Showing papers in "Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 1995"
TL;DR: The role of stereotype vulnerability in the standardized test performance of ability-stigmatized groups is discussed and mere salience of the stereotype could impair Blacks' performance even when the test was not ability diagnostic.
Abstract: Stereotype threat is being at risk of confirming, as self-characte ristic, a negative stereotype about one's group. Studies 1 and 2 varied the stereotype vulnerability of Black participants taking a difficult verbal test by varying whether or not their performance was ostensibly diagnostic of ability, and thus, whether or not they were at risk of fulfilling the racial stereotype about their intellectual ability. Reflecting the pressure of this vulnerability, Blacks underperformed in relation to Whites in the ability-diagnostic condition but not in the nondiagnostic condition (with Scholastic Aptitude Tests controlled). Study 3 validated that ability-diagnosticity cognitively activated the racial stereotype in these participants and motivated them not to conform to it, or to be judged by it. Study 4 showed that mere salience of the stereotype could impair Blacks' performance even when the test was not ability diagnostic. The role of stereotype vulnerability in the standardized test performance of ability-stigmatized groups is discussed. Not long ago, in explaining his career-long preoccupation with the American Jewish experience, the novelist Philip Roth said that it was not Jewish culture or religion per se that fascinated him, it was what he called the Jewish "predicament." This is an apt term for the perspective taken in the present research. It focuses on a social-psychological predicament that can arise from widely-known negative stereotypes about one's group. It is this: the existence of such a stereotype means that anything one does or any of one's features that conform to it make the stereotype more plausible as a self-characterization in the eyes of others, and perhaps even in one's own eyes. We call this predicament stereotype threat and argue that it is experienced, essentially, as a self-evaluative threat. In form, it is a predicament that can beset the members of any group about whom negative stereotypes exist. Consider the stereotypes elicited by the terms yuppie, feminist, liberal, or White male. Their prevalence in society raises the possibility for potential targets that the stereotype is true of them and, also, that other people will see them that way. When the allegations of the stereotype are importantly
7,282 citations
TL;DR: A theoretical model of psychological well-being that encompasses 6 distinct dimensions of wellness (Autonomy, Environmental Mastery, Personal Growth, Positive Relations with Others, Purpose in Life, Self-Acceptance) was tested with data from a nationally representative sample of adults (N = 1,108), aged 25 and older, who participated in telephone interviews.
Abstract: A theoretical model of psychological well-being that encompasses 6 distinct dimensions of wellness (Autonomy, Environmental Mastery, Personal Growth, Positive Relations with Others, Purpose in Life, Self-Acceptance) was tested with data from a nationally representative sample of adults (N = 1,108), aged 25 and older, who participated in telephone interviews. Confirmatory factor analyses provided support for the proposed 6-factor model, with a single second-order super factor. The model was superior in fit over single-factor and other artifactual models. Age and sex differences on the various well-being dimensions replicated prior findings. Comparisons with other frequently used indicators (positive and negative affect, life satisfaction) demonstrated that the latter neglect key aspects of positive functioning emphasized in theories of health and well-being.
5,610 citations
TL;DR: The research examines an unobtrusive measure of racial attitudes based on the evaluations that are automatically activated from memory on the presentation of Black versus White faces and the status of the Modern Racism Scale (MRS).
Abstract: The research examines an unobtrusive measure of racial attitudes based on the evaluations that are automatically activated from memory on the presentation of Black versus White faces. Study 1, which concerned the technique's validity, obtained different attitude estimates for Black and White participants and also revealed that the variability among White participants was predictive of other race-related judgments and behavior. Study 2 concerned the lack of correspondence between the unobtrusive estimates and Modern Racism Scale (MRS) scores. The reactivity of the MRS was demonstrated in Study 3. Study 4 observed an interaction between the unobtrusive estimates and an individual difference in motivation to control prejudiced reactions when predicting MRS scores. The theoretical implications of the findings for consideration of automatic and controlled components of racial prejudice are discussed, as is the status of the MRS.
