Level I-Level II abilities as they affect performance of three races in the college classroom.

Hypothesized that multiple-choice exams load higher on Level II ability (g) than on Level I ability (rote memory). Study 1 confirmed this notion by correlating multiple-choice exams with the Cognitive Abilities Test, Nonverbal Battery (CAT; r?=?.35), an index of Level II, and the Forward Digit Span Test (FDS; r?=?.17), and index of Level I. Large racial differences were also found, with 20 Black and 31 Mexican American students scoring significantly lower than 85 White and 42 Asian students on multiple-choice exams and CAT but not on FDS. Study 2 showed that essay tests are more highly correlated with multiple-choice test (r?=?68) than either test score is with true–false tests (r?=?.37 and .39), and that 48 White and 18 Asian students scored significantly higher on essay and multiple choice than 30 Black students but did not differ from them on true–false. These results successfully extend A. R. Jensen's theory (1973) to the college classroom. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of White, African American, Hispanic, and Asian children on the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test.

This study examined differences between 3 matched samples of White (n?=?2,306) and African American (n?=?2,306), White (n?=?1,176) and Hispanic (n?=?1,176), and White (n?=?466) and Asian (n?=?466) children on the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT; J. A. Naglieri, 1997a). The groups were selected from 22,620 children included in the NNAT standardization sample and matched on geographic region, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and type of school setting (public or private). There was only a small difference between the NNAT scores for the White and African American samples (d ratio?=?.25) and minimal differences between the White and Hispanic (d ratio?=?.17) and between the White and Asian (d ratio?=?.02) groups. The NNAT was moderately correlated with achievement for the total sample and correlated similarly with achievement for the White and ethnic minority groups. The median correlation of NNAT with reading was .52 and NNAT with math was .63 across the samples. Results suggest that the NNAT scores have use for fair assessment of White and minority children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring the physical in physical attractiveness: Quasi-experiments on the sociobiology of female facial beauty.

Investigated, in 2 quasi-experiments, the relation between specific adult female facial features and the attraction, attribution, and altruistic responses of adult males. Precise measurements were obtained of the relative size of 24 facial features in an international sample of photographs of 50 females. 75 undergraduate males provided ratings of the attractiveness of each of the females. Positively correlated with attractiveness ratings were the neonate features of large eyes, small nose, and small chin; the maturity features of prominent cheekbones and narrow cheeks; and the expressive features of high eyebrows, large pupils, and large smile. A 2nd study asked males to rate the personal characteristics of 16 previously measured females. The males were also asked to indicate the females for whom they would be most inclined to perform altruistic behaviors and to select for dating, sexual behavior, and childrearing. The 2nd study replicated the correlations of feature measurements with attractiveness. Facial features also predicted personality attributions, altruistic inclinations, and reproductive interest. Sociobiological interpretations are discussed. (73 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Racial and attitudinal factors affecting the perceptions of counselors by Black adolescents.

Presented to 247 Black male and female high school students racial and attitudinal information about a hypothetical male or female counselor and asked them to express their perceptions of the counselor. Attitudinal information about a counselor had a stronger effect than racial information on Ss' perception of the counselor: Counselors portrayed as attitudinally similar were rated significantly higher in attractiveness, trustworthiness, expertness, and social attraction than those portrayed as attitudinally dissimilar. Racial information also influenced perceived attractiveness: White counselors were rated higher than Black ones in attractiveness, although there was no difference in ratings of trustworthiness or expertise. White female counselors were perceived as more expert than their Black female counterparts, whereas the ratings of male counselors were not influenced by the racial variable. Implications for counselor–client relationships and the development of mental health services for minority populations are discussed. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Race and self-esteem: Meta-analyses comparing Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and American Indians and comment on Gray-Little and Hafdahl (2000).

These meta-analyses examine race differences in self-esteem among 712 datapoints. Blacks scored higher than Whites on self-esteem measures (d=0.19), but Whites scored higher than other racial minority groups, including Hispanics (d=-0.09), Asians (d=-0.30), and American Indians (d=-0.21). Most of these differences were smallest in childhood and grew larger with age. Blacks' self-esteem increased over time relative to Whites', with the Black advantage not appearing until the 1980s. Black and Hispanic samples scored higher on measures without an academic self-esteem subscale. Relative to Whites, minority males had lower self-esteem than did minority females, and Black and Hispanic self-esteem was higher in groups with high socioeconomic status. The results are most consistent with a cultural interpretation of racial differences in self-esteem. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of student race and physical attractiveness on teachers' judgments of transgressions.

60 student teachers (STs) and 137 practicing teachers (PTs) rated the severity of classroom misbehaviors ascribed to either a Black or White attractive or unattractive child. Following student teaching, STs' ratings of Black children's transgressions significantly increased in severity, while ratings of White children's transgressions remained the same. PTs were affected by student attractiveness but not by race, with transgressions by attractive children of both races being rated more severely than transgressions by unattractive children. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counselor intake judgments about White and Black clients in a university counseling center.

