Institute for Social Research
Institute for Social Research in Zagreb (ISRZ) RepositoryNot a member yet
1189 research outputs found
Sort by
Are there any ties left?: party characteristics and age-based differences in party–voter linkages
No full textThis chapter focusses on age differences in partisanship and party–voter congruence, explains whether those parties that manage to get young people to vote, and with whom the young identify, can articulate and aggregate their supporters’ preferences. The analysis shows that while the young are less likely to identify with political parties compared to older citizens, more than half of young voters report to be close to political parties. There are no large differences in party–voter policy agreement among the selected age groups. There is no evidence to suggest that young voters are less represented by their preferred parties compared to other age groups; in fact, overall levels of policy representation for all citizens are quite satisfactory. In addition, we were interested in identifying whether different parties perform better with respect to two age groups. The findings suggest that niche parties, and ideologically distinctive parties attract more young partisans, but also that parties successfully balance heterogeneous requests from different age groups, and they all perform their representative roles quite well
Tko, što, kako? Ideja napretka i društvena promjena
Get PDFIN CROATIAN: U ovom će radu biti riječi o odnosu između novovjekovne ideje napretka i društvenih promjena. Premda je s negativnom kritikom čovjekovih intelektualnih i, značajnije, moralnih kapaciteta u kreaciji boljega društva i svijeta dovedena u pitanje utopijska ideja o svijetloj budućnosti, ideja napretka još uvijek egzistira u suvremeno doba. Ono što ostaje problematičnim, što se i dalje može s pravom smatrati podbačajem ideje napretka, nalazi se u odgovorima na tri pitanja: o subjektu napretka (tko se razvija?), o objektu napretka (što se razvija?) i o sredstvu napretka (kako se razvija, tj. na koji se način napredak ostvaruje?). U beskompromisnom suočavanju kako s odgovorima na njih tako i s posljedicama pronalaženja boljih alternativa davno zadanim premisama napretka leži, po našem mišljenju, rehabilitacijski potencijal ideje napretka i terapijski potencijal društvenih promjena. --------------- IN ENGLISH: This paper discusses the relationship between the modern idea of progress and social change. Although the negative criticism of man's intellectual and, more importantly, moral capacities in the creation of better society and the world have put in question the utopian idea of a bright future, the idea of progress still exists today. What remains problematic and can rightly be considered a shortfall of the idea of progress, lies in the answers to three questions: about the subject of progress (who is progressing?), about the object of progress (what is progressing?) and about the means of progress (how is progressing?, i.e., how is progress achieved?). In an uncompromising confrontation with their responses and with the consequences of finding better alternatives to the long-standing premises of progress, lies the rehabilitation potential of the idea of progress and the therapeutic potential of social change
Proces pomirenja na Zapadnom Balkanu i u Turskoj: kvalitativna studija
Get PDFIN CROATIAN: Knjiga pod nazivom „Proces pomirenja na Zapadnom Balkanu i u Turskoj: kvalitativno istraživanje“ čiji su autori Mirjana Adamović, Anja Gvozdanović i Marko Kovačić sadrži rezultate kvalitativnog istraživanja provedenog u Bosni i Hercegovini, Crnoj Gori, Srbiji, Kosovu, Makedoniji, Albaniji i Turskoj. Istraživanje je provedeno kao dio IPA projekta „Podijeljena prošlost – zajednička budućnost“ čija je glavna svrha izgradnja infrastrukture za efektivan proces pomirenja na području Zapadnog Balkana i Turske. Studija sadrži analizu stavova i mišljenja građana i predstavnika javnog, privatnog i civilnog sektora o izgradnji mira i procesu pomirenja te ulozi civilnog sektora u ovim procesima u spomenutim državama. U završnom poglavlju dane su preporuke za daljnje promicanje procesa pomirenja za svaku od država. --------------- IN ENGLISH: The book Process of Reconciliation in the Western Balkans and Turkey: A Qualitative Study contains results of the qualitative research that was conducted in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Albania and Turkey. Subject of the research involved attitudes and opinions of citizens, representatives of public, private and civil sector on peace building and the process of reconciliation as well as the role of civil sector in those processes in the mentioned countries. After the introductory part based on the synthesis of secondary data on the political and social context of each country, the findings of empirical research are divided into five parts, following the questions asked to respondents in focus groups. It begins with the conceptualization of the notion of reconciliation, i.e. presentation of various perspectives and narratives of the participants. The analysis ends with recapitulation, extraction of the most interesting or most relevant findings, as well as specific recommendations for each country for the purpose of promoting the process of reconciliation
