic differences in depression symptoms we and others have observed.

Acculturation↗
PubMed1987

Relative deprivation theory and responses to discrimination in a gay male and lesbian sample.

Relative deprivation (RD) theory states that the perception of the relative positions of one's group and an out-group in terms of status and privilege is psychologically important. RD theory predictions for members of oppressed groups include increased endorsement of militant acts, decreased feelings of control and life-satisfaction as a function of perceived relative deprivation and perceived discrimination. In the present study, these predictions were tested with 74 members of Toronto's gay male and lesbian community. RD measures encompassed the cognitive-affective (i.e. concerned with knowledge vs. feelings about the deprivation) and egoistical-fraternal (i.e. concerned with the status of the individual vs. the in-group) dimensions, with a measure of concrete fraternal discrimination (CFD) also included for comparison. The results indicated that CFD was the best predictor of increased militancy, decreased control and decreased satisfaction. Implications for RD theory are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

The Honi phenomenon revisited: factors underlying the resistance to perceptual distortion of one's partner.

An individual being viewed in an Ames room usually appears considerably altered in physical size to an observer. However, some married persons perceive less size distortion of their spouses than a stranger. This instance of selective perceptual distortion, known as the Honi phenomenon, could perhaps reflect differential familiarity and/or emotional involvement toward these stimulus persons. Using heterosexual couples as subjects, we investigated familiarity (i.e., length of the relationship), type of relationship (i.e., dating, engaged, or married), and positive cathexis (i.e., love, liking, and trust of one's partner) as possible mediators of this effect and also explored the impact of some judgemental variations. Neither familiarity nor type of relationship influenced relative perceptual distortion of partner versus stranger. Rather, selective perceptual distortion was directly related to the strength of positive cathexis, principally among females. Only women high in positive cathexis exhibited the Honi phenomenon and perceived a stranger as being more distorted than their partners. In contrast, size judgements by men were affected only by the sequence in which stimulus persons were observed. Implications and interpretations of these findings are discussed.

Awareness↗
PubMed1975

The phenomenology of being a target of prejudice.

The effects of preceived prejudice upon affect and self-evaluation were explored by experimentally investigating the reactions of Jews to failure in an interpersonal situation. Subjects attributing their failure to religious discrimination by gentiles reported feeling more aggression, sadness, anxiety, and egotism on the Mood Adjective Check List than those who could not invoke anti-Semitism as an explanation for their failure. Moreover, they indicated less "social affection," particularly when one of the prejudiced opponents constituted the audience for their self-presentation. Finally, in response in perceived prejudice, subjects also evaluated themselves more favorably on positive traits underlying the Jewish stereotype. These findings were explained in terms of a stress interpretation.

Adolescent↗