Just a role
Daniel Byrd et al.
Race and Social Problems, September 2015, Pages 227-241
Abstract:
The current study examined whether politically non-conservative (i.e., liberal and moderate) Whites demonstrate an explicit bias in favor of Black versus White politicians on measures of political support and whether these assessments are influenced by implicit racial bias against Blacks. To address this, 671 non-conservative Whites were presented with political speeches paired with a photograph of either a Black or a White politician implied to have given the speech and were then asked to read the speech and evaluate the politician on a number of dimensions. Results showed that participants rated Black politicians more favorably than White politicians on measures of political support, including a willingness to vote for, donate money to, and report confidence in the politician. Importantly, the favorability bias observed on these measures was not influenced by implicit racial biases. When evaluating Black politicians’ intelligence, however, an explicit favorability bias (higher overall ratings of Black compared to White politicians) was moderated by implicit racial bias. Implicit pro-White/anti-Black racial bias was associated with lower ratings of perceived intelligence of Black politicians, but not White politicians, such that the favorability bias was effectively eliminated for intelligence ratings. Our findings are consistent with previous research suggesting that although White non-conservatives may go out of their way to demonstrate outward support for Blacks, deep-rooted negative attitudes about Blacks may remain, which can potentially undermine true support for Blacks in politics.
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Whose family fits? Categorization and evaluation of same-sex and cross-race-parent families
David Kille & Crystal Tse
Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, forthcoming
Abstract:
As family structures diversify, attitudes towards “nontraditional” families (e.g., same-sex-parent and cross-race families) appear to be becoming more favorable. Despite more favorable attitudes, we propose that explicitly and implicitly people view nontraditional families as less family-like than traditional (i.e., heterosexual, same-race) families. We also propose that people will hold the behavior of nontraditional (vs. traditional) families to higher standards. In Study 1, participants explicitly rated nontraditional (vs. traditional) family photos as less family-like and as less loving. In Study 2, using a reaction-time measure, participants took longer to correctly categorize nontraditional (vs. traditional) families into the family category, suggesting that at an implicit level people have greater difficulty recognizing nontraditional families as “family.” In Studies 3 and 4, ambiguous (i.e., positive and negative) behavior licensed more harsh evaluations of a nontraditional family — but did not affect evaluations of a traditional family — relative to learning only positive family behavior. Despite survey data that suggest that people’s views of nontraditional families are becoming more favorable, our evidence indicates that people nonetheless harbor prejudice against certain family structures. Beyond documenting two biases against nontraditional families, this work highlights the need for prejudice researchers to examine meaningful levels of social identity, such as family units, that are intermediate between individuals and broad social classes.
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Genetic Determinism, Technology Optimism, and Race: Views of the American Public
Jennifer Hochschild & Maya Sen
ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, September 2015, Pages 160-180
Abstract:
We begin with a typology of Americans’ understanding of the links between genetic inheritance and racial or ethnic groups. The typology has two dimensions: one running from genetic determinism to social construction, and the other from technology optimism to technology pessimism. Construing each dimension as a dichotomy enables four distinct political perspectives on the possibilities for reducing racial inequality in the United States through genomics. We then use a new public opinion survey to analyze Americans’ use of the typology. Survey respondents who perceive that some phenotypes are more prevalent in one group than another due to genetic factors are disproportionately technology optimists. Republicans and Democrats are equally likely to hold that set of views, as are self-identified blacks, whites, and Latinos. The article discusses the findings and speculates about alternative interpretations of the fact that partisanship and group identity do not differentiate Americans in their views of the links between genetic inheritance and racial inequality.
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Madelijn Strick, Peter Stoeckart & Ap Dijksterhuis
Consciousness and Cognition, November 2015, Pages 206–218
Abstract:
It is a common research finding that conscious thought helps people to avoid racial discrimination. These three experiments, however, illustrate that conscious thought may increase biased face memory, which leads to increased judgment bias (i.e., preferring White to Black individuals). In Experiments 1 and 2, university students formed impressions of Black and White housemate candidates. They judged the candidates either immediately (immediate decision condition), thought about their judgments for a few minutes (conscious thought condition), or performed an unrelated task for a few minutes (unconscious thought condition). Conscious thinkers and immediate decision-makers showed a stronger face memory bias than unconscious thinkers, and this mediated increased judgment bias, although not all results were significant. Experiment 3 used a new, different paradigm and showed that a Black male was remembered as darker after a period of conscious thought than after a period of unconscious thought. Implications for racial prejudice are discussed.