2,215 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, five studies tested hypotheses derived from the sociometer model of self-esteem according to which the selfesteem system monitors others' reactions and alerts the individual to the possibility of social exclusion.
Abstract: Five studies tested hypotheses derived from the sociometer model of self-esteem according to which the self-esteem system monitors others' reactions and alerts the individual to the possibility of social exclusion Study 1 showed that the effects of events on participants' state self-esteem parallel
2,154 citations
TL;DR: A motivational model of alcohol use is proposed and tested in which people are hypothesized to use alcohol to regulate both positive and negative emotions and indicates the importance of distinguishing psychological motives for alcohol use.
Abstract: The present study proposed and tested a motivational model of alcohol use in which people are hypothesized to use alcohol to regulate both positive and negative emotions. Two central premises underpin this model: (a) that enhancement and coping motives for alcohol use are proximal determinants of alcohol use and abuse through which the influence of expectancies, emotions, and other individual differences are mediated and (b) that enhancement and coping motives represent phenomenologically distinct behaviors having both unique antecedents and consequences. This model was tested in 2 random samples (1 of adults, 1 of adolescents) using a combination of moderated regression and path analysis corrected for measurement error. Results revealed strong support for the hypothesized model in both samples and indicate the importance of distinguishing psychological motives for alcohol use.
1,844 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors assessed whether cross-cultural variations in the strength of associations were related to societal dimensions including income and individualism, and found that life satisfaction and self-esteem were clearly discriminable constructs.
Abstract: College students in 31 nations (N = 13,118) completed measures of self-esteem, life satisfaction, and satisfaction with specific domains (friends, family, and finances). The authors assessed whether cross-cultural variations in the strength of associations were related to societal dimensions including income and individualism. At the national level, individualism correlated −0.24 (ns) with heterogeneity and 0.71 (p<0.001) with wealth. At the individual level, self-esteem and life satisfaction were correlated 0.47 for the entire sample. This relation, however, was moderated by the individualism of the society. The associations of financial, friend, and family satisfactions with life satisfaction and with self-esteem also varied across nations. Financial satisfaction was a stronger correlate of life satisfaction in poorer countries. It was found that life satisfaction and self-esteem were clearly discriminable constructs. Satisfaction ratings, except for financial satisfaction, varied between slightly positive and fairly positive.
1,785 citations
TL;DR: Subjective well-being in 55 nations, reported in probability surveys and a large college student sample, was correlated with social, economic, and cultural characteristics of the nations and only individualism persistently correlated with SWB when other predictors were controlled.
Abstract: Subjective well-being (SWB) in 55 nations, reported in probability surveys and a large college student sample, was correlated with social, economic, and cultural characteristics of the nations. The SWB surveys, representing nations that include three fourths of the earth's population, showed strong convergence. Separate measures of the predictor variables also converged and formed scales with high reliability, with the exception of the comparison variables. High income, individualism, human rights, and societal equality correlated strongly with each other, and with SWB across surveys. Income correlated with SWB even after basic need fulfillment was controlled. Only individualism persistently correlated with SWB when other predictors were controlled. Cultural homogeneity, income growth, and income comparison showed either low or inconsistent relations with SWB.
1,617 citations
TL;DR: Examining antisocial dispositions in 487 university students revealed that the strongest predictors of antisocial action were disinhibition, primary psychopathy, secondary Psychopathy, and sex, whereas thrill and adventure seeking was a negative predictor.
Abstract: The present study examined antisocial dispositions in 487 university students. Primary and secondary psychopathy scales were developed to assess a protopsychopathic interpersonal philosophy. An antisocial action scale also was developed for purposes of validation. The primary, secondary, and antisocial action scales were correlated with each other and with boredom susceptibility and disinhibition but not with experience seeking and thrill and adventure seeking. Secondary psychopathy was associated with trait anxiety. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the strongest predictors of antisocial action were disinhibition, primary psychopathy, secondary psychopathy, and sex, whereas thrill and adventure seeking was a negative predictor. This argues against a singular behavioral inhibition system mediating both antisocial and risk-taking behavior. These findings are also consistent with the view that psychopathy is a continuous dimension.
