We identify factors that influence the intent of undergraduate information systems majors to pursue IT certification. Previous research has revealed that IT/IS hiring managers may use certification as a job requirement or to differentiate between job candidates with similar levels of education and experience. As well, salary surveys have shown…

Previous research examining the effects of reducing the number of score groups used in the matching criterion of the Mantel-Haenszel procedure, when screening for differential item functioning, has produced ambiguous results. The goal of this study was to resolve the ambiguity by examining the problem with a simulated data set. The main results…

Current social psychological analysis of the self is characterized by three principles: the self is bounded and concrete; the opinions of others are valued for self-definition, self-evaluation and the maintenance of self-esteem; and the road to fame is paved with one's own actions. Attributions of causality for one's actions traditionally have…

Discusses observations of a group of boys who formed a study group under direction of a local charismatic rabbi in an Israeli slum. Discusses boys' transistion from delinquent to nondeliquent behavior in terms of reference group theory. Found major attracting factors of group to be warmth and caring with order and discipline. Discusses…

Authors Joshua Baran and Susan Rothbaum discuss why young people join cults; involvement with spiritual groups as part of the developmental search for identity; the comforting familiarity and security offered by authoritarian spiritual groups; and the ways institutions and counselors can deal with students drawn to or leaving such groups. (AYC)

A five-year longitudinal study was conducted on 11 beginning secondary teachers to investigate their reference group socialization. The study attempted to generate a grounded theory of ways in which teachers adapt the teacher role to meet their own personal needs. (JN)

The study attempted to show how sociological theory, and particularly group theory, may be incorporated into theoretical developments within the field. The author argues that variations in participation in voluntary adult education programs may be understood in terms of the programs' sociocultural content and socioeconomic effect. (Author/CH)

The aged live in a contracting social world. They rank their reference groups in the order of family, neighbors, and other friends. Friendships are formed primarily between old persons with similar status characteristics. (Author)

Examines the relationship between self-evaluation and social comparison in adolescent males during their last two years of high school. The question is empirically examined in two realms that capture primary features of the adolescent transition: physical transformation and social role reorganization. (Author/RH)

Longitudinal investigation into teenagers' reference groups revealed a consistency as to which kind of issue prompts peer orientation and which question results in parent consultation. The most important finding indicates a shift from parent to peer orientation over the past 16 years. (Author/DB)

A study of 334 Korean male immigrants in the Chicago area reveals that their mental well-being is likely to increase with length of residency and that the most significant variable is occupational satisfaction. (DM)

Performances of the Mantel Haenszel odds-ratio estimator and chi-square significance test were investigated using simulated data for 500 reference group and 500 focal group examinees. Results demonstrate the importance of using both the odds-ratio and significance tests in interpreting the presence or absence of differential item functioning. (SLD)

Presents a theory of male identity developed to address the question of why men vary in their masculinity ideology and in their conformity to standards of masculinity. An overview of relevant masculinity research, theoretical foundations for the construct of reference group identity dependence, theoretical postulates, associated behavioral, and…

This study explored the relationship between chronological age and subjective age in emerging adulthood. Predictors of variability in subjective age were also examined. A sample of 190 university students (140 females, 50 males) ages 17 to 29 completed questionnaires assessing their subjective age, psychosocial maturity, number of role…

Much research has investigated the processes by which individuals gain information about themselves through comparison with others. The simultaneous influence of different sources of social comparison referents and the level of relative performance on subjects' (N=60) allocation of rewards and satisfaction was examined. Male undergraduates,…