Conceptual-motor compatibility and homonegativity: Approaching and avoiding words associated with homosexuality.

Two studies explored conceptual-motor compatibility effects underlying attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women. In Study 1, we tested if attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women would influence whether or not participants chose to engage in, and how quickly they engaged in, approach or avoidance motor movements. Participants responded to homosexual and heterosexual words on a computer screen by choosing to push (avoidance movement) or pull (approach movement) a computer mouse. Findings indicated that participants who were high in prejudice chose to make more prejudice-compatible motor responses than did participants who were low in prejudice. In Study 2, participants were randomly assigned to a prejudice-compatible or prejudice-incompatible motor movements condition. Results indicated that highly prejudiced participants were faster to complete prejudice-compatible motor movements than were low prejudice participants. Implications for implicit attitudes and measuring prejudice toward gay men and lesbian women are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of ethnic attitudes on reasoning about ethnic groups.

"This study was undertaken to investigate further the relationships between ethnic attitudes and objective reasoning about ethnic groups. It was argued that tolerant individuals would bias their reasoning in favor while intolerant individuals would bias their reasoning against ethnic groups. The findings revealed that tolerant individuals biased their reasoning significantly in favor of ethnic groups. However, intolerant individuals did not bias their reasoning significantly against ethnic groups. The lack of bias against ethnic groups was presumptively related to the absence of strongly prejudiced respondents in the sample. Biased reasoning on the part of the unprejudiced individuals challenged the traditional assumption that tolerance is invariably accompanied by superior reality directed thinking." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A further note on the fakability of the MTAI.

"This study employed a factorial design to investigate the effects of several conditions of administration on the fakability of the MTAI… the findings support the conclusion that groups of students are not likely to be able to fake the MTAI unless they receive a cue from the faking instructions, or elsewhere, as to what the inventory is about." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes in the Fiber of Everyday Life: The Discourse of Racial Evaluation and the Lived Experience of Desegregation.

This article critically reviews the social-psychological literature on race attitudes, which has assumed that the prejudicial status of any expression is determined by the underlying psychological attitude that motivated it. Variation and inconsistency in individuals' attitudinal expressions and disagreement over how to measure prejudice have bedeviled attitude research. Contemporary theories of racial attitudes (symbolic racism, self-presentation, aversive racism) have responded to this problem by explaining how, when, and why attitudes vary and by proposing research paradigms for isolating prejudiced from nonprejudiced expressions. The authors argue that research in this area may be enhanced by the use of qualitative methods that place fewer constraints on the expression of racial attitudes and variability than quantitative methods do. Using empirical materials from a South African case study, the authors show that a focus on attitudinal discourse and the lived experience of desegregation allow researchers to investigate attitudes as social practices. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Identification and changes in prejudice and in authoritarianism.

Ss "were first given the F Scale and a measure of anti-Negro prejudice… . Four weeks later they read a case history of a person who was prejudiced and authoritarian. Half of the subjects were told that the person in the case history was similar to themselves in background and objective personal characteristics. The other half… that the person was dissimilar to them. Three weeks later the F Scale and the anti-Negro prejudice scale were readministered. It was found that those low in prejudice at the first administration became more prejudiced but only if they were told the case history was about someone like themselves… . These results were interpreted in terms of the social support for suppressed 'wrong' feelings and in terms of the pressures to achieve cognitive consistency in one's self-concept." From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4GD65S. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prejudice as a function of self-organization.

This article reviewed the traditional psychoanalytic theories of the development and maintenance of prejudiced attitudes and affects. To this body of understanding, the authors offered a self psychological perspective. They described the treatment of Sandy, a woman who presented with extreme expressions of prejudice, to illustrate how self psychology provides a framework for understanding the narcissistic roots of her prejudice and a therapeutic stance for promoting the transformation of her prejudiced attitudes and affects. From this perspective, prejudice is understood not as the displacement or projection of aggression, but as an expression of a vulnerable, fragmentation-prone self-organization struggling to overcome a traumatic developmental history. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relative effectiveness of the standard validity scales in detecting fake-bad and fake-good responding: Replication and extension.

The effectiveness of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2; J. N. Butcher et al, 1989) Lie (L) and Infrequency (F) scales, relative to the Obvious-Subtle Index (O-S), the Positive Malingering (Mp) scale, and the revised Dissimulation scale in the detection of fake-good and fake-bad MMPI-2 protocols, was evaluated by asking college students to respond honestly, fake bad, or fake good on the MMPI-2. MMPI-2 protocols of participants asked to fake bad were compared with protocols from general psychiatric and forensic inpatient samples, and MMPI-2 protocols of participants asked to fake good were compared with MMPI-2 protocols of students asked to respond honestly. The F scale was superior in detecting faking bad, and the O-S index and the Mp and L scales were equally effective at detecting faking good. However, we caution against the use of the O-S index in the detection of fake-bad and fake-good responding. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Can the absence of prejudice be more threatening than its presence? It depends on one's worldview.