1,491 citations
TL;DR: A framework for studying personality in the stress process was used to analyze the links among neuroticism, daily interpersonal conflicts, coping with conflicts, and distress and showed that high-neuroticism participants had greater exposure and reactivity to conflicts.
Abstract: This article presents a framework for studying personality in the stress process. The framework specifies that personality may affect both exposure and reactivity to stressful events and that both processes may explain how personality affects health and psychological outcomes. The framework also specifies that personality differences in reactivity may be due to differential choice of coping efforts and differential effectiveness of those efforts. In a 14-day daily study of 94 students, this framework was used to analyze the links among neuroticism, daily interpersonal conflicts, coping with conflicts, and distress. Results showed that high-neuroticism participants had greater exposure and reactivity to conflicts. Furthermore, high- and low-neuroticism participants differed both in their choice of coping efforts and in the effectiveness of those efforts, a possibility not considered in previous models of personality in the stress process.
1,319 citations
TL;DR: McConahay et al. as mentioned in this paper compared factor structures of old-fashioned and modern sexism and racism and found that modern sexism is characterized by denial of continued discrimination, antagonism toward women's de-mands, and lack of support for policies designed to help women (for example, in education and work).
Abstract: Prejudice and discrimination against women has become increasingly subtle and covert (N. V. Be-nokraitis & J. R. Feagin, 1986). Unlike research on racism, little research about prejudice and dis-crimination against women has explicitly examined beliefs underlying this more modern form ofsexism. Support was found for a distinction between old-fashioned and modern beliefs about womensimilar to results that have been presented for racism (J. B. McConahay, 1986; D. O. Sears, 1988).The former is characterized by endorsement of traditional gender roles, differential treatment ofwomen and men, and stereotypes about lesser female competence. Like modern racism, modernsexism is characterized by the denial of continued discrimination, antagonism toward women's de-mands, and lack of support for policies designed to help women (for example, in education andwork). Research that compares factor structures of old-fashioned and modern sexism and racismand that validates our modern sexism scale is presented.
1,289 citations
TL;DR: Hypotheses about the effects of self-focused rumination on interpretations of events and interpersonal problem solving were tested in 3 studies with dysphoric and nondysphoric participants and it was shown that dysphoric participants who ruminated were more pessimistic about positive events in their future than the other 3 groups.
Abstract: Hypotheses about the effects of self-focused rumination on interpretations of events and interpersonal problem solving were tested in 3 studies with dysphoric and nondysphoric participants. Study 1 supported the hypothesis that dysphoric participants induced to ruminatively self-focus on their feelings and personal characteristics would endorse more negative, biased interpretations of hypothetical situations than dysphoric participants induced to distract themselves from their mood, or nondysphoric participants. Study 2 showed that dysphoric participants who ruminated were more pessimistic about positive events in their future than the other 3 groups. Study 3 showed that dysphoric ruminating participants generated less effective solutions to interpersonal problems than the other 3 groups. In Studies 1 and 3, dysphoric ruminating participants also offered the most pessimistic explanations for interpersonal problems and hypothetical negative events. In all 3 studies, dysphoric participants who distracted were as optimistic and effective in solving problems as non-dysphoric participants.
TL;DR: A field study of 116 AIDS volunteers and a conceptual framework that identifies psychological and behavioral features associated with antecedents, experiences, and consequences of volunteerism indicate that dispositional helping influences satisfaction and integration but not duration of service.