Being mainstream, being radical: how do young people understand radicalism in Croatia
Get PDFIN ENGLISH: The innovation of this paper lies in the fact that for the first time young people's perceptions about radicalism were studied. Encouraged with the unclear and confusing use of the term radicalisation, the general lack of empirical studies on the topic of radicalisation (Borum, 2011; Dalgaard-Nielsen, 2010), and relying on the existing literature which suggests that young people have been particularly prone to radicalisation (Özerdem & Podder, 2011; Costanza, 2015), we conducted empirical research to reveal what young people in Croatia understand under the term “radical” and what they perceive as elementary characteristics of radical individuals. One of the incentives for this research was to see what young people understand as being radical and what is mainstream from their perspective. To get these answers we conducted six focus groups among young people between 15 and 30 from five Croatian cities and towns. The research confirmed that the radicalisation process is highly context dependent, and it pointed to the presence of a corrosive apathy among Croatian youth. Furthermore, the findings suggested that both mainstream and radical young people were viewed equally negative. In addition, describing a radical person, young people in Croatia confirmed that radicalisation has many different faces and that it can also be non-violent. Therefore, this paper could serve as a starting point for researchers particularly interested in non-violent radicalisation in non-Western contexts. --------------- IN CROATIAN: U ovome su članku po prvi put istraživane percepcije mladih o radikalizmu. Potaknuti nejasnom i dvosmislenom upotrebom termina radikalizacija, općenitim nedostatkom empirijskih istraživanja na ovu temu (Borum, 2011; Dalgaard-Nielsen, 2010), te oslanjajući se na postojeću literaturu koja upućuje na mlade kao osobito podložne radikalizaciji (Özerdem & Podder, 2011; Costanza, 2015), proveli smo empirijsko istraživanje s ciljem otkrivanja što mladi u Hrvatskoj podrazumijevaju pod terminom „radikalan“ i što percipiraju kao osnovna obilježja radikalnih pojedinaca. Jedan od poticaja istraživanju bila je želja za uvidom u ono što mladi iz svoje perspektive shvaćaju kao radikalno, odnosno kao mainstream. Da bismo dobili odgovore, proveli smo šest fokus grupa među mladima starosti od 15 do 30 godina iz pet hrvatskih gradova. Istraživanje je potvrdilo da je proces radikalizacije izrazito ovisan o kontekstu te je ukazao na prisutnost apatije među mladima u Hrvatskoj. Nadalje, nalazi upućuju da mladi u Hrvatskoj podjednako negativno percipiraju i mainstream, i radikalne mlade. Također, opisujući radikalnog pojedinca, mladi su potvrdili da radikalizacija ima mnogo različitih lica te da može postojati i u nenasilnom obliku. Stoga, rad može poslužiti kao polazište za daljnja istraživanja, posebno ona koja se bave nenasilnom radikalizacijom u nezapadnim kontekstima
Konfirmatorni pristup istraživanju rodnih razlika u uspješnosti rješavanja matematičkih zadataka: doktorska disertacija
Get PDFIN CROATIAN: U ovom radu ispitane su postavke taksonomije svojstava matematičkih zadataka koja dovode do rodnih razlika u uspješnosti njihovog rješavanja (TSMZ; Gallagher, 1998; Gierl i sur., 2003), temeljene na psihobiosocijalnom modelu (npr. Halpern, 1997; 2000). Pri tome su korištene sljedeće metodologije čija kombinacija omogućuje konfirmatorni pristup ispitivanju hipoteza o smjeru rodnih razlika: 1) ispitivanje rodnih razlika u riješenosti zadataka ispita državne mature iz Matematike za višu razinu (usporedba postotnih riješenosti zadataka te ispitivanje rodnog diferencijalnog funkcioniranja zadataka i skupova zadataka), 2) usporedba nastavničke klasifikacije zadataka u kategorije TSMZ i klasifikacije nastale na temelju učeničkih iskaza za vrijeme rješavanja zadataka, 3) usporedba rodnih razlika između različitih gimnazijskih programa i 4) pokušaj replikacije rodne razlike te smanjenja razlike modifikacijom zadataka u eksperimentalnom nacrtu na novom uzorku.
Nalazi ukazuju na zanemarive rodne razlike u prosječnim ukupnim rezultatima na ispitima, što je u skladu s rezultatima novijih meta-analiza (De Lisi i McGillicuddy-De Lisi, 2002; Lindberg, Hyde, Petersen i Linn, 2010). Hipoteze TSMZ samo su djelomično potvrđene. Najveća je razlika utvrđena na verbalnim problemima i to u korist mladića, što je suprotno hipotezama TSMZ. Razlika je replicirana na manjem uzorku studenata ali samo u slučaju kada je u analizu kao kovarijata uvedena zaključna ocjene iz Matematike u srednjoj školi. Vrijednost rodne razlike nije se statistički značajno mijenjala uslijed dodavanja algoritma / pravila za rješavanje u verbalni problem. Nastavnička klasifikacija zadataka u kategorije TSMZ u visokom se stupnju slagala s klasifikacijom na temelju iskaza učenika. Usporedba vrijednosti rodnih razlika u riješenosti zadataka među gimnazijskim programima nije dovela do jednoznačnih nalaza.
