Fundamental dimensions of social judgment: Understanding the relations between judgments of competence and warmth.

In seems there are two dimensions that underlie most judgments of traits, people, groups, and cultures. Although the definitions vary, the first makes reference to attributes such as competence, agency, and individualism, and the second to warmth, communality, and collectivism. But the relationship between the two dimensions seems unclear. In trait and person judgment, they are often positively related; in group and cultural stereotypes, they are often negatively related. The authors report 4 studies that examine the dynamic relationship between these two dimensions, experimentally manipulating the location of a target of judgment on one and examining the consequences for the other. In general, the authors' data suggest a negative dynamic relationship between the two, moderated by factors the impact of which they explore. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The BIAS map: Behaviors from intergroup affect and stereotypes.

In the present research, consisting of 2 correlational studies (N = 616) including a representative U.S. sample and 2 experiments (N = 350), the authors investigated how stereotypes and emotions shape behavioral tendencies toward groups, offering convergent support for the behaviors from intergroup affect and stereotypes (BIAS) map framework. Warmth stereotypes determine active behavioral tendencies, attenuating active harm (harassing) and eliciting active facilitation (helping). Competence stereotypes determine passive behavioral tendencies, attenuating passive harm (neglecting) and eliciting passive facilitation (associating). Admired groups (warm, competent) elicit both facilitation tendencies; hated groups (cold, incompetent) elicit both harm tendencies. Envied groups (competent, cold) elicit passive facilitation but active harm; pitied groups (warm, incompetent) elicit active facilitation but passive harm. Emotions predict behavioral tendencies more strongly than stereotypes do and usually mediate stereotype-to-behavioral-tendency links. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A constant error approach to the study of dimensions of social perception.

"A method was described for use in the study of dimensions of social perception which consisted of the factor analysis of intercorrelations between trait judgments of photographs where each judgment was made of a different stimulus." 4 factors were isolated, and the findings were related to other research on social perception and personality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The study of compensation systems through the lens of self-determination theory: Reconciling 35 years of debate.

Although compensation specialists generally argue for incentive systems that link rewards to performance, self-determination theory argues that such contingent rewards can have detrimental effects on autonomous motivation. The authors present a model of the motivational effects of compensation systems that attempts to reconcile the self-determination theory view and the literature on compensation. This model evaluates how compensation system characteristics, such as the amount and variability of pay, can influence the satisfaction of the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, which in turn influence autonomous work motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reactions to ethnic deviance: The role of backlash in racial stereotype maintenance.

Backlash effects are social and economic penalties for counterstereotypical behavior (Rudman & Phelan, 2008). Five experiments support a model of the role of backlash in racial stereotype maintenance from the standpoint of perceivers and actors (Rudman & Fairchild, 2004). In Experiment 1, perceivers sabotaged Asians and Whites for succeeding in counterstereotypical domains, thereby preventing their future success. In Experiment 2, a White rapper suffered prejudice and economic discrimination, relative to a Black rapper, and prejudice mediated discrimination. Further, actors threatened by backlash for achievement in cross-racial domains responded to success in ways that bolster ethnic stereotypes. For example, Black men and women who feared backlash for academic skill (Experiment 3), and non-Black (Experiment 4) and non-White (Experiment 5) men who experienced backlash for cross-racial achievement, resorted to defensive strategies that preserve racial stereotypes (e.g., refusing to publicize and pursue counterstereotypical talents). Implications for cultural stereotype maintenance are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Second-hand personication: A new model for "person perception" research.

An impression formed about someone on the basis of direct observation of him and/or communication from him is basically different from one formed on the basis of a third individual's report. The analysis of the variables involved leads to a general model of "personication." Twelve specific hypotheses are derived from this model and discussed in terms of "person perception" experiments. E is shown to be always one of several "personicators" who form and communicate impressions about others and necessarily influence each other in the impression forming process. E is also the subject of the impression forming process of others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A longitudinal study of social competence among children of alcoholic and nonalcoholic parents: Role of parental psychopathology, parental warmth, and self-regulation.

