bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Employment, Marriage, and Inequality in Health Insurance for Mexican-Origin Women
Authors: Montez Jennifer Karas , Angel Jacqueline L. , Angel Ronald J.
Published: January 2010

In the United States, a woman's health insurance coverage is largely determined by her employment and marital roles. This research evaluates competing hypotheses regarding how the combination of employment and marital roles shapes insurance coverage among Mexican-origin, non-Hispanic white, and African American women. We use data from the 2004 and 2006 March Supplements to the Current Population Surveys. Results show that these roles largely substitute for each other among non-Hispanic white and African American women, although marriage generally increases the odds of coverage slightly more than employment among non-Hispanic white women. In contrast, these roles cumulatively increase those odds among Mexican-origin women. Yet neither employment, nor marriage, nor their combination assures their coverage. Married Mexican-origin women are particularly disadvantaged. As women increasingly spend a smaller fraction of their lives in marriage, and as relatively few women are in benefits-rich occupations, stable and equitable coverage may require a universal health insurance system.
Social Capital and Health Inequality: Evidence from Taiwan
Authors: Song Lijun , Lin Nan
Published: January 2010

Does social capital, resources embedded in social relationships, influence health? This research examines whether social capital impacts depressive symptoms and overall perceived health status over and above the effects of social support. Our analyses use unique data from the Taiwan Social Change Survey collected in 1997, and measures social capital and social support through two network instruments (the position generator and the name generator). Results replicate the effects of social support, as measured through the name generator, on both outcomes. Results show that social capital, as measured through the position generator, has direct effects on both outcomes net of social support, while social support is a stronger predictor than social capital. This research indicates that social capital contributes to health beyond and distinct from the contribution of social support, and it suggests that social capital and social support are two independent relationship-based causes of disease which require different instruments of measurement.
Do Formal Religious Participation and Spiritual Perceptions Have Independent Linkages with Diverse Dimensions of Psychological Well-Being?
Authors: Greenfield Emily A. , Vaillant George E. , Marks Nadine F.
Published: January 2010

Recognizing religiosity and spirituality as related yet distinct phenomena, and conceptualizing psychological well-being as a multidimensional construct, this study examines whether individuals' frequency of formal religious participation and spiritual perceptions are independently associated with diverse dimensions of psychological well-being (negative affect, positive affect, purpose in life, positive relations with others, personal growth, self-acceptance, environmental mastery, and autonomy). Data came from 1,564 respondents in the 2005 National Survey of Midlife in the United States (MIDUS). Higher levels of spiritual perceptions were independently associated with better psychological well-being across all dimensions, and three of these salutary associations were stronger among women than men. Greater formal religious participation was independently associated only with more purpose in life and (among older adults) personal growth; greater formal religious participation was also associated with less autonomy. Overall, results suggest a different pattern of independent linkages between formal religious participation and spiritual perceptions across diverse dimensions of psychological well-being.
Drawing the Line: The Cultural Cartography of Utilization Recommendations for Mental Health Problems
Authors: Olafsdottir Sigrun , Pescosolido Bernice A.
Published: January 2010

In the 1990s, sociologists began to rethink the failure of utilization models to explain whether and why individuals accessed formal treatment systems. This effort focused on reconceptualizing the underlying assumptions and processes that shaped utilization patterns. While we have built a better understanding of how social networks structure pathways to care and how disadvantaged socio-cultural groups face substantial barriers to treatment, we have less understanding of the larger cultural context in which individuals recognize and respond to symptoms. Drawing from recent innovations in the sociology of culture, we develop the concept of “cultural mapping” to describe if and how individuals discriminate among different available sources of formal treatment. Using data from the 1996 Mental Health Module of the General Social Survey, we compare Americans' willingness to recommend providers in the general medical and specialty mental health sectors. The results indicate that, despite unrealistically high levels of endorsement, individuals do discriminate between providers based on their evaluation of the problem, underlying causes, and likely consequences. While perceived severity leads individuals to suggest any type of formal care, problems attributed to biological causes are directed to general or specialty medical providers (doctors, psychiatrists, and hospitals); those matching symptoms for schizophrenia or seen as eliciting violence are allocated to the specialty mental health sector (psychiatry, mental hospital); and those seen as being caused by stress are sent to nonmedical mental health providers (i.e., counselors). These findings help to explain inconsistencies in previous utilization studies, and they suggest the critical importance of maintaining a dialogue between medical sociology and the sociology of culture.
Investigating the Relationship between Teenage Childbearing and Psychological Distress Using Longitudinal Evidence
Authors: Mollborn Stefanie , Morningstar Elizabeth
Published: January 2010

