Authoritarian dynamics and unethical decision making: High social dominance orientation leaders and high right-wing authoritarianism followers.

When dilemmas require trade-offs between profits and ethics, do leaders high in social dominance orientation (SDO) and followers high in right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) make decisions that are more unethical than those made by others? This issue was explored in 4 studies with female participants performing managerial role-playing tasks. First, dyads comprising a person who was either low or high in SDO and a person who was either low or high in RWA negotiated for a leadership position. People high in SDO were more likely to obtain leader positions than to obtain follower positions. No other effects were significant. Second, leaders high in SDO partnered with an agreeable (confederate) follower made decisions that were more unethical than those of leaders low in SDO. Third, followers high in RWA were more acquiescent to and supportive of an unethical (confederate) leader than were followers low in RWA. Fourth, high SDO leader-high RWA follower dyads made decisions that were more unethical than those made in role-reversed dyads because leaders had more influence. Implications of these results for conceptualizing SDO, RWA, and authoritarian dynamics are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes and behaviors toward lesbian and gay persons: Critical correlates and mediated relations.

With data from 255 college women and men, this study examined the relative strength of relations of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), social dominance orientation (SDO), and traditional gender role attitudes (TGRA) with anti-lesbian and gay (LG) attitudes. This study also tested the mediating role of anti-LG attitudes in the relations of RWA, SDO, and TGRA with LG-rejecting and -affirming behaviors. Results pointed to the importance of the relations of TGRA and RWA, but not SDO, with anti-LG attitudes and LG-rejecting behaviors. Furthermore, anti-LG attitudes mediated the links of RWA and TGRA with LG-rejecting behaviors. With regard to LG-affirming behaviors, TGRA was the only unique correlate, and anti-LG attitudes did not serve as a mediator. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Enemies of freedom: Understanding right-wing authoritarianism.

Reviews the book, Enemies of freedom: Understanding right-wing authoritarianism by Bob Altemeyer (see record 1988-98419-000). This book is the second of a projected three volume series by Altemeyer on the right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) construct. In this volume, Altemeyer (1988) reports the results of further research conducted since the first volume using his RWA scale. Specifically, three issues are dealt with: (1) how RWA develops in the individual, (2) why RWA is organized the way it is, and (3) how RWA can be controlled in a democratic society. Altemeyer's underlying assumption in this and the preceding volume is that a considerable potential for RWA exists in countries like Canada and the United States and that it is therefore a potentially serious problem requiring vigilance and perhaps ultimately preventive measures. Are his fears in this regard justified? It depends on how seriously one takes the respondents' self-reports. Altemeyer repeatedly shows that individuals (usually college students) who score high on the RWA scale are reportedly willing to punish others and to endorse actions that would curtail the civil rights of others, especially those with left-wing political leanings, who threaten the established order. However, in most instances, the measures are attitudinal ones dealing with respondents' reactions to hypothetical incidents and situations as to what they might do or would endorse having others do. Thus, Altemeyer's fears of the high RWA scorers and the seriousness of their threat to North American and other societies depend on knowing how willing they would be to act on their personal inclinations. Be that as it may, from a number of angles Altemeyer's current book on RWA deserves close and thoughtful reading by social, personality, and developmental psychologists. Those interested in political psychology, a relatively new area attracting social and personality psychologists and political scientists, will find it especially valuable and insightful. As noted earlier in the review, both of Altemeyer's RWA volumes should be required reading for would-be constructors of personality and attitude scales. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality correlates of leadership development in Canadian Forces officer candidates.

