On the Prioritized Processing of Threat in a Dual Implicit Process Model of Evaluation

Dual-process models of attitudes distinguish between implicit and explicit processes in which the valence (i.e., positivity or negativity) of a stimulus influences judgments and behavior toward the stimulus. Developing parallel to the dual-process literature has been a threat detection literature suggesting that the mind is preferentially attuned to threats to immediate bodily harm. That literature reveals early privileged responses (e.g., shorter latency of detection, stronger reflexive reactions, and faster and stronger physiological responses) to threatening stimuli relative to negative, neutral, and positive stimuli. By integrating those literatures, we develop the dual implicit process model that postulates two functionally distinct and serially linked automatic processes in which an implicit threat process precedes (and potentially influences) an implicit valence process (positive vs. negative), which precedes (and potentially influences) explicit processes. In addition to explicating the nature of the model, we examine insights it offers various research areas, and conclude by identifying open questions regarding the model.     

From Punk Kids to Public Enemy Number One

Using an in-depth case study, we examine the origins and development of the Southern California–based racist skinhead gang known as Public Enemy Number One (PENI). Unlike many racist skinheads who view themselves as part of a political movement, members of PENI view themselves as part of a racist street gang with relatively little interest in traditional forms of political activism. Instead and contrary to the focus of most scholarly research on racist groups, PENI is involved in profit-oriented criminal activity such as the distribution of methamphetamine, identity theft, and counterfeiting. We examine how members of PENI attempt to balance a white supremacist and street gang identity.     

A role for hemispheric asymmetry in human behavioral variability

A model is presented in which functional lateral specialization and selective hemisphere priming combine to provide a mechanism for behavioral variability. The model is tested and supported by two experiments in which lateral attentional priming produces significant reductions in between-subject and within-subject variability. These findings help us to understand the source of behavioral variability, broaden our knowledge of the gross structures and functions of the brain, provide information about the manipulation of perceived control, and offer a technique for increasing statistical power in a wide variety of research settings.     

Legal aspects of alcohol abuse in the navy

Alcohol abuse is antithetical to order and discipline in the military. Alcohol-related situations arise that range from inconsequential “drunken sailor” boisterousness to major scale imperiling of military missions with serious implications for readiness, safety, and security. The complex management of alcohol abuse and alcoholism in the Navy is detailed in this article, with special emphasis on legal considerations that span offenses from simple drunkenness to court martial level infractions of military and civilian criminal codes.     

Spirit in the Cities: Searching for Soul in the Urban Landscape – Edited by Kathryn Tanner (ed.)

Book reviewed:
Spirit in the Cities: Searching for Soul in the Urban Landscape , Kathryn Tanner (ed.), Fortress Press 2004 (0-8006-3682-1), xv + 144 pp., pb $10.20     

Perceived ingroup entitativity and intergroup bias: an interconnection of self and others

Campbell's (1958) concept of ingroup entitativity is reformulated as a perceived interconnection of self and others. A 2 (intergroup relations: competitive, neutral)×3 (intragroup interaction: low, medium, high) between-subjects design was used to examine (1) the effects of intergroup and intragroup relations on perceived ingroup entitativity and (2) the relation between ingroup entitativity and intergroup bias. Regardless of the relations between groups, members who experienced intragroup interaction had stronger perceptions of ingroup entitativity and stronger representations of the aggregate of ingroup and outgroup members as two separate groups than members who lacked intragroup interaction. Furthermore, perceptions of ingroup entitativity mediated the effect of the salience of the intergroup boundary on behavioral intergroup bias. These results call into question the ‘intergroup’ nature of group based phenomena. An ingroup entitativity framework is presented that locates the source of group-based phenomena (e.g. intergroup bias) in intragroup processes. Copyright © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.