Supposed to Be
One Country, One People? Racial Ethnic Minorities in the United States Perceive Their Community Norms Stronger Than European Americans
Mercedes Muñoz, Ariana Orvell & Cristina Salvador
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, forthcoming
Abstract:
The United States is characterized as having relatively weak social norms compared to other countries. However, this characterization may be an oversimplification due to the cultural diversity that exists within the country. Four studies (N = 1,537) examined whether and why U.S. racial minorities (East Asian, Latinx, and African Americans) perceive their racial community’s norms to be significantly stronger than European Americans and White immigrants to the United States (Studies 1–4). This difference was not due to increased perceived discrimination (Study 3) or concerns about out-group member punishment (Study 4). Instead, racial minorities’ stronger perceptions of community norms were motivated primarily by interdependence (Studies 1–4) and concerns about being punished by in-group members for not following norms (Study 4). These findings illustrate differences in norm strength between racial groups in a single country, deepening our understanding of how social norm perceptions may vary in a multicultural society.
Potty Parity
Setareh Farajollahzadeh & Ming Hu
Management Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
We address the issues of unequal restroom access for women and LGBTQ+ individuals, known as the potty parity problem. We propose a utility model in which users consider gender identity, wait time, and safety concerns when choosing restrooms. We evaluate different layouts’ efficiency measured by the total utilities (as in the utilitarian principle) and assess their fairness using the measures of the minimum utility gain (as in the Rawlsian fairness) and the gap between maximum and minimum gains (as in the distributive fairness). When the population is sensitive to gender identity and safety concerns, although it may initially seem intuitive to assume that converting all restrooms to unisex facilities would be efficient and fair due to the pooling of servers and increased flexibility and perceived fairness due to all users standing in the same line, our findings demonstrate that this design can be neither efficient nor fair. In contrast, we show that converting some men’s restrooms to unisex can enhance both efficiency and fairness of access. This highlights that a moderate level of flexibility can outperform a fully flexible system. Moreover, conventional wisdom suggests that removing a restroom unit from the men’s room would negatively impact users from the men’s side. However, our analysis reveals a counterintuitive insight that such a change can lead to a Pareto improvement, benefiting all users involved. We also analytically explore additional benefits of unisex restrooms under different user behaviors and situations and present practically relevant numerical results to support our findings.
A Male Hostility Spiral? Polarized Communication among Political Elites on Social Media
Albert Wendsjö, Hanna Bäck & Andrej Kokkonen
Journal of Politics, forthcoming
Abstract:
Affective polarization is increasing in many parts of the world, and previous research has shown that elite communication may have important consequences for intergroup conflict at the mass level. It has been suggested that women and men politicians engaging in different communication styles may influence affective polarization in the electorate. However, there is a lack of research analyzing gendered patterns of polarizing communication among political elites on social media. We focus on filling this gap, analyzing how politicians communicate on social media in 24 western countries. Specifically, we use machine learning to measure the tone of over 200,000 Twitter interactions and find that male politicians are more likely to attack political opponents representing 'outgroups' and that male representatives receive more outgroup negativity. We propose that a 'male hostility spiral' explains this pattern, where (male) politicians attack each other online for retribution, creating a negative spiral in which hostility sparks hostility.
On Native American Boarding Schools, Racial Bias, and Perceptions of Americanness Versus Foreignness
Maximilian Primbs & Jimmy Calanchini
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, forthcoming
Abstract:
Between 1819 and the 1970s, the U.S. government forced Native American children to attend boarding schools with the explicit purpose of assimilating them into White American culture. In this article, we examined whether the cultural legacy of historical Native American boarding schools persists locally in the aggregated racial biases of modern-day residents. Using the data of 290,593 Project Implicit visitors, we found that counties where Native American boarding schools were located in the past show lower levels of modern-day racial prejudice against Native Americans and view Native Americans as more U.S. American/less foreign compared to counties without historical boarding schools. Our findings provide a nuanced perspective on the ways in which historical injustices can manifest in physical, social, and cultural environments.