This study investigated the relationship between personality and leadership development in a sample of Canadian Forces officer candidates. At Time 1, personality assessments were obtained from candidates, interviewers, and references at various Canadian Forces Recruiting Centres. Six to nine months later at Time 2, 174 military officer candidates were evaluated by instructors and peers on various aspects of the Basic Officer Training Course (BOTC). Results revealed that BOTC final grade and instructors' ratings of leadership were predicted by self-ratings of the Locus of control factor and its subordinate trait, internal control. Also, the references' ratings of the Surgency factor and its subordinate trait, dominance, predicted the BOTC final grade and ratings of leadership. Four years later at Time 3, we examined the extent to which self-ratings of personality obtained at Time 1 predicted leadership performance and perceptions of leadership styles. Dominance, energy level, and internal control predicted some leadership criteria, with dominance predicting the most. Overall, these results indicate that measures of personality are associated with leadership development in the military. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting student attitudes about racial diversity and gender equity.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 4(3) of Journal of Diversity in Higher Education (see record 2011-16523-001). There are two errors in Table 2 under the RWA heading and the Cog-gender heading. The necessary changes are provided in the erratum.] [Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Journal of Diversity in Higher Education on August 1 2011 (see record 2011-16523-001). There are two errors in Table 2. Under the RWA heading, the SDO row should have indicated a positive correlation of .266**, not -.266**. Under the Cog-gender heading, the SDO row should have indicated a negative correlation of -.438**, not .438**.] Factors related to attitudes about racial diversity and gender equity were examined in an ethnically diverse sample of 432 college students (167 European Americans, 83 African Americans, 81 Asian Americans, and 82 Hispanic Americans). In addition to variables of self-interest (i.e., ethnicity, gender, and political views), social ideology (i.e., social dominance orientation, right-wing authoritarianism) and personality traits (openness to experience) were uniquely predictive of attitudes about racial diversity and gender equity. Hierarchical regressions revealed that social dominance orientation most strongly predicted racial attitudes, while right-wing authoritarianism most strongly predicted gender attitudes. Implications for diversity education efforts related to prejudice reduction are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correlates of two types of xenophilic orientation.

"A sample of 422 college students at Boston University responded to scales measuring tendencies toward xenophilia, authoritarianism, hostility toward typical Americans, willingness to stereotype, and interest in travelling abroad… . High scorers on the Xenophile Scale can be distinguished from low scorers on the above dimensions. High xenophiles seem to be more willing to stereotype, express hostility toward typical Americans, and express a stronger desire to travel than low xenophiles. Predictions were made concerning two varieties of high xenophiles, high scorers and low scorers on the California F scale. It was found that the low authoritarians were more attracted to things foreign than the highs along several dimensions. Furthermore among low scorers on the Xenophile scale, clear distinctions were found among the high and low F scale scorers. The highs were more willing to stereotype than were the lows." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Managing discrimination in selection: The influence of directives from an authority and social dominance orientation.

The authors examined one manner in which to decrease the negative impact of social dominance orientation (SDO), an individual difference variable that indicates support for the domination of 'inferior' groups by 'superior' groups (J. Sidanius & F. Pratto, 1999, p. 48), on the selection of candidates from low-status groups within society. Consistent with the tenets of social dominance theory, in 2 studies we found that those high in SDO reported that they were less likely to select a potential team member who is a member of a low-status group (i.e., a White female in Study 1 and a Black male in Study 2) than those low in SDO. However, explicit directives from an authority moderated this effect such that those high in SDO were more likely to select both candidates when authority figures clearly communicated that job performance indicators should be used when choosing team members. Thus, our studies suggest that the negative effects of SDO may be attenuated if those high in SDO are instructed by superiors to use legitimate performance criteria to evaluate job candidates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The code of ethics of the Canadian Psychological Association and the Canadian Medical Association: Ethical orientation and functional grammar analysis.

The Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists has been the subject of several recent investigations. This work has focused, for example, on the validity of its hierarchical organization of ethical principles. In the present research, we subjected the code to both a content and a functional grammar analysis. Our content analysis was aimed at determining the theoretical ethical orientation (deontological, teleological or caring) of each statement in the document, while the functional grammar analysis provided information about implicit messages embedded within the code. We contrasted the results of our analysis with those of previous work on the code of ethics adopted by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA). We concluded that, compared to CMA's code, the Canadian Psychological Association's document has greater educational value, is less authoritarian, provides a clear rationale for ethical behavior, and is more empowering to the decision-maker. We argue that the results of our functional grammar and content analyses have implications for future attempts to improve ethics codes for psychology and other professions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a national social psychology: A review of Social psychology: The Canadian context.

Reviews the book, Social Psychology: The Canadian Context edited by J. W. Berry and G. J. S. Wilde (1972). In Social Psychology: The Canadian Context, Berry and Wilde tie their selections from journals and books to the themes of Canadian identity, dualism, and pluralism. National social psychology could turn out to be the most effective way yet conceived for individual scholars to have their pure-science cake and apply it too. Its emergence depends, in part, on continuance of the nationalism, which is sweeping Canada at present. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The national flavour versus pan-culturism: A review of Social psychology: The Canadian context.

