Taking offense
Conservatives negatively evaluate counterstereotypical people to maintain a sense of certainty
Chadly Stern, Tessa West & Nicholas Rule
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, forthcoming
Abstract:
People frequently use physical appearance stereotypes to categorize individuals when their group membership is not directly observable. Recent research indicates that political conservatives tend to use such stereotypes more than liberals do because they express a greater desire for certainty and order. In the present research, we found that conservatives were also more likely to negatively evaluate and distribute fewer economic resources to people who deviate from the stereotypes of their group. This occurred for people belonging to both preexisting and novel groups, regardless of whether the stereotypes were real or experimentally fabricated. Critically, conservatives only negatively evaluated counterstereotypical people when the stereotypes were functional — that is, when they expected that they would need to use the stereotypes at a later point to categorize individuals into groups. Moreover, increasing liberals’ desire for certainty led them to negatively evaluate counterstereotypical people just like conservatives did. Thus, conservatives are not only more likely to use stereotypes than are liberals, but are especially likely to negatively evaluate counterstereotypical people to organize the social world with greater certainty.
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Ian Ayres, Mahzarin Banaji & Christine Jolls
RAND Journal of Economics, Winter 2015, Pages 891–917
Abstract:
We investigate the impact of seller race in a field experiment involving baseball card auctions on eBay. Photographs showed the cards held by either a dark-skinned/African-American hand or a light-skinned/Caucasian hand. Cards held by African-American sellers sold for approximately 20% ($0.90) less than cards held by Caucasian sellers. Our evidence of race differentials is important because the online environment is well controlled (with the absence of confounding tester effects) and because the results show that race effects can persist in a thick real-world market such as eBay.
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Moving While Black: Intergroup Attitudes Influence Judgments of Speed
Andreana Kenrick et al.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, forthcoming
Abstract:
Four experiments examined whether intergroup attitudes shape the speed with which Blacks are thought to be moving. When participants rated the speed of Black and White faces that appeared to be moving toward them, greater intergroup anxiety was associated with judging Black targets as moving more slowly relative to White targets (Experiments 1a and 1b). Experiment 2 demonstrated that this effect occurs only for approaching targets. Experiment 3 showed that this slowing bias occurs, at least in part, because of the perceived duration of time each image was moving. Such a slowing bias is consistent with the time expansion and perceptual slowing reported by people who experienced threatening events.
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Racial Disparities in Pain Management of Children With Appendicitis in Emergency Departments
Monika Goyal et al.
JAMA Pediatrics, November 2015, Pages 996-1002
Objective: To evaluate racial differences in analgesia administration, and particularly opioid administration, among children diagnosed as having appendicitis.
Design, Setting, and Participants: Repeated cross-sectional study of patients aged 21 years or younger evaluated in the emergency department who had an International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision diagnosis of appendicitis, using the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from 2003 to 2010. We calculated the frequency of both opioid and nonopioid analgesia administration using complex survey weighting. We then performed multivariable logistic regression to examine racial differences in overall administration of analgesia, and specifically opioid analgesia, after adjusting for important demographic and visit covariates, including ethnicity and pain score.
Results: An estimated 0.94 (95% CI, 0.78-1.10) million children were diagnosed as having appendicitis. Of those, 56.8% (95% CI, 49.8%-63.9%) received analgesia of any type; 41.3% (95% CI, 33.7%-48.9%) received opioid analgesia (20.7% [95% CI, 5.3%-36.0%] of black patients vs 43.1% [95% CI, 34.6%-51.4%] of white patients). When stratified by pain score and adjusted for ethnicity, black patients with moderate pain were less likely to receive any analgesia than white patients (adjusted odds ratio = 0.1 [95% CI, 0.02-0.8]). Among those with severe pain, black patients were less likely to receive opioids than white patients (adjusted odds ratio = 0.2 [95% CI, 0.06-0.9]). In a multivariable model, there were no significant differences in the overall rate of analgesia administration by race. However, black patients received opioid analgesia significantly less frequently than white patients (12.2% [95% CI, 0.1%-35.2%] vs 33.9% [95% CI, 0.6%-74.9%], respectively; adjusted odds ratio = 0.2 [95% CI, 0.06-0.8]).
Conclusions and Relevance: Appendicitis pain is undertreated in pediatrics, and racial disparities with respect to analgesia administration exist. Black children are less likely to receive any pain medication for moderate pain and less likely to receive opioids for severe pain, suggesting a different threshold for treatment.