The high levels of depression among teenage mothers have received considerable research attention in smaller targeted samples, but a large-scale examination of the complex relationship between adolescent childbearing and psychological distress that explores bidirectional causality is needed. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) and the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Birth Cohort, we found that teenage mothers had higher levels of distress than their childless adolescent peers and adult mothers, but the experience of teenage childbearing did not appear to be the cause. Rather, teenage mothers' distress levels were already higher than their peers before they became pregnant, and they remained higher after childbearing and into early and middle adulthood. We also found that distress did not increase the likelihood of adolescent childbearing except among poor teenagers. In this group, experiencing high levels of distress markedly increased the probability of becoming a teenage mother. Among nonpoor teenage girls, the relationship between distress and subsequent teenage childbearing was spurious.
Nuclear Reason: At the Limits of Strategy
Authors: Burke Anthony
Published: January 2010

Is nuclear strategic reason rational? Barack Obama’s April 2009 speech looking towards a world free of nuclear weapons appeared to promise positive new directions in global disarmament and non-proliferation. Yet it came on the heels of one of the most destabilising periods in global nuclear security since the early 1980s. This article argues that the growing interpenetration of nuclear and conventional conflict, and the dangers of nuclear terrorism, provide disarmament with compelling security logic. However, progress will hinge on key states adopting nuclear postures that reduce nuclear dangers and can acknowledge the fundamental impossibility of nuclear strategy as a system of reason: one that has never been able to connect nuclear means and security ends in a way that is either viable or legitimate. In an era of radically asymmetric conflict and competition, disarmament is an imperative, but to succeed it must find a rational way through strategic irrationality.
Disordered Eating-Related Cognition and Psychological Flexibility as Predictors of Psychological Health Among College Students
Authors: Masuda Akihiko , Price Matthew , Anderson Page L. , Wendell Johanna W.
Published: January 2010

The present cross-sectional study investigated the relation among disordered eating-related cognition, psychological flexibility, and poor psychological outcomes among a nonclinical college sample. As predicted, conviction of disordered eating-related cognitions was positively associated with general psychological ill-health and emotional distress in interpersonal contexts. Disordered eating-related cognition was also inversely related to psychological flexibility, which was inversely related to poor psychological health and emotional distress in interpersonal contexts. The combination of disordered eating-related cognition and psychological flexibility accounted for the proportion of variance of these poor psychological outcomes greater than disordered eating-related cognition alone. Finally, psychological flexibility accounted for the proportion of variance of these negative psychological variables greater than did disordered eating-related cognition.
Cognitive and Adaptive Behavior Outcomes of Behavioral Intervention for Young Children With Intellectual Disability
Authors: Eldevik Sigmund , Jahr Erik , Eikeseth Svein , Hastings Richard P. , Hughes Carl J.
Published: January 2010

Data from Norway were analyzed to evaluate early behavioral intervention for children with intellectual disabilities. The intervention group ( n = 11) received approximately 10 hours per week of behavioral intervention; the eclectic comparison group ( n = 14) received treatment as usual. After 1 year, changes in intelligence and adaptive behavior scores were statistically significant in favor of the behavioral intervention group (effect sizes of 1.13 for Intelligence quotient (IQ) change and .95 for change in adaptive behavior composite). Approximately 64% of the children in the behavioral intervention group met objective criteria for reliable change in IQ, whereas 14% in the eclectic comparison group did so. These results suggest that children with intellectual disability may profit from behavioral intervention typically provided for children with autism.
An Examination of Parenting the Strong-Willed Child as Bibliotherapy for Parents
Authors: Forehand Rex L. , Merchant Mary Jane , Long Nicholas , Garai Emily
Published: January 2010

