Showing papers in "Journal of Social Issues in 1990"
TL;DR: Moral exclusion occurs when individuals or groups are perceived as outside the boundary in which moral values, rules, and considerations of fairness apply as discussed by the authors, and therefore, harming or exploiting them appears to be appropriate, acceptable, or just.
Abstract: Moral exclusion occurs when individuals or groups are perceived as outside the boundary in which moral values, rules, and considerations of fairness apply. Those who are morally excluded are perceived as nonentities, expendable, or undeserving. Consequently, harming or exploiting them appears to be appropriate, acceptable, or just. This broad definition encompasses both severe and mild forms of moral exclusion, from genocide to discrimination. The paper discusses the antecedents and symptoms of moral exclusion, and the interaction between the psychological and social factors that foster its development. Empirical research on moral exclusion is needed to pinpoint its causes, to predict its progression, and to effect change in social issues that involve the removal of victims from our moral communities. The last section of the paper introduces the articles that follow.
987 citations
TL;DR: The authors used the expectancy effect to analyze the role parents may play in influencing their children to engage in gender role stereotyped activities such as math and sports, and found that the child's gender affects parents' causal attributions for their children's performance in these activities, and these perceptual biases influence the children's own self-perceptions and activity choices.
Abstract: Gender segregation continues to exist in many activity and occupational domains. This article uses the expectancy effect perspective to analyze the role parents may play in influencing their children to engage in gender role stereotyped activities. It outlines the theoretical bases for such effects, and discusses how to distinguish between accuracy and perceptual bias in parents' gender role differentiated perceptions of their children's competencies and interests. Then it summarizes the results of a series of studies, which show that parents distort their perceptions of their own children in gender role stereotypic activities such as math and sports, that the child's gender affects parents' causal attributions for their children's performance in gender role stereotypic activities, and that these perceptual biases influence the children's own self-perceptions and activity choices. Finally, the article presents a theoretical model of how these processes may occur.
710 citations
TL;DR: There are different psychological mechanisms by which moral control can be selectively activated or disengaged from inhumane conduct as discussed by the authors, such as reconstruing detrimental conduct through moral justification, euphemistic labeling, and advantageous contrast with other inhumanities, obscuring personal agency in detrimental activities through diffusion and displacement of responsibility, disregarding or misrepresenting the harmful consequences of inhumane behaviour, and blaming and dehumanizing the victims.
Abstract: Moral conduct is motivated and regulated mainly by the ongoing exercise of self-reactive influence. But self-regulatory mechanisms do not operate unless they are activated, and there are different psychological mechanisms by which moral control can be selectively activated or disengaged from inhumane conduct. Self-sanctions can be disengaged by reconstruing detrimental conduct through moral justification, euphemistic labeling, and advantageous contrast with other inhumanities; by obscuring personal agency in detrimental activities through diffusion and displacement of responsibility; by disregarding or misrepresenting the harmful consequences of inhumane conduct; and by blaming and dehumanizing the victims. These mechanisms of moral disengagement operate not only in the perpetration of inhumanities under extraordinary circumstances, but in everyday situations where people routinely perform activities that bring personal benefits at injurious costs to others. Given the many psychological devices for disengagement of moral control, societies cannot rely solely on individuals, however honorable their standards, to provide safeguards against inhumanities. To function humanely, societies must establish effective social safeguards against moral disengagement practices that foster exploitive and destructive conduct.
509 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of stereotype-based expectancies on social perception and behavior are discussed, and possible strategies for undermining these effects are also discussed, including self-fulfilling prophecies.
Abstract: Expectancies about others are often based on stereotypes of the groups to which they belong. This article reviews the effects of stereotype-based expectancies on social perception and behavior. An information processing perspective is adopted in discussing the research evidence concerning the effects of stereotypes on (a) information processing and judgments, (b) information seeking and hypothesis testing, and (c) interpersonal behavior via self-fulfilling prophecies. Possible strategies for undermining these effects are also discussed.
303 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyze the causes and consequences of delegitimization and suggest two models that describe the role of conflict and ethnocentrism in the process of such a process.
