Prejudice Control and Interracial Relations: The Role of Motivation to Respond Without Prejudice

ABSTRACT A decade of research indicates that individual differences in motivation to respond without prejudice have important implications for the control of prejudice and interracial relations. In reviewing this work, we draw on W. Mischel and Y. Shoda's (1995, 1999) Cognitive–Affective Processing System (CAPS) to demonstrate that people with varying sources of motivation to respond without prejudice respond in distinct ways to situational cues, resulting in differing situation–behavior profiles in interracial contexts. People whose motivation is self-determined (i.e., the internally motivated) effectively control prejudice across situations and strive for positive interracial interactions. In contrast, people who respond without prejudice to avoid social sanction (i.e., the primarily externally motivated) consistently fail at regulating difficult to control prejudice and respond with anxiety and avoidance in interracial interactions. We further consider the nature of the cognitive–affective units of personality associated with motivation to respond without prejudice and their implications for the quality of interracial relations.     

Effects of External and Internal Motivation to Control Prejudice on Implicit Prejudice: The Mediating Role of Efforts to Control Prejudiced Responses

We examined the effects of internal and external motivation to control prejudice on implicit prejudice, focusing on identifying a mediator of the relation between external motivation and implicit prejudice. White participants completed internal and external motivation to control prejudice measures several weeks before completing the Implicit Association Test (IAT). Participants who were more internally motivated showed less implicit prejudice, whereas those who were more externally motivated displayed more implicit prejudice. Consistent with an ironic processes explanation, the effect of external motivation on increased implicit prejudice was mediated by efforts to control prejudiced responses.     

自主性动机对创造力的预测：认知抑制的调节作用

执行功能和动机是构成创造力个体差异的重要因素。本研究采用Stroop任务、自主性动机和创造力量表对372名大学生进行问卷调查及实验室研究,以考察认知抑制在自主性动机预测创造力中的调节作用。结果发现：（1）自主性动机显著正向预测流畅性/灵活性/独创性。（2）认知抑制调节自主性动机对流畅性与灵活性的预测作用。具体表现为对高认知抑制能力者,自主性动机显著正向预测流畅性和灵活性,对低认知抑制能力者这一预测作用不显著。该研究深化了自主性动机与创造力关系的研究。     

Neuroticism and Depression in Children: The Role of Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies

This study's general objective was to analyze whether different types of cognitive emotion regulation strategies (CERS), namely adaptive strategies—specifically positive refocusing and positive reappraisal—and maladaptive strategies—self-blame, catastrophizing, and rumination—mediated the neuroticism-depression relationship in children 9–12 years old, and whether gender and school transition moderated the relationships proposed. A self-reporting measure was administered to 315 children to evaluate said variables. The resulting data were analyzed using structural equations. The study verified that maladaptive CERS partially mediated neuroticism's relationship with depression, while adaptive CERS, though negatively associated with depression, did not show a mediating effect on this relationship. The results provide evidence of the mediating function of maladaptive CERS on the neuroticism-depression relationship. Gender and school transition did not moderate the relationships proposed. Because, by their very nature, these strategies are modifiable, these results constitute an important finding that can be transferred to the design and content of child mental health prevention and promotion programs.     

The Role of Cognitive Control in Cocaine Dependence

While hedonic and reward-related processes are central to drug use and dependence, this article focuses on the contribution that cognitive processes may make to addiction. In particular, attention is drawn to those processes involved in exercising control over behavior as drug dependence is characterized by risky, impulsive behavior. Functional neuroimaging implicates prefrontal deficits in cocaine dependence with an emerging picture of cocaine users having attentional biases towards drug-related stimuli, poor performance in laboratory tests of inhibitory control, and compromised monitoring and evaluation of their behavior. Combined, these deficits may contribute to the continuation of use in dependent individuals and may qualify as important targets for therapeutic interventions.     

Motivation to Control Prejudice as a Mediator of Identity and Affirmative Action Attitudes1

Affirmative action is a divisive issue in society today. Attitudes toward affirmative action vary both between and within ethnic and racial groups, with Whites exhibiting the majority of negative attitudes. Researchers have suggested a variety of psychological explanations for differences in attitudes toward affirmative action (e.g., racism, self‐interest, fairness). The current study investigates whether motivation to control prejudice acts as a mediator of ethnic/racial identity and Whites’ attitudes toward affirmative action. Support was found for the mediating role of motivation to control prejudice for several aspects of ethnic and racial identity and affirmative action attitudes. Limitations of the study are discussed, as are topics for future research.     