Nalazi sugeriraju kako u poučavanju Matematike djevojkama treba posvetiti više pažnje pri svladavanju strategija rješavanja verbalnih problema. Prema autorovim saznanjima, ovo je prvo istraživanje rodnih razlika u rješavanju matematičkih zadataka u kojem je korištena opisana kombinacija metodologija te prvo sustavno istraživanje rodnih razlika na ispitima državne mature iz Matematike.
--------------- In ENGLISH: INTRODUCTION. In many societies, mathematics is often considered a male domain (Nosek et al., 2009). Males tend to have higher motivation and self-efficacy for mathematics in comparison to females (e.g. Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2004). On the other hand, gender differences in mathematics achievement are not that unambiguous. While girls usually have higher school grades during the entire education period (Duckworth & Seligman, 2006; Hicks, Johnson, Iacono & McGue, 2008), males have somewhat higher results on standardized mathematics tests (e.g. De Fruyt et al., 2008). However, findings of the meta-analyses indicate that male advantage in mathematics test achievement has decreased or even disappeared in the last decades (De Lisi & McGillicuddy-De Lisi, 2002; Lindberg, Hyde, Petersen & Linn, 2010). Male advantage in test results is more often found in adolescence and in highly selected samples. Furthermore, male results have somewhat larger variability than female results (Hyde, Fennema & Lamon, 1990; Lindberg, Hyde, Petersen & Linn, 2010). The main objective of this study was to explore the taxonomy of mathematics items’ characteristics that are expected to yield gender differences in performance on these items (Gallagher et al., 2000). This taxonomy was based on a psychobiosocial model (Halpern, 1997; 2000), which emphasizes the reciprocal relationships among different types of variables (psychological, biological and social) in the process of learning. According to this taxonomy, males will have higher results on items with multiple solution paths and items that require spatial skills. Females will have higher results on items that require verbal skills and items that require application of routine mathematical solutions (items that require application of routine mathematical solutions to a new unfamiliar situation, items that require application of routine mathematical solutions to a familiar situation, items that require memorization and items that require the use of symbolic processes; Gierl, Bisanz, Bisanz & Boughton, 2003). In exploring this taxonomy, researchers usually compared average scores of males and females on mathematics items (Gallagher, Levin & Cahalan, 2002). This strategy is problematic because it ignores the effects of the Simpson’s paradox (1951). In this study, a confirmatory approach to testing the taxonomy hypotheses was used in the context of the Croatian State Matura exam, based on a combination of different methodologies that are more adequate for this purpose. RESEARCH PROBLEMS. 1. To examine gender differences in mathematical problem-solving performance. 2. To examine the congruence of item classifications in taxonomy categories; the first one made by mathematics teachers, and the second one made based on the students’ remarks while solving individual items. 3. To compare gender differences in mathematical problem-solving performance among general grammar school students and science and mathematics grammar school students. 4. To examine if it is possible to reduce gender difference in mathematical problem-solving performance by manipulating the item characteristics. METHODOLOGY. The data used in this study were obtained from final-year general grammar school and science and mathematics grammar school students who participated in the 2010 and 2011 administrations of the Croatian secondary school final examinations in Mathematics (higher level). In 2010, there were 3425 students from general grammar schools who attended this examination (1361 males and 2064 females) as well as 1577 students from science and mathematics grammar schools (954 males and 623 females). In 2011, 3650 students from general grammar schools (1419 males and 2231 females) and 1531 students from science and mathematics grammar schools (923 males and 608 females) attended the examination. Gender differences in the results on items from every category were analysed using different approaches: the analysis of mean gender differences, differential item functioning (DIF) and differential bundle functioning (DBF) analysis. The DBF analysis has higher statistical power in comparison to analyses conducted on individual items. Therefore, it is more suitable for testing hypotheses about items' characteristics responsible for gender differences in performance on these items. However, it is still relatively rarely used in educational context. In this research, DIF and DBF analyses were performed using Mantel-Haenszel test, SIBTEST / Poly-SIBTEST methodology and empirical curves. Two types of item classifications in taxonomy categories were compared: the first one was made by mathematics teachers, and the second one was made based on the students’ remarks that were recorded after they tried to solve individual items. More specifically, in a small sample of final-year general grammar school students (N = 16; 8 males and 8 females), think aloud protocols were used to inspect students' ways of understanding and solving items. Transcripts were coded