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The development of implicit gender attitudes
Yarrow Dunham, Andrew Scott Baron & Mahzarin Banaji
Developmental Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
The development course of implicit and explicit gender attitudes between the ages of 5 and adulthood is investigated. Findings demonstrate that implicit and explicit own-gender preferences emerge early in both boys and girls, but implicit own-gender preferences are stronger in young girls than boys. In addition, female participants' attitudes remain largely stable over development, whereas male participants' implicit and explicit attitudes show an age-related shift towards increasing female positivity. Gender attitudes are an anomaly in that social evaluations dissociate from social status, with both male and female participants tending to evaluate female more positively than male.
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When Societal Norms and Social Identity Collide: The Race Talk Dilemma for Racial Minority Children
Kristin Pauker, Evan Apfelbaum & Brian Spitzer
Social Psychological and Personality Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Racial minorities face a unique “race talk” dilemma in contemporary American society: Their racial background is often integral to their identity and how others perceive them, yet talk of race is taboo. This dilemma highlights the conflict between two fundamental social processes: social identity development and social norm adherence. To examine how, and with what costs, this dilemma is resolved, 9- to 12-year-old Latino, Asian, Black, and White children (N = 108) completed a photo identification task in which acknowledging racial difference is beneficial to performance. Results indicate minority children are just as likely to avoid race as White children, and such avoidance exacted a cost to performance and nonverbal comfort. Results suggest that teachers are particularly important social referents for instilling norms regarding race. Norms that equate color blindness with socially appropriate behavior appear more broadly influential than previously thought, stifling talk of race even among those for whom it may be most meaningful.
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The numerology of gender: Gendered perceptions of even and odd numbers
James Wilkie & Galen Bodenhausen
Frontiers in Psychology, June 2015
Abstract:
Do numbers have gender? Wilkie and Bodenhausen (2012) examined this issue in a series of experiments on perceived gender. They examined the perceived gender of baby faces and foreign names. Arbitrary numbers presented with these faces and names influenced their perceived gender. Specifically, odd numbers connoted masculinity, while even numbers connoted femininity. In two new studies (total N = 315), we further examined the gendering of numbers. The first study examined explicit ratings of 1-digit numbers. We confirmed that odd numbers seemed masculine while even numbers seemed feminine. Although both men and women showed this pattern, it was more pronounced among women. We also examined whether this pattern holds for automatic as well as deliberated reactions. Results of an Implicit Association Test showed that it did, but only among the women. The implicit and explicit patterns of numerical gender ascription were moderately correlated. The second study examined explicit perceptions of 2-digit numbers. Again, women viewed odd numbers as more masculine and less feminine than even numbers. However, men viewed 2-digit numbers as relatively masculine, regardless of whether they were even or odd. These results indicate that women and men impute gender to numbers in different ways and to different extents. We discuss possible implications for understanding how people relate to and are influenced by numbers in a variety of real-life contexts.
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Betina Cutaia Wilkinson, James Garand & Johanna Dunaway
Race and Social Problems, September 2015, Pages 181-197
Abstract:
Previous research has shown that skin tone influences how individuals perceive themselves and others. There is considerable variation in skin tone between and among whites, Latinos, and blacks, and considering the role of skin tone in shaping racial attitudes is potentially important. In this paper, we explore the effects of skin tone on perceptions of commonality and competition among whites, blacks, and Latinos. Simply, does skin tone shape how whites, blacks, and Latinos view each other? Using data from the 2010 Cooperative Congressional Election Study, we explore the effects of individual self-perceptions of skin tone on racial attitudes. We find that skin tone has an effect only on blacks’ perceptions of Hispanics; light-skinned blacks are less likely to perceive commonality and more likely to perceive employment competition with Latinos, relative to blacks with darker skin tones. We also find some evidence to suggest that the effect of skin tone on blacks’ perceptions of commonality with Latinos is moderated by education.