Age,Emotion Regulation,and Affect in Adulthood: The Mediating Role of Cognitive Reappraisal

Evidence indicates that older adults experience high levels of emotional well‐being. However, little is known empirically about the underlying mechanism of this state. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether emotion regulation mediates the link between age and affect in adulthood. The sample consisted of 516 Japanese participants aged 30 (±1), 50 (±1), and 70 (±1) years, who were registered with an Internet survey company. Cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression were measured as emotion regulation strategies. Positive and negative affect were assessed. Older participants reported lower negative affect than younger participants, while positive affect was not correlated with age. Cognitive reappraisal partially mediated the relationship between age and affect, whereas expressive suppression did not. The results suggested that age‐related increase in cognitive reappraisal could contribute to improvements in affect, but that another adaptive form of emotion regulation may mediate the relationship between age and affect. Our study thus indicates that developments in emotion regulation could explain the mechanism of stable everyday affect throughout adulthood, and that researchers should further explore another form of adaptive emotion regulation.     

Cognitive Performance and the Role of Control Beliefs in Midlife

Midlife has been touted as being a time of peak performance in many different areas of functioning. In the present study, we investigated whether this was true for cognitive functioning on tasks assessing speed, reasoning, short-term memory, and vocabulary. We also explored the extent to which levels of cognitive functioning could be attributed to individual differences in general control beliefs. Middle-aged adults showed little or no cognitive declines on speed, reasoning, and short-term memory measures relative to the young and outperformed the young on vocabulary. Relative to the elderly, middle-aged adults scored higher on all tasks except vocabulary, for which there were no differences. Adults in midlife, on the other hand, had lower scores on measures of general control beliefs compared to younger adults. Thus, although midlife is a time of high cognitive functioning, it is also a time of lower beliefs about control. To investigate the relationship between control beliefs and cognitive performance, we used structural equation modeling. The models showed that for adults in midlife, control beliefs were predictive of performance but only for the reasoning task after background variables were considered. Specifically, high levels of control beliefs were associated with better cognitive performance. More work is needed to identify mediational processes linking control beliefs and cognitive performance for various age groups and to determine whether some cognitive processes are more controllable than others.     

抑制控制在类比映射发展中的作用:认知负荷的影响

本研究采用负启动范式,设置不同的认知负荷任务,探究抑制控制在儿童和成人类比映射中的作用。实验一中,31名7岁儿童、33名10岁儿童和34名成人完成高认知负荷的相对大小类比映射的负启动任务。结果表明,所有群体均出现负启动效应,且负启动效应随年龄增长而减小。实验二中,30名7岁儿童、30名10岁儿童和32名成人完成低认知负荷的相对大小类比映射的负启动任务。结果表明,所有群体均出现负启动效应,但负启动效应无显著年龄差异。本研究的结果揭示了抑制控制和认知负荷在类比映射发展中的重要作用。     

创伤后应激障碍的认知功能缺陷与执行控制 ——5·12震后创伤恢复的认知基础

创伤后应激障碍（Posttraumatic stress disorder,PTSD）患者通常伴随着明显的认知功能损伤。例如,存在注意保持缺陷,对与创伤相关的信息表现出更多的注意偏向和应激反应;并存在对创伤信息的记忆偏向,在陈述性记忆和自传体记忆中表现出一定的缺陷。近年的研究积累了更多类似的证据,表明PTSD的认知损伤可能与执行功能缺陷密切相关,但这一解释是否正确仍有待进一步的研究。本综述对5·12汶川大地震后长期的心理干预工作,尤其是认知功能损伤人群的筛选、恢复以及相关科学研究具有现实意义和理论启发作用     

Affective Processing and Emotion Regulation in Dysphoria and Depression: Cognitive Biases and Deficits in Cognitive Control

In this article, we take a closer look at the cognitive processing of emotional material in dysphoria and depression and link cognitive biases and deficits to individual differences in emotion regulation, an important risk factor for depression. Specifically, we propose that cognitive biases are associated with individual differences in the initial appraisal and reappraisal of emotion‐eliciting events. In addition, deficits in cognitive control result in prolonged processing of negative, goal‐irrelevant aspects of information as well as in decreased accessibility of mood‐incongruent material. These deficits further affect people’s ability to regulate negative affect by setting the stage for ruminative responses and by interfering with the use of reappraisal after the onset of an emotional response. This article provides a brief summary of findings that support these propositions and outlines implications for future research on the relation among affective processing, cognitive control, and emotion regulation in dysphoria and depression.     

