A qualitative investigation of white students’ perceptions of diversity.

Diversity is used in countless vision statements of institutions of higher learning. Yet, it is critical to examine how students understand the concept and conceptualize their personal involvement. Given that the current population of college students is predominantly White, it is important to examine this population. The current sample consisted of 151 self-identified White college students (61 men and 90 women) from a predominantly White, residential, liberal arts college. Responses to 2 open-ended questions—“In your own words, express how you would define the term diversity?” and “How do Whites fit into your definition of diversity?”—were analyzed in Atlas.ti 5.0 using an open coding method. Race was the most common definition of diversity (61%). A smaller number of students conceptualized diversity as involving interaction across differences (41.7%). The majority of the respondents (80%) felt Whites have a role in diversity, but the nature of that role varied. Findings suggest that it is helpful to have clear institutional definitions of diversity to provide multiple entry points and increase the likelihood that White students will engage in campus diversity initiatives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Metacontrast with black and white stimuli.

Conducted 2 experiments with a total of 30 undergraduates in which black rings and white rings masked black discs and white discs. Exp I also examined the masking of half-black and half-white targets. A forced-choice indicator response revealed that black and white stimuli could have different effects on metacontrast backward masking. Some of the results may be due to the way in which the visual system processes changes in stimulus brightness. (French summary) (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Language differences between black children and white children.

Examined 48 black and 48 white children, matched for social class and nonverbal intelligence, in a free-recall situation on vocabulary words and sentences presented in black dialect and standard English. On standard English sentences, both groups performed equally well. On sentences in black dialect, the white Ss performed significantly worse. Findings are interpreted as support for bilingual language development in black ghetto children and emphasize the importance of social class and intelligence when comparing black and white Ss on language tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Genetic and environmental influences on perceptions of organizational climate.

Assessed genetic and environmental influences on perceptions of organizational climate by using a 4-group twin design. Data were obtained as part of the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging. The Work Environment Scale (WES) was used to evaluate perceptions of organizational climate. A measure of job satisfaction was also used to evaluate the effects of genes and environments on job attitudes. Maximum likelihood estimates of genetic and environmental influence suggested significant genetic effects for Supportive Climate, 1 factor resulting from a factor analysis of the WES, but not for a 2nd factor, Time Pressure. Significant environmental effects were found for both Supportive Climate and Time Pressure. Genetic effects were not significant for job satisfaction. The relevance of findings to organizational climate research and personnel selection are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trust and self-disclosure among black college students.

Investigated 2 models of counseling to determine which best facilitated self-disclosure and trust in 18 black undergraduates. One model involved professional counselors; the other consisted of minimally trained peer counselors. Ss were systematically assigned to 1 of the 2 models and exposed to 5 60-min counseling sessions with either a professional or a peer counselor. It was hypothesized that persons participating in a peer counseling experience will trust and self-disclose at a higher level than persons participating in a professional counseling experience. Data from the Self-Disclosure Questionnaire and J. B. Rotter's 1967 Interpersonal Trust Scale did not support the hypothesis. Both groups disclosed and trusted at a significantly higher level after treatment. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lung function among black and white children

Racial differences in ventilatory lung function were evaluated in a community study of 393 children (158 blacks, 235 whites). Mean forced vital capacity was 18 per cent larger in nonsmoking white males than in nonsmoking black males, and 11 per cent larger in nonsmoking white females than in nonsmoking black females. Similar differences were observed for the 1-sec forced expiratory volume and for the maximal expiratory flow at 50 per cent of the vital capacity. However, when adjusted for lung size (on the basis of forced vital capacity), 1-sec forced expiratory volume and maximal expiratory flow at 50 per cent of the forced vital capacity were larger in the black children compared to the white children. Lung function prediction equations based on race, sex, age, height and weight are presented for healthy nonsmoking children; these allow for an evaluation of normal lung function in both black and white children.     

Characteristics and perceptions of beginning doctoral students in school psychology.

A national sample of 251 1st- and 2nd-yr doctoral students in school psychology responded to a questionnaire measuring demographic characteristics, preferences among applied specialties in professional psychology, graduate program applications, anticipated internship setting, preferred client population, personal interests, professional goals, and satisfaction with current training. Survey responses showed a clear preference for working directly with children and adolescents following graduation, a high degree of correspondence between training program emphases and student interests and goals, and a moderate degree of student satisfaction with training experiences. Results are interpreted with respect to training trends and standards in school psychology, the relationship between school and clinical psychology, satisfaction of students in clinical and counseling psychology programs, and methodology limitations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychiatric history and symptom differences in black and white depressed patients.

Compared 159 black psychiatric patients with 555 white patients on a battery of social, personality, and psychiatric history variables, as well as presenting symptoms. In making these comparisons, race differences in age, social class status, and sex were controlled. Both black and white depressed patients were remarkably similar on presenting symptoms, especially the core symptoms of depression, when the groups were equated or controlled for age and social class differences. However, some differences did emerge on a number of hostility variables. There was a greater tendency toward negativism and the introjection of anger in blacks than in whites. In addition, depressed black males indicated that they were more likely than their white counterparts to strike back, either verbally or physically, when they felt their rights were being violated. There was also a very high incidence of suicide threats or attempts among the black males. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Not so black and white: Memory for ambiguous group members.