Abstract: Delegitimization is the process of categorizing groups into extremely negative social categories and excluding them from acceptability. This paper analyzes the causes and consequences of delegitimization, and suggests two models that describe the role of conflict in delegitimization and of ethnocentrism in delegitimization. During conflict, when the ingroup perceives the negating goal(s) of an outgroup as far-reaching and evil, feelings of threat become intensified and delegitimization may be used to explain the conflict. Then, to prevent danger, the ingroup may harm the threatening group and justify the harm by delegitimization, which in turn increases perceived threat and intensifies harmful behavior toward the other group. Even mild conflicts can escalate, become violent, and lead to delegitimization as an explanation, and later, as justification. Ethnocentrism is related to this process because groups that are perceived as very different and devalued arouse feelings of fear and contempt. Their delegitimization leads to harm, and later, to intensified delegitimization to justify the harm.
299 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an approach to the initiation, maintenance, and cessation of delinquency is outlined in which an adolescent's possible selves play a pivotal role, and the dynamic interaction between the social environment, expectations of the self, and delinquency involvement is highlighted.
Abstract: An approach to the initiation, maintenance, and cessation of delinquency is outlined in which an adolescent's possible selves play a pivotal role. Possible selves are the individual's self-relevant expectations for the future. They include what a person hopes to become, expects to become, and fears that he or she might become. With respect to action control, a particularly important aspect of adolescents' configuration of possible selves is the balance between their expected possible selves and their feared possible selves. Balance occurs when expected possible selves (e.g., “I will get a good job”) are offset by countervailing feared possible selves in the same domain (e.g., “I could be unemployed and on the street”). Without balance between expected and feared selves in important domains, both the initiation and the maintenance of delinquent activity are more likely. The dynamic interaction between the social environment, expectations of the self, and delinquency involvement is highlighted.
237 citations
TL;DR: The authors explored the effects of layoffs on the work behaviors and attitudes of the employees not laid off (the survivors) and found that survivors tend to become more withdrawn from their jobs and organizations to the extent that they believe management handled the layoff unfairly.
Abstract: The studies described in this paper explored the effects of layoffs on the work behaviors and attitudes of the employees not laid off (the survivors) Survivors were hypothesized to become more withdrawn from their jobs and organization to the extent that they believe management handled the layoff unfairly Moreover, these tendencies should be especially true when the layoff victims were included in survivors' scope of justice The results of field and laboratory studies supported these predictions Implications of the findings are discussed
223 citations
TL;DR: Although a minority of individuals were able to locate and retain a dwelling, homelessness was most often part of a pattern of residential instability that also included frequent and relatively brief stays in dwellings.
Abstract: This paper reports on the methods and findings of a six-month panel study of homeless individuals in a Midwest city. Patterns of homelessness are described, focusing on exits from and returns to homelessness as well as the types of dwellings obtained upon exit. The findings call into question (a) the commonly accepted proposition that homelessness involves the lack of a dwelling and ends as soon as a dwelling is attained, (b) prevalent characterizations of the typical length of homelessness, and (c) the claim that experience with homelessness profoundly alters the probability of a stable escape. Although a minority of individuals were able to locate and retain a dwelling, homelessness was most often part of a pattern of residential instability that also included frequent and relatively brief stays in dwellings.
196 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that disaffiliation and reaffiliation processes are keys to understanding entrenchment in homelessness and developing remediation strategies, and identify four clusters: the Recently Disclocated, the Vulnerable, the Outsiders and the Prolonged.
Abstract: The diversity of homeless people and the complexity of their problems challenge our understanding of how best to serve them. This article argues that disaffiliation and reaffiliation processes are keys to understanding entrenchment in homelessness and developing remediation strategies. Survey data collected from 166 homeless persons in Austin, Texas, identified four clusters: (1) the Recently Dislocated have small social networks and mild mental health problems; (2) the Vulnerable have been homeless longer, have fewer people in their social networks, and border on severe dysfunction; (3) the Outsiders have been homeless about as long as the Vulnerable but have much larger social networks and function as well as the Recently Dislocated; (4) the Prolonged have been homeless for more than five years, have few people in their networks, and appear moderately dysfunctional. Comparison of life experiences of these four groups provided information on the social processes leading toward entrenchment in homelessness.
