A 32-society investigation of the influence of perceived economic inequality on social class stereotyping

There is a growing body of work suggesting that social class stereotypes are amplified when people perceive higher levels of economic inequality—that is, the wealthy are perceived as more competent and assertive and the poor as more incompetent and unassertive. The present study tested this prediction in 32 societies and also examines the role of wealth-based categorization in explaining this relationship. We found that people who perceived higher economic inequality were indeed more likely to consider wealth as a meaningful basis for categorization. Unexpectedly, however, higher levels of perceived inequality were associated with perceiving the wealthy as less competent and assertive and the poor as more competent and assertive. Unpacking this further, exploratory analyses showed that the observed tendency to stereotype the wealthy negatively only emerged in societies with lower social mobility and democracy and higher corruption. This points to the importance of understanding how socio-structural features that co-occur with economic inequality may shape perceptions of the wealthy and the poor.     

Criterion‐Related Validity of Statistical Operationalizations of Group General Cognitive Ability as a Function of Task Type: Comparing the Mean,Maximum, and Minimum1

The objective of the present study was to investigate the comparative criterion‐related validity of different statistical operationalizations of group general cognitive ability (i.e., mean, maximum, and minimum) as a function of task type based on Steiner's (1966, 1972) task typology. In contrast to recent investigations, we hypothesized that, regardless of task type, the mean of group members’ general cognitive ability would predict group performance as well as or better than other statistical operationalizations of group general cognitive ability. We conducted a laboratory study where 157 four‐person groups worked on 4 tasks that conformed to Steiner's typology (additive, compensatory, conjunctive, and disjunctive). The results indicate that the mean was the strongest predictor of group performance across all 4 task types and, in particular, was significantly stronger than the maximum and minimum on both the disjunctive and conjunctive tasks.     

Relationships Between Future Orientation, Impulsive Sensation Seeking, and Risk Behavior Among Adjudicated Adolescents

Because of high levels of risk behavior, adjudicated adolescents are at high risk for negative health outcomes such as nicotine and drug addiction and sexually transmitted diseases. The goal of this article is to examine relationships between future orientation and impulsive-sensation-seeking personality constructs to risk behaviors among 300 adjudicated adolescents. Significant relationships between impulsive sensation seeking and future orientation were found for several risk behaviors. Individuals with more positive future orientation were less likely to use marijuana, hard drugs, alcohol during sex, had fewer alcohol problems, had lower levels of alcohol frequency and quantity of use, and perceived greater risks associated with such behaviors. Higher impulsivity reliably predicted alcohol problems, alcohol use, condom use, and cigarette smoking.     

Understanding and predicting parental decisions about early childhood immunizations.

This research investigated the factors that influence decisions about immunizations. Women in the third trimester of pregnancy (N=195) rated their likelihood of immunizing their child; stated their reasons for and against immunizing; and rated their perceptions of the benefits and risks of immunization, feelings of responsibility, and anticipated regret if harm occurred. Immunization status was determined at follow-up. Stepwise regression analyses demonstrated that immunization decisions are strongly influenced by omission bias factors such as anticipated responsibility and regret variance (which explained more than 50% of variance). It is suggested that parents may benefit from antenatal decision aids that address omission bias and encourage them to assess benefits and risks of immunizations on the basis of scientific evidence.     

Tradition and Faith

Abstract: This article explores the relation between tradition and faith, arguing, first, that the issue about reason is an issue about faith and, second, that faith rediscovers itself in the debate with tradition. This debate with tradition ought to be less an appeal to, or an authoritative repetition of tradition, but rather a reworking of tradition in the context of contemporary questions and problems. So the appeal to tradition is not a naive appeal to a source of truth that is not in need of interpretation. Rather, it is the acknowledgement that there is a set of limiting conditions on contemporary theological argument. This position about the role of tradition in theology is illustrated by a discussion of our contemporary problems about language, God and ‘difference’, particularly as dealt with by postmodern philosophers, and the medieval tradition of negative theology.     

Employing persons with severe disabilities: much work remains to be done

This article presents statistical data depicting the employment of persons with disabilities at a federal installation using a recruitment intervention designed to increase the presence of persons with disabilities. The data were obtained by reviewing archival recruitment accessions that span 5 years (1999–2003). The organization under study is a highly technical Department of Defense organization constituted primarily of engineers and scientists and has been in existence and a major contributor in national defense for many years. Earlier recruitment data are not available.     

Future Thinking in Disadvantaged Situations: The Role of Outcome Delays and Competitive Issues in Negotiation

Extant literature suggests that delaying the outcomes of negotiations can have salutary effects on the joint outcomes of participants. However, this literature has not examined the impact that outcome delays have on the success of individual negotiators. We argue that in situations where a player's preference on an issue involves a lack of legitimacy, an outcome delay may advantage the presentation of that issue. In addition, we suggest that this effect is more likely to be present in situations where competition is high, specifically, where the parties have few opportunities for cooperation. An experimental dyadic negotiation exercise involving 306 undergraduate participants was conducted to test these hypotheses. Results suggest that the introduction of an outcome delay helps to reduce the negative effects of a legitimacy disadvantage in the absence of alternate opportunities for collaboration.