This study tested a conceptual model predicting children's social competence in a sample of children with alcoholic and non-alcoholic parents. The model examined the role of parents' alcohol diagnoses, depression, and antisocial behavior at 12–18 months of child age in predicting parental warmth/sensitivity at 2 years of child age. Parental warmth/sensitivity at 2 years was hypothesized to predict children's self-regulation and externalizing behavior problems at 3 years. Parenting, self-regulation, and behavior problems were expected to predict social competence in kindergarten. Structural equations modeling was supportive of this model. Fathers' alcohol diagnosis was associated with lower warmth/sensitivity. Lower maternal warmth/sensitivity at 2 years was predictive of lower child self-regulation at 3 years. Parenting, self-regulation, and externalizing behavior problems were predictive of social competence in kindergarten, although associations varied by reporter (parents or teacher). There was a direct association between fathers' alcohol diagnosis and father reports of social competence, and between fathers' depression and teacher reports of social competence. The study elucidates developmental processes in predicting social competence and the role of fathers' alcoholism and associated risk factors in this process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attentional dysfunction, social perception, and social competence: What is the nature of the relationship?

The aim of this study was to examine the nature of the relationship between attentional dysfunction and social competence deficits in patients with schizophrenia. Attentional functioning, social perception, and social competence were assessed in 56 inpatients. Measures of vigilance and span of apprehension were administered to assess attentional functioning. Social perception was assessed with an audiovisual measure of affect recognition. Social competence was rated from a role-play task. Span of apprehension and auditory vigilance emerged as specific predictors of social competence. Affect recognition was tested as a mediator and a moderator of the relationship between attentional dysfunction and social competence. Affect recognition was found to moderate the relationship between span of apprehension and social competence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Height perception: A function of social distance.

Investigated the effects of (a) status-related ethnic membership, and (b) the prejudice of the O on height perception. Ss were 126 undergraduates who were shown slides of various objects and people in a counter-balanced fashion. It was found that height-equated individuals rated high on the Bogardus Social Distance Scale were perceived as taller than height-equated individuals rated low on the Bogardus Social Distance Scale. The implications of these findings are discussed. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stereotypes as dominant responses: On the "social facilitation" of prejudice in anticipated public contexts.

This article challenges the highly intuitive assumption that prejudice should be less likely in public compared with private settings. It proposes that stereotypes may be conceptualized as a type of dominant response (C. L. Hull, 1943; R. B. Zajonc, 1965) whose expression may be enhanced in public settings, especially among individuals high in social anxiety. Support was found for this framework in an impression formation paradigm (Experiment 1) and in a speeded task designed to measure stereotypic errors in perceptual identification (Experiment 2). Use of the process dissociation procedure (B. K. Payne, L. L. Jacoby, & A. J. Lambert, in press) demonstrated that these effects were due to decreases in cognitive control rather than increases in stereotype accessibility. The findings highlight a heretofore unknown and ironic consequence of anticipated public settings: Warning people that others may be privy to their responses may actually increase prejudice among the very people who are most worried about doing the wrong thing in public. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The generality of social perception scores.

"This study of self-ratings and other-ratings was designed to investigate (a) whether it is justified to assume the generality of various distance scores regardless of the content involved, (b) the reliability of these scores, and (c) the effect on their generality and reliability when the sign of any of the distance measures is ignored. The method of data analysis employed is comparatively new and has been tried here for the first time." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Actor-observer asymmetries in explanations of behavior: New answers to an old question.

Traditional attribution theory conceptualizes explanations of behavior as referring to either dispositional or situational causes. An alternative approach, the folk-conceptual theory of behavior explanation, distinguishes multiple discrete modes of explanation and specific features within each mode. Because attribution theory and the folk-conceptual theory carve up behavior explanations in distinct ways, they offer very different predictions about actor-observer asymmetries. Six studies, varying in contexts and methodologies, pit the 2 sets of predictions against each other. There was no evidence for the traditional actor-observer hypothesis, but systematic support was found for the actor-observer asymmetries hypothesized by the folk-conceptual theory. The studies also provide initial evidence for the processes that drive each of the asymmetries: impression management goals, general knowledge, and copresence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Enhanced co-orientation in the perception of friends: A social relations analysis.

