When Sexism Leads to Racism: Threat,Protecting Women,and Racial Bias

The stated goal of protecting White women from harm has been used, historically and contemporarily, as a pretext for racial violence. Two studies explored the relationship between protective paternalism (the belief that men should protect and care for women—part of benevolent sexism; Glick and Fiske 1996) and anti-minority racial attitudes. In Study 1 (n = 474, 61% women, 61% White), survey data found that protective paternalism was related to anti-Black bias, but only for White respondents. Study 2 (n = 242, 52% women, 74% White) experimentally manipulated feelings of threat to test for increases in protective paternalism and its corresponding effect on three anti-minority racial attitudes. For male participants only, threat (i.e., reading about recent increases in violent crime) increased endorsement of protective paternalism, which was in turn associated with a more negative view of immigration, and, for White men only, less support for policies that benefit racial minority groups and greater denial of racial bias in policing. Threat did not increase protective paternalism in female participants. For White men in particular, news of crime and danger increases racial bias by first increasing the desire to protect women. Policymakers should be aware that framing policies around safety concerns or appealing to the protection of women might unintentionally bolster anti-minority racial prejudices.     

A genetic analysis of brain volumes and IQ in children

In a population-based sample of 112 nine-year old twin pairs, we investigated the association among total brain volume, gray matter and white matter volume, intelligence as assessed by the Raven IQ test, verbal comprehension, perceptual organization and perceptual speed as assessed by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III. Phenotypic correlations between the brain volumes and intelligence traits ranged between .20 and .33. Processing speed and brain volume did not correlate. The relation between brain volume and intelligence was entirely explained by a common set of genes influencing both sets of phenotypes.     

Challenging socioeconomic status: A cross‐cultural comparison of early executive function

The widely and internationally replicated socioeconomic status (SES) gradient of executive function (EF) implies that intervention approaches may do well to extrapolate conditions and practices from contexts that generate better child outcomes (in this case, higher SES circumstances) and translate these to contexts with comparatively poorer outcomes (often low‐SES populations). Yet, can the reverse also be true? Using data from equivalent assessments of 1,092 pre‐schoolers’ EFs in South Africa and Australia, we evaluated: the SES gradient of EF within each sample; and whether this SES gradient extended cross‐culturally. The oft‐found EF‐SES gradients were replicated in both samples. However, contrary to the inferences of EF‐SES associations found nationally, the most highly disadvantaged South African subsample outperformed middle‐ and high‐SES Australian pre‐schoolers on two of three EFs. This suggests the possibility of EF‐protective and ‐promotive practices within low‐ and middle‐income countries that may aid understandings of the nature and promotion of EFs.     

The Distress Disclosure Index: a research review and multitrait-multimethod examination

The Distress Disclosure Index (DDI; J. H. Kahn & R. M. Hessling, 2001) is a brief self-report measure of one's tendency to disclose personally distressing information. The purpose of this article was to summarize what is known about the DDI, present new validity evidence, and make recommendations for use of the DDI. This article reviews research on the DDI from the past decade that indicates that distress disclosure is associated with well-being, professional help-seeking attitudes and intentions, and success in brief psychotherapy. On the basis of the reviewed literature, the authors report a reliability generalization study of DDI scores that strongly supports the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of DDI scores, and they review criterion-related and construct validity evidence. Next, the authors present a new multitrait-multimethod validity study of the DDI. Participants (N = 153) and peer informants (N = 153)--one per participant--completed paper-and-pencil questionnaire packets. Convergent validity of self-reported DDI scores was supported by a strong association with self-reports of emotional self-disclosure in response to a specific, unpleasant event, and self- and peer reports on the DDI were moderately correlated. DDI scores were not strongly associated with cognitive reappraisal and ambivalence over emotional expression, thus supporting discriminant validity. DDI scores were strongly associated with expressive suppression, and correlations between DDI scores and affect, depression symptoms, coping, and emotional expressivity were similar to those found with expressive suppression. The authors offer possible hypotheses explaining the overlap between distress disclosure and expressive suppression and present recommendations for future use of the DDI.     

Racism leads to pushups: How racial discrimination threatens subordinate men's masculinity

Two studies explored the gendered nature of racial discrimination for Black men, focusing on the relationship between race, discrimination, and masculinity threat. Specifically, we hypothesized that racial discrimination may also represent a threat to Black, but not White, men's masculinity. Both studies examined the target's perspective (i.e. Black and White men's perspectives) on the experience of racism and threat. Black men who experienced discrimination reported greater endorsement of male gender norms and were more vigilant to masculinity threat cues than were those who did not experience discrimination. Additionally, Black men engaged in masculine-typed behaviors–for our purposes, completing more pushups–in proportion to their experience of masculinity threat. Conversely, White men disengaged from the pushup task after experiencing discrimination. Study 2 suggests that White men's disengagement is mediated by affirming their social status. Our data suggest the importance of considering the gendered consequences of racial discrimination toward subordinate-group men.     

Rule Consequentialism and Scope

Rule consequentialism (RC) holds that the rightness and wrongness of actions is determined by an ideal moral code, i.e., the set of rules whose internalization would have the best consequences. But just how many moral codes are there supposed to be? Absolute RC holds that there is a single morally ideal code for everyone, while Relative RC holds that there are different codes for different groups or individuals. I argue that Relative RC better meets the test of reflective equilibrium than Absolute RC. In particular, I contend that Relative RC is superior because it accommodates our convictions about costless benefits. Some have charged that Relative RC threatens our convictions about the generality of moral codes and that it leads inevitably to what Brad Hooker calls “runaway relativism.” I argue that Relative RC has principled reasons for stopping this imagined slide down the slippery slope.     

Audience design affects acoustic reduction via production facilitation

In this article, we examine the hypothesis that acoustic variation (e.g., reduced vs. prominent forms) results from audience design. Bard et al. (Journal of Memory and Language 42:1-22, 2000) have argued that acoustic prominence is unaffected by the speaker's estimate of addressee knowledge, using paradigms that contrast speaker and addressee knowledge. This question was tested in a novel paradigm, focusing on the effects of addressees' feedback about their understanding of the speaker's intended message. Speakers gave instructions to addressees about where to place objects (e.g., the teapot goes on red). The addressee either anticipated the object, by picking it up before the instruction, or waited for the instruction. For anticipating addressees, speakers began speaking more quickly and pronounced the word the with shorter duration, demonstrating effects of audience design. However, no effects appeared on the head noun (e.g., teapot), as measured by duration, amplitude, and perceived intelligibility. These results are consistent with a mechanism in which evidence about addressee understanding facilitates production processes, as opposed to triggering particular acoustic forms.