148 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe how certain motives can combine with the exclusion of people from the moral universe, leading to torture, genocide, and mass killing, and how bystanders also have great potential power to inhibit the evolution of increasing destructiveness.
Abstract: The article describes how certain motives can combine with the exclusion of people from the moral universe, leading to torture, genocide, and mass killing. Personal goal theory is presented as a framework. Personal goals and moral values have ranges of applicability from which certain groups may be excluded. When there is conflict between goals and values, stringent moral values can be replaced by others that allow harm doing—a process termed moral equilibration. The psychological and motivational sources of exclusion include devaluation of groups, just-world thinking, self-distancing by euphemisms or by an objectifying perceptual stance that reduces empathy, and ideologies that identify enemies. Certain cultural characteristics create a predisposition for group violence. Together with intensely difficult life conditions, they give rise to powerful motives and lead to ways of fulfilling them that turn the group against a subgroup of society. As they harm their victims, the perpetrators and the whole society change, progressing along a continuum of destruction that can end in genocide. Bystanders often encourage perpetrators, and they themselves are changed as they passively face the suffering of victims. However, bystanders also have great potential power to inhibit the evolution of increasing destructiveness.
145 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on the detection and deterrence of moral exclusion by identifying conditions that support pluralism and the right to dissent, and suggest research approaches that combine scientific investigation with expansion of the scope of social justice.
Abstract: This paper focuses on the detection and deterrence of moral exclusion. From a variety of perspectives, different authors have demonstrated the progression of moral exclusion: from conflicts of interest, to group categorizations, moral justifications, unjust procedures, and finally, harmful outcomes. Dissent, divergent opinions, and a pluralistic perspective all help to combat moral exclusion by enlarging the scope of justice. However, dissent and diversity can narrow as well as widen the scope of justice, so it is important to identify conditions that support pluralism and the right to dissent. Research approaches are suggested that combine scientific investigation with expansion of the scope of social justice.
TL;DR: In each of the major areas surveyed—health, development, and education—studies reveal that homeless children are not simply at risk; most suffer specific physical, psychological, and emotional damage due to the circumstances that usually accompany episodes of homelessness for families and children.
Abstract: This review summarizes the small body of research and literature to date that focuses on the specific effects of homelessness on children. In each of the major areas surveyed—health, development, and education—studies reveal that homeless children are not simply at risk; most suffer specific physical, psychological, and emotional damage due to the circumstances that usually accompany episodes of homelessness for families and children. The article concludes with a brief consideration of the research and policy implications of this research.
TL;DR: According to psychological theories of cognitive consistency, voters are likely to overestimate the degree to which political candidates they like agree with their own policy preferences, and to underestimate the extent to which those they oppose agree with the policies they oppose.
Abstract: According to psychological theories of cognitive consistency, voters are likely to overestimate the degree to which political candidates they like agree with their own policy preferences, and to overestimate the degree to which political candidates they oppose disagree with their own policy preferences. This paper reviews and critiques the literature evaluating these hypotheses, referred to as positive and negative projection. Then it reports results of a new empirical investigation that applied improved analytic methods to survey data on three issues collected during the 1984 American presidential election. Analyses using traditional methods replicated previous findings of both positive and negative projection, but improved analyses indicated that neither positive nor negative projection occurred. The vast majority of voters were accurate in their candidate perceptions, especially political experts and citizens to whom an issue was personally important. These findings provide further evidence of the generally high accuracy of social perception, particularly among individuals who are especially attentive to a stimulus.
TL;DR: The demographic, social, and housing characteristics of homeless families in the period before they requested emergency shelter vary significantly, indicating that homeless families are not a monolithic and homogeneous population.
Abstract: This article uses survey data to identify three pathways followed by homeless families in the period before they requested emergency shelter. The analysis groups 482 New York City families who were new entrants to homelessness into those whose longest residence in the year prior to the shelter request was as primary tenants in their own living quarters (43% of the sample), those who lived with others last year but who had once been primary tenants for a year or more (13%), and those who had never had a stable place of their own (44%). The demographic, social, and housing characteristics of these three groups vary significantly, indicating that homeless families are not a monolithic and homogeneous population. Consequently policies must be made specific to the needs of these families.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed the problem of homelessness in terms of the low-income housing ratio, the number of households living below the poverty line divided by the available low-cost housing units available.