This study examined the Parenting the Strong-Willed Child ( PSWC) book as a self-directed program for parents of 3- to 6-year-olds. Fifty-two parents were randomly assigned to PSWC or a comparison book, Touchpoints: Three to Six. Assessments occurred at baseline, postintervention (6 weeks after baseline), and 2-month follow-up. The findings indicated both books, but particularly PSWC, were associated with lower levels of child problem behavior after intervention. PSWC was associated with greater decreases in child problem behaviors on certain measures when amount of reading completed was taken into account. Parents reading PSWC reported that they were satisfied with the book and found the book useful and easy to implement. The findings are discussed in the contexts of both the percentage of parents who read the PSWC book and the cost-effectiveness of a self-directed intervention.
Social Identification As a Determinant of Concerns About Individual-, Group-, and Inclusive-Level Justice
Authors: Wenzel Michael
Published: January 2010

Extending concepts of micro- and macrojustice, three levels of justice are distinguished. Individual-, group-, and inclusive-level justice are defined in terms of the target of justice concerns: one's individual treatment, one's group's treatment, and the distribution in the collective (e.g., nation). Individual-level justice permits a more narrowly defined frame of reference (group), whereas the other two levels imply a wider “inclusive category” (nation). Levels of identification with both the target and the relevant inclusive category were predicted to determine justice concerns. In the area of tax compliance, findings suggested no justice concerns when both group and national identification were weak, individual-level concerns when only group identification was strong, group-level concerns when both subgroup and national identification were strong, and inclusive-level concerns when only national identification was strong.
Role Stress and Aggression Among Young Adults: The Moderating Influences of Gender and Adolescent Aggression
Authors: Liu Ruth X. , Kaplan Howard B.
Published: January 2010

Using data provided by a panel of non-Hispanic white respondents, this study explored whether aggressive response to severe role stress during early adulthood depends on gender and on an adolescent history of aggression. Logistic regression analysis yielded these findings: Men who reported aggression during early adolescence were significantly more likely to respond to severe role stress with aggression during young adulthood, while men who were not aggressive in early adolescence did not report much increase in aggression under similar circumstances. For young women, however, role stress increased aggression only among those who did not report aggression in early adolescence. For those who reported aggression during adolescence, the effect was positive but weak. We interpret these findings using principles of socialization, gender role expectations, and social structural constraints on males and females. As part of this interpretation, we report findings of an analysis of associations among role stress, prior aggression, and heavy use of illicit drugs among males and females.
“My Daughter Has a Career; I Just Raised Babies”: The Psychological Consequences of Women's Intergenerational Social Comparisons
Authors: Carr Deborah
Published: January 2010

I examine how midlife women, who came of age in the 1950s, compare their career accomplishments with those of their young adult daughters who came of age in the 1970s. Analyses are based on quantitative and qualitative data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, which has tracked a sample of adults since their high school graduation in 1957. Nearly two-thirds of the mothers report that they have been less successful than their daughters; yet these unfavorable comparisons are linked only weakly to self-esteem. The open-ended interviews suggest that the mothers who rate themselves as “less successful” than their daughters maintain positive self-evaluations by characterizing their own decision to give family responsibilities priority over career pursuits as “in step” with their cohort peers; by attributing their less successful careers to cohort differences in the freedom to choose one's career; and by focusing on their daughters' difficulties in balancing work and family demands.
Legitimacy and Justice Perceptions
Authors: Mueller Charles W. , Landsman Miriam J.
Published: January 2010

Consistent with the theoretical argument of Hegtvedt and Johnson, we empirically examine the relationship between collectivity-generated legitimacy of reward procedures and individual-level justice perceptions about reward distributions. Using data from a natural setting, we find that collectivity sources of validity (authorization and endorsement) exert positive effects on individual-level justice perceptions as predicted by Hegtvedt and Johnson, but that this influence is entirely indirect through the individual's perception of procedural justice. These effects are found net of self-interest and net of other job-related sources of support from the collectivity.
Structure and Affect: The Influence of Social Structure on Affective Meaning in American Kinship
Authors: Malone Martin J.
Published: January 2010

Structural variables differentiating kinship identities, such as sex, generation, and type of relationship (lineal, collateral, conjugal), are reflected in sentiments about family identities. In particular, componential variations in kinship terms predict Evaluation, Potency, and Activity ratings of the terms fairly accurately. Between 44 and 92 percent of the variation in the sentiment measures is explained by regressions on componential variables. This means that the cognitive distinctions employed in American kinship terminology correspond closely to sentiments held toward those social locations.
Role-Taking and Interaction
Authors: Cast Alicia D.
Published: January 2010

