Reducing stereotype threat by blurring intergroup boundaries

The authors aimed to establish whether interventions designed to reduce intergroup bias could be applied to the stereotype threat domain. In three experiments, the hypothesis was tested that blurring intergroup boundaries would reduce stereotype threat. In the first study, it was found that female participants who thought about characteristics shared between the genders tended to show less preference for stereotypical female careers than did participants in the baseline condition. In Experiment 2, participants who thought about overlapping characteristics answered more math questions correctly compared to a baseline group and participants who thought about differences between the genders. In Experiment 3, a specific threat manipulation was included. Participants who completed the overlapping characteristics task before receiving the threat completed significantly more math questions correctly than did participants in the baseline and threat conditions. The findings support the idea that interventions designed to reduce intergroup bias can be applied successfully in the reduction of stereotype threat.     

The Eye of the Beholder: Romantic Goals and Impression Biases

Four experiments investigated the effects of romantic goals on task and social impression formation. The clouded judgment hypothesis holds that romantic goals encourage positive biases on less relationship-relevant dimensions (e.g., task competence). The default positivity hypothesis holds that romantic goals encourage positivity biases on relationship-relevant dimensions in the absence of relevant information. The selective accuracy hypothesis posits that romantic goals encourage accuracy regarding relationship-relevant attributes (e.g., social competence) when relevant information is available. In four studies, male and female perceivers evaluated opposite-sex targets whom they expected to date (romantic goals) or to meet for nonromantic interaction (baseline). Videotaped targets displayed competence or incompetence on task (Experiments 1 and 2) or social (Experiments 3 and 4) dimensions. All three hypotheses were supported.     

Why introverts can't always tell who likes them: multitasking and nonverbal decoding

Despite personality theories suggesting that extraversion correlates with social skill, most studies have not found a positive correlation between extraversion and nonverbal decoding. The authors propose that introverts are less able to multitask and thus are poorer at nonverbal decoding, but only when it is a secondary task. Prior research has uniformly extracted the nonverbal decoding from its multitasking context and, consequently, never tested this hypothesis. In Studies 1-3, introverts exhibited a nonverbal decoding deficit, relative to extraverts, but only when decoding was a secondary rather than a primary task within a multitasking context. In Study 4, extraversion was found to correlate with central executive efficiency (r = .42) but not with storage capacity (r = .04). These results are discussed in terms of arousal theories of extraversion and the role of catecholamines (dopamine and norepinephrine) in prefrontal function.     

Relations between life difficulties, measures of working memory operation, and examination performance in a student sample

This study investigated the hypothesis that the negative effect of life difficulties on examination performance in university students (Andrews & Wilding, 2004) can be explained by impairment of working memory efficiency. UK-based students were given an extensive interview covering recent life stressors, and carried out a task testing working memory span, in which they had to judge the truth of arithmetic expressions while retaining words. Students reporting one or more life difficulties in the preceding 12 months recalled significantly fewer words than those reporting no such difficulties, but showed no difference in processing time on the task. However, while the number of words recalled was unrelated to examination performance at the end of the year, students who took longer on the task did significantly less well in the examination. This relation was more marked in Science than in Arts students. A number of possible explanations for this pattern of results are considered, which need to be explored in further research. In particular it is suggested that the number of words retained in the working memory span task reflects current state, and is reduced by intrusive thoughts provoked by current life difficulties, while time on the task reflects more permanent efficiency of the processing system and, therefore, efficiency in study and examinations.     

Gathering Diverse Perspectives to Tackle “Wicked Problems”: Racial/Ethnic Disproportionality in Educational Placement

Among students receiving behavioral health and special education services, racial/ethnic minority students are consistently overrepresented in settings separate from general classrooms. Once separated, many young people struggle to improve academically and face significant difficulty upon trying to return to a general education setting. Given the complex, ongoing, and multifaceted nature of this challenge, racial/ethnic disproportionality can be identified as a “wicked problem,” for which solutions are not easily identified. Here, we describe our community-engaged research efforts, eliciting perspectives from relevant partners in an ongoing dialogue, to better integrate diverse stakeholders’ perspectives when attempting to address such disparities. We conducted focus groups and qualitative interviews with members of three stakeholder groups: community-serving organizations, individuals with lived experience of behavioral health conditions, and state-level policymakers, with a shared interest in addressing racial and ethnic disparities. Participant responses illustrated the “wickedness” of this problem and highlighted the need for additional supports for students, families, and school personnel, increased collaboration across relevant systems and agencies, and reduced barriers related to funding. Overall, this methodology bridged differing perspectives to develop, in concert with our partners, a shared language of the problem and a core set of issues to consider when seeking to effect change.     

Dash of Faith: A Faith-Based Participatory Research Pilot Study

The Dash of Faith pilot used a community-based participatory research approach to design an experiential dietary intervention based on two African-American churches, one intervention and one comparison. Congregation members identified components that were incorporated into 12 weekly and 4 monthly sessions, with a goal of increasing fruit and vegetable and lowering fat intake. At 2 months, a marginally significant (p = 0.07) increase in fruit and vegetable consumption was observed in the intervention group but was not maintained at study conclusion. We propose that these mixed findings may be attributable, in part, to bias introduced by the participatory nature of the design.     

Mortality salience and evaluations of in‐group versus out‐group critics: The role of criticism legitimacy and perceived threat

Significant terror management research has examined the impact of mortality salience on evaluations toward in‐group versus out‐group and attitudinally similar versus dissimilar others. However, relatively little research has examined evaluations when group membership is disentangled from attitude similarity. The current research examined the impact of mortality salience on evaluations toward in‐group and out‐group critics when people are less likely to rely on group membership as a heuristic. In Experiment 1, the results showed that in the control condition, participants rated an in‐group member who provided unjustified criticism more positively than an out‐group member who provided the same criticism. Under mortality salience, the reverse occurred: An in‐group member who provided unjustified criticism was rated more negatively than an out‐group member. Experiment 2 showed that under mortality salience, the derogation of an in‐group critic who provided unjustified criticism was mediated by perceptions of threat. Implications for reactions to group‐directed criticism as well as mortality salience effects are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Preliminary Examination of the Role of Emotion Differentiation in the Relationship Between Borderline Personality and Urges for Maladaptive Behaviors

Impulsive, maladaptive, and potentially self-damaging behaviors are a hallmark feature of borderline personality (BP) pathology. Difficulties with emotion regulation have been implicated in both BP pathology and maladaptive behaviors. One facet of emotion regulation that may be particularly important in the relation between BP pathology and urges for maladaptive behaviors is emotion differentiation. Over 1 day, 84 participants high (n?=?34) and low (n?=?50) in BP pathology responded to questions regarding state emotions and urges to engage in maladaptive behaviors using handheld computers, in addition to a measure of emotion-related difficulties controlling impulsive behaviors. Results revealed that individuals high in BP pathology reported greater emotion-related impulsivity as well as daily urges to engage in maladaptive behaviors. However, the association between BP group and both baseline emotion-related impulsivity and daily urges for maladaptive behaviors was strongest among individuals who had low levels of positive emotion differentiation. Conversely, negative emotion differentiation did not significantly moderate the relationships between BP group and either emotion-related difficulties controlling impulsive behaviors or state urges for maladaptive behaviors. Limitations to the present study include the reliance upon an analogue sample and the relatively brief monitoring period. Despite limitations, these results suggest that, among individuals with high BP pathology, the ability to differentiate between positive emotions may be a particularly important target in the reduction of maladaptive behaviors.