Accountability and the thoughts in reactive attitudes

As object-directed emotions, reactive attitudes can be appropriate in the sense of fitting, where an emotion is fitting in virtue of accurately representing its target. I use this idea to argue for a theory of moral accountability: an agent S is accountable for an action A if and only if A expresses S’s quality of will and S has the capacity to recognize and respond to moral reasons. For the sake of argument, I assume that a reactive attitude is fitting if and only if its constituent thoughts are true, and I argue for the above theory by determining thoughts partly constituting resentment and gratitude. Although others have argued that the capacity to recognize and respond to moral reasons is necessary for accountability, the argument here is significantly better in two respects. First, it does not rely on intermediary ethical principles, supplementary arguments, or assumptions about the nature of reactive attitudes specifically. Instead, it simply assumes that reactive attitudes, like all emotions, have cognitive content. Second, the argument here is more powerful because it brings to light the quality of will condition and has the resources to flesh out the capacity to recognize and respond to moral reasons.

     

A brief diversity training: Raising awareness of ingroup privilege to improve attitudes towards disadvantaged outgroups

Diversity training is a popular strategy to reduce prejudice within educational settings. However, in practice, diversity training rarely relies on social-psychological theory, and research on its effectiveness in real-world settings is scarce. Previous research regarding diversity training has particularly neglected an important theoretical concept: privilege as the counterpart of discrimination. Therefore, we developed a diversity training aiming to increase awareness of ingroup privilege, using an intersectional approach to teach participants the complex interaction between privilege and oppression. We randomly allocated students of educational science (N = 112) to a repeated-measures (pre-test, post-test, follow-up) control-group design. Compared with the control group, training participants showed a significant increase in awareness of ingroup privilege 1 week after the training, whereas there was no change in awareness of discrimination. Furthermore, increased awareness of ingroup privilege 1 week after the training mediated improved outgroup attitudes (i.e., more positive outgroup feelings towards immigrants and refugees, reduced subtle prejudice towards immigrants and reduced homonegativity) 2 weeks after the training.     

The relationship of sexual attitudes,attitudes about women,and racial attitudes in white males

A questionnaire measuring sexual attitudes, attitudes about women, and racial attitudes was administered to 350 White male college students. Sexual attitudes characterized by sexual guilt, emphasis on personal and social control of sexual expression, and depersonalization of sex were significantly positively correlated (p<.001) with attitudes that typified women in terms of traditional masculine—feminine stereotypes and good (nonsexual)—bad (sexual) dichotomies. These stereotyped and dichotomous attitudes about women and constricted and depersonalized sexual attitudes were both significantly positively correlated (p<.001) with negative racial attitudes. The implications of these results and other research suggested by this investigation are discussed.This report is based on a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree at Michigan State University, 1973. The author would like to express appreciation to Dozier W. Thornton for continued guidance and assistance as dissertation advisor. In addition, the author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Donald L. Grummon, Andrew M. Barclay, and Jeanne E. Gullahorn, all of whom served on the dissertation committee.     

Authoritarianism and sociopolitical attitudes in response to threats of terror

The relationship between threat and authoritarianism in relation to support for democratic values and military aggression was examined. Participants completed Altemeyer's Right-Wing Authoritarianism Scale, read a scenario concerning 9/11/01 that was either threatening or nonthreatening, and completed the Democratic Values Scale and the Militarism Scale. Simple linear regressions indicate RWA scores contributed significant variation to Democratic Value Scale scores (43% of the variance) and Militarism Scale Scores (22% of the variance). There was a significant difference in the contribution of RWA scores between the threatening and nonthreatening conditions on the Democratic Values Scale (34% and 17%, respectively). These results suggest that in the presence of threat, there is increased activation of authoritarian responses.     