This research utilizes longitudinal data from newly married couples to investigate change in perceptions of role-taking accuracy over time. It is suggested that when individuals feel they can understand their spouse's perspective, they will be more likely to be aware of how their behavior will affect the spouse; as a result, they will be more likely to behave supportively with the spouse and less likely to behave disruptively. Individuals' sense that they can understand their spouse's perspective is likely to change over time, however, in response to interaction with the spouse. Supportive behaviors encourage disclosure; disruptive behaviors disrupt communication. Therefore individuals with a spouse who behaves more positively and less negatively over time should be better able to role-take with the spouse. Results support these ideas, but suggest the existence of an important temporal dimension to the relationship between role-taking and interaction.
Social Values, Subjective Transformations, and Cooperation in Social Dilemmas
Authors: Simpson Brent
Published: January 2010

A persistent anomaly in the social dilemmas literature is the surprisingly high level of cooperation observed in experimental investigations of the one-shot Prisoners' Dilemma (PD).The exchange heuristic hypothesis and related approaches explain this finding by arguing that actors subjectively transform PD into the Assurance Dilemma. A tendency to transform PD into Assurance is expected to increase cooperation because defection is the dominant strategy in PD, but not in Assurance. Although existing arguments explain the processes through which these subjective transformations occur, they do not predict who actually makes the transformations. This study incorporates arguments from the social values literature and proposes four hypotheses about who transforms PD and how this affects cooperation. The hypotheses are tested against the results of a new experiment. The results strongly support the hypotheses and the overarching argument that “prosocials” transform PD into Assurance, while “individualists” play PD “as is.”
The Terms of Agreement: Indexing Epistemic Authority and Subordination in Talk-in-Interaction
Authors: Heritage John , Raymond Geoffrey
Published: January 2010

Within the general framework of agreement on a state of affairs, the matter of the terms of agreement can remain: determining whose view is the more significant or more authoritative with respect to the matter at hand. In this paper we focus on this issue as it is played out in assessment sequences. We examine four practices through which a second speaker can index the independence of an agreeing assessment from that of a first speaker, and in this way can qualify the agreement. We argue that these practices reduce the responsiveness of the second assessment to the first; in this way they resist any claim to epistemic authority that may be indexed by the first speaker in “going first” in assessing some state of affairs.
Examining Emotions in Identity Theory
Authors: Stets Jan E.
Published: January 2010

In this study I develop theoretically the role of emotions in identity theory by examining individuals' emotional reactions to identity nonverification (in a positive and a negative direction) and identity verification, which occurs once versus repeatedly, and which is perpetrated by a familiar other compared with an unfamiliar other. Predictions from identity control theory (ICT) are used to guide the analysis. An experiment simulates a work situation and invokes the worker role identity. Workers either receive feedback that is expected, given their worker identity standard (identity verification); feedback that is more positive than they would expect (a lack of identity verification in a positive direction); or feedback that is more negative than they would expect (a lack of identity verification in a negative direction). The workers' emotional reactions' to each situation are investigated. Contrary to ICT, identity nonverification in a positive direction results in positive (not negative) emotions; the persistence of verifying and nonverifying feedback decreases (rather than increases) the affective response to the feedback; and feedback from a familiar other does not significantly influence actors' emotional reactions. The findings raise some questions about current thinking in ICT and suggest important extensions for emotions in identity theory.
Collective Validation in Multi-Actor Task Groups: The Effects Of Status Differentiation
Authors: Kalkhoff Will
Published: January 2010

Berger and his colleagues argue that collective validation (i.e., group members' corroboration of deferential behavior) is an important source of legitimacy in informal task groups. This invites the question “What causes collective validation?” Drawing from Simmel and Blau in particular, I develop an explanation of collective validation that conceives of actors as embedded in a structure of multiple status relations, and I introduce the concept of “systemic status differentiation.” Results from a laboratory study partially support the prediction that the likelihood of collective validation is related directly to the amount of systemic status differentiation. An alternative network-analytic model of status relations predicts collective validation most accurately. In addition, a time-series analysis reveals that status differentiation affects beliefs about the appropriateness of power and prestige relations through its effect on collective validation behavior. I offer suggestions for future theoretical and empirical work on status processes.
The Perils of Political Correctness: Men's and Women's Responses to Old-Fashioned and Modern Sexist Views
Authors: Barreto Manuela , Ellemers Naomi
Published: January 2010