Abstract: A conceptual framework that identifies psychological and behavioral features associated with antecedents, experiences, and consequences of volunteerism is presented, and an inventory that measures 5 specific motivations for AIDS volunteerism is developed and cross-validated. Then a field study of 116 AIDS volunteers is presented in which a helping disposition, volunteer motivations, and social support (as antecedents), and personal satisfaction and organizational integration (as experiences) are used to predict duration of service over 2 1/2 years. Structural equation analyses indicate that dispositional helping influences satisfaction and integration but not duration of service, whereas greater motivation and less social support predict longer active volunteer service. The model is generalized to the prediction of perceived attitude change. Implications for conceptualizations of motivation, theoretical issues in helping, and practical concerns of volunteer organizations are discussed.
TL;DR: This article found that people were less biased when compared themselves with an individuated target than when they compared themselves to a non-individuated one, namely, the average college student.
Abstract: Research in which people compare themselves with an average peer has consistently shown that people evaluate themselves more favorably than they evaluate others. Seven studies were conducted to demonstrate that the magnitude of this better-than-average effect depends on the level of abstraction in the comparison. These studies showed that people were less biased when they compared themselves with an individuated target than when they compared themselves with a nonindividuated target, namely, the average college student. The better-than-average effect was reduced more when the observer had personal contact with the comparison target than when no personal contact was established. Differences in the magnitude of the better-than-average effect could not be attributed to the contemporaneous nature of the target's presentation, communication from the target, perceptual vividness, implied evaluation, or perceptions of similarity
TL;DR: This article found that personality integration measures are related to each other and to inventory measures of health and well-being, and that these integration measures were also related to role system integration and were prospective predictors of daily mood, vitality, and engagement in meaningful as opposed to distracting activities.
Abstract: Coherence and congruence-based measures of personality integration were related to a variety of healthy personality characteristics. Functional coherence was denned as occurring when participants' "personal strivings" (R. A. Emmons, 1986) help bring about each other or help bring about higher level goals. Organismic congruence was denned as occuring when participants strive for selfdetermined reasons or when strivings help bring about intrinsic rather than extrinsic higher level goals. Study 1 found the integration measures were related to each other and to inventory measures of health and well-being. Study 2 showed that these goal integration measures were also related to role system integration and were prospective predictors of daily mood, vitality, and engagement in meaningful as opposed to distracting activities.
TL;DR: A study of self-construal involving 5 cultures shows that differences between these cultures are captured mostly by the extent to which people see themselves as acting as independent agents, whereas gender differences are best summarized by the whether people regard themselves as emotionally related to others.
Abstract: Individualism and collectivism are often equated with independent vs. interdependent, agentic vs. communal, and separate vs. relational self-construals. Although these same concepts have been used to characterize both cultural and gender differences, a perspective of cultural evolution suggests it is unlikely. A division of labor within society may produce gender differences, but this cannot explain cultural differences. A study of self-construal involving 5 cultures (Australia, the United States, Hawaii, Japan, and Korea) shows that differences between these cultures are captured mostly by the extent to which people see themselves as acting as independent agents, whereas gender differences are best summarized by the extent to which people regard themselves as emotionally related to others.
TL;DR: The consistency of physical attractiveness ratings across cultural groups was examined in this paper, showing that Asians, Hispanics, and Whites were equally influenced by many facial features, but Asians were less influenced by some sexual maturity and expressive features.
Abstract: The consistency of physical attractiveness ratings across cultural groups was examined. In Study 1, recently arrived native Asian and Hispanic students and White Americans rated the attractiveness of Asian, Hispanic, Black, and White photographed women. The mean correlation between groups in attractiveness ratings was r =.93. Asians, Hispanics, and Whites were equally influenced by many facial features, but Asians were less influenced by some sexual maturity and expressive features. In Study 2, Taiwanese attractiveness ratings correlated with prior Asian, Hispanic, and American ratings, mean r =.91. Supporting Study 1, the Taiwanese also were less positively influenced by certain sexual maturity and expressive features. Exposure to Western media did not influence attractiveness ratings in either study. In Study 3, Black and White American men rated the attractiveness of Black female facial photos and body types. Mean facial attractiveness ratings were highly correlated (r = .94), but as predicted Blacks and Whites varied in judging bodies
TL;DR: The authors concluded that resources taken together are moderately strong predictors of SWB, and supported the hypothesis that resources correlate more strongly with SWB when they are relevant to an individual's idiographic personal strivings.