Compared counselor intake judgments about White and Black clients at a university counseling center. 1,078 White and 42 Black clients were randomly assigned to 1 of 13 counselors (11 Whites, 2 Blacks), who rated the clients on 11 variables. Counselors reported significantly higher ratings only on the judged potential for change in Black clients when compared with that in White clients. Ratings in the type and severity of presenting problem, client anxiety level, ease of expression, motivation, realism of goals, and physical appearance were not significantly different. Counselors' feelings about clients and the predicted number of counseling sessions were also similar for Black and White clients. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What do women want? Facialmetric assessment of multiple motives in the perception of male facial physical attractiveness.

The multiple motive hypothesis of physical attractiveness suggests that women are attracted to men whose appearances elicit their nurturant feelings, who appear to possess sexual maturity and dominance characteristics, who seem sociable, approachable, and of high social status. Those multiple motives may cause people to be attracted to individuals who display an optimal combination of neotenous, mature, and expressive facial features, plus desirable grooming attributes. Three quasi-experiments demonstrated that men who possessed the neotenous features of large eyes, the mature features of prominent cheekbones and a large chin, the expressive feature of a big smile, and high-status clothing were seen as more attractive than other men. Further supporting the multiple motive hypothesis, the 2nd and 3rd studies indicated that impressions of attractiveness had strong relations with selections of men to date and to marry but had a curvilinear relation with perceptions of a baby face vs a mature face. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of perceived race and gender in the evaluation of college teaching on RateMyProfessors.Com.

The present study examined whether student evaluations of college teaching (SETs) reflected a bias predicated on the perceived race and gender of the instructor. Using anonymous, peer-generated evaluations of teaching obtained from RateMyProfessors.com, the present study examined SETs from 3,079 White; 142 Black; 238 Asian; 130 Latino; and 128 Other race faculty at the 25 highest ranked liberal arts colleges. Results showed that racial minority faculty, particularly Blacks and Asians, were evaluated more negatively than White faculty in terms of overall quality, helpfulness, and clarity, but were rated higher on easiness. A two-stage cluster analysis demonstrated that the very best instructors were likely to be White, whereas the very worst were more likely to be Black or Asian. Few effects of gender were observed, but several interactions emerged showing that Black male faculty were rated more negatively than other faculty. The results of the present study are consistent with the negative racial stereotypes of racial minorities and have implications for the tenure and promotion of racial minority faculty. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patterns of drug abuse: Relationships with ethnicity, sensation seeking, and anxiety.

Administered the Sensation-Seeking Scale (SSS) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) to 30 White, 30 Black, and 30 Hispanic male narcotic drug abusers in residential treatment. Individual drug abuse histories were assessed in semistructured interviews. Results are as follows: (a) White Ss scored significantly higher on the 5 SSS subtests than did either Black or Hispanic Ss. No significant differences were obtained between ethnic groups on the STAI. (b) Even though the prevalence of the use of alcohol, cannabis, street methadone, and cocaine was similar in the 3 ethnic groups, significantly more White Ss had used amphetamines, barbiturates, tranquilizers, methaqualone, inhalants, and psychedelics. (c) SSS scores and anxiety correlated significantly with the number of different drugs used by Whites, although the measures were virtually unrelated to drug use among non-Whites. The frequency of use of stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogenic drugs was unrelated to the user's level of sensation seeking or anxiety. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Facial resemblance to emotions: Group differences, impression effects, and race stereotypes.

The authors used connectionist modeling to extend previous research on emotion overgeneralization effects. Study 1 demonstrated that neutral expression male faces objectively resemble angry expressions more than female faces do, female faces objectively resemble surprise expressions more than male faces do, White faces objectively resemble angry expressions more than Black or Korean faces do, and Black faces objectively resemble happy and surprise expressions more than White faces do. Study 2 demonstrated that objective resemblance to emotion expressions influences trait impressions even when statistically controlling possible confounding influences of attractiveness and babyfaceness. It further demonstrated that emotion overgeneralization is moderated by face race and that racial differences in emotion resemblance contribute to White perceivers’ stereotypes of Blacks and Asians. These results suggest that intergroup relations may be strained not only by cultural stereotypes but also by adaptive responses to emotion expressions that are overgeneralized to groups whose faces subtly resemble particular emotions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The prejudiced personality, racism, and anti-Semitism: the PR scale forty years later

The relationship of prejudiced personality traits with racism and anti-Semitism was examined with 150 Asian American and White university students. The Prejudice (PR) scale, composed of 32 items from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, was administered along with the McConahay racism scale and the Selznick and Steinberg Anti-Semitism scale. Results indicated that for Whites, the PR scale was significantly correlated with old-fashioned and modern racism and anti-Semitism, replicating Gough's 1951 study (Gough, 1951b) with the PR scale. However, no such relationship was observed for the Asian American group. This suggests that personality traits of prejudicial attitudes may be relatively stable for Whites but may not be related to outgroup bias for other racial or ethnic groups.     

Racial and behavioral cues in Black and White children's perceptions of ambiguously aggressive acts.