Children Do Not Endorse a “Male = Brilliance” Stereotype When Reasoning About Novel Occupations
Ryno Kruger, Cassandra Levy & Stella Lourenco
Developmental Science, March 2026
Abstract:
Prior research with children suggests that -- by 6 years of age -- they endorse a gender-intelligence stereotype, whereby brilliance is associated with men, not women. This stereotype aligns with adult perceptions and may contribute to the underrepresentation of women in fields viewed as requiring intrinsic aptitude (i.e., brilliance). Here, we examined whether gender composition within occupations is used by children as a cue to intelligence. Across two experiments with 6–10-year-olds living in the United States (U.S.) and tested online, we manipulated the gender composition of workers in novel jobs and assessed children's trait inferences and social preferences about those jobs. In Experiment 1, children judged intelligence and niceness for groups with majority-male or majority-female workers. In Experiment 2, we introduced scenarios emphasizing brilliance, perseverance, or physical strength, and assessed children's judgments about the groups using both direct and indirect measures of trait attributions and social preferences. Across both studies, children showed no evidence of associating male-dominated jobs with intelligence. Instead, their judgments reflected in-group gender bias (i.e., preference for the group with their own-gender majority) and domain-specific stereotypes, such as “female = nice” and “male = strong.” Within this contemporary U.S. sample, children's stereotypes about intelligence appeared more context-dependent and socially motivated than a simple, global “male = brilliance” association would suggest. We discuss the importance of considering both social affiliation and trait-specific reasoning — as well as cultural and developmental context — when characterizing the emergence of children's gender stereotypes.
Seen as Latino, Assumed Lower Class: Racialized Class and Immigrant Status Perceptions in the United States
Cynthia Feliciano et al.
Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World, January 2026
Abstract:
Although racial and class stereotypes are intertwined, few studies have examined the degree to which racial perceptions are linked to assumptions about social class. Among Latinos, racial self-identities often do not align with racial classifications by others, complicating debates about their place in the U.S. racial order. This study draws on unique survey data in which respondents classify the race, immigrant status, and social class of people in photographs who self-identify as Latino, Black, or White. In contrast to theories positing Latinos as a group in between Black and White Americans, findings show that self-identified White, Black and Latino observers alike tend to perceive Latinos as lower in socioeconomic standing than Black Americans. However, class perceptions of self-identified Latinos vary by their perceived race and immigrant status. This study suggests that ideas about the hierarchical positioning of racial groups at the macro-level, especially for Latinos, may not correspond to how socioeconomic stereotypes are experienced at the individual level, which vary by perceptions of race and immigrant status.
Construal Level Stereotypes: Perceived Differences in Groups’ Abstract Versus Concrete Cognitive Tendencies
Ashli Carter, Felix Danbold & Batia Wiesenfeld
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, forthcoming
Abstract:
Individuals can construe the world around them more concretely or more abstractly, with consequences for their judgments and behaviors. With five studies involving 3,963 U.S. adult participants, we test whether people hold stereotypes about the tendency for different groups to think more concretely or more abstractly. Across Studies 1 to 3, individuals report explicit and consistent construal level stereotypes about social groups in various demographic, occupational, and non-human categories. In Studies 2 and 3, we provide evidence that construal level stereotypes are correlated with, yet distinct from, stereotypes about their competence, agency, and power. In Studies 4 and 5, we offer evidence of predictive validity with two experiments showing that individuals use construal level stereotypes to inform employee selection decisions. These findings integrate and advance two major topics in social cognition: construal level theory and stereotyping. We discuss societal implications of construal level stereotypes predicting behaviors associated with discrimination in resource allocation.
Price differentials and skin tone in digital art
Timothy Hubbard & Daniel LaFave
Journal of Cultural Economics, March 2026, Pages 225-251
Abstract:
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are unique digital assets that verify ownership of data, enabling the creation of markets for digital artwork. One of the pioneering NFT collections is CryptoPunks, which consists of 10,000 digital art images, most of which resemble human faces. Each 24 by 24 pixel image is a random collection of possible facial features and accessories, creating a lab-like environment to study how different attributes impact an artwork’s auction value. Using the entire transaction history of bids, asks, and sales that cover periods with median sales values between $100 and $400,000, we document a disturbing trend in how different features are rewarded in the market. As expected, scarcity is valued -- except when it comes to skin tone, for which lighter skinned Punks sell for significantly more than darker skinned Punks despite being more common. This price gap, which emerged as early as 2018, has persisted through periods of immense growth in the market, leading to price differences of tens of thousands of dollars for otherwise similar images. Our findings are robust across various empirical models and highlight the persistence of real-world biases in emerging digital markets.