Newcomb's (1953) idea of co-orientation (interdependence between two persons' attitudes or perceptions) is used as a framework within which interpersonal perception between friends and acquaintances is examined. The principal question is whether co-orientation effects are stronger for friendship dyads than for acquaintance dyads. More specifically, the study examines the degree to which consensus, assimilation, self–other agreement, and assumed similarity differ. The social relations model is used to analyze a data set that included 16 living groups with 119 friend dyads and 1,668 acquaintance dyads. Results indicate that co-orientation effects are more pronounced in friendship dyads. The increment in co-orientation effects is largely due to similarities in the unique or idiosyncratic perceptions that people have of friendship pairs as well as the unique agreement about others that friends have with one another. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The use of impression management tactics in structured interviews: A function of question type?

This study investigated impression management tactic use during structured interviews containing both experience-based and situational questions. Specifically, the authors examined whether applicants' use of impression management tactics depended on question type. Results from 119 structured interviews indicated that almost all of the applicants used some form of impression management. Significantly more assertive than defensive impression management tactics were used, and among assertive tactics, applicants tended to use self-promotion rather than ingratiation. However, different question types prompted the use of different impression management tactics. Ingratiation tactics were used significantly more when applicants answered situational questions, whereas self-promotion tactics were used significantly more when applicants answered experience-based questions. Furthermore, the use of self-promotion and ingratiation tactics was positively related to interviewer evaluations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The communication of social stereotypes: The effects of group discussion and information distribution on stereotypic appraisals.

Stereotypes are fundamentally social constructs, formulated and modified through discussion and interaction with others. The present studies examined the impact of group discussion on stereotypes. In both studies, groups of participants discussed their impressions about a hypothetical target group after having read behaviors performed by target group members. These behaviors included both stereotypic and counterstereotypic examples, and the distribution of these behaviors varied across discussion group members. In some groups only 1 member knew of the counterstereotypic behaviors; in other groups this information was distributed across all group members. In general, discussion led to a polarization of the target group stereotypes, but this effect was lessened when the counterstereotypic behaviors were concentrated in 1 group member. In this case, these counterstereotypic behaviors were discussed more and retained better. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A question of belonging: Race, social fit, and achievement.

Stigmatization can give rise to belonging uncertainty. In this state, people are sensitive to information diagnostic of the quality of their social connections. Two experiments tested how belonging uncertainty undermines the motivation and achievement of people whose group is negatively characterized in academic settings. In Experiment 1, students were led to believe that they might have few friends in an intellectual domain. Whereas White students were unaffected, Black students (stigmatized in academics) displayed a drop in their sense of belonging and potential. In Experiment 2, an intervention that mitigated doubts about social belonging in college raised the academic achievement (e.g., college grades) of Black students but not of White students. Implications for theories of achievement motivation and intervention are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the social nature of nonsocial perception: The mere ownership effect.

Assumes that ownership of an object causes the owner to treat the object as a social entity because ownership creates a psychological association between the object and the owner. Three experiments investigated whether Ss would evaluate an object more favorably merely because they owned it, a bias analogous to other self-serving biases people display. Study 1 confirmed the existence of this mere ownership effect. Study 2 showed that the effect was not due to Ss having greater exposure to an owned object relative to an unowned object. Study 3 showed that the effect may be a specific instance of a general tendency of people to make self-enchancing judgments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The development of in-group favoritism: Between social reality and group identity.

This study examined how social reality restricts children's tendency for in-group favoritism in group evaluations. Children were faced with social reality considerations and with group identity concerns. Using short stories, in this experimental study, conducted among 3 age groups (6-, 8-, and 10-year-olds), the authors examined the trait attribution effects of reality constraints on eye-color differences and national group differences. The results show that the trait attributions of all age groups were restricted by the acceptance of socially defined reality. In addition, when the information about reality was not considered accurate, only the youngest children showed positive in-group favoritism. It is argued that these findings are useful in trying to reconcile some of the divergent and contrasting findings in the developmental literature on children's intergroup perceptions and evaluations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)