The present research used validated cardiovascular measures to examine threat reactions among members of stigmatized groups when interacting with members of nonstigmatized groups who were, or were not, prejudiced against their group. The authors hypothesized that people's beliefs about the fairness of the status system would moderate their experience of threat during intergroup interactions. The authors predicted that for members of stigmatized groups who believe the status system is fair, interacting with a prejudiced partner, compared with interacting with an unprejudiced partner, would disconfirm their worldview and result in greater threat. In contrast, the authors predicted that for members of stigmatized groups who believe the system is unfair, interacting with a prejudiced partner, compared with interacting with an unprejudiced partner, would confirm their worldview and result in less threat. The authors examined these predictions among Latinas interacting with a White female confederate (Study 1) and White females interacting with a White male confederate (Study 2). As predicted, people's beliefs about the fairness of the status system moderated their experiences of threat during intergroup interactions, indicated both by cardiovascular responses and nonverbal behavior. The specific pattern of the moderation differed across the 2 studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The social psychology of perceived prejudice and discrimination.

Most research on prejudice has followed a unidirectional orientation of investigating why or when majority- or dominant-group members become prejudiced toward members of minority or subordinate groups without considering the effects of prejudice and discrimination upon its victims. By contrast, my research program over the past quarter century deals with the "phenomenology" of prejudice and discrimination from the perspective of the victim and has sought to answer questions such as the following: What is it like to be discriminated against on the basis of an arbitrary characteristic such as ethnicity, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, etc.? What are the social-psychological and affective correlates and consequences to individuals who confront prejudice and discrimination by virtue of membership in a minority or subordinate group? This paper presents a sampling of my research on the "phenomenology" of prejudice and discrimination, along with several theoretical perspectives that I have used and developed to help to understand this issue. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

(Why) do I think what you think? Epistemic social tuning and implicit prejudice.

This research examines whether people who experience epistemic motivation (i.e., a desire to acquire knowledge) came to have implicit attitudes consistent with the apparent beliefs of another person. People had lower implicit prejudice when they experienced epistemic motivation and interacted with a person who ostensibly held egalitarian beliefs (Experiments 1 and 2). Implicit prejudice was not affected when people did not experience epistemic motivation. Further evidence shows that this tuning of implicit attitudes occurs when beliefs are endorsed by another person, but not when they are brought to mind via means that do not imply that person's endorsement (Experiment 3). Results suggest that implicit attitudes of epistemically motivated people tune to the apparent beliefs of others to achieve shared reality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Faking good and faking bad on the Personality Inventory for Children—Revised, shortened format.

Examined the detection of faking good and faking bad on the Personality Inventory for Children—Revised (PIC—R) with a sample of 6–16 yr old outpatients in a mental health clinic. The PIC—R was administered twice to both Ss and their mothers, and faking instructions to fake good or bad were administered in the 2nd testing session. Results show that faking influenced all 12 clinical scales and the 4 broad-band scales. Detection of faking good is recommended by the use of the Lie scale and the Adjustment scale. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Faking good and bad adjustment on the MMPI and overcontrolled-hostility in maximum security psychiatric patients.

25 male patients (mean age 29 yrs) in a maximum security psychiatric hospital were administered the MMPI under each of 3 sets of instructions—honest, fake-good adjustment, and fake-bad adjustment. As in an earlier study with inmates by P. Gendreau et al (see record 1973-30226-001), it was found that Ss were able to fake both good and bad adjustment, but that various faking indices were reasonably accurate in detecting both. Overcontrolled-hostility (OCH) scale scores were related to scores on the faking indices, suggesting that high OCH scores may indicate a desire to appear normal on psychological testing. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effectiveness of the MMPI–2 validity indicators in the detection of defensive responding in clinical and nonclinical samples.

In this study, 38 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (mean age 39.9 yrs) who had previously completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory—2 (MMPI—2) by responding honestly were asked to complete it again with instructions to conceal their symptoms. 49 students (mean age 23.7 yrs) followed similar instructions. Under instructions to fake good, both students and patients were able to produce clinical profiles that were significantly less pathological. The Other-Deception and Superlative Scales were best at distinguishing fake-good and honest profiles in the student sample. The Edwards Social Desirability Scale and the L scale were best at distinguishing fake-good and honest profiles in the patient sample. The Wiggins Social Desirability scale was best at distinguishing honestly responding students from patients faking good. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prejudice matters: Understanding the reactions of Whites to affirmative action programs targeted to benefit Blacks.