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Adil Shah et al.
Medical Care, December 2015, Pages 1000–1009
Objective: To evaluate race/ethnicity-based differences in ED analgesic pain management among a national sample of adult patients with acute abdominal pain based on a uniform definition.
Research Design/Subjects/Measures: The 2006–2010 CDC-NHAMCS data were retrospectively queried for patients 18 years and above presenting with a primary diagnosis of nontraumatic acute abdominal pain as defined by the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma. Independent predictors of analgesic/narcotic-specific analgesic receipt were determined. Risk-adjusted multivariable analyses were then performed to determine associations between race/ethnicity and analgesic receipt. Stratified analyses considered risk-adjusted differences by the level of patient-reported pain on presentation. Secondary outcomes included: prolonged ED-LOS (>6 h), ED wait time, number of diagnostic tests, and subsequent inpatient admission.
Results: A total of 6710 ED visits were included: 61.2% (n=4106) non-Hispanic white, 20.1% (n=1352) non-Hispanic black, 14.0% (n=939) Hispanic, and 4.7% (n=313) other racial/ethnic group patients. Relative to non-Hispanic white patients, non-Hispanic black patients and patients of other races/ethnicities had 22%–30% lower risk-adjusted odds of analgesic receipt [OR (95% CI)=0.78 (0.67–0.90); 0.70 (0.56–0.88)]. They had 17%–30% lower risk-adjusted odds of narcotic analgesic receipt (P<0.05). Associations persisted for patients with moderate-severe pain but were insignificant for mild pain presentations. When stratified by the proportion of minority patients treated and the proportion of patients reporting severe pain, discrepancies in analgesic receipt were concentrated in hospitals treating the largest percentages of both.
Conclusions: Analysis of 5 years of CDC-NHAMCS data corroborates the presence of racial/ethnic disparities in ED management of pain on a national scale. On the basis of a uniform definition, the results establish the need for concerted quality-improvement efforts to ensure that all patients, regardless of race/ethnicity, receive optimal access to pain relief.
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Colored Perceptions: Racially Distinctive Names and Assessments of Skin Color
Denia Garcia & Maria Abascal
American Behavioral Scientist, forthcoming
Abstract:
Scholars are increasingly employing skin color measures to investigate racial stratification beyond the dimensions of self- or other-classification. Current understandings of the relationship between phenotypic traits, like skin color, and racial classification are incomplete. Scholars agree that perceptions of phenotypic traits shape how people classify others; it remains to be seen, however, whether racial classification in turn shapes people’s perceptions of phenotypic traits. The present study is based on an original survey experiment that tests whether assessments of others’ skin color are affected by a subtle racial cue, a name. Results indicate that skin color ratings are affected by the presence of a racially distinctive name: A significant share of people will rate the same face darker when that face is assigned a distinctively Hispanic name as opposed to a non-Hispanic name. In addition, ratings of male faces are more sensitive to racially distinctive names. The findings bear important lessons for our understanding of the social construction of race and its role in producing inequalities.
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The Whitewashing Effect: Using Racial Contact to Signal Trustworthiness and Competence
Stephen La Macchia et al.
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, January 2016, Pages 118-129
Abstract:
The present research examines whether people use racial contact to signal positive and negative social attributes. In two experiments, participants were instructed to fake good (trustworthy/competent) or fake bad (untrustworthy/incompetent) when reporting their amount of contact with a range of different racial groups. In Experiment 1 (N = 364), participants faking good reported significantly more contact with White Americans than with non-White Americans, whereas participants faking bad did not. In Experiment 2 (N = 1,056), this pattern was replicated and was found to be particularly pronounced among those with stronger pro-White bias. These findings suggest that individuals may use racial contact as a social signal, effectively “whitewashing” their apparent contact and friendships when trying to present positively.
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Fetal sex determination and gendered prenatal consumption
Medora Barnes
Journal of Consumer Culture, November 2015, Pages 371-390
Abstract:
Although expectant mothers have long purchased items in preparation for their baby’s birth, the timing and type of purchases being made have changed in response to pregnant women routinely learning the sex of their fetus through ultrasound. This article examines changes in these consumption patterns through data drawn from personal narratives with 25 women divided between two cohorts — those who gave birth in the 2000s and those who gave birth in the 1970s. The routine use of ultrasound has encouraged changes in beliefs about the relationship between a fetus and its mother in younger women, which in turn inspires earlier purchases of baby items than was normative 30 years before. Not enough attention is being paid to the fact that newborn babies are more likely today than three decades ago to spend their first few months wearing gendered clothing and being surrounded by gender-specific furniture and objects, which their mothers are purchasing during pregnancy.