Abstract: Homelessness is analyzed systemically in terms of the “low-income housing ratio”—the number of households living below the poverty line divided by the number of affordable housing units available. When there is a shortage of affordable low-cost housing units, some low-income households pay more than they can afford for housing and others double up with friends or family. However, once those households that can pay more or double up have done so, if there are still more low-income households than there are low-cost housing units, homelessness will inevitably result. This will be true regardless of the characteristics of the households that become homeless. Thus, mental health approaches that treat the individual without changing the overall low-income housing ratio will be ineffective in reducing homelessness, as will programs providing only emergency shelter or transitional housing. Only those programs that reduce poverty or increase the supply of affordable housing will be effective in decreasing the total number of homeless families in the United States.
TL;DR: This paper reviewed evidence showing that people are often quite accurate and that even relatively modest expectancy effects may contribute to some social problems in important ways, and concluded that under some conditions, the contribution of expectancy effects to social problems may be larger than current empirical evidence suggests.
Abstract: From the standpoint of basic theory and social policy it is important to understand the extent to which expectancies contribute to social problems. Naturalistic and meta-analytic evidence is reviewed showing that (a) expectations influence social reality and may contribute to social problems such as prejudice and inequities in educational and occupational opportunity, but (b) the influence of expectations on social reality generally is more limited than often claimed. One of the most important limitations on the contribution of expectations to social problems may be that they are often accurate (i.e., they predict others' behaviors and attributes without influencing those others' behaviors and attributes). Accurate expectations create neither cognitive biases nor self-fulfilling prophecies, and this article reviews evidence showing that people are often quite accurate. Nonetheless, even relatively modest expectancy effects may contribute to some social problems in important ways. Further, research suggests that certain conditions facilitate or inhibit the occurrence of expectancy effects. Consequently, under some conditions, the contribution of expectancy effects to social problems may be larger than the current empirical evidence suggests. The article concludes by discussing how to “harness Pygmalion effects” to develop interventions for alleviating particular social problems.
TL;DR: The authors examined the effects of group membership on group members' concerns about justice and found that people of differing centrality to the group differ in their justice concerns, supporting both social exchange and group-value models of justice.
Abstract: This paper examines the effects of group membership on group members' concerns about justice Two types of effects are hypothesized to exist: inclusionary and exclusionary Inclusionary effects involve the relationship between groups and their members Exclusionary effects involve the relationship of groups to nonmembers Data from a recent study of citizen reactions to encounters with legal authority suggest that inclusionary effects do occur—for example, people of differing centrality to the group differ in their justice concerns This finding supports both social exchange and group-value models of justice, both of which suggest that justice concerns are linked to group membership The form of the inclusionary effects—which show that members of intermediate status care most about justice—supports the predictions of group-value theory A theoretical analysis of exclusionary effects suggests that such effects may be complex, being influenced by factors such as the structure and values of the group in question
TL;DR: In this paper, a more comprehensive model of homelessness would include factors at the levels of individuals, social groups, and the socioeconomic context that contribute to homelessness, and pertinent social policy at both micro- and macro-level.
Abstract: Research on homelessness has tended to focus on problems of homeless individuals, sometimes diverting attention from underlying causes and reinforcing stereotypes about the population. A more comprehensive model of homelessness would include factors at the levels of individuals, social groups, and the socioeconomic context that contribute to homelessness. Papers in this issue investigate key factors at each of these levels. They consider the scope of homelessness and the history of society's responses, individual problems as both consequences and causes of homelessness, dynamics of entry to and exits from homelessness, and pertinent social policy at both micro- and macrolevels.
TL;DR: It is concluded that homelessness should be considered as a remediable condition of the environment that places a large and growing portion of the urban poverty population at high health risk.