Reviews the book, Social Psychology: The Canadian Context edited by J. W. Berry and G. J. S. Wilde (1972). The title of this book is likely to evoke a positive or a negative response from the reader depending on how he feels about the need for more Canadian content. Berry and Wilde are not out to prove that Canadian psychologists are as good as any in the world. The editorial effort was directed towards "studies of social behaviour of Canadians, rather than studies done in Canada by Canadians". The first section on "The Canadian People" provides an overview by contributions from other academic disciplines. The second section on "Canadian Dualism", which comprises nearly half of the book, is about the French-Canadians versus the English-Canadians. The third section on the "Canadian Natives" concentrates on the ethnic pluralism of the Eskimos and Indians. The fourth section on "Canadian Pluralism" presents findings on a larger number of different groups. Finally, the Appendix presents five tables containing background and demographic data likely to be useful for undergraduate research on Canadian people. Suggested readings for this purpose are also included in the introduction to each section. This book is most likely to be appropriate for courses emphasizing ethnic group relationships or cultural social psychology. In conclusion, this is a handy sourcebook on the kinds of research and the techniques useful for studying ethnic groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Color-blind racial attitudes, social dominance orientation, racial-ethnic group membership and college students' perceptions of campus climate.

Racial-ethnic group membership, color-blind racial attitudes (i.e., unawareness of racial privilege, institutional discrimination, and blatant racial issues), and social dominance orientation were used to predict perceptions of campus climate in general and specifically for people of color among a sample of 144 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students at a predominately White university. Results indicate that after controlling for racial-ethnic minority status, perceptions of general campus climate (GCC) and racial-ethnic campus climate (RECC) are predicted by color-blind racial attitudes. Post hoc analyses indicated that unawareness of racial privilege partially mediated the relationship between race and RECC and fully mediated the relationship between race and GCC. Individuals with higher levels of color-blind racial attitudes tend to perceive the campus climate more positively. Implications for research, training and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Readings in social psychology: Classic and Canadian contributions.

Reviews the book, Readings in social psychology: Classic and Canadian contributions edited by Brian Earn and Shelagh Towson (1986). Earn and Towson argue that students should know that social psychology is an active discipline with significant contributions from their own nation, that there are areas of research of particular relevance to the Canadian context, and that they should be able to gain from incidental learning about their own society. The format of the book is rather conventional. Readings are grouped into content areas: social motives (aggression and altruism), social influence, attitudes, social interactions (attraction and loneliness), attribution and cognition, ethnic relations, prejudice, and applications (TV influence, social support, law). It includes contributions by many of the most prominent social psychologists in Canada, and several "classic" papers by U.S. social psychologists. As one who has long regretted the fact that we are compelled to teach social psychology with only foreign materials, the reviewer welcomes the publication of this book. The reviewer hopes that in the second edition the editors take more seriously the purpose of a book of readings, and set out to communicate to undergraduate students what social psychological research is all about. The reviewer also hopes that the publisher is able to produce a volume that looks more professional and is easier to read. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personalizing Politics: A Congruency Model of Political Preference.

Modern politics become personalized as individual characteristics of voters and candidates assume greater importance in political discourse. Although personalities of candidates capture center stage and become the focus of voters' preferences, individual characteristics of voters, such as their traits and values, become decisive for political choice. The authors' findings reveal that people vote for candidates whose personality traits are in accordance with the ideology of their preferred political party. They also select politicians whose traits match their own traits. Moreover, voters' traits match their own values. The authors outline a congruency model of political preference that highlights the interacting congruencies among voters' self-reported traits and values, voters' perceptions of leaders' personalities, politicians' self-reported traits, and programs of favored political coalitions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When birds of a feather flock together and when they do not: Status composition, social dominance orientation, and organizational attractiveness.

Although similarity-attraction notions suggest that similarity--for example, in terms of values, personality, and demography--attracts, the authors found that sometimes demographic similarity attracts and sometimes it repels. Consistent with social dominance theory (J. Sidanius & F. Pratto, 1999), they demonstrated in 3 studies that when prospective employees supported group-based social hierarchies (i.e., were high in social dominance orientation), those in high-status groups were attracted to demographic similarity within an organization, whereas those in low-status groups were repelled by it. An important theoretical implication of the findings is that social dominance theory and traditional similarity-attraction notions together help explain a more complex relationship between demographic similarity and attraction than was previously acknowledged in the organizational literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Canada's king: An essay in political psychology.