In this study we examined the responses of male and female research participants to information about the endorsement of either old-fashioned or modern sexist views by a sample of either men or women. We predicted that expressions of modern sexism may seem unobjectionable but can have negative consequences. Moreover, they can impair behavioral responses and therefore remain unchallenged. The results show that female participants in particular were relatively disinclined to recognize expressions of modern sexism as prejudicial. Furthermore, while old-fashioned sexist views generally elicited hostility, exposure to modern sexist opinions evoked anxiety in female participants, while it decreased anxiety among male participants. We conclude that modern forms of prejudice may prove perilous: although they may undermine the self, they seem inoffensive and as a result remain unchallenged.
Procedural Justice, Distributive Justice: How Experiences With Downsizing Condition Their Impact On Organizational Commitment
Authors: Clay-Warner Jody , Hegtvedt Karen A. , Roman Paul
Published: January 2010

Previous research demonstrates that both procedural justice and distributive justice are important predictors of work attitudes. This research, however, fails to examine conditions that affect the relative importance of each type of justice. Here we argue that prior experiences with regard to downsizing shape individuals' workplace schemas, which in turn affect the relative salience of each type of justice for organizational commitment. We test hypotheses using data from a nationally representative sample of workers. Only distributive justice predicts organizational commitment among victims of downsizing, while procedural justice is the stronger predictor among survivors of downsizing and unaffected workers. Comparisons across models indicate that procedural justice is a more important predictor of organizational commitment for survivors and unaffected workers than for victims, while distributive justice is more important for victims than for either survivors or unaffected workers. We conclude by discussing the theoretical implications of our findings.
Language Fluency and the Evaluation of Cultural Faux Pas: Russians Interviewing for Jobs in the United States
Authors: Molinsky Andrew
Published: January 2010

How are nonnatives evaluated when committing cultural faux pas, and how does their fluency in the language of the foreign culture affect the evaluation of their culturally inappropriate behavior? I address these questions in the context of Russian professionals learning to interview for jobs in the United States, an arena of strong cultural differences where cultural faux pas can occur easily. Building upon previous research on stereotypes and stigma, and upon research on accounts and discounting, I find that language fluency has a contingent effect on the evaluation of culturally inappropriate behavior. When an individual is assessed on interpersonal dimensions, poor language fluency leads to a less negative impression of culturally inappropriate behavior, but this shielding effect is reversed when the dimension of evaluation is professional competence.
Identity Verification, Control, and Aggression in Marriage
Authors: Stets Jan E. , Burke Peter J.
Published: January 2010

In this research we study the identity verification process and its effects in marriage. Drawing on identity control theory, we hypothesize that a lack of verification in the spouse identity (1) threatens stable self-meanings and interaction patterns between spouses, and (2) challenges a (nonverified) spouse's perception of control over the environment. In response to both of these circumstances, spouses increase control over their partners to counteract disturbances to self-in-situation meanings and to regain the perception of control over their environment. When increased control over the partner does not reaffirm one's identity or restore the perception of control, one may use aggression to gain control. Analysis of data from newly married couples over the first two years of marriage provides results that are consistent with this thesis. In general, we see how the lack of identity verification is tied to the control process, leads to dysfunctional interaction patterns in marriage, and more broadly threatens a stable social structure.
Too Much of a Good Thing?
Authors: Burke Peter J. , Harrod Michael M.
Published: January 2010

Self-discrepancy (SD) theories and self-enhancement (SE) theories have focused primarily on people's motivations to seek either self-consistent or self-enhancing feedback. The two sets of theories, however, also suggest different reactions to the feedback people receive from others. SE theories suggest that people react negatively to evaluations that are more negative than self-evaluations, but positively to evaluations that are more positive. SD theories, like identity control theory, suggest that people react negatively to either under- or overevaluation. We use data from newly married couples over the first three years of marriage to test these different predictions of SD and SE theories. The results indicate strong support for discrepancy theories overall, though an examination of potential moderators suggests that the discrepancy effect is larger when the relationship to the other is stronger. We discuss implications of these results for identity control theory.
Interethnic Relations in a Changing Political Context
Authors: Verkuyten Maykel , Zaremba Katarzyna
Published: January 2010