Abstract: Clinical data from the National Health Care for the Homeless program are analyzed to provide a portrait of the health status of the urban homeless. Ill health, physical as well as mental, is both a cause and a consequence of homelessness; homeless people suffer from many physical disorders at dramatically elevated rates. Homelessness also greatly complicates the delivery of adequate health care. The paper concludes that homelessness should be considered as a remediable condition of the environment that places a large and growing portion of the urban poverty population at high health risk.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe the work of a mental health team confronting the individual and social consequences of human rights violations by the military government in Chile from 1973 through 1989, and emphasize the importance of societal reparation for psychological recovery of the victims and the consolidation of a stable democracy in Chile.
Abstract: This article describes the work of a mental health team confronting the individual and social consequences of human rights violations by the military government in Chile from 1973 through 1989. It examines three forms of repression—torture, disappearance, and death—and the consequences these have had for victims and family members. Damage to victims is conceptualized in terms of “extreme traumatization,” and psychotherapeutic work with the victims has required radical rethinking of the nature of the therapeutic bond that is necessary with these patients. Grief processes have special relevance in this work, as does the relationship between the personal experience of repression and the sociopolitical context. An illustrative case study of therapy with a torture victim is presented. Finally, the article emphasizes the importance of societal reparation for the psychological recovery of the victims and the consolidation of a stable democracy in Chile.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present some of the most sophisticated and careful of current social science research on homelessness in the United States, which is useful for planning purposes for informing those charged with managing or ameliorating homelessness.
Abstract: The research reported in this journal issue represents some of the most sophisticated and careful of current social science research on homelessness in the United States. Much of the early research was limited to assessment of the numbers and characteristics of the homeless. More sophisticated studies utilizing longitudinal and ethnographic methods are now available. All of this research is useful for planning purposes—for informing those charged with managing or ameliorating homelessness. However, if research is to inform efforts to end mass homelessness, the focus of current research must be broadened and research questions redefined. Epidemiological studies can indicate only who is likely to lose in the competition to find housing. But the causes of homelessness may ultimately have much more to do with social facts that account for the distribution of housing and other resources than with facts about individual homeless people. Much useful research remains to be done on such things as how images of homelessness are communicated through the mass media, the determinants of attitudes of both ordinary citizens and policy-making elites toward the poor and homeless, how and why organized advocacy on these issues has succeeded, and how and why it has failed.
TL;DR: A greater emphasis on a generative orientation will have important implications for psychology in all three worlds, particularly with respect to "despecialization, the relationship between psychology and power elites, the role of psychological factors in national development, and relationship between the speed of change in psychological, economic, and other spheres as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Psychology in the United States and the other industrialized nations, as well as in Third World societies, has tended to be modulative in orientation, in that it “reacts to” rather than instigates societal change. The urgent need in Third World societies to achieve fundamental change and modernization has led some psychologists to show interest in generative psychology, which attempts to initiate and influence macrolevel change. A greater emphasis on a generative orientation will have important implications for psychology in all three worlds, particularly with respect to “despecialization,” the relationship between psychology and power elites, the role of psychological factors in national development, and the relationship between the speed of change in psychological, economic, and other spheres.
TL;DR: Analysis of interviews in the New York City shelter system for homeless adults during the summer of 1987 indicated strong associations between the degree and kind of involvement with drugs, alcohol, and mental problems and the respondents' physical health status.
Abstract: To understand the influence of substance use, substance abuse, and mental disorder on the health status and physical condition of homeless adults, representative samples of 949 men and 311 women residing in the New York City shelter system for homeless adults during the summer of 1987 were interviewed with a structured protocol. A typology of ten groups was identified, based on their profiles on 7 measures of substance use, substance abuse, and mental disorder. Their scores on 16 measures of self-rated health status and lifetime prevalence of physical conditions were the dependent variables. Results indicated strong associations between the degree and kind of involvement with drugs, alcohol, and mental problems and the respondents' physical health status. Homeless adults characterized by heavy use and abuse of substances and symptoms and/or histories of mental disorder reported the highest rates of poor physical health. Those involved only in the use of substances or in none of the 7 problems consistently reported the best health. Implications of the findings for policy determination are discussed.
TL;DR: The first problem in establishing the parameters of the homeless population is one of definitions as discussed by the authors, and different studies have focused on street people, shelter users, people applying for assistance, or those using services.
