Attributionally more complex people show less punitiveness and racism

Based on past findings that attributionally more complex people make less fundamental attribution error, it was hypothesized that they would show less punitiveness and racism. In a study of 102 undergraduates, this hypothesis received robust support. The effect of attributional complexity was significant in two different punitiveness measures, a rehabilitation support measure, and two different racism measures. Also, this effect still held when demographic variables, crime victimization history, and need for cognition were statistically controlled. Moreover, attributional complexity mediated the effect of need for cognition and gender on punitiveness and racism. Theoretical implications are discussed.     

Movement direction or change in distance? Self- and object-related approach-avoidance motions

Based on the conceptualization of approach as a decrease in distance and avoidance as an increase in distance, we predicted that stimuli with positive valence facilitate behavior for either approaching the stimulus (object as reference point) or for bringing the stimulus closer (self as reference point) and that stimuli with negative valence facilitate behavior for withdrawing from the stimulus or for pushing the stimulus away. In Study 1, we found that motions to and from a computer screen where positive and negative words were presented lead to compatibility effects indicative of an object-related frame of reference. In Study 2, we replicated this finding using social stimuli with different evaluative associations (young vs. old persons). Finally, we present evidence that self vs. object reference points can be induced through instruction and thus lead to opposite compatibility effects even when participants make the same objective motion (Study 3).     

Subliminal exposure to faces and racial attitudes: Exposure to Whites makes Whites like Blacks less

Despite recent social and political advances, most interracial contact is still superficial in nature, and White individuals interact mainly with other Whites. Based on recent mere exposure research, we propose that repeated exposure to Whites may actually increase prejudice. In a series of experiments, White participants were subliminally exposed to White faces or nothing (control) and then completed various explicit and implicit measures of racial attitudes. Exposure to White faces consistently led to more prejudice by making attitudes toward Blacks more negative, rather than by making attitudes toward Whites more positive. A final experiment demonstrated that the pattern of increased prejudice following exposure to Whites was moderated by the strength of participants’ attitudes toward Whites. Only when White attitudes were strong did Black attitudes became more negative after exposure to White faces.     

Experiencing Alien-Nation: Effects of a simulation intervention on attitudes toward homosexuals

The authors explored psychological mechanisms underlying a teaching exercise [Hillman, J., & Martin, R. A. (2002). Lessons about gay and lesbian lives: A spaceship exercise. Teaching of Psychology, 29, 308-311] that may improve attitudes toward homosexuals. Heterosexual participants were randomly assigned to a simulation intervention or control lecture condition. In the simulation condition, participants imagined life on an alien planet that inadvertently simulated situational constraints parallel to those faced by homosexuals. The simulation (vs. control lecture) produced significantly more intergroup perspective-taking, empathy, and favorable attitudes toward homosexuals and marginalized groups. Tests of a structural equation model supported the assumption that the simulation (vs. control) provided an experience that heightened intergroup perspective-taking, which indirectly predicted favorable attitudes via independent cognitive (inclusive intergroup representations) and affective (empathy) paths. The model held after statistically controlling for prior attitudes and ideological individual differences predicting anti-homosexual bias. Implications for prejudice-reduction simulations and intergroup contact are considered.     

African Immigrant Women and Intimate Partner Violence: A Systematic Review

The purpose of this article is to systematically review and synthesize the available empirical research related to intimate partner violence (IPV) in the lives of African immigrant women. A comprehensive literature search for articles that were published between the years 2005 and 2015 was performed using the following databases: Academic Search Complete, Criminal Justice Abstracts, CINAHL Plus, Family Studies Abstract, JSOR, MEDline, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, Social Sciences Citation Index, and Social Services Abstract. Seven studies met the inclusion criteria. The literature on prevalence rates and types of violence, risk factors for IPV, mental health problems and coping strategies, and help-seeking behavior are discussed. Suggestions for future research are included.     

My Place or Yours?

A common stereotype holds that men are more preoccupied with sex than women are. To test the validity of this stereotype, and the degree to which women and men conform to sexually restrictive gender roles, we asked participants to describe and rate their beliefs about sex. We then factor analyzed these beliefs and achieved a simple structure of four factors: (a) Personally and Physically Pleasurable, (b) Beneficial to the Self-in-relationship, (c) Personally Costly, and (d) Sex as a Violation of Social Injunctions. We used scores on these subscales to compare women’s and men’s sexual stereotypes and behaviors. Although men showed significantly greater interest in sex on three of the four factors, when we examined sex in an intimate relationship, women and men were more alike than different. The data provide evidence that gender roles are malleable and that women and men are free to choose the degree to which they conform to sexually restrictive gender roles. Limitations and future directions are discussed.     

Organizational Cultural Competency: Shifting Programs for Latino Immigrants from a Client-Centered to a Community-Based Orientation

This paper discusses how the organizational cultural competency of social service agencies may be improved by shifting the philosophy of service delivery from a client-centered to a community-based orientation. This analysis is based on two years of fieldwork and interviews that were conducted as part of an action research project initially developed to increase the number of certified Spanish speaking Latino family childcare providers and knowledge about Latino immigrant families in the Midwest. In developing a culturally-specific certification program in Spanish, both the Latino participants and the bilingual program director challenged the agency to consider how the social context and social location of its participants required a more holistic community approach.     

跨文化心理学中的文化适应研究

文化适应（acculturation）的研究已经成为跨文化心理学研究的一个重要组成部分。近年来这方面的研究急剧增加,新的理论模型不断出现,其研究对西方国家移民政策产生了重要影响。文章从文化适应的定义出发,回顾了文化适应的理论发展和主要的研究范式,同时也指出了当前文化适应研究中存在的问题,最后对文化适应研究今后的发展趋势做出了展望。这一研究领域对我国流动人口的适应问题和民族融合等方面的研究也有重大的理论意义     

Evaluations of presidential performance: Race, prejudice, and perceptions of Americanism

Earlier research suggests that despite President Obama's election, racial prejudice persists and continues to shape reactions to his presidency. The current work examines the role of Whites’ prejudice in shaping perceptions of Obama's Americanism, and ultimately evaluations of his performance. Specifically, this research proposes that “how American” Obama is perceived will mediate the relationship between racial prejudice and evaluations of his performance for White, but not Black participants and only for Obama and not for Vice-President Biden. Data were collected from 295 Black or White students surveyed 1 year after Obama's election. Supportive of our hypotheses, racial prejudice predicted Whites’ negative evaluations of Obama's performance, and this relationship was mediated by how American Obama was perceived. Additionally, these relationships were not obtained among Black participants or when Blacks or Whites evaluated the Americanism and job performance of Vice-President Biden.