Abstract: The covariation of resources such as money, family support, social skills, and intelligence with subjective well-being (SWB) was assessed in 195 college students. Informant ratings provided an index of resources. Self-reports, daily experience sampling, and informant reports were used to measure SWB. The authors concluded that resources taken together are moderately strong predictors of SWB. This conclusion, however, was qualified by the fact that life satisfaction was more closely related to resources than was affective well-being and that social and personal resources were in general more strongly related to SWB than were material resources. The findings also supported the hypothesis that resources correlate more strongly with SWB when they are relevant to an individual's idiographic personal strivings. A tendency was found for people to choose personal strivings for which they have relevant resources, and the degree of congruence of individuals' goals with resources was predictive of SWB.
TL;DR: The authors examined the organization of individual differences in pleasant affect, unpleasant affect, and six discrete emotions and found strong convergence between the two pleasant emotions (love and joy) and between the four unpleasant emotions (fear, anger, sadness, and shame).
Abstract: We examined the organization of individual differences in pleasant affect, unpleasant affect, and six discrete emotions. We used several refinements over past studies: a) systematic sampling of emotions; b) control of measurement error through the use of latent traits; c) multiple methods for measuring affect; d) inclusion of only affects that are widely agreed to be emotions; e) a statistical definition of independence; and f) a focus on the frequency and duration of long-term affect. There was strong convergence between the two pleasant emotions (love and joy) and between the four unpleasant emotions (fear, anger, sadness, and shame). The results indicated, however, that individual differences in the discrete emotions cannot be reduced to positive and negative affect. The latent traits of pleasant and unpleasant affect were correlated -.44, and a two-factor model accounted for significantly more variance than a one-factor model. This finding indicates that long-term pleasant and unpleasant affect are not strictly orthogonal, but they are separable.
TL;DR: This article found that valences were related to value types, and choice of alternative was a function of both value types and valences, consistent with the assumption that values may induce valences on potential actions and outcomes and that value types may be organized into two bipolar dimensions, one of which contrasts openness to change with conservation and the other of which contrast selfenhancement with self-transcendence.
Abstract: Hypotheses about relations between values, valences, and choice were tested in a study in which 239 university students completed the Schwartz Value Survey (S. H. Schwartz, 1992) and then responded to 10 hypothetical scenarios, each of which presented them with 2 alternative courses of action assumed to prime different value types from the Schwartz circular structure. For each scenario, participants rated the attractiveness or valence of each alternative and then indicated which one they would choose. Results showed that, as predicted, valences were related to value types, and choice of alternative was a function of both value types and valences. The pattern of relations was consistent with the assumption that values may induce valences on potential actions and outcomes and that value types may be organized into 2 bipolar dimensions, one of which contrasts openness to change with conservation and the other of which contrasts self-enhancement with self-transcendence
TL;DR: According to appeasement hypotheses, embarrassment should have a distinct nonverbal display that is more readily perceived when displayed by individuals from lower status groups as mentioned in this paper, and the evidence from 5 studies supported these two claims.