Reviews the book, Canada's king: An essay in political psychology by Paul Roazen (1998). This book offers us an intriguing look at a set of psychiatric notes and files on Canada's longest-serving prime minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King. While not intended to be a full biography of King, Roazen does succeed in shedding light on a dark corner of this man's dual life. Roazen presents King as a man full of paradoxes, not the least of which is his distinguished but relatively unknown place in history. During his lifetime, his visits to mediums, holdings of seances, and hosts of other supernatural predilections remained guarded secrets. King naturally portrayed himself as the dutiful public servant, skillful negotiator, and polished professional, with his private, spiritual/mystical side tucked in the closet. After his death, King's other side has slowly been revealed to the public. The reviewer might have preferred a stronger sense of leadership or more insight into the evidence, but he never failed to find Roazen informative and his scholarship sound, if somewhat historiographically undernourished. Roazen concludes, and the reviewer would agree, that the most remarkable thing about King and the uncovering of his psychiatric file is how such an odd mix of ambition, mysticism, neuroticism, and political savvy combined to give Canada its longest-serving prime minister and one of its most successful politicians. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Determinants of political trust: A lifetime learning model.

This article addresses questions regarding the origins of individual variations in political trust. Using 2 prospective longitudinal studies, we examine the associations between family background, general cognitive ability (g) and school motivation at early age, educational and occupational attainment in adulthood, and political trust measured in early and mid-adulthood in 2 large representative samples of the British population born in 1958 (N = 8,804) and in 1970 (N = 7,194). A lifetime learning model of political trust is tested using structural equation modeling to map the pathways linking early experiences to adult outcomes. Results show that political trust is shaped by both early and later experiences with institutions in society. Individuals who have accumulated more socioeconomic, educational, and motivational resources throughout their life course express higher levels of political trust than do those with fewer resources. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conceptualizing Control in Social Cognition: How Executive Functioning Modulates the Expression of Automatic Stereotyping.

Two studies investigated the role of executive control in moderating the relationship between automatic stereotype activation and behavioral responses. Race bias in weapon identification was used to measure stereotyping, and a process dissociation procedure was used to measure automatic and controlled components of performance. In Experiment 1, the controlled component was shown to correlate with general attention control and race-specific motivations to control prejudice. Across multiple measures, automatic race bias was more likely to be expressed as behavioral discrimination among individuals with poor executive control. Experiment 2 found the same relationship between automatic and controlled components of behavior when predicting impressions of a Black individual. Executive control is discussed in the context of other control strategies in influential dual-process models of stereotyping. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Consistency in Social Behavior: The Ontario Symposium (Vol. 2).

Reviews the book, Consistency in Social Behavior: The Ontario Symposium (Vol. 2), edited by Mark P. Zanna, E. Tory Higgins, and C. Peter Herman (1982). The volume has two major foci: the consistency of the individual's behaviour in different situations, and the consistency between people's attitudes and their behaviour. These issues have been classic concerns, respectively, of personality and social psychologists. Once upon a time, we as psychologists naively assumed the existence of both forms of consistency. But in the last two decades our faith has been shaken. For the most part, the participants in the Second Ontario Symposium help to restore our faith. But, in doing so, they provide a more sophisticated, qualified view of consistency. In conclusion, this set of papers is a record of, and a testimonial to, the success of the Second Ontario Symposium on Personality and Social Psychology. It is the present reviewer's hope that this biannual event will be continued in the years ahead. Clearly, the Second Symposium was worth the effort involved! (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rational self-interest and other orientation in organizational behavior: A critical appraisal and extension of Meglino and Korsgaard (2004).

B. M. Meglino and M. A. Korsgaard (2004; see record 2004-21169-004). argued that rational self-interest varies across individuals and negatively relates to other orientation (OO). OO moderates effects of job characteristics on attitudes, motivation, and helping. Viewing organizations as social dilemmas in which employees face a mixture of competitive and cooperative incentives, the author argues in this article that strength of self-interest links to self-concern (SC), which should be distinguished from OO. SC and OO are orthogonal and unipolar. Implications are that some propositions by Meglino and Korsgaard need to be rewritten in terms of SC or OO, and that SC is predicted to moderate effects of self-related variables (e.g., job characteristics), whereas OO might moderate effects of social variables (e.g., team climate) on satisfaction, motivation, and helping. This also implies that when both SC and OO are strong (weak), individual- and group-level constructs are both (in)valid predictors of satisfaction, motivation, and helping. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Power, Voice, and Hierarchy: Exploring the Antecedents of Speaking Up in Groups.

This study examined the effects of interpersonal power and social dominance orientation on individuals' propensities to voice opinions in a group task. It was proposed that individuals high in power would tend to voice their opinions to a greater extent than individuals with less power and that this effect would increase with higher levels of social dominance orientation, that is, the degree to which individuals believe that social hierarchies are justified. This relationship was tested using moderated multiple regression. Significant results were found for the interactive relationship between power and social dominance orientation on voice. Implications and future directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)