The aim of this study was to examine evaluations of multiple groups by both ethnic majority-group (Dutch) and minority-group (Turkish-Dutch) members during a turbulent political period in the Netherlands, marked by the rapid rise and subsequent decline of a new-rightist, populist movement. The analysis of cross-sectional data from three periods (2001 to 2003) showed clear changes in these evaluations. As expected, both the Dutch and the Turkish participants showed higher ingroup identification and ingroup evaluation in 2002 than in 2001 and 2003. In addition, in 2002 the Dutch participants evaluated the Islamic outgroups (Turks and Moroccans) more negatively, whereas their evaluation of other ethnic minority groups did not differ across the three years. In contrast, Turkish participants evaluated all ethnic outgroups, including the Dutch and the Moroccans, more negatively in 2002. We conclude that it is important to study ethnic relations across time, in relation to political circumstances, from the perspective of both majority- and minority-group members, and in relation to different ethnic outgroups.
Variation in the Perceived Passage of Time: A Cross-National Study
Authors: Flaherty Michael G. , Freidin Betina , Sautu Ruth
Published: January 2010

Flaherty's cross-cultural theory purports to account for variation in the perceived passage of time. Recent events in Argentina provide an opportunity to assess the applicability of this theory to a Latin American nation. We conducted interviews with 198 persons who participated in various kinds of political activism. The respondents who felt that time had passed “quickly” emphasized an increase in governmental and personal activity. For those who said “slowly,” the focus was on suffering, unpleasant emotions, and waiting. Those who were unable to specify reported a mixture of factors associated with “quickly” or “slowly,” while those who said “synchronically” were unaffected by the turmoil in their country. These findings offer strong support for the theory in question, and they suggest that variation in the experience of time occurs not because there are different kinds of people but because people find themselves in different kinds of circumstances.
Linking Social Structure and Interpersonal Behavior: A Theoretical Perspective on Cultural Schemas and Social Relations
Authors: Ridgeway Cecilia L.
Published: January 2010

To explain how interpersonal behavior in relational contexts usually reproduces but sometimes modifies macro structural patterns, I outline a conceptual framework within which to understand existing theories and evidence and to develop new ones. Actors create and enact structure by means of several types of shared cultural schemas (“ordering schemas”) that represent or imply relations between specific or abstract actors. “Modular” ordering schemas such as fundamental sentiments, social identities, or status beliefs disaggregate the meanings of identities, settings, and events from their embedded contexts and represent them in abstract form. Generative theories view actors as possessing shared “vocabularies” of modular ordering schemas and shared schemas for combining those modular meanings to generate interpersonal behavior that responds flexibly to situational contingencies. The generated behavior largely reproduces structural patterns represented in modular schemas, but can produce novel patterns through unique combinations of cultural information. I then discuss how modular ordering schemas develop and become widely shared.
Emotional Expression at Work and at Home: Domain, Status, or Individual Characteristics?
Authors: Lively Kathryn J. , Powell Brian
Published: January 2010

Using the emotions module of the 1996 General Social Survey, we examine strategies that individuals use to express emotion. We focus on anger, one of the emotions most problematic or potentially disruptive to human interaction. Relying on insights from three theoretical approaches to emotion—the cultural perspective, the structural perspective, and affect control theory—we explore not only whether the expression of anger is affected by the social domain in which anger occurs (home or work) and the status difference between the individual experiencing anger and the actor triggering the emotion, but also the degree to which these effects are independent of individual characteristics such as gender, race, and education. Analyses indicate that social domain and status differences are such powerful predictors of emotional expression that they eclipse the influence of other individual characteristics, most notably the gender of both the individual and the target of the anger. Moreover, the status mechanism governing emotional expression does not vary across work and family settings. This study supplements previous research by disentangling the relative effects of domain, relative status, and individual characteristics. It also suggests that a more complementary approach, which integrates different theoretical paradigms, may be necessary for a fuller appreciation of the social constraints governing emotional expression.
Commitment in Structurally Enabled and Induced Exchange Relations
Authors: Lawler Edward J. , Thye Shane R. , Yoon Jeongkoo
Published: January 2010