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The Sexualized Girl: A Within-Gender Stereotype Among Elementary School Children
Ellen Stone, Christia Spears Brown & Jennifer Jewell
Child Development, forthcoming
Abstract:
Two studies (conducted in 2013) examined whether elementary-aged children endorse a within-gender stereotype about sexualized girls. In Study 1, children (N = 208) ages 6–11 rated sexualized girls as more popular but less intelligent, athletic, and nice compared to nonsexualized girls. These distinctions were stronger for girls and older children, and in accordance with our developmental intergroup theoretical framework, were related to children's cognitive development and media exposure. Study 2 (N = 155) replicated the previous findings using more ecologically valid and realistic images of girls and further explored individual differences in the endorsement of the sexualized girl stereotype. Additional results indicated that the belief that girls should be appearance focused predicted their endorsement of the sexualized girl stereotype.
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Playing their game: Changing stereotypes of Palestinians and Israelis through videogame play
Saleem Alhabash & Kevin Wise
New Media & Society, September 2015, Pages 1358-1376
Abstract:
This experiment explores the effects of a role-playing videogame on participants’ attitudes toward Israelis and Palestinians. Participants (N = 172) were randomly assigned to the role of either an Israeli or a Palestinian leader in PeaceMaker, a videogame simulation of the Palestinian–Israeli conflict. Participants’ explicit and implicit attitudes toward both groups were assessed before and after a 20-minute gameplay experience. Results showed that gameplay changed participants’ explicit stereotypes of the two national groups in a role-congruent fashion. Participants assigned to play the role of the Palestinian President or the Israeli Prime Minister negatively changed their evaluations of the opposing national group. Moreover, implicit bias moderated stereotype change. Results are discussed within the framework of self-persuasion and an associative-proposition evaluation model of attitude change.
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Explicit but not implicit sexist beliefs predict benevolent and hostile sexist behavior
Stephanie de Oliveira Laux, Inna Ksenofontov & Julia Becker
European Journal of Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Much work has been carried out on sexist attitudes, but only little on sexist behaviors. The goal of the present research was to close this gap by testing how a variety of benevolent and hostile sexist behaviors correlate with implicit and explicit sexist attitudes. In Study 1 (N = 126), we developed implicit association tests for benevolent sexism and hostile sexism and illustrated that implicit and explicit benevolent sexist beliefs, as well as implicit and explicit hostile sexist beliefs, were positively correlated. In Study 2 (N = 83 of Study 1), we tested whether implicit and explicit benevolent and hostile sexist attitudes correlate with benevolent and hostile sexist behaviors. As expected, explicit benevolent (but not hostile) sexist attitudes predicted benevolent sexist behavior, whereas explicit hostile (but not benevolent) sexist attitudes predicted hostile sexist behavior. Implicit sexist attitudes did not predict sexist behavior. The implications of these findings are discussed.
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Jeremiah Garretson
Politics, Groups, and Identities, forthcoming
Abstract:
Increases in substantive portrayals of working women, racial groups, and sexual minorities on television are a common explanation for some of the observed increase in social tolerance over the last few decades. In this study, I first document change in these portrayals from 1970 to 2000. After doing so, I determine if higher levels of recurring portrayals are associated with greater levels of social tolerance for those who report watching larger amounts of television. If no association is found, this would validate claims of non-existent or minimal effects. The findings show that frequent television viewers generally have more negative attitudes as compared with non-viewers when recurring portrayals of these groups are low. However, television viewers have similar or higher levels of social tolerance compared with non-viewers when recurring portrayals become frequent. This supports the argument that increasing televised portrayals of women and minorities on television can help increase social tolerance, but differences in the substance and quality of these portrayals likely condition this link.
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Sport Fans and Sci-Fi Fanatics: The Social Stigma of Popular Media Fandom
Elizabeth Cohen et al.
Psychology of Popular Media Culture, forthcoming
Abstract:
Popular media culture fandom is associated with a variety of positive psychological, social, and cultural outcomes, but people who participate in these fandoms may be socially stigmatized because of the object of their fandom. A 2 (Fandom Type: Science Fiction/Fantasy; Sport) × 2 (Target Fan Sex: Female; Male) between-subjects experimental design was used to examine the influence of fandom type and fan sex on the 3 dimensions of interpersonal attraction: social, physical, and task. In general, science fiction/fantasy fans were perceived as less socially and physically attractive compared to sport fans, particularly male science fiction/fantasy fans. However, there were no differences between the groups in task attractiveness. Female sport fans were judged as more physically and socially attractive than female science fiction/fantasy fans.
