Aversive Affect Versus Racism as Predictors of Racial Discrimination in Helping

We examined aversive affect and racism as predictors of differences in helping White versus Black targets. According to aversive racism theory, Whites may express egalitarian attitudes but experience discomfort in interracial interactions, producing discrimination. Participants completed racism measures and reported their likelihood of helping White or Black targets. Racism negligibly predicted discriminatory helping across studies. In Studies 2 and 3, participants experiencing aversive affect were less likely to help Black than White targets. Results demonstrate negative feelings, more so than racial biases, impacts discriminatory helping. We hope to inspire future research examining why White bystanders experience aversion in interracial helping.     

The Effects of Contact on Sexual Prejudice: A Meta-Analysis

A meta-analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between contact and sexual prejudice. A quantitative synthesis with 83 effect sizes from 41 articles, using mostly samples from the United States, showed a significant negative relationship between contact and sexual prejudice. Among six possible moderators tested (type of sexual prejudice scale used, correlational versus experimental studies, attitudes toward lesbians versus gay men, publication year, quality of study, and where study was conducted), three were shown to significantly moderate the relationship between contact and sexual prejudice. The relationship between contact and sexual prejudice varied as a function of the type of sexual prejudice measure used, the target group toward which the prejudicial attitudes were assessed, and where the study was conducted.     

Drive for muscularity, body comparison, and social physique anxiety in men and women

The presented study tested a model of the relationship between the drive for muscularity (DM), three aspects of body comparison (general, weight-, and muscle-related), and social physique anxiety in college men and women. The findings demonstrated that those with higher levels of DM engaged in more frequent body-related comparisons in all three areas. Greater frequency of both Weight- and Muscle-Related Body Comparison was then predictive of higher levels of social physique anxiety. Constraints placed on the path coefficients showed that the association between DM and Muscle-Related Comparisons was significantly stronger than the association between DM and Weight-Related Comparisons. The model was similar for both genders. The results from the structural models were discussed in terms of Cash's (2002) cognitive-behavioral model of body image and the dual pathway model of boys' and men's body image (Jones & Crawford, 2005).     

The effects of social vigilantism and masculine honor beliefs on perceptions of confrontation during the COVID-19 pandemic

Varying opinions about the COVID-19 pandemic inspire different behaviors (e.g., mask-wearing), and confrontation may result between people with differing viewpoints. Individual differences associated with belief superiority (e.g., Social Vigilantism; SV) and/or pride (e.g., Masculine Honor Beliefs; MHB) likely related to third-person perceptions of pandemic confrontations. In this study (N = 237; US sample), we used vignettes in a 2 (Mask: Yes/No) ×  2(Confrontation Response: Vocal Defense/Walked Away) between-groups design to examine how SV and MHB predict perceptions of (1) responses to public confrontation about (not) wearing a mask and (2) the person being confronted. In general, mask-wearing and walking away from confrontation were perceived more positively. Higher SV was associated with more positive perceptions of seemingly morally-justified responses to confrontation (e.g., walking away when confronted for not wearing a mask, vocally defending oneself when confronted for wearing a mask). Contrarily, higher MHB were associated with more positive perceptions of non-mask-wearing. This research provides insight about how individual differences in SV and MHB relate to nuances in pandemic confrontations, and responses to confrontations, about (non)mask-wearing.     

Interactional processes in families with disruptive boys: Patterns of direct and indirect influence

Patterns of direct and indirect influence were investigated in interactions among 44 families with disruptive boys. Positive and negative behaviors were assessed for spouses and parent-child dyads, in different laboratory situations. For direct or reciprocal influence, positive behaviors in the father-child dyads were positively correlated; mothers' positive behaviors were positively correlated with boys' negative behaviors, suggesting an unexpected pattern of inverse reciprocity. For indirect influences, the following associations were found: Fathers' negative behaviors toward their children predicted the children's negative behaviors toward their mothers, and mothers' negative behaviors toward their children predicted the children's negative behaviors toward their fathers, suggesting a form of setting event or displaced behavior pattern. The children's negative behaviors toward their mothers correlated with the fathers' behaviors toward the mothers, suggesting a modeling pattern. These indirect paths underline the relevance of taking into account family interlocked relationships when studying child disruptiveness.This study was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Québec Social Research Council (CQRS), and the Québec FCAR programs for research centers and research teams. We are also indebted to Jacinthe Sirois and Danielle Boisvcrt for documentation assistance, to Lyse Desmarais-Gervais for her help in data processing, and to Patricia L. Dobkin for revision.     

The Suppression and Justification of Prejudice as a Function of Political Orientation

Politically conservative (versus liberal) individuals generally report more prejudice towards various low‐status out‐groups. Three studies examined whether prejudice suppression factors—specifically, internal and external motivation to suppress (IMS and EMS, respectively) prejudice—can help explain the relationship between political orientation and prejudice. Study 1 showed that IMS and EMS partially mediated the relationship between political orientation and affective prejudice towards Arabs. Study 2 demonstrated that when justification [right‐wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation] and suppression (IMS and EMS) factors are simultaneously tested as mediators, only RWA partially mediated the relationship between political orientation and prejudice towards deviant (e.g. gay men) out‐groups, whereas RWA and IMS fully mediated the relationship between political orientation and prejudice towards derogated out‐groups (e.g. Blacks). Intriguingly, IMS rendered social dominance orientation effects non‐significant for derogated out‐groups. Study 3 showed that anticipating an out‐group interaction (with a Black or lesbian confederate) diminished the mediational contribution of IMS in the political orientation–prejudice relationship because of increased IMS among participants; yet the increases in IMS did not completely eliminate differences in prejudice as a function of political orientation. Ultimately, these three studies demonstrate that suppression (in addition to justification) factors do help explain the relationship between political orientation and prejudice. Copyright © 2013 European Association of Personality Psychology.     

To Preserve,Protect, and Defend: Masculine Honor Beliefs and Perceptions of the 2016 Presidential Candidates

We investigated the relationship between masculine honor beliefs and perceptions of the candidates vying for the presidency. Consistent with hypotheses, we found that higher levels of masculine honor beliefs were associated with more positive perceptions of Donald Trump and with more negative perceptions of Hillary Clinton. Furthermore, our results indicate that higher levels of masculine honor beliefs were associated with clear preferences for Donald Trump. Thus, our data, collected immediately prior to the election likely reflect the beliefs and perceptions that individuals took with them to the polls and help to explain the decisions that voters made on Election Day.     

The Structure of Retrospective Accounts of Family Environments: Related to the Structure of Personality Attributes

Kornrich, Milton (Ed.), Psychological Test Modifications, Springfield: C. C. Thomas, 1965. P. 265. $8.75. Reviewed by Melvin A. Gravitz, Ph.D.