Network structures both enable and constrain the development of social relations. This research investigates these features by comparing the development of commitments in structurally enabled and structurally induced exchange relations. We integrate ideas from the theory of relational cohesion and the choice process theory of commitment. In an experiment we manipulate and compare a structurally enabled relation with a structurally induced relation. The main hypotheses are that a structurally enabled relation generates a greater sense of control, more positive emotions, greater perceived cohesion, and more commitment behavior than a structurally induced relation. The results of the experiment support these hypotheses. The implication is that enabling and constraining features of network structures exert important effects on cohesion and commitment in relations within those structures.
Redefining a Bizarre Situation: Relative Concept Stability in Affect Control Theory
Authors: Nelson Steven M.
Published: January 2010

I analyze the process by which we react cognitively to information that contradicts our culturally held sentiments in the context of affect control theory. When bizarre, unanticipated events come to our attention and we have no opportunity to act so as to alter them, we must reidentify at least one event component: the actor, the behavior, or the person who is the object of the action. Currently, however, affect control theory includes no formal model predicting which concept will undergo reidentification. I consider theoretical reasons why actors, behaviors, and object persons each might be predicted to undergo reidentification more than the others. I also present an alternative prediction, consistent with affect control theory logic, based on the contribution made by each concept to the total deflection of the event; I label these discrete contributions “component deflections.” I then test these possibilities in two separate experimental studies, using event vignettes. By far, the most commonly reidentified event component is the behavior; this finding suggests a dynamism in the conceptualization of behaviors which has been underappreciated in a social psychological literature that focuses on self-identities.
Ambivalence in Mother-Adult Child Relations: A Dyadic Analysis
Authors: Willson Andrea E. , Shuey Kim M. , Elder Glen H. , Wickrama K.A.S.
Published: January 2010

The concept of ambivalence represents an interactional process in which individuals evaluate social relations as simultaneously positive and negative. This study investigates ambivalence in interpersonal relations through an empirical analysis of relationships between aging mothers and their adult children from their joint perspectives. Multilevel models examine the influence of dependence on levels of ambivalence in relationship dyads as well as differences in levels of ambivalence between mothers and their adult children. Results suggest that ambivalence increases under conditions of potential dependence, rather than through the help that is more routinely exchanged among family members. Within the relationship, mothers experienced less ambivalence than their sons and daughters; overall findings demonstrate the importance of analyzing multiple perspectives in social relationships.
Does a “Norm of Self-Interest” Discourage Prosocial Behavior? Rationality and Quid Pro Quo in Charitable Giving
Authors: Simpson Brent , Irwin Kyle , Lawrence Peter
Published: January 2010

Previous studies by Holmes, Miller, and Lerner (2002) support the norm of self-interest and exchange fiction hypotheses. Together these arguments state that people want to act on compassionate feelings (e.g., by donating to charities) but are reluctant to do so if they cannot justify their behavior as being in line with their own self-interest. Thus a person will be more likely to contribute to a charity when he or she receives a product in exchange for the contribution. This exchange fiction gives the person egoistic cover for the compassionate act. In this paper we critically evaluate the evidence for this line of reasoning and offer an alternative explanation for that evidence based on cognitive dissonance theory. We report the results of a new field experiment designed to tease apart the exchange fiction argument and the alternative approach. Results of the study support our application of dissonance theory over the exchange fiction account.
Deputy Editors' Note
Authors: Owens Timothy J. , Robinson Dawn T. , Sell Jane
Published: January 2010

In a departure from the norm, the outgoing deputy editors (Owens, Robinson, Sell), offer this deputy editors' note for the final issue of 2006, some two months after the untimely death of Editor Spencer E. Cahill. Dr. Cahill and his editorial team's tenure on the journal ends on December 31, 2006.
Expecting and Accepting: The Temporal Ambiguity of Recovery Identities
Authors: Howard Jenna
Published: January 2010