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How gender-stereotypical are selfies? A content analysis and comparison with magazine adverts
Nicola Döring, Anne Reif & Sandra Poeschl
Computers in Human Behavior, February 2016, Pages 955–962
Abstract:
Selfies (self-portrait photographs often taken with a camera phone) are popularly used for self-presentation in social media like Facebook and Instagram. These modern user-generated self-portraits have the potential to draw a more versatile picture of the genders instead of reproducing traditional gender stereotypes often presented in mainstream media and advertising. To investigate the degree of gender stereotyping in selfies, a random sample of 500 selfies uploaded on Instagram (50% representing females, 50% males) was drawn and subjected to quantitative content analysis. The degree of gender stereotyping in the selfies was measured using Goffman's (1979) and Kang's (1997) gender display categories (e.g. feminine touch, lying posture, withdrawing gaze, sparse clothing) plus three social media-related categories (kissing pout, muscle presentation, faceless portrayal). Additionally, gender stereotyping in selfies was directly compared to the degree of gender stereotyping in magazine adverts measured in the same way (Döring & Pöschl, 2006). Results reveal that male and female Instagram users' selfies not only reflect traditional gender stereotypes, but are even more stereotypical than magazine adverts.
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Attachment and prejudice: The mediating role of empathy
Elle Boag & Katherine Carnelley
British Journal of Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
In two studies, we examined the novel hypothesis that empathy is a mechanism through which the relationship between attachment patterns and prejudice can be explained. Study 1 examined primed attachment security (vs. neutral prime), empathy, and prejudice towards immigrants. Study 2 examined primed attachment patterns (secure, avoidant, anxious), empathy subscales (perspective taking, empathic concern, personal distress), and prejudice towards Muslims. Across both studies, empathy mediated the relationship between primed attachment security and low prejudice levels. The findings suggest that enhancing felt security and empathic skills in individuals high in attachment–avoidance may lead to reduced prejudice.
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Viren Swami
British Journal of Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Although relatively little is known about ethnic differences in men's drive for muscularity, recent theoretical developments suggest that ethnic minority men may desire greater muscularity to contest their positions of relative subordinate masculinity. This study tested this hypothesis in a sample of 185 White, 180 Black British, and 182 South Asian British men. Participants completed self-report measures of drive for muscularity, need for power, adherence to traditional cultural values, and ethnic group affiliation. Taking into account between-group differences in body mass index, results indicated that White men had significantly lower drive for muscularity than Black and South Asian men, who were not significantly different from each other. In addition, greater need for power was significantly associated with higher drive for muscularity in ethnic minority, but not White, men. Greater adherence to traditional cultural values, but not ethnic group affiliation, was associated with lower drive for muscularity in all ethnic groups. These results suggest that ethnic minority men may desire greater muscularity as a means of negotiating masculinity and attendant ideals of appearance.
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Hijab and “Hitchhiking”: A Field Study
Farid Pazhoohi & Robert Burriss
Evolutionary Psychological Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
In the West, the style of a woman’s dress is perceived as a cue to her sexual behavior and influences the likelihood that a man will initiate conversation with the woman or offer her assistance. Hijab, or Islamic veiling, varies in the extent to which it reveals skin and body shape; the style a woman adopts affects her attractiveness to men. To test whether women who wear more liberal or conservative forms of hijab are more likely to be offered help by men, we observed Iranian motorists in a “hitchhiking” situation. Here, we show that a young female confederate, standing beside a road and in view of motorists but not actively soliciting assistance, was more likely to be offered a ride when she wore a headscarf and close-fitting garments (liberal dress) rather than a full body veil (chador, conservative dress). When the woman wore liberal dress, 21.4 % of motorists offered a ride; only 3.9 % of motorists offered a ride to the woman when she wore conservative dress — a significant difference. All drivers were men. This small to medium effect is substantially larger than those reported in similar studies in Europe and extends previous research on male helping behavior and female attractiveness to Iran, a nation where courtship behavior and dress are constrained by stricter social mores and laws than apply in the West.
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Suspicion of motives predicts minorities' responses to positive feedback in interracial interactions
Brenda Major et al.