Examined the way in which the interpretation of ambiguous social behavior is influenced by racial stereotypes and cultural differences. 40 Black and 40 White 6th-grade males were shown a variety of ambiguously aggressive behaviors performed by Black and White stimulus figures. As predicted, both Black and White Ss rated these behaviors as more mean and threatening when the perpetrator was Black than when he was White. In contrast, ratings of personal characteristics were in general determined by individual behavior rather than by group stereotypes, although Blacks, whether they were the perpetrator or the recipient of the behaviors, were rated as stronger than their White counterparts. Cultural differences between S groups were apparent in the greater tendency of the White Ss to read threat into ambiguously aggressive behaviors involving no physical contact and to assume that the perpetrators of such behaviors were stronger than the recipients. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptions of puberty: Adolescent, parent, and health care personnel.

This study was designed (a) to examine relations among ratings of pubertal stage by adolescents, parents, and health care personnel, and (b) to determine if accuracy of adolescent and parent ratings varied with stage of puberty. Ss were 90 healthy adolescents: 46 boys, ages 10–15, and 44 girls, ages 9–15, and their parents. Ss were shown photos of the 5 stages of puberty (Tanner criteria). Ss rated the adolescents" pubertal stage, and a nurse practioner completed an examination to rate the adolescents" stage. Correlations between adolescent and examiner ratings ranged from r?=?.77 to r?=?.91 (p?≤?.001, κ?=?.33 to .50), and between parent and examiner from r?=?.75 to r?=?.87 (p?≤?.001, κ?=?.13 to .55). When inaccurate, Ss ratings were lower than examiner ratings and less accurate at later stages of puberty. Use of adolescent and parent ratings is limited if precise ratings of stage are necessary to answer a research question. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Racial/ethnic differences in the criterion-related validity of cognitive ability tests: A qualitative and quantitative review.

The correlation between cognitive ability test scores and performance was separately meta-analyzed for Asian, Black, Hispanic, and White racial/ethnic subgroups. Compared to the average White observed correlation ( = .33, N = 903,779), average correlations were lower for Black samples ( = .24, N = 112,194) and Hispanic samples ( = .30, N = 51,205) and approximately equal for Asian samples ( = .33, N = 80,705). Despite some moderating effects (e.g., type of performance criterion, decade of data collection, job complexity), validity favored White over Black and Hispanic test takers in almost all conditions that included a sizable number of studies. Black–White validity comparisons were possible both across and within the 3 broad domains that use cognitive ability tests for high-stakes selection and placement: civilian employment, educational admissions, and the military. The trend of lower Black validity was repeated in each domain; however, average Black–White validity differences were largest in military studies and smallest in educational and employment studies. Further investigation of the reasons for these validity differences is warranted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

You're only as pretty as you feel: Facial expression as a determinant of physical attractiveness.

In Exp I, photos of 15 female target persons posing happy, neutral, and sad facial expressions were rated by 257 undergraduates for facial attractiveness using paired comparisons and Likert scales. Half of the raters were instructed to compensate for the effects of facial expression. Paired comparisons and Likert ratings were highly correlated. Target persons were less attractive when posing sad expressions than when posing neutral or happy expressions, which did not differ. In addition, independent ratings of 4 dimensions of the target persons' facial expression were obtained: pleasantness, surprise, intensity, and naturalness. Changes in these dimensions from the neutral to the happy and sad expressions and the corresponding changes in attractiveness were consistently related only to pleasantness, supporting the reinforcement-affect theory of attraction. Exp II, with 21 male undergraduates, related overall attractiveness to facial and bodily attractiveness. Both facial and bodily attractiveness were predictive of overall attractiveness, but the face was a slightly more powerful predictor. Results are discussed with respect to the stability of physical attractiveness, and alternative explanations of the mental-illness/physical-unattractiveness relation are proposed. (54 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of counselor and client racial similarity on the counselor's response patterns and skills.

To test the hypothesis that factors of racial differences may mediate counselor–client interactions in terms of the counselor's attending and expressive response style and the delivery and type appropriateness of responses, 60 graduate level Black and White counselor trainees were asked to counsel both Black and White clients. As hypothesized, Ss' delivery scores and the type appropriateness of responses were significantly better under conditions of racial similarity with the clients. Both Black and White Ss were rated as being more expressive than attending in their response patterns toward Black clients. Findings have implications for counselor–client relationships and professional training programs for psychological counseling in multiracial settings. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual differences in prototypicality judgments about trait categories.

Three studies demonstrated substantial individual differences in prototypicality judgments about trait categories. In Study 1, subjects twice rated instances of four personality trait categories, four concrete object categories, and one definitional category. For all nine categories, agreement between individuals was substantially lower (median r?=?.43) than the retest reliability of individual ratings (median r?=?.86). In Studies 2 and 3, subjects twice rated the prototypicality of characters from the film Twelve Angry Men as instances of seven trait dimensions. Agreement between individuals was again found to be substantially lower (median r?=?.56) than the retest reliability of individual ratings (median r?=?.81). These results may help to explain the unreliability of trait ratings based on examples of behavior (e.g., evaluation of employees or patients) and suggest that individual differences in the perception of prototypicality should be taken into account when comparing cross-situational with temporal consistency of behavior. Most generally, the results suggest a reconsideration of the nature of implicit personality theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)