皮层运动区和皮层下运动区在运动的认知控制中的作用

运动的认知控制是机体选择适合当前情境的运动的关键。皮层和皮层下运动区的不同脑区分别参与运动认知控制的不同方面, 同时又相互协作以确保各种运动的正确执行。运动前区(PMC)和初级运动区(M1)共同负责感觉与运动之间的转换, M1区、小脑和纹状体共同参与运动的学习和记忆, 辅助运动复合体(SMC)和M1区在运动的计划过程中发挥主导作用。基底神经节和前辅助运动区(pre-SMA)是对运动进行抑制的关键脑区。     

Anti-fat Prejudice: The Role of Psychology in Explication, Education and Eradication

The field of psychology’s explication of anti-fat prejudice and its impact on psychological practice in the U.S. is reviewed. The medical perspective that obesity is itself a disease or a psychological disorder and that fat is the cause of various physical or mental health conditions is challenged and viewed as contributing to weight-based prejudice in the U.S. The role of psychology in educating students and future practitioners about anti-fat bias and research on the ineffectiveness of dieting is examined. Research documenting anti-fat bias in the diagnosis and treatment of fat female clients in the U.S. is reviewed, and potential solutions for eradicating anti-fat prejudice in the clinical practice of psychology, including alternatives to dieting for women, are described.     

The Arts of Schooling and the Role of Philosophy: Response to Colin Wringe

Studies in Philosophy and Education -     

Gender Traits and Cognitive Appraisal in Young Adults: The Mediating Role of Locus of Control

The present study examined the relationships between masculine and feminine traits, measured using the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI), and the way young adults appraise events (i.e., as threats or as challenges). We hypothesized that the locus of control (LOC)—i.e., individuals’ perceived control over the events that affect them—mediated these relationships. We tested these assumptions on two student samples from the French-speaking part of Switzerland (N?=?123 and N?=?504). Regression analyses demonstrated that, as expected, agentic masculine traits were positively related to challenge appraisals, and negatively to threat appraisals. LOC mediated these relationships, but most strongly among female participants. A different pattern was found for femininity. Feminine traits were positively related to increased challenge appraisals, but only in female participants of Sample 2. They were also related, in some cases, to increased threat appraisals. Furthermore, in line with previous research, LOC did not mediate the relationship between feminine traits and cognitive appraisal. Overall, the present results confirm that masculine and feminine stereotypical traits differ in their consequences for the way young adults appraise events in their everyday life.     

The Relationship Between Women's Body Satisfaction and Self-Image Across the Life Span: The Role of Cognitive Control

The authors examined the relationship between body dissatisfaction and self-image across the life span. A sample of 106 women between the ages of 20 and 65 years completed questionnaire measures of body dissatisfaction, body importance, cognitive control over the body, self-concept, and self-esteem. The authors found that body dissatisfaction and body importance did not differ among the groups of women who were younger, middle aged, and older. Although body dissatisfaction was related to self-concept and self-esteem for the entire sample, the strength of that relationship reduced with increasing age and increasing perceptions of cognitive control. The authors concluded that the cognitive strategies of women who were older protect their self-concept and self-esteem from the influence of body dissatisfaction.     

Prejudice Against Muslim Australians: The Role of Values,Gender and Consensus

Data from an Australian community survey (n = 189) examining the predictors of prejudice against Muslim Australians were analysed. Using thematic analysis, we investigated the specific values our participants reported regarding their perceptions of Muslim Australians and Islam. We then investigated the relationship between prejudice against Muslim Australians, the most important value priorities given by our participants, and other prejudice‐related variables. After entry into a regression analysis, the participants high in prejudice were found to be significantly more likely to have lower educational levels and more right‐wing views. They were also significantly more likely to report high levels of national attitudes (i.e. stronger identification with Australian identity), concern about gender equality within the Muslim community, less concern about equality generally and report that Muslims were not conforming to Australian values. High prejudiced participants also scored higher in the reporting of negative media‐related beliefs, were more likely to perceive higher support in the community for their views than was the case and were more negative towards Muslim men than Muslim women. The implications for anti‐prejudice interventions are discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.