The authors examined, in 2 studies, the effects of equal employment opportunity/affirmative action (EEO/AA) policies on Whites' job-related attitudes. First, in an experiment, White prospective job recruits, as expected, rated a potential employer whose EEO/AA policies were framed as targeted to benefit Blacks as less attractive than a potential employer whose EEO/AA policies were framed more generally. Second, the results of a field study showed that prejudice against Blacks moderated the relationship between Whites' perceptions that their organization's EEO/AA policies were targeted to benefit Blacks and their satisfaction with promotion opportunities. Specifically, among prejudiced Whites, this relationship was negative and considerable in size (r = -.39, p r = -.04, ns). The implications of our findings for the study of prejudice in organizations are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Categorization and communication in the face of prejudice: When describing perceptions changes what is perceived.

In the face of prejudice against an ingroup, common ground for communication exists when people use similar social categories to understand the situation. Three studies tested the hypothesis that describing perceptions of prejudice can fundamentally change those perceptions because communicators account for the common ground in line with conversational norms. When women (Study 1), African Americans (Study 2), and Americans (Study 3) simply thought about suspected prejudice against their ingroup, categorization guided their perceptions: Participants assimilated their views of the prejudiced event toward the perceptions of ingroup members but contrasted away from the perceptions of outgroup members. Conversely, when participants described their perceptions, they contrasted away from the given category information and actually arrived at the opposite perceptions as those who merely thought about the prejudiced event. Study 3 identified an important qualification of these effects by showing that they were obtained only when participants could assume their audience was familiar with the common ground. Implications are discussed for understanding the role of communication in facilitating and inhibiting collective action about prejudice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The conscious control of thematic projection.

Conducted 2 experiments with undergraduate Ss (N = 118). In Session 1 of Exp I, one group was instructed to be honest in responding to the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), while another group was instructed to fake high need for achievement. In Session 2, instructions for the 2 groups were reversed. Results indicate that Ss could successfully fake the possession of need for achievement. In Session 1 of Exp II, all Ss were instructed to respond honestly to the TAT. In Session 2, Ss were instructed either to be honest again or to inhibit projections revealing their personalities. Test-retest reliability was lower for Ss who had faked responses in the 2nd session than for Ss who had been honest. In neither experiment were judges able to identify Ss who were faking. The findings that Ss can consciously introduce false projections and inhibit true projections have implications for the theory of projection (i.e., persons unconsciously project unconscious traits) and for the use of projective techniques for personality assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluating response set styles on the MMPI with prisoners: Faking good adjustment and maladjustment.

Told 24 prison inmates (mean age = 23 yr) to fake good adjustment and maladjustment on the MMPI. Results were compared with Ss' normal or "honest" MMPI profiles. Ss were easily able to fake maladjustment and, contrary to theory, were also able to fake good adjustment. The adequacy of various indices of faking were compared and recommendations are made for the applied use of some of these indices for the detection of faked responses in correctional settings. Previous role-playing vs "real-life" studies are contrasted and the inmates' results are compared with previous findings. (French summary) (27 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Religious beliefs of Catholic college students and their attitudes toward minorities.

"There was a very significant tendency… for those scoring high on the religion scale to be less favorable toward Jews and Negroes and to favor segregation of Negroes in their own parishes, while those who scored low on the religion scale were significantly less prejudiced and were opposed to segregation." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The socialization of dominance: Peer group contextual effects on homophobic and dominance attitudes.

Using the framework of social dominance theory, the current investigation tested for the contextual effects of adolescent peer groups on individuals' homophobic and social dominance attitudes. Results from multilevel models indicated that significant differences existed across peer groups on homophobic attitudes. In addition, these differences were accounted for on the basis of the hierarchy-enhancing or -attenuating climate of the group. A group socialization effect on individuals' social dominance attitudes over time was also observed. Furthermore, the social climate of the peer group moderated the stability of individuals' social dominance attitudes. Findings support the need to examine more proximal and informal group affiliations and earlier developmental periods in efforts to build more comprehensive theoretical models explaining when and how prejudiced and dominance attitudes are formed and the way in which they are perpetuated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the malleability of automatic attitudes: Combating automatic prejudice with images of admired and disliked individuals.

Two experiments examined whether exposure to pictures of admired and disliked exemplars can reduce automatic preference for White over Black Americans and younger over older people. In Experiment 1, participants were exposed to either admired Black and disliked White individuals, disliked Black and admired White individuals, or nonracial exemplars. Immediately after exemplar exposure and 24 hr later, they completed an Implicit Association Test that assessed automatic racial attitudes and 2 explicit attitude measures. Results revealed that exposure to admired Black and disliked White exemplars significantly weakened automatic pro-White attitudes for 24 hr beyond the treatment but did not affect explicit racial attitudes. Experiment 2 provided a replication using automatic age-related attitudes. Together, these studies provide a strategy that attempts to change the social context and, through it, to reduce automatic prejudice and preference. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)