So Typical
The Race of Politics: Partisan Affiliation and Ethnoracial Boundary Crossing
Samuel Thomas Donahue & Adam Reich
American Journal of Sociology, forthcoming
Abstract:
While a long literature has explored ethnoracial patterns of party affiliation and realignment, this paper takes an inverse approach, examining whether individuals’ political affiliations predict shifts in their ethnoracial self-identifications. Using eighteen years of individual voter records from Florida, we show that rates of ethnoracial reidentification among voters are substantively large and patterned by party affiliation. Republicans are significantly more likely than Democrats to change their ethnoracial identities from Hispanic to non-Hispanic White, while Democrats are significantly more likely than Republicans to change their ethnoracial identities from non-Hispanic White to Hispanic. Even after accounting for differences in perceived race and other possible confounding factors, we find large and stable differences between Democrats and Republicans in both the rate and direction of ethnoracial reidentification, suggesting that partisans may both differently value and differently claim Whiteness and non-Whiteness.
A Replication and Extension of Willer et al. (2013), Overdoing Gender: A Test of the Masculine Overcompensation Thesis
Claire Gothreau & Nicholas Haas
Journal of Experimental Political Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Do men respond to a masculinity threat by adopting more conservative political attitudes? A highly cited 2013 study by Willer et al. -- drawing on substantial work in social psychology -- argues in the affirmative, reasoning that endorsing conservative views allows men to reaffirm their gender identity. In two experiments with student convenience samples (Ntotal 100–110, Nmen 40–51), the authors find consistent evidence: inducing masculinity threat increases support for war, homophobic attitudes, and endorsement of dominance hierarchies. We conduct a preregistered replication of this foundational study using a nationally representative probability sample (Ntotal 2774, Nmen 2073). Contrary to original findings, we observe no consistent evidence that masculinity threat alters political attitudes. We further do not find support for design differences between the replication and original study driving contrasting findings. Our results call into question the robustness of evidence linking masculinity threat to political attitudes and underscore the importance of re-evaluating widely accepted findings with representative, large samples.
Do Black electoral victories shift racial bias? Evidence from close elections
Jung Sakong
Journal of Public Economics, April 2026
Abstract:
Do Black electoral victories affect the degree of racial bias among White Americans? This paper examines changes in explicit racial attitudes and Implicit Association Test (IAT) scores following close local elections between Black and White candidates. I construct a novel dataset linking election outcomes to candidate race and implement a regression discontinuity design, supplemented by difference-in-differences approaches. Anti-Black bias among White respondents increases following narrow victories by Black candidates, relative to close losses. I discuss possible interpretations of this pattern and consider how these findings inform our understanding of racial attitudes in response to political change.
Cultural evolution of beauty standards
Louis Boucherie et al.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 26 May 2026
Abstract:
Beauty standards shape self-perception and health through social comparison and objectification, while exposure to idealized imagery exacerbates body-image concerns. Media and fashion are central arbiters of these ideals, yet long-term, quantitative, intersectional studies on how representation has changed remain scarce. We assembled a dataset of 793,199 records spanning 25 y of advertising, magazine covers, runway shows, and editorials to quantify changes in anthropometric and demographic representation. We find a paradox in the evolution of beauty ideals: While representational diversity has increased, the median model physique remains stable. This is driven by selective plus-size inclusion at the upper tail, while the typical physique continues to diverge from the US population. Intersectionally, non-White models are 4.5 times more likely to be plus-size, suggesting that the industry consolidates multiple markers of diversity onto already underrepresented individuals rather than broadening inclusion structurally. Stratifying the industry via a data-driven prestige hierarchy, we find that thinness is overrepresented at the top tier. Finally, descriptive comparisons of two regulatory interventions suggest that numeric thresholds may be more effective than flexible guidelines at reducing underweight appearances. Our results quantify the cultural evolution in media and fashion, revealing that inclusion has increased; however, gains are uneven and intersectionally concentrated on size and ethnicity, whereas the prevailing thin ideal remains largely unchanged.
Examining the efficacy of a common response to stereotypical generics
Sophie Arnold et al.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, forthcoming
Abstract:
People often respond to stereotypical generic statements such as “girls wear makeup” with counter-stereotypical claims like “boys can wear makeup too.” But are such responses effective in reducing the stereotypical inferences people draw from the original claim? On the one hand, they may seem effective because they directly challenge the idea that a property (e.g., wearing makeup) applies only to one group (e.g., girls). On the other hand, listeners may reason that inserting the modal “can” implies that the second-mentioned group (e.g., boys) is less strongly associated with the property than the first. Here, we present experimental evidence from adults (N = 405) and 4- to 7-year-old children (N = 365) showing that such can generics are ineffective at extinguishing stereotypical inferences. Although can generics appeared helpful relative to leaving the other group completely unmentioned (i.e., not mentioning boys after hearing “girls wear makeup”), they nevertheless resulted in thinking that the group described with can generics is less associated with the relevant property than the group described without the additional modal term. The ineffectiveness of can generics stems from reasoning over alternative options: Because both groups could have been described in the same way, “can” signals a weaker relationship between the property and the group described with the additional modal term. We discuss implications for how to effectively respond to stereotypical statements.
