The utility of open-ended measures to assess intergroup ambivalence.

Demonstrated the utility of open-ended measures for assessing intergroup ambivalence. 42 Canadian undergraduates completed open-ended measures of stereotypes (beliefs about characteristics of group members), symbolic beliefs (beliefs that group members promote or threaten cherished values), and emotions, in order to determine their degree of ambivalence toward Native Peoples, French Canadians, Oriental Immigrants, and Canadians. Ss also completed an attitude measure assessing their overall evaluations of the groups. Examination and comparison of these measures revealed findings consistent with the following theoretical expectations: (1) the positive and negative dimensions were not highly negatively correlated, (2) ambivalence toward the groups differed, and (3) ambivalence toward the groups was not highly correlated. Results support the open-ended measure of ambivalence. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Examining conflict between components of attitudes: Ambivalence and inconsistency are distinct constructs.

Past research has indicated that attitudes can be based on different types of psychological information or components, such as emotions and beliefs. It has also been suggested that the amount of ambivalence and inconsistency between and within these components are important aspects of attitude structure. In this paper, the authors discuss the relation between ambivalence and inconsistency, and their effects on message processing. Based on past theorizing and research, and on the reanalyses of previous data (G. R. Maio et al, 1996), the authors conclude that ambivalence and inconsistency are distinct constructs, which are empirically unrelated and produce different effects on message processing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mood and the expression of ethnic stereotypes.

Four studies demonstrated that when individuals are in a negative mood, they are especially likely to attribute stereotypes that they consider to be very unfavorable to certain ethnic groups. The ethnic groups that were most consistently affected were Native Indian, Pakistani, and Arabic people. In Studies 1 and 2, it was shown that the effect is obtained with 2 different types of mood induction procedures and for individuals of various ethnic backgrounds. In Studies 3 and 4, it was found that mood strongly influences the interpretation of stereotypes typically attributed to the groups; it may also have a weaker effect on the actual type of stereotypes used. Results are discussed in terms of the effect of mood on the accessibility of relevant information and of the interpretive categories applied to information. Implications for the literature on mood effects and on intergroup perceptions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Le multiculturalisme au canada: Contexte et état actuel.

This introduction to the special issue of the Canadian Review of the Behavioural Sciences on multiculturalism is intended to prepare the reader for the articles that follow on changes in the ethnography of Canada and the history and the current state of multicultural policy in Canada. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multiculturalism in Canada: Context and current status.

We introduce this special issue of the Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science on "Ethnic Relations in a Multicultural Society" by setting the stage for the articles to follow. First, we describe the changing ethnic composition of Canada and we outline Canada's policy of multiculturalism. Next, we discuss the current state of ethnic identity and ethnic attitudes in Canada. Finally, we provide a brief overview of the articles in this issue. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Native Canadians, First Nations, or Aboriginals: The effect of labels on attitudes toward native peoples.

The labels that we use to identify groups may play a role in the attitudes that are expressed toward members of these groups. Based on a multicomponent model of intergroup attitudes, 108 university students responded to a questionnaire assessing attitudes toward Natives, as well as three important components of these attitudes: stereotypes (characteristics attributed to the group), symbolic beliefs (beliefs that the group promotes or threatens cherished values, customs, and traditions), and emotions. Five different labels were utilized for the group: Aboriginal Peoples, First Nations People, Native Canadians, Native Indians, Native Peoples. Results indicated that attitudes toward Natives were less favorable when the labels Native Canadians and First Nations People were utilized, and this effect was partially mediated by the symbolic beliefs that came to mind in response to these labels. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Kenneth Lucien Dion (1944-2004).

Presents an obituary for Kenneth Lucien Dion (1944-2004). His unexpected death on November 16, 2004, of a heart attack, came at a time when Dion was at the height of his career, having just started work on several new programs of research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing the structure of prejudicial attitudes: The case of attitudes toward homosexuals.

Two studies assessed the structure of attitudes toward homosexuals. In Study 1, Ss completed measures of stereotypes, symbolic beliefs, and affective associates as well as attitudes toward homosexuals. They also completed the right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) scale. The results reveal that (1) stereotypes did not provide a complete representation of attitudes, (2) RWA was negatively correlated with attitudes toward homosexuals, (3) the relative importance of the predictor variables differed for high and low RWA Ss, and (4) the 3 predictors accounted for more variance in the attitudes of low RWA than of high RWA Ss. Study 2 also included measures of past experiences and perceived value dissimilarity. Results revealed that past experiences significantly added to the prediction of attitudes only for high RWA Ss and that much of the RWA–attitude relation was accounted for by the consideration of symbolic beliefs and perceived value dissimilarity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mood as a moderator of acceptance of interpersonal feedback.

Two studies demonstrated that feedback is likely to be accepted when its affective tone matches an individual's mood state. In Study 1, Ss in an induced positive mood were more likely to change self-ratings in the direction of positive feedback, whereas Ss in an induced negative mood were more likely to change self-ratings in the direction of negative feedback. In Study 2, after a neutral mood induction, nondepressed Ss were more likely to change self-ratings in the direction of positive feedback, whereas depressed Ss were more likely to change self-ratings in the direction of negative feedback. After a positive mood induction, both nondepressed and depressed Ss were more likely to change self-ratings in the direction of positive feedback. These results suggest that motivations for self-enhancement or self-consistency do not generally underlie acceptance of feedback. Instead, a model of accessibility of information in memory is proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectancy effects in social stereotyping: Automatic and controlled processing in the Neely paradigm.

This research attempted to extend the classic cognition study, Neely (1977), to the domain of social stereotypes. Neely demonstrated the existence of automatic and controlled processing in the same paradigm and the differing effects these processes have on accessing category information. The current research extended these findings by using social groups and stereotypes as stimuli, rather than nonsocial categories. Participants were told to expect characteristics of the Black stereotype following the prime CHINESE, characteristics of the Chinese stereotype following the prime BLACK, and characteristics of the criminal stereotype following the prime CRIMINAL. These expectancies were true most of the time. Participants then completed a lexical decision task in which SOA was manipulated (250 vs. 2,000 ms). Participants responded faster to semantically related targets (i.e., stereotypes) in the 250-ms SOA condition, regardless of their explicit expectancies. In the 2,000-ms SOA condition, participants responded faster to expected targets than to unexpected targets, regardless of whether or not the targets were semantically related to the primes. When the data from the two conditions were combined, the expectancy effect remained whereas the semantic relation effect did not. Results are discussed in terms of the automatic and controlled processing of social stimuli, and the importance of understanding expectancies in social stereotyping. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)