Abstract: According to appeasement hypotheses, embarrassment should have a distinct nonverbal display that is more readily perceived when displayed by individuals from lower status groups. The evidence from 5 studies supported these two claims. The nonverbal behavior of embarrassment was distinct from a related emotion (amusement), resembled the temporal pattern of facial expressions of emotion, was uniquely related to self-reports of embarrassment, and was accurately identified by observers who judged the spontaneous displays of various emotions. Across the judgment studies, observers were more accurate and attributed more emotion to the embarrassment displays of female and AfricanAmerican targets than those of male and Caucasian targets. Discussion focused on the universality and appeasement function of the embarrassment display. Since universal facial expressions of a limited set of emotions were first documented (Ekman & Friesen, 1971; Ekman, Sorenson, & Friesen, 1969; Izard, 1971), sparse attention has been given to facial expressions of other emotions. The resulting lacuna in the field—that the emotions with identified displays are fewer (7 to 10) than the states that lay people (Fehr & Russell, 1984) and emotion theorists (Ekman, 1992; Izard, 1977; Tomkins, 1963, 1984) label as emotions—presents intriguing possibilities. Displays of other emotions may be blends of other emotional displays, unidentifiable, or may await discovery.
TL;DR: There are negative short-term and long-term consequences for individuals who self-enhance and, contrary to some prior formulations, accurate appraisals of self and of the social environment may be essential elements of mental health.
Abstract: The relation between overly positive self-evaluations and psychological adjustment was examined. Three studies, two based on longitudinal data and another on laboratory data, contrasted self-descriptions of personality with observer ratings (trained examiners or friends) to index self-enhancement. In the longitudinal studies, self-enhancement was associated with poor social skills and psychological maladjustment 5 years before and 5 years after the assessment of self-enhancement. In the laboratory study, individuals who exhibited a tendency to self-enhance displayed behaviors, independently judged, that seemed detrimental to positive social interaction. These results indicate there are negative short-term and long-term consequences for individuals who self-enhance and, contrary to some prior formulations, imply that accurate appraisals of self and of the social environment may be essential elements of mental health.
TL;DR: A measure of preference for consistency (the PFC Scale) was developed by Aronson et al. as discussed by the authors, and scores on the PFC successfully predicted individuals who would and would not be susceptible to a set of consistency-based effects: cognitive balance, foot in the door, and dissonance.
Abstract: A measure of preference for consistency (the PFC Scale) was developed. In three construct validation experiments, scores on the PFC successfully predicted individuals who would and would not be susceptible to a set of standard consistency-based effects: cognitive balance, foot in the door, and dissonance. The pattern of results in each of the experiments suggested the type of consistency that the PFC measures: a tendency to base one's responses to incoming stimuli on the implications of existing (prior entry) variables, such as previous expectancies, commitments, and choices. A surprisingly large percentage (at least half) of our participants showed no strong inherent preference for consistency—a finding that may explain the frequent failure to detect or replicate (a) traditional consistency effects and (b) a wide variety of other experimental phenomena. It is quite remarkable how many of the great, early theorists of social psychology developed or played an important role in developing consistency theories of human motivation (Brehm& Cohen, 1962;Festinger, 1957;Heider, 1946, 1958; McGuire, 1960; Newcomb, 1953; Osgood & Tannenbaum, 1955; Rokeach, 1960; Rosenberg & Abelson, 1960; Zajonc, 1960). It seems equally remarkable, then, that despite the counsel of so respected an array of minds and despite a decade-long cornucopia of supportive work (from the late 1950s to the late 1960s), consistency-based explanations are rarely invoked in present-day social psychological accounts of human functioning (Aronson, 1992; Berkowitz & Devine, 1989), even though several of the faithful have continued through the years to try to draw attention to the applicability of consistency motives to a wide array of behavior (Aronson, 1992; Cialdini & DeNicholas, 1989; McGuire, 1990; Wicklund & Brehm, 1976;Insko, 1984). To what are we to attribute this rather dramatic shift by social psychologists away from the explanatory utility of the consistency principle—that people are motivated toward cognitive consistency and will change their beliefs, attitudes, perceptions, and actions to achieve it? On a general level, one could point to the often decried "trendiness" of scientific investigation and to the reward structure of the scientific enterprise, which make well-researched issues less
TL;DR: Results suggest that people use relatively realistic thinking when setting goals and more positive thinking when implementing them during deliberation and when making decisions or implementing them.
