Saving Face: Identifying Voter Responses to Black Candidates and Female Candidates

Much of what we know about the responses of voters to Black candidates and female candidates comes from experimental research. Yet the accuracy of experimental data can be threatened by the possibility that social desirability pressures contaminate self‐reporting. We address this threat in a project that considers psychological approaches to reducing social desirability pressures. Offering participants the opportunity to explain their decisions about sensitive subjects, such as voting for a Black or female candidate, can lessen social desirability pressures. We analyze this approach across three commonly used samples: undergraduate, adult convenience, and adult national. Our results suggest that existing experimental research overestimates voter support for Black and female candidates, but these issues can be mitigated with the simple innovation presented here.     

Responses to commentaries

This paper is an author response to three commentaries, by Robert Kraut and Itamar Rosenn (2012), Barry Wellman (2012) and Mark van Vugt (2012), on our article entitled ‘Relationships and the social brain: Integrating psychological and evolutionary perspectives’ ( Sutcliffe, Dunbar, Binder, & Arrow, 2012 ).     

Back to Black

This is a brief sequel to Max Black's classic dialogue on the Identity of Indiscernibles. Interlocutor A defends the bundle theory by endorsing the (by now popular) view according to which Black's world does not contain two indiscernible spheres but rather a single, bi‐located sphere. His opponent, B, objects that A cannot distinguish such a world from a world with a single, uniquely located sphere, hence that the view in question adds nothing to A's original response to Black's challenge. A is simply denying that there can be worlds with two or more indiscernible entities.     

对批评的回应

徐竹对于笔者的拙著《唯物论者何以言规范——一项从分析形而上学到信息技术哲学的多视角考察》的主要批评是,一种试图在唯物论框架中解释规范性问题的理论,自身也很容易反过来成为一种更深刻的规范性理论的被解释对象。对此,笔者的回应是:这种带有布兰登气质的"更深刻的规范性理论"其实反而是错过了"如何从无规范的物质出发说明规范"这一更艰难的理论问题。段伟文对于拙著的主要批评是:一种基于小数据主义的信息技术,是否来得及将人类从大数据的肆虐中解救出来?而笔者的回应是:笔者并不认为小数据主义一定会打败大数据主义,而是说,在不放弃信息技术带来的便利的前提下,小数据主义是解救人类既有文明的唯一技术通道。宗宁对于拙著的主要批评是:如果笔者将日本在明治维新之后的逐步军国主义化视为纵向的信息——物质管制结构的强化——的结果的话,那么,笔者又将如何解释丸山真男关于"日本恰恰是因为在近代化的过程中没有肃清横向的封建结构而走向军国"的论断呢?对此,笔者则试图指出:日本军部对于全日本武力资源的纵向上的垄断,以及对于封建结构下的武力分散结构的破坏,才使得日本国内缺乏足够的纠错力量,无力防止国家陷入军国主义泥潭。     

Responses to Embarrassment

This study focused upon responses to the emotion of embarrassment. Specifically, the situations causing embarrassment, the degree of perceived embarrassment and the agent of the embarrassment were examined as predictive of the embarrassed party's responses. These same three factors, as well as the response of the embarrassed person, were examined in association with the responses of others. In addition, the issue of multiple responses to embarrassment by the embarrassed party was examined. Self-report data werecollected from 387 persons ranging in age from 17 to 90 years. Log-linear analyses revealed strong associations between both the type of situation and the degree of embarrassment and the type of situation and the agent of the act. The type of situation did indeed predict responses by persons involved in the event. The degree of embarrassment was predictive of neither the types of responses utilized by the embarrassed party nor the others present. Theagent of the incident was strongly associated with responses of the embarrassed party, but was not associated with others’ responses. Responses of an embarrassed party were associated with the responses of others present. Finally, it was found that combinations of responses by the embarrassed party were discovered but were not associated with the situation nor with the degree of embarrassment.     

Responses to critics

In response to points raised by our critics in this book symposium, we offer some clarifications about how to understand the role of science in assessing the multiple realization thesis. We also consider the connection between functionalism and multiple realization in the contexts of both psychological and biological sciences.     

Corporate Responses to Claims of Environmental Misconduct: The Case of Phelps Dodge and Blackwell,Oklahoma

Drawing from fieldwork and thematic content analysis, we examine corporate responses to allegations of environmental misconduct surrounding a decommissioned zinc smelter plant in Blackwell, Oklahoma. Environmental grievances center on health effects associated with exposures to lead, cadmium, and arsenic and local activists charge the responsible company, Phelps Dodge, with pandering to local city officials and state regulatory agencies. Local citizens and their lawyers accuse the company of compromising public health and environmental safety by conducting improper soil samples and neglecting proper cleanup of resident homes and public spaces. Findings indicate that Phelps Dodge responded to charges of organizational misconduct by engaging in a strategic campaign of organizational impression management that included the development of a “good neighbor campaign,” the establishment of a community outreach program to promote their voluntary environmental remediation efforts, and the diffusion of responsibility through the identification of alternative exposure scenarios.     

Navigating the Black Hole: Explicating Layers of Job Search Context and Adaptational Responses

Via a qualitative study, we introduce and elucidate 5 layers of context‐related job search demands (omnibus, organizational, social, task, and personal) that are encountered by both employed and unemployed job seekers. We develop a process model to portray the mechanisms (managing mood and motivation, feedback/help seeking, and self‐reflection/learning) through which these context‐related demands are related to several important job search outcomes. We provide new insight into employed job seekers, showing that they report the job search as full of difficulties, obstacles, and challenges, and that some of these demands parallel those that unemployed job seekers face.     

Responses to Marriage Counselling

The experiences of clients who received marital counselling from trained volunteer marriage guidance counsellors were investigated. Fifty-one clients from 42 marriages were interviewed and questioned about why they chose the agency, what expectations they held, what happened during counselling, how they felt about the counsellor, and what if anything was achieved through counselling. They were also asked how they had fared since. Rating scales were used after the interview to evaluate satisfaction with counselling, benefit from counselling, aspects of the counselling relationship, etc. The clients were also asked to do a card-sort of statements about counselling to determine what aspects had been valuable and disappointing. Some of the preliminary results of the study are presented and discussed.