Understanding and assessing the motivations of volunteers: a functional approach.

The authors applied functionalist theory to the question of the motivations underlying volunteerism, hypothesized 6 functions potentially served by volunteerism, and designed an instrument to assess these functions (Volunteer Functions Inventory; VFI). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on diverse samples yielded factor solutions consistent with functionalist theorizing; each VFI motivation, loaded on a single factor, possessed substantial internal consistency and temporal stability and correlated only modestly with other VFI motivations (Studies 1, 2, and 3). Evidence for predictive validity is provided by a laboratory study in which VFI motivations predicted the persuasive appeal of messages better when message and motivation were matched than mismatched (Study 4), and by field studies in which the extent to which volunteers' experiences matched their motivations predicted satisfaction (Study 5) and future intentions (Study 6). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Stereotyping of the elderly: a functional approach.

In two studies, we investigated the functions served by stereotyping of the elderly. Theoretical analysis suggested that stereotyping of the elderly may serve a cognitive economy function (that is, by reducing processing demands on the perceiver), an ego protective function (that is, by protecting the self from perceived threats), and/or a social function (that is, by helping identify with a social in-group). We designed interventions, intended to reduce stereotyping of the elderly, based on these three hypothesized functions and administered them to male and female college students. The results showed that, compared to a no-intervention control, the ego protection intervention effectively reduced stereotyping in an illusory correlation task for women. By contrast, the ego protection intervention appeared to have a stereotype-arousing effect for men. A second study involving only the ego protection intervention generally replicated these basic findings. We discuss possible sources of these differential effects, as well as implications of this research for a functional approach to stereotyping.