according to the descriptions of taxonomy categories. Congruence of the two classifications is necessary if we want to draw conclusions about relationships between values and directions of gender differences on items on the one hand and the belonging taxonomy category on the other hand. Furthermore, gender differences among general grammar school students and science and mathematics grammar school students were compared. Students that attend science and mathematics grammar schools chose to enroll in these schools at least partially based on their motivation for mathematics. On average, these students achieve higher results on the final examinations in Mathematics than students from general grammar schools. The comparison of gender differences within these two groups of students was used to test the hypothesis about larger male advantage in highly selected samples. In order to check if it is possible to reduce gender difference by manipulating the item characteristics, items that require verbal skills (the taxonomy category in which largest gender differences were found) were modified and different versions of the same items were applied on a sample of university students (N = 205; 81 males and 124 females). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION. Gender differences in average total scores on examinations were negligible, which is in accordance with the results of meta-analyses (De Lisi i McGillicuddy-De Lisi, 2002; Lindberg, Hyde, Petersen i Linn, 2010). The taxonomy hypotheses were only partially confirmed. Namely, the results confirmed male advantage on items with multiple solution paths and items that require spatial skills. Females had higher results on items that require application of routine mathematical solutions to a familiar situation. These findings were in accordance with the hypotheses. However, gender differences were ambiguous on items that require memorization and items that require the use of symbolic processes. Furthermore, males had somewhat higher results on items that require application of routine mathematical solutions to a new unfamiliar situation. The largest difference in favour of male students was found on items requiring verbal skills and this finding was contradictory to the hypothesis. This finding was supported with different types of analyses (analysis of mean gender differences, DIF and DBF). These items were also measuring content domain mathematical modelling. Other items from this content domain yield gender differences in the same direction. Gender differences in other categories of taxonomy were rather small and of no practical importance. Based on these findings, further investigation of gender differences in verbal problems was conducted. Gender difference on problems requiring verbal skills was replicated on a sample of university students but only when Mathematics high school grades were used as covariate. The value of gender difference did not change statistically significantly when rule / algorithm for problem solving was explicitly added in the verbal problem. Gender differences were not found in some additional variables that were used in this part of the research (results on the test of verbal series and the inventory of use of mathematics in everyday life). The teachers' classification of items matched the classification that was based on students' statements to a great extent. The comparison of gender differences between general grammar and science and mathematics grammar school students’ results did not give unambiguous results. In other words, the hypothesis of larger male advantage in highly selected samples was not confirmed. CONCLUSION. Different methodologies used in this study led to similar findings regarding the largest gender differences in mathematical verbal problems. Although this research did not yield clear conclusions regarding the reasons behind these differences, the results indicate that more attention should be given to the girls' acquisition of the strategies involved in solving mathematical verbal problems. According to the author's best knowledge, this is the first study that combines the aforementioned methodological approaches in the research of gender differences in performance on mathematics tasks. The confirmatory approach to testing hypotheses about group differences in item performance used in this research can be used in various contexts, e.g. different school subjects. Furthermore, this is the first comprehensive study of gender differences in the context of the Croatian State Matura Mathematics examinations. These examinations are gender-neutral to a great extent
Energy poverty in the Western Balkans: adjusting policy responses to socio-economic drivers
No full textIN ENGLISH: Increases in energy prices pose a significant problem for many families in the Western Balkan region. Energy vulnerable groups in the region are facing adverse impacts on physical and mental health and they are unable to meet their basic needs. It is of utmost importance to find policy solutions which will enable easing of burden for affected households. This chapter examines the policy context and discusses the results of case study analyses undertaken in Balkan countries, with the aim of identifying possible policy solutions to cost effectively tackle energy poverty in the region. --------------- IN CROATIAN: Povećanje cijena energije predstavlja značajan problem za mnoge obitelji na zapadnom Balkanu. Energetske ranjive skupine u regiji suočene su s nepovoljnim utjecajima na tjelesno i mentalno zdravlje i ne mogu zadovoljiti svoje osnovne potrebe. Vrlo je važno pronaći rješenja koja će omogućiti ublažavanje tereta za pogođena kućanstva. Ovo poglavlje ispituje kontekst politika i raspravlja o rezultatima analize studija slučaja u balkanskim zemljama s ciljem identificiranja mogućih političkih rješenja za učinkovito rješavanje energetskog siromaštva u regiji