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Aleksandra Luksyte, Derek Avery & Gillian Yeo
Journal of Applied Psychology, July 2015, Pages 1107-1123
Abstract:
Presenteeism (showing up for work while sick) is detrimental for employee productivity, yet little is known about its impact on coworkers. Presenteeism may be particularly important when considering coworker reactions that may depend on how similar the sick person is to the coworker. The black sheep hypothesis suggests that the detrimental effects of coworker presenteeism on emotional and behavioral reactions will be exacerbated when there is greater demographic similarity to the perpetrator because the violation of norms of reciprocity, empathy, and concern for others’ well-being reflects negatively on one’s in-group. We tested the black sheep hypothesis in 2 samples: (a) 81 short-term teams (N = 254) where we manipulated presenteeism using confederates who acted as either sick or healthy coworkers and (b) 34 student project teams (N = 104) that collaborated for 3 months and we measured coworker presenteeism. Across the studies, mediated moderation results yielded some support for the black sheep hypothesis. When they were of the same race or sex, coworker presenteeism led participants to feel less positively and exhibit lower physical engagement and more organizational deviance (Study 1). When coworkers were more racially similar to the participant, coworker presenteeism triggered fear of contagion and negative affect resulting in more organizational and interpersonal deviance (Study 2).
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Now you see it, now you don't: Explaining inconsistent evidence on gender stereotyping of newborns
Isabel Thielmann, Edgar Erdfelder & Dagmar Stahlberg
European Journal of Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Parental gender-stereotyped perceptions of newborns — particularly their physical characteristics — have been discussed as important determinants of sex role socialization from birth on. However, corresponding empirical evidence is inconclusive. We propose that inconsistent findings on gender-correlated perceptions are due to whether or not actual physical differences between newborn girls and boys are properly (statistically or experimentally) taken into account. In our study, 55 mother–father pairs rated both their own and two unknown newborns, labeled either female or male. Although we successfully replicated the typical gender-correlated perceptions of own newborns' physical characteristics, all effects were explainable by actual physical sex differences in length and weight at birth. Similarly, no gender-specific rating differences emerged as a function of labeled gender of unknown children matched in actual physical characteristics. Altogether, the findings demonstrate the vital importance of considering existing sex differences between newborn girls and boys for drawing valid conclusions on gender stereotyping of newborns.
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Helen Eigenberg & Seong min Park
Race and Justice, forthcoming
Abstract:
This study examines images in 23 textbooks published between 2008 and 2012 to analyze the interactive effects of race and gender. Pictures were analyzed to determine the visual presence White men, White women, men of color, and women of color have in textbook images. The race and gender of individuals were examined and categorized into three prominent status categories in the field: as criminals, professionals, and victims. The results are compared to a similar study conducted 20 years ago. Overall, the findings show that there is improvement as White males have less visual dominance than previously reported; however, images still reinforce the notion that White men are most often professionals, White women are victims, and men of color are criminals. Women of color remain invisible and lack a significant visual presence of any kind.
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Chadly Stern & Tali Kleiman
Social Psychological and Personality Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
In three studies, we examined whether activating a reasoning process that fosters the consideration of alternatives (a conflict mindset) reduces the extent to which individuals consistently overestimate how different outgroup members’ attitudes are from their own attitudes. In Study 1, tacitly activating a conflict mindset reduced the overestimation of outgroup dissimilarity compared to a control condition. Study 2 ruled out the alternative explanation that conflict reduces the tendency to overestimate outgroup dissimilarity through diminishing effortful thought. Study 3 showed that a conflict mindset, but not an accuracy incentive, reduced the tendency to overestimate outgroup dissimilarity. Additionally, Study 3 demonstrated that reductions in perceived self–outgroup distance explained in part why a conflict mindset attenuated the overestimation of outgroup dissimilarity. Implications for social judgment accuracy are discussed.