Judgmental
When seeing stigma creates paternalism: Learning about disadvantage leads to perceptions of incompetence
Stephanie Reeves et al.
Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, forthcoming
Abstract:
The present research examines the conditions under which educating non-stigmatized individuals about the experiences of members of stigmatized groups leads to paternalistic or more respectful views of the target. We propose that when these efforts ask members of non-stigmatized groups to focus only on the difficulties experienced by stigmatized targets, they will lead to more paternalistic views of targets because they portray targets as being in need of help. In contrast, we propose that when these efforts take a broader focus on stigmatized targets and include their resilience in the face of their difficulties, they will lead to more respectful views of targets. Four studies supported these predictions. Across studies, White participants who focused only on a Black target’s difficulties subsequently perceived the target as more helpless and less competent than controls. Participants who focused on the target’s resilience in the face of difficulties perceived him as more competent.
Like father, like son: Stereotypical Black facial features in children causing trouble
Alesha Bond, David Washburn & Heather Kleider‐Offutt
Applied Cognitive Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
This present study was designed to investigate whether face‐type (stereotypical or nonstereotypical) facilitates stereotype‐consistent categorization and decision‐making. Previous literature suggests an associative link between adults' stereotypically Black facial features and assumed criminality. The question addressed here is whether the cognitive processes that underpin biased decisions for an adult's racially stereotypical facial features (e.g., broad nose, full lips) apply to children's faces. In two studies, testing face‐type categorization and disciplinary judgments, people were more likely to miscategorize children with stereotypical faces into negative roles more than positive roles. People were also more likely to increase their disciplinary judgments from one infraction to another for children with stereotypical faces compared to nonstereotypical faces. These results suggest that face‐type cues do extend to children and also engender negative associations.
Fragile Heterosexuality
Keon West et al.
Social Psychology, May/June 2021, Pages 143-161
Abstract:
Previous research demonstrates that membership of majority groups is often perceived as more fragile than membership of minority groups. Four studies (N 1 = 90, N 2 = 247, N 3 = 500, N 4 = 1,176) investigated whether this was the case for heterosexual identity, relative to gay identity. Support for fragile heterosexuality was found using various methods: sexual orientation perceptions of a target who engaged in incongruent behavior, free-responses concerning behaviors required to change someone’s mind about a target’s sexual orientation, agreement with statements about men/women’s sexual orientation, and agreement with gender-neutral statements about sexual orientation. Neither participant nor target gender eliminated or reversed this effect. Additionally, we investigated multiple explanations (moderators) of the perceived difference in fragility between heterosexual identity and gay identity and found that higher estimates of the gay/lesbian population decreased the difference between the (higher) perceived fragility of heterosexual identity and the (lower) perceived fragility of gay identity.
The Neurogenetics of Racial Injustice: Oxytocin Receptor (OXTR) Gene rs53576 is Associated with Perceived Discrimination and Other-Oriented Justice Beliefs in African Americans
Caroline Drolet & Todd Lucas
Race and Social Problems, June 2021, Pages 102–109
Abstract:
According to the social salience hypothesis, the neuropeptide oxytocin boosts attunement to both positive and negative social cues, such that the effects of oxytocin on social beliefs and behavior are highly dependent on context. Among underserved racial minorities, oxytocin might enhance sensitivity to racial injustice. To test this hypothesis, we examined whether the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) rs53576 polymorphism affects individual differences in both perceived racial discrimination and beliefs about justice in an underserved racial minority. Healthy African Americans (n = 118) provided bloodspot samples that were assayed for the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs53576. Participants also completed individual differences measures of perceived racial discrimination and beliefs about justice for self and others. Consistent with the social salience hypothesis, individuals with greater potential oxytocin receptivity (G/G genotype) reported greater perceived discrimination than individuals with lower potential oxytocin receptivity (non-G/G genotype; p = .009). Also consistent, G/G individuals had stronger other-oriented beliefs about justice than non-GG individuals (p = .085). Path analysis supported that perceived discrimination mediated the connection from the G/G genotype to stronger other-oriented procedural justice beliefs, suggesting that justice beliefs among African Americans might partly reflect evaluations of discriminatory experiences that stem from oxytocin receptivity.