The visibility of papers written by authors from European post-socialist countries as an indicator of integration into the EU legal system
Get PDFIN ENGLISH: The equality of the European Union (EU) Member States is one of the principles that the European Union is based on. However, in terms of the economy, culture and influence, a hierarchy of EU Members States is evident. The European post-socialist or Central and East European (CEE) countries are often perceived as being at the lower end of the scale or on the ‘periphery’ of the EU. The aim of this paper is to gain insights into the specificities of the CEE countries’ legal scientific communication and the visibility of legal scholars’ work within the EU. Bibliometric analysis results show that scientific productivity has been significantly contributed to by papers published in domestic journals indexed in Scopus, with a share of 70%, and that the largest contributions are from Croatian, Romanian, Slovenian and Hungarian law journals. The Baltic States and EU candidate countries, representing nine out of 15 CEE countries, did not have their law journals indexed by Scopus in the period 1996-2013, which influenced their potential accessibility and visibility. The remaining 30% of papers were scattered over 112 international law journals, predominantly from the EU15 countries. On the other hand, the research shows that the recognition of papers measured in terms of the average number of citations speaks in favour of publication in international journals, with 2.9 citations per paper compared to 1.2 in domestic journals. It also shows that the citation of a paper is influenced by the language of the text and whether the paper has more than one author. Thus, although the vast majority of papers are published in domestic journals, the ones published in international journals are distinctly more visible in the academic community. In order to accomplish the integration of CEE countries into EU academic legal communication, the visibility of CEE countries’ legal scholars’ work is crucial. According to the analysis of this research, to achieve visibility, CEE countries’ legal scholars should publish more in a lingua franca, which nowadays means English. The other possible way is to enhance the visibility and strengthen the position of scientific journals published in CEE countries by accepting professional journal standards. Needless to say, the aspect of the content and issues explored and published is also crucial. --------------- IN CROATIAN: Jednakost država članica Europske unije (EU) jedno je od temeljnih načela Europske unije. Međutim gospodarski, ekonomski i kulturni utjecaj među državama članica EU-a nije jednak i pokazuje hijerarhijsku strukturu. Europske postsocijalističke zemlje ili zemlje srednje i istočne Europe (CEE) često se doživljavaju kao da su na donjem kraju ljestvice ili na 'periferiji' EU-a. Cilj ovoga rada je steći uvide u specifičnosti znanstvene komunikacije u području pravnih znanosti u zemljama srednje i istočne Europe te istražiti vidljivost radova znanstvenika iz ovoga područja unutar EU-a. Rezultati bibliometrijske analize pokazuju da je potencijalnoj prepoznatljivosti radova značajno pridonijela indeksiranost domaćih pravnih časopisa u bazi Scopusu. Udio radova objavljen u tim časopisima bio je 70% a najveći doprinos dali su hrvatski, rumunjski, slovenski i mađarski pravni časopisi. Baltičke države i države kandidatkinje za članstvo u EU-u, koje predstavljaju devet od 15 zemalja srednje i istočne Europe, u razdoblju od 1996. do 2013. godine nisu imale svoje pravne časopise indeksirane u Scopusu, što je utjecalo na njihovu potencijalnu dostupnost i vidljivost. Preostalih 30% radova bilo je raspršeno u 112 međunarodnih pravnih časopisa, uglavnom iz zemalja EU15. Prepoznatljivost radova mjerena prosječnim brojem citata govori u prilog objavljivanja u međunarodnim časopisima, s 2,9 citata po radu, u odnosu na 1,2 u domaćim časopisima. Na citiranost dijelom utječe jezik teksta kao i broj autora na radu. Kako bi postigli vidljivost, stručnjaci pravnih znanosti iz zemalja srednje i istočne Europe trebali bi više objavljivati na jeziku lingua franca, što danas znači engleski. Drugi mogući način je povećati vidljivost i ojačati položaj znanstvenih časopisa objavljenih u zemljama srednje i istočne Europe prihvaćanjem stručnih standarda časopisa. Nepotrebno je reći da je aspekt sadržaja i pitanja koja se istražuju i objavljuju također presudan
Povezanost osobina ličnosti i kognitivnih sposobnosti sa sklonošću predrasudama prema različitim društvenim skupinama
