Social Psychological Bulletin
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Place, Collective Memory and Environment – An Introduction to a Festschrift in Honor of Maria Lewicka
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Understanding How and Why Spatial Segregation Endures: A Systematic Review of Recent Research on Intergroup Relations at a Micro-Ecological Scale
No full textSocial psychological research has increasingly extolled the benefits of intergroup contact as a means of promoting positive relations. However, a growing body of research suggests that formal policies of desegregation are often offset by informal ‘micro-ecological’ practices of (re)-segregation, in everyday life spaces. This paper presents a systematic literature review of recent evidence on this topic (2001-2017), outlining key findings about how, when, where, and why micro-ecological divisions are reproduced. Informal segregation can happen based on ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, gender, or gender and ethnicity, despite people being in a shared place. People generally maintain patterns of ingroup isolation as a result of: a) negative attitudes and stereotypes; b) ingroup identification and threat; or c) feelings of anxiety, fear and insecurity. Educational settings have been the main context studied, followed by leisure and recreational places, public urban places and public transport. The paper also identifies three areas of potential future research, highlighting the need to: (1) capitalise on methodological innovations; (2) explore systematically how, when and why the intersectionality of social categories may shape micro-ecological practices of contact and separation; and (3) understand more fully why micro-ecological patterns of segregation are apparently so persistent, as well as how they might be reduced
Saying Good and Bad Things Behind Someone’s Back or to Their Face: Perceived Source Selflessness and Trust in Information Matter When the Information Is Positive
No full textThis study explores the consequences of gossiping on impression formation as compared to the consequences of direct communication in the presence of the target individual. Specifically, we focus on perceived source selflessness and trust in the information conveyed about the target individual as important factors for impression formation. In an internet-based study, participants (N = 155) evaluated descriptions of target individuals presented as gossip (spoken outside the target individual’s presence), as direct communication (spoken in the presence of the target individual) or without any information about the source. Analyses yielded no significant differences between experimental conditions on the impression of the target individual. However, we found that trust in information mediated the relation between perceived source selflessness and the general impression of the target individual, yet only when the information about the target individual is positive
Evaluative Influences of CS-US Pairings Are Non-Reciprocal
No full textThree experiments examined the reciprocity of evaluative effects following CS-US pairing. In all three experiments, CS evaluations were assimilated to the valence of the US they were paired with (i.e., an evaluative conditioning effect), whereas US evaluations became less extreme (i.e., a US devaluation effect). Of importance, however, US devaluation proved to be independent of CS-US pairing. Experiment 1 replicated previous evidence for US devaluation: USs were less intensely evaluated after a conditioning procedure as compared to their normative ratings. Experiment 2 controlled for the effect of CS-US pairing: A US devaluation effect of similar magnitude was observed for USs paired with the CSs or presented alone during the conditioning procedure. Experiment 3 indicated that US habituation drives US devaluation: USs presented and evaluated only once were less devalued than USs paired with CSs or USs presented alone during the conditioning procedure, with the latter two US types not differing from each other. Together, these findings suggest that US devaluation is driven by US habituation rather than by a CS-to-US influence in an associative learning procedure. The theoretical implications of these findings for associative and propositional accounts of evaluative learning are discussed
Attitudes Towards Places Associated With Communism: The Role of Place Attachment and Interest in Place History
No full textThe aim of the study was to identify attitudes towards places commonly associated with the communist period of the Polish People’s Republic (PPR), and to investigate the role of the relationship between these attitudes and place attachment, interest in a city’s history and political orientation. This online study used a convenience sample of residents of the cities of Warsaw, Toruń and Poznań, N = 199. The exploratory factor analysis revealed that attitudes towards PPR places fall into two groups: those for the preservation of PPR places, and those for their removal. Moreover, this distinction was associated with, on the one hand, the preservation of ideologically free places (IFPs) such as cafes, milky bars, cinemas, and places that serve cultural functions. On the other, it was associated with the removal of ideologically contaminated places (ICPs) such as, e.g., monuments or street names reminiscent of awkward historical and political events. The inclination to remove ICPs was not related to place attachment but was positively related to interest in a city’s history; willingness to preserve IFPs, on the other hand, was correlated with higher traditional and active place attachment and with higher interest in a city’s history. Interest in a city’s history played a significant mediating role in this relationship. On a more general level, right-wing preferences coincided with being in favor of removing ICPs. Overall, the study adds to the literature by showing how place attachment is related to attitudes towards controversial historic places
The Effects of Neighbourhood Disorder on Life Satisfaction of Ethnic Majority and Minority Group Members: Evidence From 12 Central-Eastern European Countries