¿Mejorando La Raza?: The Political Undertones of Latinos’ Skin Color in the United States
Mara Ostfeld & Nicole Yadon
Social Forces, forthcoming
Abstract:
The meaning of skin color in America has often been understood in the context of Black–White racial dynamics. However, as the soon-to-be largest ethnoracial group in the United States, Latinos are positioned to reshape the meaning of color and its relationship with many consequential outcomes. Drawing upon a survey that incorporates both the newly validated, interval-level Yadon–Ostfeld Skin Color Scale for human assessments of skin color, as well as more socially objective machine ratings of skin color, we are able to differentiate the physiological and social connotations of skin color. Our findings illustrate that politics are intertwined with how Latinos label their skin color. Latinos who overestimate their lightness (darkness) take less (more) liberal positions on racialized political issues than those who do not. Overall, we illuminate how skin color identification operates as a political statement for many Latinos, as well as how these patterns magnify racialized inequalities in America.
Protecting Manhood: Race, Class, and Masculinity in Men’s Attraction to Guns and Aggression
Maria Scaptura & Kaitlin Boyle
Men and Masculinities, forthcoming
Abstract:
Using an original self-report survey of 18- to 30-year-old men, this study aims to understand gendered processes underlying men’s attitudes toward guns and aggressive behavior through two types of threats. We find that acceptance threat, a threat to an individual man’s sense of masculinity, and status threat, the belief that societal changes disadvantage men as a group, are positively associated with both men’s attraction to guns and their aggressive reactions to perceived disrespect. The effect of acceptance threat is amplified when a strong sense of status threat is also present, including attraction to guns and aggressive reaction to disrespect. These patterns are more pronounced among economically advantaged white men due to their precarious position in the race, class, and gender hierarchies. The racial and classed intersections amplify beliefs of status and acceptance threat for white men, channeling these threats into aggression and attraction to guns. We discuss how men’s economic and racial locations shape their responses to threats, and ultimately the consequences for men’s violence.
(Un)masking threat: Racial minorities experience race-based social identity threat wearing face masks during COVID-19
Kimberly Barsamian Kahn & Emma Money
Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, forthcoming
Abstract:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, racial minorities in the United States were left in a double bind when deciding to wear face masks to prevent the spread of the virus: risk being racially profiled or risk COVID-19. Two studies examine Black and Asian individuals’ experiences of race-related social identity threat wearing face masks during COVID-19, and its impact on safety and health behaviors. Black, Asian, and White participants in the United States responded to surveys (S1: N = 776; S2: N = 534) on their experiences wearing masks early in the pandemic (May 2020) and 3 months later (August 2020). Across both studies, results indicated that, compared to White individuals, Black and Asian participants reported experiencing mask-related, race-based social identity threat from both the public and police, with Black individuals particularly concerned about mask-related threat in police interactions. Mediational analyses demonstrated that mask-related social identity threat led to avoidance of police when help was needed at both time points, and decreased face mask usage early in the pandemic for both Black and Asian people. Results highlight these unique social identity concerns faced by racial minorities and have implications for protecting racial minorities’ health and safety during the pandemic.
Shared disadvantage as a determinant of the relationship between White Americans’ socioeconomic status and racial/ethnic prejudice
Bryon Hines & Kimberly Rios
European Journal of Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
The present studies examined the conditions under which low subjective socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with greater racial/ethnic prejudice among White Americans. Based on theories of intergroup threat and inclusive victim consciousness, we predicted that describing racial/ethnic minorities as disadvantaged (versus as competitive or in neutral terms) would increase empathy and reduce prejudice among White Americans who consider themselves low in SES. Study 1 provided correlational evidence that White Americans who perceived themselves as low-SES (but not high-SES) were less prejudiced against racial/ethnic minorities the more they perceived minorities as disadvantaged. In Study 2, portraying the target outgroup (Arab immigrants) as disadvantaged increased outgroup empathy, and in turn reduced prejudice, among participants induced to think of themselves as low-SES. Study 3 conceptually replicated these results using a different outgroup (Mexican Americans) and a behavioral measure of prejudice. Implications for reducing prejudice among White Americans of different socioeconomic backgrounds are discussed.
Feeling out of (existential) place: Existential isolation and nonnormative group membership
Elizabeth Pinel et al.
Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, forthcoming
Abstract:
Literature devoted to understanding the experiences of individuals who do not fit the cultural mold — those who belong to minority, stigmatized, or underrepresented groups — demonstrates that nonnormative status goes hand in hand with a range of negative outcomes. The current research considers a heretofore unstudied correlate of nonnormative status: existential isolation (the feeling of being alone in one’s subjective experience), which differs from feelings of interpersonal isolation (feeling alone with regard to the quantity or quality of one’s relationships). Normative, or mainstream, society may not acknowledge the experiences of those holding a nonnormative status, rendering such individuals at risk of developing heightened feelings of existential isolation. Across Studies 1a and 1b, we found consistently higher trait levels of existential isolation (but not interpersonal isolation) among people with a nonnormative group status than among their normative counterparts. This effect appeared whether we looked at nonnormativeness with regard to race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, citizenship, native language, body weight, religious affiliation, or socioeconomic status. Study 2 highlights one correlate of the existential isolation that accompanies nonnormativeness: decreased certainty with respect to judgments of racism. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed, including addressing the correlational nature of this research and testing potential mechanisms to explain the link between nonnormative status and existential isolation.