Get PDFIN CROATIAN: Istraživanja pokazuju da postoji pozitivna povezanost među predrasudama prema različitim društvenim skupinama, kao i određena vremenska stabilnost te stabilnost rang poretka u izraženosti predrasuda. Sukladno tome, opravdano je pretpostaviti da, osim nestalnih, kontekstualnih faktora, antecedente izraženosti predrasuda mogu predstavljati i neke trajnije dispozicije pojedinca. Cilj doktorskog rada je produbiti razumijevanje dispozicijskih osnova za sklonost predrasudama prema različitim društvenim skupinama, odnosno pobliže istražiti odnos osobina ličnosti i kognitivnih sposobnosti s generaliziranim predrasudama. Istraživanje na kojem se rad temelji provedeno je na reprezentativnom uzorku maturanata iz Grada Zagreba i Zagrebačke županije (N = 1034). Istraživanjem su prikupljeni kvantitativni podaci o kognitivnim sposobnostima, osobinama ličnosti, desnoj autoritarnosti, orijentaciji na socijalnu dominaciju te predrasudama prema starijim osobama, pretilim osobama, psihički oboljelim osobama, ateistima, gej muškarcima i imigrantima. Rezultati istraživanja pokazali su da je pozitivne interkorelacije izraženosti predrasuda prema pretilima, psihički oboljelima, ateistima, gej muškarcima i imigrantima moguće objasniti latentnim g faktorom predrasuda koji upućuje na sklonost generaliziranim predrasudama. Najvažniji korelati generaliziranih predrasuda su orijentacija na socijalnu dominaciju, desna autoritarnost, otvorenost prema iskustvu i kognitivne sposobnosti. Zajedno s ostalim dimenzijama ličnosti iz petofaktorskog modela, ove varijable objašnjavaju tri četvrtine varijance latentnog konstrukta generaliziranih predrasuda. Kognitivne sposobnosti i pored otvorenosti prema iskustvu imaju jedinstven doprinos predikciji kriterija. Analiza mehanizama djelovanja dispozicijskih varijabli na generalizirane predrasude pokazala je da: (1.) otvorenost prema iskustvu i kognitivne sposobnosti imaju na generalizirane predrasude izravne i neizravne negativne efekte posredovane desnom autoritarnosti i orijentacijom na socijalnu dominaciju; (2.) ugodnost ima neizravni pozitivni efekt posredovan desnom autoritarnosti i neizravni negativni efekt posredovan orijentacijom na socijalnu dominaciju; (3.) neuroticizam ima izravni i neizravni negativni efekt posredovan orijentacijom na socijalnu dominaciju; (4.) ekstraverzija i savjesnost imaju isključivo neizravne pozitivne efekte posredovane desnom autoritarnosti. Primarni doprinos istraživanja ogleda se u činjenici da pruža uvid u, ranije nedovoljno istražen, međuodnos osobina ličnosti i kognitivnih sposobnosti u kontekstu predikcije predrasuda. --------------- IN ENGLISH: INTRODUCTION. Prejudice most often denotes negative attitude towards a social group or its members. Previous studies revealed a positive correlation between prejudices towards different social groups, as well as certain time stability and rank-order stability of prejudice. This suggests that individual's dispositions, along with contextual factors, may play a significant role as antecedents of prejudice. This thesis focuses on personality and cognitive ability as possible precursors of prejudice.
Three theories seem to be especially relevant when examining the relationship between dispositions and prejudice: McCrae and Costa’s (2008) meta-theoretical framework of the Five-Factor Theory (FFT) of personality, Duckitt’s (2001) Dual-process motivational model of ideology and prejudice (DPM) and Dhont and Hodson’s (2014) Cognitive Ability and Style to Evaluation (CASE) model. According to the FFT, dispositions (as basic tendencies) should relate to the ideological attitudes (as characteristic adaptations), which should further relate to prejudice, ethnocentrism or discrimination (as objective biography). This is in line with the postulates of the other two relevant theoretical frameworks. As stated in the DPM, the exposure to threatening and competitive social surroundings results in the development of social conformity (i.e. low openness and high conscientiousness) and toughmindedness (i.e. low agreeableness). A person characterized by high social conformity reacts sensitively to signs of threat within society and is eager to protect the established norms at any cost. Individuals characterized by high toughmindedness perceive the world as a competitive jungle and tend to be unattached and interpersonally aversive. These characteristics bring forward the motivational goals for security and power (embodied in the right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation), which ultimately lead to prejudice. Finally, according to the CASE model, lower cognitive ability and higher need for structure, order and predictability enhance the perception of changing social environment as threatening. This leads to the activation of the prevention focus, aimed at keeping the status quo. Perceived threat and prevention focus can further lead to the right-wing, socially conservative attitudes that are related to the resistance to change, and consequently, stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination.
The causal order of these models’ components was supported both experimentally and longitudinally. Although this thesis did not comprehensively test any of the above-mentioned theoretical models, it largely aligned with the FFT, the DPM and the CASE model predictions when building its hypotheses.
THE AIM OF THE STUDY. The aim of the study is to deepen the understanding of the dispositional basis of proneness to prejudice. Empirical study was conducted examining the relationship of personality traits and cognitive ability with generalized prejudice. It also explored the mechanisms underlying the effects of dispositions on generalized prejudice and analyzed the interdependence of dispositional predictors of generalized prejudice.