Abstract: S. E. Taylor and J. D. Brown's (1988) position that mentally healthy people exhibit positive illusions raises a dilemma: How do people function effectively if their perceptions are positively biased? Using Gollwitzer's deliberative-implemental mindset distinction, we assessed whether people in a deliberative mindset show less evidence of positive illusions than people in an implemental mindset. Participants completed a mindset task and assessments of mood, self-perceptions, and perceived (invulnerability to risk. Deliberation led to worsened mood, greater perceived risk, and poorer self-perceptions, relative to implementation; control (no mindset) participants typically scored in between. Study 3 demonstrated that the mindset manipulation corresponds to how people actually make decisions or implement them. Results suggest that people use relatively realistic thinking when setting goals and more positive thinking when implementing them. Taylor and Brown (1988) proposed that a mentally healthy person is characterized not by accurate assessments of his or her personal qualities, realistic estimates of personal control, and a realistic outlook on the future but by positive illusions. Specifically, they maintained that people typically hold at least three mildly self-aggrandizing perceptions of themselves, the world, and the future: unrealistically positive self-perceptions, an illusion of personal control, and unrealistic optimism about the future. They argued that, instead of being maladaptive, these positively distorted perceptions actually foster the criteria normally associated with mental health: positive self-regard, the ability to care for and about other people, the capacity for creative and productive work, and the ability to effectively manage stress (Taylor, 1989; Taylor & Brown, 1994). Despite empirical support for the model, this portrait raises a disturbing question: If normal people's perceptions are marked by positive biases, how do they effectively identify and make use of negative feedback they may encounter in the world? If people are capable of explaining away, compartmentalizing, or otherwise dismissing or minimizing negative feedback, as
TL;DR: Results indicated that prototype perception was related to risk behavior in both a reactive and a prospective manner, which meant that perceptions changed as a function of change in behavior, and perceptions predicted those behavior changes as well.
Abstract: A prototype model of risk behavior is described and was tested in a longitudinal study of 679 college students, beginning at the start of their freshman year. Perceptions of the prototype associated with 4 health risk behaviors (smoking, drinking, reckless driving, and ineffective contraception) were assessed along with self-reports of the same behaviors. Results indicated that prototype perception was related to risk behavior in both a reactive and a prospective manner. That is, perceptions changed as a function of change in behavior, and perceptions predicted those behavior changes as well. This prospective relation was moderated by social comparison, as the link between perception and behavior change was stronger among persons who reported frequently engaging in social comparison.
TL;DR: A model describing the characteristics of sexually aggressive men that may also be useful for understanding the causes of other antisocial acts against women was tested and supported the usefulness of hierarchical modeling.
Abstract: We tested a model describing the characteristics of sexually aggressive men that may also be useful for understanding the causes of other antisocial acts against women. This model hypothesizes that sexual aggressors can be identified by two sets of characteristics, labeled hostile masculinity and impersonal sex. To test this model, we followed up a sample of men 10 years after first studying them when they were young adults. We sought to predict which men would be in distressed relationships with women, be aggressive sexually, be nonsexually aggressive, or some combination of these. These behaviors were measured not only by questioning the men themselves but also by questioning many of the men's female partners. Some couples' videotaped conversations were also analyzed. The data supported the ability of the model to predict behavior 10 years later. We also developed the model further and identified the common and unique characteristics contributing to sexual aggression as compared with the other conflictual behaviors studied. The data supported the usefulness of hierarchical modeling incorporating both general factors that contribute to various interpersonal conflicts as well as specific factors uniquely pertaining to dominance of women.
TL;DR: This paper found that hostility toward women can partially account for the relation of various Burt constructs with acceptance of rape myth acceptance, suggesting that rape myths may function differently for men and women and that there is significant utility in exploring a more broadly defined construct of misogyny for understanding the acceptance of sexual violence toward women.