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, January 2016, Pages 75–88
Abstract:
Strong social and legal norms in the United States discourage the overt expression of bias against ethnic and racial minorities, increasing the attributional ambiguity of Whites' positive behavior to ethnic minorities. Minorities who suspect that Whites' positive overtures toward minorities are motivated more by their fear of appearing racist than by egalitarian attitudes may regard positive feedback they receive from Whites as disingenuous. This may lead them to react to such feedback with feelings of uncertainty and threat. Three studies examined how suspicion of motives relates to ethnic minorities' responses to receiving positive feedback from a White peer or same-ethnicity peer (Experiment 1), to receiving feedback from a White peer that was positive or negative (Experiment 2), and to receiving positive feedback from a White peer who did or did not know their ethnicity (Experiment 3). As predicted, the more suspicious Latinas were of Whites' motives for behaving positively toward minorities in general, the more they regarded positive feedback from a White peer who knew their ethnicity as disingenuous and the more they reacted with cardiovascular reactivity characteristic of threat/avoidance, increased feelings of stress, heightened uncertainty, and decreased self-esteem. We discuss the implications for intergroup interactions of perceptions of Whites' motives for nonprejudiced behavior.
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Shades of Race: How Phenotype and Observer Characteristics Shape Racial Classification
Cynthia Feliciano
American Behavioral Scientist, forthcoming
Abstract:
Although race-based discrimination and stereotyping can only occur if people place others into racial categories, our understanding of this process, particularly in contexts where observers categorize others based solely on appearance, is limited. Using a unique data set drawn from observers’ assessments of photos posted by White, Black, Latino, and multiracial online daters, this study examines how phenotype and observer characteristics influence racial categorization and cases of divergence between self-identities and others’ classifications. I find that despite the growth in the multiracial population, observers tend to place individuals into monoracial categories, including Latino. Skin color is the primary marker used to categorize others by race, with light skin associated with Whiteness, medium skin with Latinidad, and, most strongly, dark skin with Blackness. Among daters who self-identify as Black along with other racial categories, those with dark skin are overwhelmingly placed solely into a Black category. These findings hold across observers, but the proportion of photos placed into different racial categories differs by observers’ gender and race. Thus, estimates of inequality may vary depending not only on how race is assessed but also on who classifiers are. I argue that patterns of racial categorization reveal how the U.S. racial structure has moved beyond binary divisions into a system in which Latinos are seen as a racial group in-between Blacks and Whites, and a dark-skin rule defines Blacks’ racial options.
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Part-Latinos and Racial Reporting in the Census: An Issue of Question Format?
Michael Hajime Miyawaki
Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, forthcoming
Abstract:
In this study, the author examines the racial reporting decisions of the offspring of Latino/non-Latino white, black, and Asian intermarriages, focusing on the meanings associated with their racial responses in the 2010 census and their thoughts on the separate race and Hispanic origin question format. Through interviews with 50 part-Latinos from New York, the findings demonstrated that their racial responses were shaped largely by question design, often due to the lack of Hispanic origins in the race question. Many added that their responses did not reflect their racial identity as “mixed” or as “both” Latino and white, black, or Asian. Most preferred “Latino” racial categories, and when given the option in a combined race and Hispanic origin question format, they overwhelmingly marked Latino in combination with white, black, or Asian. Part-Latinos’ preference for “Latino” racial options may stem from the racialization of Latinos as nonwhite and their desire to express all aspects of their mixed heritage identity. Moreover, the contrast in racial reporting in the 2010 census and the Census Bureau’s recently proposed “race or origin” question for the 2020 census could result in different population counts and interpretations of racial statistics.
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Misinterpretation of African American English BIN by adult speakers of Standard American English
Tim Beyer, Karlyn Edwards & Caitlin Fuller
Language & Communication, November 2015, Pages 59–69
Abstract:
African American English (AAE) and Standard American English (SAE) share many cognates (forms similar in phonology and function) while differences are often masked by false cognates (forms similar in phonology but different in function). Because false cognates are interpretable via a listener's own variety, this likely impacts performance on language-based tests. This study investigates how adult SAE- (n = 24) and AAE-speakers (n = 24) process BIN, an AAE tense/aspect marker. In AAE, stressing BIN indicates the remote past; when unstressed, been indicates the recent past. Results show that while both AAE- and SAE-speakers can perceive and produce the phonetic cues that differentiate BIN and been, only the AAE-speakers accurately infer that BIN corresponds to the remote past.