METHODOLOGY AND DATA ANALYSIS. The study was conducted on a representative sample of secondary school students from the City of Zagreb, Croatia and the Zagreb County. Participants were 17-20 years old and were attending their final year of secondary education (N = 1034). The measures encompassed dispositional variables - Big Five personality traits and cognitive ability, ideological variables - right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation, as well as different measures of prejudice - prejudice towards elderly people, prejudice towards overweight people, prejudice towards individuals with mental illnesses, prejudice towards atheists, prejudice towards gay men and prejudice towards immigrants. The data was analyzed using exploratory factor analysis and series of regression analyses. In addition, structural equation modelling with latent variables was performed. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION. Results revealed that positive correlation between the measures of prejudice towards overweight people, individuals with mental illnesses, atheists, gay men and immigrants can be explained by the latent g factor of prejudice. Prejudice towards elderly people shared less variance with other measures of prejudice and appeared to be somewhat sub-optimal indicator of the g factor of prejudice. Therefore, this indicator was not included in the definition of the generalized prejudice construct. The lower correlation of this specific prejudice measure with the g factor was discussed with respect to the following: the peculiarity of this group as an untypical out-group; the prevailing norm of nurturance of traditional values in contemporary Croatian society; and the opposite direction of its relations to the ideological variables of right-wing authoritarianism [-] and social dominance orientation [+].
Generalized prejudice was strongly positively correlated to right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation and moderately negatively correlated to openness to experience and cognitive ability. There was a low negative correlation of generalized prejudice with neuroticism and low positive correlation of generalized prejudice with extraversion and conscientiousness. The correlation of generalized prejudice with agreeableness was low and statistically insignificant. The ideological variables, followed by openness to experience and cognitive ability, appeared to be the most pertinent correlates of generalized prejudice. The latter is in accordance with the theoretical background and previous empirical evidence about these relationships. In the thesis, only tentative interpretations of the relationships of extraversion, conscientiousness and neuroticism with generalized prejudice were given, since the correlations were low and the earlier findings were incongruent or inconsistent. The unexpected finding revealing the non-significant relationship of agreeableness and generalized prejudice was discussed in regard to the opposing direction of the correlations of agreeableness with right-wing authoritarianism [+] and social dominance orientation [-], as well as regarding the fact that the Big Five Inventory was used as a measure of personality traits.
A set of dispositional and ideological variables explained about three quarters of the variance of the generalized prejudice latent variable. The dispositional predictors appeared to be as useful in explaining the variance of generalized prejudice as the ideological variables (with contribution shared with dispositional variables accounted for). The results indicated a statistically significant contribution to the prediction of generalized prejudice by all the individual predictors. The most important predictors were social dominance orientation, right-wing authoritarianism and openness to experience. Importantly, cognitive ability and openness to experience had non-redundant contributions to the explanation of the variance of the generalized prejudice.
The present study also investigated the mechanisms underlying the effects of dispositional variables on generalized prejudice. The analysis of direct and indirect effects resulted in several notable conclusions. Firstly, the effect of the openness to experience and cognitive ability on generalized prejudice was threefold: (1.) direct negative effects of these variables suggested that higher openness to experience and higher cognitive ability were associated with lower generalized prejudice; (2.) indirect negative effects via right-wing authoritarianism suggested that individuals with higher openness to experience and higher cognitive ability were more inclined to reject right-wing attitudes and thus had lower generalized prejudice; and (3.) indirect negative effects via social dominance orientation indicated that individuals who were more open to new experiences and had higher cognitive ability were less focused on establishing hierarchy in social relations and thus less inclined to generalized prejudice. Secondly, agreeableness had a dual contrasting effect on generalized prejudice via right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation: (1.) an indirect positive effect via right-wing authoritarianism suggested that more agreeable individuals were more inclined to adhere to right-wing ideology and thus more inclined to generalized prejudice, while (2.) an indirect negative effect via social dominance orientation suggested that the more agreeable individuals were less supportive of social domination and thus, indirectly, less prone to generalized prejudice. Thirdly, the effect of neuroticism on generalized prejudice was twofold: (1.) a direct negative effect suggested that higher neuroticism (trait more characteristic of female compared to male participants) was associated with lower generalized prejudice, while (2.) an indirect negative effect via social dominance orientation suggested that the individuals with higher neuroticism preferred egalitarian social relations and thus demonstrated lower generalized prejudice. Finally, extraversion and conscientiousness had positive effects on generalized prejudice, mediated by the right-wing authoritarianism - more extroverted and conscientious individuals were more inclined to favor right-wing authoritarian tendencies and thus, indirectly, were more inclined to generalized prejudice. Comparing the magnitude of indirect effects of dispositions for which both ideological variables served as mediators of the effect on generalized prejudice, right-wing authoritarianism was found to be more important mediator in the case of openness to experience, and social dominance orientation was found to be more important mediator in the case of agreeableness and cognitive ability. In sum, both right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation appeared to be of vital importance in ensuring the mechanism through which the dispositions exerted its effects to prejudice, since the former mediated the effects of five, and the latter mediated the effects of four (out of six examined) dispositional variables to generalized prejudice. In addition, none of the dispositional variables had exclusively direct effect on generalized prejudice. Rather, indirect effects always followed the identified direct effects. However, it should be borne in mind that the robustness of some (unforeseen) mechanisms might be brought into question by the upcoming research, since the significance of some of the effects may well be influenced by the fact that the analysis was performed on a large sample.