Abstract: Homelessness is a major national problem, but the exact extent of the problem is difficult to determine. The homeless are not a homogeneous category of people, but include a wide variety of types. The first problem in establishing the parameters of the homeless population is one of definitions. Different studies have focused on street people, shelter users, people applying for assistance, or those using services. Formal attempts to count the homeless have used indirect counting methods, direct counting methods, and one recent study used a capture—recapture estimation technique. Such methods have some validity in making local estimates, although each has its disadvantages. Attempting to make national estimates is much more difficult, and any national estimate must be regarded with great caution. The numbers of people in specific subgroups of the homeless may be of even greater importance for public policy and planning. While the root causes of homelessness are the scarcity of low-income housing and the inadequacy of income supports for the poor, there are specific groups of homeless people who need special services. Such groups include the homeless mentally ill, alcoholics and drug abusers, AIDS victims, and families with small children. Assessing the extent of these problems among the homeless is therefore important for planning services.
TL;DR: Affirmative action can have negative effects on expectancies and behavior; such outcomes, however, are not inevitable as mentioned in this paper, and when compared with "equal opportunity" policies, well-designed affirmative action programs offer clear advantages to the members of target groups.
Abstract: The goal of affirmative action policies, the elimination of racial and sexual inequality, generates at least public agreement among most Americans, but affirmative action methods remain controversial, even among their intended beneficiaries. Affirmative action programs are criticized for reinforcing rather than dissolving racial and sexual barriers, and for making social categories salient. Further, if affirmative action programs appear to involve a lowering of standards, negative expectancies will be attached to minority status, some people will believe that those who were hired under affirmative action are less qualified than those who were not, and these beliefs may elicit corresponding differences in performance. The empirical evidence shows that affirmative action can have negative effects on expectancies and behavior; such outcomes, however, are not inevitable. When compared with “equal opportunity” policies, well-designed affirmative action programs offer clear advantages to the members of target groups.
TL;DR: Differences between individuals with various chronic disorders indicated that those with chronic substance abuse, and particularly those with both substance abuse and chronic mental illness, were most distinctive in their adaptation.
Abstract: This article describes the subsistence-related activities of homeless adults in Los Angeles' downtown area, and examines whether homeless people with chronic disorders such as major mental illness and/or substance abuse differ from those with no chronic disorder in their subsistence adaptation. Findings indicate that homeless people use multiple resources over short periods of time. While minor differences between those with and without disorders were apparent, the general lack of differences between these two groups was most striking, suggesting the leveling quality of homelessness. Differences between individuals with various chronic disorders indicated that those with chronic substance abuse, and particularly those with both substance abuse and chronic mental illness, were most distinctive in their adaptation.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors ask whether or not there is a need to identify some people as allies and others as enemies during the course of human development, and the circumstances that activate this potential.
Abstract: This paper asks whether or not there is a need, which emerges inescapably during the course of human development, to identify some people as allies and others as enemies. In answering this question, it describes the potential for moral splitting within all of us, and the circumstances that activate this potential.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine how public schools, which are supposed to be universally accessible moral communities, engage in patterns of systematic exclusion, through three case studies of public secondary schools, in each of which issues of exclusion of groups of students have arisen.
Abstract: The question posed in this paper is: How do public schools, which are supposed to be universally accessible moral communities, engage in patterns of systematic exclusion? Through three case studies of public secondary schools, in each of which issues of exclusion of groups of students have arisen, this analysis pierces educational ideologies of “merit,” “choice,” and “tradition” as they have justified moral exclusion from public education.
TL;DR: In this paper, data from two quasi-experimental and two experimental studies of cooperative, equal-status, interracial contact are presented, and the results show increases in favorable beliefs about and liking for Blacks by formerly prejudiced Whites.
Abstract: Data from two quasi-experimental and two experimental studies of cooperative, equal-status, interracial contact are presented. The results show increases in favorable beliefs about and liking for Blacks by formerly prejudiced Whites. Such changes are accompanied by greater readiness to extend equality of social benefits (e.g., unsegregated housing, education, and employment) to Black persons. This illustrates one approach to the goal of extending the scope of social justice to subordinate groups from whom it is often withheld. Research relevant to other approaches to the goal is also discussed. The cumulative evidence represents a beginning step in formulating a psychology of improving justice.