Perceptions of intergroup bias : the roles of social projection and meta-stereotypes

Underlying intergroup perceptions include processes of social projection (perceiving personal traitslbeliefs in others, see Krueger 1998) and meta-stereotyping (thinking about other groups' perceptions of one's own group, see Vorauer et aI., 1998). Two studies were conducted to investigate social projection and meta-stereotypes in the domain of White-Black racial relations. Study 1, a correlational study, examined the social projection of prejudice and 'prejudiced' meta-stereotypes among Whites. Results revealed that (a) Whites socially projected their intergroup attitudes onto other Whites (and Blacks) [i.e., Whites higher in prejudice against Blacks believed a large percentage of Whites (Blacks) are prejudiced against Blacks (Whites), whereas Whites low in prejudice believed a smaller percentage of Whites (Blacks) are prejudiced]; (b) Whites held the meta:..stereotype that their group (Whites) is viewed by Blacks to be prejudiced; and (c) prejudiced meta-stereotypes may be formed through the social projection of intergroup attitudes (result of path-model tests). Further, several correlates of social projection and meta-stereotypes were identified, including the finding that feeling negatively stereotyped by an outgroup predicted outgroup avoidance through heightened intergroup anxiety. Study 2 replicated and extended these findings, investigating the social projection of ingroup favouritism and meta- and other-stereotypes about ingroup favouritism. These processes were examined experimentally using an anticipated intergroup contact paradigm. The goal was to understand the experimental conditions under which people would display the strongest social projection of intergroup attitudes, and when experimentally induced meta-stereotypes (vs. other-stereotypes; beliefs about the group 11 preferences of one's outgroup) would be most damaging to intergroup contact. White participants were randomly assigned to one of six conditions and received (alleged) feedback from a previously completed computer-based test. Depending on condition, this information suggested that: (a) the participant favoured Whites over Blacks; (b) previous White participants favoured Whites over Blacks; (c) the participant's Black partner favoured Blacks over Whites; (d) previous Black participants favoured Blacks over Whites; (e) the participant's Black partner viewed the participant to favour Whites over Blacks; or (£) Black participants previously participating viewed Whites to favour Whites over Blacks. In a defensive reaction, Whites exhibited enhanced social projection of personal intergroup attitudes onto their ingroup under experimental manipulations characterized by self-concept threat (i.e., when the computer revealed that the participant favoured the ingroup or was viewed to favour the ingroup). Manipulated meta- and otherstereotype information that introduced intergroup contact threat, on the other hand, each exerted a strong negative impact on intergroup contact expectations (e.g., anxiety). Personal meta-stereotype manipulations (i.e., when the participant was informed that her/ his partner thinks s/he favours the ingroup) exerted an especially negative impact on intergroup behaviour, evidenced by increased avoidance of the upcoming interracial interaction. In contrast, personal self-stereotype manipulations (i.e., computer revealed that one favoured the ingroup) ironically improved upcoming intergroup contact expectations and intentions, likely due to an attempt to reduce the discomfort of holding negative intergroup attitudes. Implications and directions for future research are considered.

Social control and smoking: Examining the moderating effects of different dimensions of relationship quality

A common form of social regulation of an individual’s health behavior is social control. The contextual model of social control assumes that higher relationship quality goes along with more beneficial effects of social control on health behavior. This study examined potential differential moderating effects of different dimensions of relationship quality on the associations between positive and negative social control and smoking behavior and hiding smoking. The sample consisted of 144 smokers (n = 72 women; mean age = 31.78, SD = 10.04) with a nonsmoking partner. Positive and negative social control, dimensions of relationship quality consensus, cohesion and satisfaction, numbers of cigarettes smoked (NCS), hiding smoking (HS), and control variables were assessed at baseline. Four weeks later NCS and HS were assessed again. Only for smokers with high consensus, but not cohesion and satisfaction, a negative association between positive control and NCS emerged. Moreover, smokers with high consensus tended to report more HS when being positively and negatively socially controlled. This also emerged for cohesion and positive control. Satisfaction with the relationship did not display any interaction effects. This study’s results emphasize the importance of differentiating not only between positive and negative social control but also between different dimensions of relationship quality in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics in romantic dyads with regard to social regulation of behavioral change.

Zionism and world politics : a study in history and social psychology

by Horace Meyer Kallen

Improving the dependability of research in personality and social psychology: Recommendations for research and educational practice

In this article, the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) Task Force on Publication and Research Practices offers a brief statistical primer and recommendations for improving the dependability of research. Recommendations for research practice include (a) describing and addressing the choice of N (sample size) and consequent issues of statistical power, (b) reporting effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), (c) avoiding “questionable research practices” that can inflate the probability of Type I error, (d) making available research materials necessary to replicate reported results, (e) adhering to SPSP’s data sharing policy, (f) encouraging publication of high-quality replication studies, and (g) maintaining flexibility and openness to alternative standards and methods. Recommendations for educational practice include (a) encouraging a culture of “getting it right,” (b) teaching and encouraging transparency of data reporting, (c) improving methodological instruction, and (d) modeling sound science and supporting junior researchers who seek to “get it right.”

Social exclusion and shame in obesity

Weight bias often results in the social exclusion of individuals with obesity. The direct, short-term psychological effects of social exclusion in obesity have not been investigated yet. This study experimentally tests whether social exclusion elicits stronger negative emotions in individuals with obesity compared to normal-weight controls. Specifically, we test whether social exclusion has a specific impact on shame. In total, N = 299 individuals (n = 130 with body mass index [BMI] ≤ 30 and n = 169 with BMI N 30) were randomly assigned to a social exclusion condition or a control condition that was implemented with an online Cyberball paradigm. Before and after, they filled out questionnaires assessing state emotionality. Social exclusion increased negative emotionality in both groups compared to the control condition (p b 0.001) according to a multivariate ANOVA. However, the interaction of group and social exclusion was also significant (p = 0.035) and arose from a significant, specific increase of shame in the group with obesity during social exclusion (p b 0.001, Cohen's d = 0.7). When faced with social exclusion, individuals with obesity do not respond with more intensive negative emotions in general compared to controls, but with a specific increase in shame. As social exclusion is frequent in individuals with obesity, psychological interventions focussing shame-related emotional distress could be crucial.

Adolescence, its social psychology; with an introduction to recent findings from the fields of anthropology, physiology, medicine, psychometrics and sociometry.

"An Evergreen book."

Social psychology, an outline and source book,

Mode of access: Internet.

Psychology and the social order; an introduction to the dynamic study of social fields,

Bibliography: p. 503-517. "Bibliographical note" at end of each chapter except the last.

Summer notes on social psychology of industry and management at Non-Linear Systems, inc., Del Mar, California /

Mode of access: Internet.

Introduction to experimental method for psychology and the social sciences.

Mode of access: Internet.