CONCLUSION. The present research contributes to better understanding of the role of personality traits and cognitive ability as precursors of (generalized) prejudice, especially with respect to their interdependence. A deeper understanding of the dispositional basis of proneness to prejudice serves as one of the preconditions for the integration of these constructs into the models that include a wider spectrum of prejudice antecedents. Indirectly, the research fuels further advancement in the study of nature and determinants of prejudice and provides a basis for the development of more effective interventions for prejudice reduction
Complexity of inner belonging: notions of belonging and alienation among adolescents with a migrant background in Croatia
No full textIN ENGLISH: This chapter explores the complexity of the construction of inner boundaries among adolescents in the period of post-conflict Croatia, describing adolescents' sense of belonging and alienation, by searching for the phenomena used in their ethnic identification process.
Analysis of qualitative data shows that the sense of belongingness based on diverse ethnic indicators is a contested site filled with subjective interpretations of imposed social and political circumstances. The paper argues that a sense of belonging among adolescents can be drawn on individual interpretations of their migratory experience in relation to multidimensional cultural and social changes. --------------- IN CROATIAN: Ovo poglavlje detaljno opisuje različite fragmente etničkog identiteta kod adolescenata s iskustvom preseljenja te njihovu ulogu u procesu konstrukcije osjećaja pripadnosti etničkoj zajednici, naglašavajući pritom složenost grupnih granica u poslijeratnoj Hrvatskoj. Analiza kvalitativnih podataka pokazuje da je osjećaj pripadnosti temeljen istovremeno na raznorodnim etničkim pokazateljima izuzetno složen i kompleksan pojam ispunjen subjektivnim tumačenjima nametnutih društvenih i političkih okolnosti. U radu se tvrdi da se osjećaj pripadnosti među adolescentima može opisati individualnim interpretacijama njihova migracijskog iskustva u odnosu na višedimenzionalne kulturne i društvene promjene
Kulturni kapital i obrazovne nejednakosti u Hrvatskoj, Njemačkoj i Danskoj: usporedna analiza PISA 2009 podataka
Get PDFIN CROATIAN: Polazeći od Bourdieuove teorije kulturne i socijalne reprodukcije, u radu se želi ispitati povezanost socioekonomskog porijekla, kulturnog kapitala i školskog postignuća u tri nacionalna obrazovna sustava: hrvatskom, njemačkom i danskom. Provedene analize temelje se na podacima prikupljenima PISA 2009 istraživanjem (N(H)=4 994; N(Nj)=4 979; N(D)=5 924). Primjenom regresijske analize ispituje se da li i u kojoj mjeri socioekonomsko porijeklo učenika utječe na rezultat iz prirodoslovne pismenosti, čini li to posredstvom kulturnog kapitala, te jesu li učinci kulturnog kapitala veći za učenike nižeg ili višeg socioekonomskog statusa. Dobiveni rezultati pokazuju da postoji pozitivna veza između socioekonomskog statusa i rezultata iz prirodoslovne pismenosti u sve tri zemlje te da je ova veza razmjerno najjača u Njemačkoj. Kulturni kapital učenika u sve tri zemlje posreduje učinak obiteljskog socioekonomskog statusa na rezultat iz prirodoslovne pismenosti, iako odnosi ovih varijabli značajno variraju između hrvatskih, njemačkih i danskih učenika. Interakcijski efekti socioekonomskog statusa i kulturnog kapitala zabilježeni su kod njemačkih i danskih učenika, kod kojih se obrasci obrazovnog isključivanja odvijaju primarno kroz utjelovljene kulturne dispozicije. --------------- IN ENGLISH: Starting from Bourdieu's theory of cultural and social reproduction, the paper seeks to examine the relationship between socioeconomic background, cultural capital and academic achievement in three national educational systems: Croatian, German and Danish. The analyses are based on PISA 2009 survey data (N(C)=4 994; N(G)=4 979; N(D)=5 924). Regression analyses were performed in order to examine the effects of students’ socioeconomic background on their scientific literacy, the mediation of this relationship by cultural capital, and the effects of cultural capital for students of lower or higher socioeconomic status. The results indicate a positive correlation between students’ socioeconomic status and scientific literacy in all three countries, with the correlation strength in German students’ sample being the highest. Cultural capital of students in all three countries mediates the effect of family’s socioeconomic status on scientific literacy, although the mediator effects vary significantly between the Croatian, German and Danish students. Interaction effects of socioeconomic status and cultural capital are present in the German and Danish students’ samples, in which educational exclusion occurs primarily through embodied cultural dispositions