Functional perceptions of relational success and infidelity concerns for violators of gendered naming conventions in marriage
Kelsey Drea, Mitch Brown & Donald Sacco
Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, forthcoming
Abstract:
Replicating and extending previous findings, we report two high-powered studies exploring how heterosexual men and women’s decisions to change or keep their surnames following marriage influence perceptions of various marital outcomes as a function of perceivers’ sexist attitudes. Participants in Study 1 evaluated men and women who indicated keeping or changing their surname after marriage, along with an articulated reason for their decision, specifically either to disrupt or reinforce gender norms. Study 2 removed the reasoning of their choice. Independent of participant gender or whether decision reasoning was provided, both studies demonstrated that targets who violated gendered naming norms (e.g., female keepers and male changers) were perceived more negatively than those who adhered to these norms (e.g., male keepers and female changers), particularly for participants higher in hostile sexism. We frame these findings from complementary evolutionary and sociocultural perspectives.
Racial Differences in Women’s Role-Taking Accuracy: How Status Matters
Tony Love & Jenny Davis
Sociological Science, June 2021
Abstract:
Role-taking is the process of mentally and affectively placing the self in the position of another, understanding the world from the other’s perspective. Role-taking serves an expressive function within interpersonal interaction, supporting others to pursue instrumental tasks that are recognized, valued, and rewarded. In the present work, we compare role-taking accuracy between white women and black women across status-varying interactional arrangements. Data for this study come from a series of two laboratory experiments. Experiment 1 establishes racial differences in white and black women’s role-taking accuracy, showing that women of color are significantly more attuned to others within social encounters. Experiment 2 implements an intervention to undermine racial disparities in role-taking accuracy, showing that expressive labors equalize when black women are empowered within the social structure. Findings highlight the entwinement of status structures with interpersonal processes while demonstrating the efficacy and value of structural reforms.
"I Don’t Feel Very Asian American": Why Aren’t Japanese Americans More Panethnic?
Takeyuki Tsuda
Sociological Inquiry, forthcoming
Abstract:
Because Japanese Americans are among the oldest Asian American groups, they would be expected to have a high level of panethnicity since they apparently have much in common with other U.S.‐born Asian Americans. However, most Japanese Americans interviewed for this paper did not identify panethnically with their Asian co‐ethnics, but felt separate and distinct as Japanese Americans. Research on panethnicity has not sufficiently examined why some Asian Americans are not panethnic. Although Japanese Americans are homogeneously racialized as “Asians,” they also resist their panethnic racialization by insisting on their distinct identity as Japanese descendants. They also continue to experience cultural and generational differences with other Asian Americans. In addition, even third and fourth generation Japanese Americans are not immune to the interethnic prejudices, hostilities, and homeland tensions that continue to simmer among different groups of Asian Americans. Finally, my interviewees were not interested in panethnic activism because they apparently no longer had compelling experiences of racial injustice and socioeconomic marginalization. Nonetheless, national‐origins ethnicity and panethnicity should not be regarded as mutually exclusive opposites.
Oversampling of minority categories drives misperceptions of group compositions
Mel Khaw, Rachel Kranton & Scott Huettel
Cognition, forthcoming
Abstract:
The ability to estimate proportions informs our immediate impressions of social environments (e.g., of the diversity of races or genders within a crowded room). This study examines how the distribution of attention during brief glances shapes estimates of group gender proportions. Performance-wise, subjects exhibit a canonical pattern of judgment errors: small proportions are overestimated while large values are underestimated. Subjects' eye movements at sub-second timescales reveal that these biases follow from a tendency to visually oversample members of the gender minority. Rates of oversampling dovetail with average levels of error magnitudes, response variability, and response times. Visual biases are thus associated with the inherent difficulty in estimating particular proportions. All results are replicated at a within-subjects level with non-human ensembles using natural scene stimuli; the observed attentional patterns and judgment biases are thus not exclusively guided by face-specific visual properties. Our results reveal the biased distribution of attention underlying typical judgment errors of group proportions.