The warpy thoughts scale: a new 20-item instrument to measure dysfunctional attitudes

Cognitive theories of psychopathology propose that specific negative cognitive schema held by individuals can increase their likelihood of experiencing depressive episodes. While it has been argued that such dysfunctional attitudes are state measures that occur primarily during periods of depression, a range of research has supported the view that holding dysfunctional attitudes is ongoing, persisting prior to and following depressive episodes. To date, the need for a parsimonious measure of dysfunctional attitudes has not been well addressed. Using data provided by 4545 participants in a free on-line cognitive behavioural therapy program, MoodGYM, we have developed the Warpy Thoughts Scale (WTS), a 20-item instrument measuring dysfunctional attitudes. This scale provides 3 first order factors (Relationships, Achievements and Entitlements) and a higher order factor, Warpy Thoughts, from which a Warpy Thoughts score can be obtained. Confirmatory factor analyses on this model indicated that it provides robust results for men and women and for individuals in a wide range of ages. WTS scores were moderately correlated with levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms (0.39 and 0.40, respectively) and explained up to one-fifth of the variance of these mental health measures. Further validation of the WTS against other measures of dysfunctional thoughts is required.     

Racial discrimination by low-prejudiced whites. Facial movements as implicit measures of attitudes related to behavior

We investigated the relationship of implicit racial prejudice to discriminatory behavior. White university students chose the best of three applicants (two were White and one was Black) for a prestigious teaching fellowship. They then completed the Implicit Association Test (IAT), a measure of implicit racial bias. Three weeks later, participants completed a second implicit measure of racial bias by viewing photos of Whites and Blacks while facial electromyography (EMG) was recorded from sites corresponding to the muscles used in smiling and frowning. Analyses revealed that bias in cheek EMG activity was related to the race of the chosen applicant, whereas bias on the IAT was not. Motivations to control prejudiced reactions were not related to EMG activity or the race of the applicant chosen, but were related to IAT bias. The findings indicate that facial EMG can be used as an implicit measure of prejudice related to discrimination.     

Hypochondriacal attitudes may reflect a general cognitive bias that is not limited to illness-related thoughts

Previous findings suggested that hypochondriacal attitudes could originate from a pessimistic trait independent of illness-related thoughts. We hypothesised that hypochondriacal attitudes correlated with a general cognitive tendency towards negative interpretations and reduced familiarisation. Healthy non-patients were invited to participate. The sum score from the Hypochondriacal Beliefs and Disease Phobia scales of the Illness Attitude Scales assessed hypochondriacal attitudes. Participants without any knowledge of the Chinese language were asked to guess whether or not each of eight Chinese characters had a positive meaning and whether the characters appeared familiar. Stimuli without semantic content avoided a reference to illness in order to assess a general cognitive bias. Participants with high hypochondriasis scores rated apparently familiar stimuli as being less positive in comparison to low hypochondriacal participants, F(1,78)?=?9.2, p?=?0.003, η2?=?0.10; correlation of hypochondriasis scores to the differences between ratings of familiar and unfamiliar characters: ρ?=?0.345, p?=?0.002. Positivity and familiarity ratings did not correlate with hypochondriacal attitudes independent of each other. A less positive appraisal of familiar experiences, which is unrelated to illness-related thoughts, may maintain hypochondriacal concerns. A general distrustful attitude towards familiar procedures should be considered in hypochondriasis.     

Interracial contact and changes in the racial attitudes of white college students

College campuses are among the most racially diverse settings in our segregated society. For many students, especially non-Hispanic whites, college represents the first time they have come into significant contact with members of other groups. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Freshmen, this paper explores the effects of campus diversity and various types of interracial contact on the racial and ethnic attitudes of white students over the course of four years in college. The findings are largely consistent with the contact hypothesis, particularly with respect to changes in attitudes towards blacks. White students who report having a close friend who is black and those who have dated or had a romantic partner who is black express less social distance towards blacks in their senior year, as do white students who were involved in extracurricular activities in which blacks are the majority. Participating in extracurricular activities dominated by blacks is also associated with more positive views of the impact of affirmative action on academic standards expressed as students were leaving college. Although there is evidence that both stereotypes and social distance towards groups are mitigated by intergroup contact, stereotypes appeared to be somewhat more resistant to change. The findings suggest that institutions should continue efforts to diversify their student populations, and also promote involvement in extracurricular activities for students from all groups.