Can We Stand Together? Measuring Racial Avoidance in Shared Spaces
Joshua Corona
PS: Political Science & Politics, forthcoming
Abstract:
This study documents a behavioral dimension of the persistent contradiction between democratic ideals and racial exclusion by examining patterns of everyday spatial avoidance among minoritized groups in shared public spaces. By drawing on systematic observational data from 428 dyadic encounters on Seattle public transit platforms, the analysis identifies patterns of behavioral segregation that may bear on the prospects for multiracial cooperation. Results reveal consistent asymmetrical avoidance: East Asian and Hispanic individuals maintain 18–19 additional feet from Black first-arrivers, a pattern that Black individuals do not reciprocate. In contrast, interaction models show that Black–Black dyads have less interpersonal distance that contrasts with broader aversion by outgroups. By shifting from attitudinal to behavioral measures, this study captures intergroup dynamics that surveys may not detect.
Not All Math Activities Are Equal in Terms of Gender Stereotypes
Megan Merrick et al.
Sex Roles, April 2026
Abstract:
The “math as male” stereotype is societally pervasive and emerges early in development. However, math is a broad and multifaceted domain that requires proficiency in several different cognitive skills. The current study explored the gender stereotypes associated with toys linked to the cognitive skills of numeracy, spatial reasoning, and patterning. Across three studies (N = 878), adults viewed toys associated with each cognitive skill and reported who would prefer them: boys, girls, U.S. parents buying for boys versus girls, and self as a child. The gendering of toys varied by toy. The most consistent alignment was between spatial reasoning toys and boys. Results for numeracy and patterning toys were more mixed, but sometimes neutral or female-leaning. There also tended to be a shift when reporting about others’ preferences versus own preferences, with a weaker male stereotype for the latter. Understanding how adults associate these cognitive skills with gender has important implications for research in mathematics education and belonging within STEM fields.
Celebrate or derogate? Reactions to older adults who feel young at heart
Amy Gourley & Alison Chasteen
Psychology and Aging, forthcoming
Abstract:
A younger subjective age is often associated with positive health and well-being outcomes among adults over the age of 65. However, it is possible that those who attempt to look or act younger than their chronological age may face backlash, given that this behavior is in violation of prescriptive stereotypes that serve to maintain hierarchical age group boundaries and mitigate threats to younger people’s social and economic resources. The degree to which younger and middle-aged adults perceive violations of prescriptive age stereotypes (i.e., that older adults should act their age) may predict negative evaluations of older adult targets who feel “younger than their years.” Across two studies, we examined younger and middle-aged adults’ attitudes and evaluations regarding older adult targets who varied by gender and felt age. Perceptions of older targets’ counterstereotypical behavior and demeanor mediated the relationship between older targets’ younger felt age and participants’ ratings of targets’ warmth, competence, overall liking, and interaction intentions. Specifically, older targets who felt younger than their chronological age were perceived as violating prescriptive stereotypes, which in turn decreased ratings of targets’ warmth, competence, and likeability, and lessened participants’ willingness to interact with targets. Consistent with affordance management theoretical approaches, older adults who defy stereotypicality may be appraised as a threat to younger perceivers’ goals and, in turn, face backlash.
The Effect of Height on Adolescents' Body Image Perceptions and Behaviors
Monica Deza, Neiva Fortes & Maria Zhu
NBER Working Paper, June 2026
Abstract:
This paper estimates the causal effect of height on adolescents’ body image, encompassing self-perceptions of weight, the accuracy of those perceptions, and weight-management aspirations. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97), we leverage within-individual variation in height during adolescence and condition on body mass index (BMI) to isolate the effects of height on body image outcomes. We find that taller adolescents are more likely to perceive themselves as overweight, even holding BMI constant, and are less likely to underestimate their weight category. However, the direction of misclassification diverges by gender: taller boys are more likely to correctly assess their weight category, while taller girls are more likely to overestimate it. These perception shifts translate into behavioral responses for girls but not for boys. A one-inch increase in height raises the probability that a girl reports wanting to lose weight by 3.0 percentage points (6.2 percent), with effects concentrated among girls in the normal weight range. Taken together, these findings establish height as a salient determinant of body image in adolescence, operating independently of body mass.