Exponential increases in multiracial identities, expected over the next century, create a conundrum for perceivers accustomed to classifying people as their own- or other-race. The current research examines how perceivers resolve this dilemma with regard to the own-race bias. The authors hypothesized that perceivers are not motivated to include ambiguous-race individuals in the in-group and therefore have some difficulty remembering these individuals. Both racially ambiguous and other-race faces were misremembered more often than own-race faces (Study 1), though memory for ambiguous faces was improved among perceivers motivated to include biracial individuals in the in-group (Study 2). Racial labels assigned to racially ambiguous faces determined memory for these faces, suggesting that uncertainty provides the motivational context for discounting ambiguous faces in memory (Study 3). Finally, an inclusion motivation fostered cognitive associations between racially ambiguous faces and the in-group. Moreover, the extent to which perceivers associated racially ambiguous faces with the in-group predicted memory for ambiguous faces and accounted for the impact of motivation on memory (Study 4). Thus, memory for biracial individuals seems to involve a flexible person construal process shaped by motivational factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Delivery of community mental health services to black and white clients.

Compared services rendered to 959 black and 11,904 white clients seen at 17 community mental health centers. Data included client's age, sex, income, education, marital status, diagnosis, assignment to type of treatment program, major service received, number of contacts, and assignment to type of therapist. Results indicate that the 959 blacks compared to a 10% random sample of 1,190 whites (a) represented a different group of clients in demographic characteristics, (b) were no more likely to receive inferior forms of treatment programs, (c) saw paraprofessional rather than professional personnel, and (d) failed to return after the initial contact at a high rate (i.e., over 50% terminated at this time). The latter 2 findings persisted irrespective of other demographic differences between blacks and whites. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender identity and adjustment in black, Hispanic, and white preadolescents.

The generality of S. K. Egan and D. G. Perry's (2001) model of gender identity and adjustment was evaluated by examining associations between gender identity (felt gender typicality, felt gender contentedness, and felt pressure for gender conformity) and social adjustment in 863 White, Black, and Hispanic 5th graders (mean age = 11.1 years). Relations between gender identity and adjustment varied across ethnic/racial groups, indicating that S. K. Egan and D. G. Perry's model requires amendment. It is suggested that the implications of gender identity for adjustment depend on the particular meanings that a child attaches to gender (e.g., the specific attributes the child regards as desirable for each sex); these meanings may vary across and within ethnic/racial groups. Cross-ethnic/racial investigation can aid theory building by pointing to constructs that are neglected in research with a single ethnic/racial group but that are crucial components of basic developmental processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The measurement of leadership in white and Negro women students.

A comparison of personality traits and other characteristics of leaders and non-leaders in two southern colleges for women, Agnes Scott for white and Spelman for Negro students, is made. The materials used are the Good-enough Speed-of-Association Test, the Bernreuter Personality Inventory, and other collateral information. Small, but statistically significant, differences exist between leaders and non-leaders within a college. These differences are "definitely and reliably greater than are the differences between the two races." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Environmental perceptions of students in same-sex and coeducational physical education classes.

Although class climate has been studied in relation to same-sex or coeducational schools and academic classroom environments, physical education presents a unique situation not frequently examined in this regard. Middle and high school students' perceptions of the environment were examined following their participation in a basketball unit. Results indicated that same-sex and coeducational physical education classes revealed quite different climates, although boys and girls in the same coeducational classes generally viewed their environments in a similar manner. Overall, girls' same-sex classes were perceived most favorably, whereas boys' same-sex classes were perceived least favorably. However, climate was viewed differently by girls and boys depending on whether they were perceiving the class as a whole or from the perspective of their own gender. In addition, teacher gender was not a factor in the results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of sex role stereotypes in black and white elementary school girls.

Examined the effect of race on degree of stereotyping. 20 1st- and 20 3rd-grade girls (half from each grade were black and half were white) answered 20 questions about characteristics usually considered typical of one or the other of the sexes. Both races gave equally stereotyped responses to questions about children, but blacks gave fewer stereotyped responses than whites to questions about adults. The bearing of the results on theories of the development of sex role stereotypes is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender difference as a factor in teachers' perceptions of students.

Elementary school teachers' perceptions of students were assessed by having teachers rate 157 boys and 127 girls in their 1st–6th grade classes on the School Behavior Check List. Multiple regression was used to examine the relationship between the student characteristics of sex, IQ, reading achievement, and grade level and teacher ratings of students on the Check List. This technique was used because sex, academic ability, and achievement are confounded variables in elementary school populations. Results show that student ability and achievement were more potent factors in teacher perceptions than gender per se. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A conference on recruitment of black and other minority students and faculty.

Emphasizes the "extent of underrepresentation of minority groups in psychology," and urges the American Psychological Association (APA) "Council, boards, and committees . . . to provide leadership in expanding the opportunities for black and other minority group students and faculty to enter the mainstream of psychology." Conference recommendations for possible actions at many levels of APA governance structure are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)