No full textWhile research has shown a negative relation between neighbourhood disorder and indicators of well-being, this evidence comes predominantly from Western European countries, relies on subjective measures of disorder, and is indifferent to ethnic specificities. In this paper, we examine the relationship between neighbourhood disorder and life satisfaction across neighbourhoods in 12 Central-Eastern European countries. We use an exogenous measure of disorder, and account for the presence of respondents’ own ethnic group in the neighbourhood, as we propose that it may condition the effect of disorder on life satisfaction. Using survey data covering 18,743 residents of 897 local areas across 12 countries, we found that neighbourhood disorder was negatively related to life satisfaction for both ethnic majority and minority respondents, over and above individual and neighbourhood characteristics. This effect was, however, differently moderated by ethnic in-group share in the neighbourhood for ethnic majorities and minorities. Among ethnic majority members, disorder had a negative effect on their life satisfaction only when there were high levels of co-ethnics' presence in the neighbourhood, but not at low levels. By contrast, for minority members, the negative effect of neighbourhood disorder was significant at lower of levels of co-ethnic concentration, but not at its higher levels. These results suggest that whereas for minority groups the presence of co-ethnics buffers the negative effects of the aversive environment on well-being, for ethnic majority members it plays an opposite role. We argue that members of the dominant, majority population find having to attribute disorder to their in-group problematic, which results in lower life satisfaction
Are Women Perceived as Worse Magicians Than Men? Gender Bias When Evaluating Magic Tricks
No full textWe present two experiments investigating the effect of the perceived gender of a magician on the perception of the quality of magic tricks. In Experiment 1, tricks performed by an allegedly female magician were considered worse than those by an allegedly male magician. In Experiment 2, participants had to generate possible solutions to how the tricks were done. Under these conditions, male participants were better at explaining the tricks, but the gender effect found in Experiment 1 disappeared. We discuss the gender bias in Experiment 1 and the lack of bias in Experiment 2 in terms of specific social and cognitive mechanisms (e.g., cognitive dissonance)
Situational Factors Influencing Receptivity to Bullshit
No full textIndividuals are motivated to maintain a sense of meaning, and enact cognitive processes to do so (e.g., perceiving structure in the environment). This motivation to find meaning may ultimately impact humans’ interpretation of "bullshit", statements intended to convey profundity without any meaning. Conversely, subtle cues threatening the meaningfulness of bullshit may elicit greater skepticism. Three studies tested situational factors predicted to heighten or diminish susceptibility to bullshit by changing motivations to seek meaning. We employed diverse methods including symbolic meaning threat (Study 1), social exclusion (Cyberball; Study 2), and manipulating cognitive fluency (Study 3). Taken together, the results indicate basic processes shaping the detection of meaning have implications for the appraisal of ambiguously insightful information
Women Can’t Have It All: Benevolent Sexism Predicts Attitudes Toward Working (vs. Stay-at-Home) Mothers
No full textThe aim of the present paper was to test differences in perceptions towards a woman who took a 3-month maternity leave (a working mother) as opposed to a 3-year maternity leave (a stay-at-home mother), and then to apply the ambivalent sexism theory to predict those differences. We expected that in Poland, where motherhood is highly appreciated, it is especially benevolent (not hostile) sexism that predicts less positive attitudes toward working mothers, compared to stay-at-home mothers. In two studies, we found that the working mother was perceived as less warm, less effective as a parent and less interpersonally appealing and more successful at work. Additionally, although the stay-at-home mother was evaluated as less successful at work, she was not perceived as less competent. We discuss this as a reflection of the “Mother-Pole” phenomenon, where mothers in Poland are perceived as not only kind, but also competent. Afterward, we showed that benevolent (but not hostile) sexism predicts differences in perceiving the stay-at-home mother and working mother. Participants higher in benevolent sexism rated the stay-at-home mother as warmer, more parenting-effective and more interpersonally appealing compared to the working mother, while participants lower in benevolent sexism perceived them equally well. Studies suggest that benevolent sexism predicts a more positive perception of traditional mothers (as opposed to nontraditional mothers), and at the same time, maintains the status quo of traditional gender relations
Stereotype Content as a Collective Memory of Place and Its Past Intergroup Relations
No full textThe stereotyped content of outgroups denotes intergroup relations. Based on this notion, Susan Fiske and colleagues (2002, https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.82.6.878) created the stereotype content model (SCM), which links two dimensions, warmth and competence, with social structure. The structure of intergroup relations is not stable in time, nor is it shaped instantly. Based on the assumptions of SCM we predict that the history of intergroup relations is in part responsible for stereotypes. In order to test the hypothesis we reanalysed five Polish nationwide, representative surveys (total N = 4834). The studies followed a similar procedure for data collection, and each study asked an open-ended question about the traits of two ethnic groups (Jews and Germans). Answers were listed and coded using competent judges. The averages of the judges’ codes were used as indicators of stereotype content and an analysis of regional differences was conducted. Several significant results were obtained and are interpreted in line with warm – competition and competence – status relations. The results show that several historical situations and events, such as pre-WWII social structure or post-war migrations and territorial changes, can be linked to contemporary stereotypes