Abstract: M. R. Burt (1980) concluded that acceptance of rape myths was strongly related to adversarial sexual beliefs, tolerance of interpersonal violence, and gender role stereotyping. However, the scales designed to assess these variables appear to share an emphasis on hostile attitudes toward women. Using alternative measures and 3 samples ofundergraduates (N = 429; 199 men and 230 women), the authors demonstrated that hostility toward women can partially account for the relation of the various Burt constructs with rape myth acceptance. In addition, a direct measure of hostility toward women exhibits considerably more predictive power among men than women, suggesting that rape myths may function differently for men and women and that there is significant utility in exploring a more broadly defined construct of misogyny for understanding the acceptance of sexual violence toward women
TL;DR: This article explored predictors of school persistence using a socially contextualized model of the self and found that balance in achievement-related possible selves predicted school achievement, especially for African American males.
Abstract: Schooling, critical to the transition to adulthood, is particularly problematic for urban and minority youths. To explore predictors of school persistence the authors propose a socially contextualized model of the self. Strategies to attain achievement-related possible selves were differentially predicted for White and Black university students (Study I, n = 105). For Whites, individualism, the Protestant work ethic, and balance in possible selves predicted generation of more achievement-related strategies. For Blacks, collectivism, ethnic identity, and low endorsement of individualism tended to predict strategy generation. In middle school, performance was predicted by gendered African American identity schema, particularly for females (Study 2, n = 146), and the effects of social context appeared gendered (Study 3, n = 55). Balance in achievement-related possible selves predicted school achievement, especially for African American males ( Study 4, n = 55).
TL;DR: The authors found that people are more willing to support authorities who make water conservation decisions when these authorities use fair decision-making procedures, and that the effectiveness of authorities is primarily linked to the nature of their social bonds with community members.
Abstract: This study examined people's willingness to restrain themselves during a naturally occurring social dilemma situation ― the 1991 California water shortage. The findings suggest that people are more willing to support authorities who make water conservation decisions when these authorities use fair decision-making procedures. Procedural justice effects were not found to be influenced by the perceived severity of the resource scarcity or the favorability of the authorities' decisions. Rather, they were primarily based on concerns for having positive, relational bonds to the authorities. These relational effects were found to be stronger for those respondents who identify more with their community. The study suggests that the effectiveness of authorities is primarily linked to the nature of their social bonds with community members.
TL;DR: This article found that participants made non-diagnostic comparisons even when they knew they should not, and quickly unmade them when they were able, suggesting that social comparisons may be relatively spontaneous, effortless, and unintentional reactions to the performances of others and that they may occur even when people consider such reactions logically inappropriate.
Abstract: People acquire information about their abilities by comparison, and research suggests that people restrict such comparisons to those whom they consider sources of diagnostic information. We suggest that diagnosticity is often considered only after comparisons are made and that people do not fail to make nondiagnostic comparisons so much as they mentally undo them. In 2 studies, participants made nondiagnostic comparisons even when they knew they should not, and quickly unmade them when they were able. These results suggest that social comparisons may be relatively spontaneous, effortless, and unintentional reactions to the performances of others and that they may occur even when people consider such reactions logically inappropriate.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors found that self-enhancing biases (such as unrealistic optimism) are absent from the motivational repertoire of Japanese because the consequent attention to the individual that selfenhancement engenders is not valued in interdependent cultures.
Abstract: Levels of unrealistic optimism were compared for Canadians (a culture typical of an independent construal of self) and Japanese (a culture typical of an interdependent construal of self). Across 2 studies, Canadians showed significantly more unrealistic optimism than Japanese, and Canadians' optimism bias was more strongly related to perceived threat. Study 2 revealed that Japanese were even less unrealistically optimistic for events that were particularly threatening to interdependent selves. The authors suggest that self-enhancing biases (such as unrealistic optimism) are, for the most part, absent from the motivational repertoire of the Japanese because the consequent attention to the individual that self-enhancement engenders is not valued in interdependent cultures