This paper has two complementary agendas. One is to develop a formal analysis of temporal ambiguity in self-identification. This refers specifically to having two conflicting orientations toward the future with regard to one's identity (e.g., a temporary expecting orientation and a permanent accepting orientation). I use the recovery identity (e.g., alcoholic, anorexic, agoraphobic) as a temporally ambiguous case because this identity is established as a means to an end but is susceptible to becoming an end in itself through identification with the disorder label. My analysis is based on the recovery narratives of individuals who have disidentified with their disorder labels; this allows for a consideration of the entire recovery career, from entry to exit. My second agenda is to explore the underresearched phenomenology of exiting from recovery identities specifically. Both of these agendas contribute new insight into identity research, labeling theory, and the sociology of mental health.
Prejudice And Minority Proportion: Contact Instead Of Threat Effects
Authors: Wagner Ulrich , Christ Oliver , Pettigrew Thomas F. , Stellmacher Jost , Wolf Carina
Published: January 2010

Research on the relationship between the percentage of an ethnic minority population in a geographically defined area and majority members' prejudice typically reveals a positive covariation. This result supports threat theory. Recent studies, however, have demonstrated significant exceptions. Based on intergroup contact theory, the present study demonstrates with a German probability sample that an increase in the percentage of ethnic minority members affords the majority greater opportunity for intergroup contact and thus reduces the majority's prejudice. These results also falsify frequent political claims that an increase in the minority population above a particular threshold necessarily worsens intergroup relations. The data are discussed in the context of the divergence of our results from those of other studies. Whether threat or contact effects occur may depend on an array of moderators that require further testing.
Framing Social Values: An Experimental Study of Culture and Cognition
Authors: Stolte John F. , Fender Shanon
Published: January 2010

How and why does a given social value come to shape the way an individual thinks, feels, and acts in a specific social situation? This study links ideas from Goffman's frame analysis to other lines of research, proposing that dramatic narratives of variable content, vividness, and language-in-use produce variation in the accessibility of schematic, internal cultural frameworks, and, thereby, variation in the social value frames that gain situational primacy. Hypotheses derived from the argument are experimentally supported, and results encourage further research on the process of social value framing, which operates as a person crosses boundaries in the complex subcultural mosaic.
Neighborhood Racial Composition and Perceptions of Racial Discrimination: Evidence From the Black Women's Health Study
Authors: Hunt Matthew O. , Wise Lauren A. , Jipguep Marie-Claude , Cozier Yvette C. , Rosenberg Lynn
Published: January 2010

Little is known about the effects of social context or “place” factors (e.g., characteristics of local populations) on African Americans' perceptions and experiences of racism. Using data from 42,445 U.S. black women collected during the 1997 follow-up wave of the Black Women's Health Study, we investigated the association between neighborhood racial composition (“percent black” at the block-group level in 2000 Census data) and perceptions of racial discrimination. Perceived racial discrimination was measured using self-reports of the frequency of discrimination in “everyday” settings (e.g., being treated as if you are dishonest) and “lifetime” occurrences of discrimination on the job, in housing, and by the police. There was a linear inverse relationship between neighborhood percent black and perceived discrimination, i.e., higher percent black was associated with lower levels of discrimination. Our results support the conclusions that, relative to contexts in which blacks are a small minority, more evenly-mixed (i.e., integrated) contexts result in lower levels of discrimination (contact hypothesis), and mostly black contexts evidence the lowest levels of discrimination (ethnic density hypothesis).
Mothers And Mastery: The Consequences Of Perceived Neighborhood Disorder
Authors: Christie-Mizell C. André , Erickson Rebecca J.
Published: January 2010

Using longitudinal data from a nationally representative sample of mothers, we specify the conditions under which the neighborhood context shapes the experience of mastery. In so doing, we extend the work of others who have shown that neighborhood perceptions influence one's sense of personal control over and above the effects of sociodemographic and objective neighborhood characteristics. Specifically, we demonstrate that the benefits to mastery generally afforded to mothers through marital status, household income, physical health, and living in a higher-income neighborhood are diluted by perceptions of neighborhood disorder. These findings suggest the importance of including measures of proximal experiences when attempting to link objective components of social structure with individual and family-level outcomes. Providing further support for the emphasis placed on these proximate mechanisms by the social structure and personality framework, our analyses indicate that failing to consider negative community perceptions suppresses the significant impact that central city residence and race have on mothers' sense of personal control.
Deference or Respect? Status Management Practices Among Prison Inmates
Authors: Colwell Brian
Published: January 2010

Interpersonal and intergroup contention is endemic to the social environment of California prisons. Data from in-depth interviews (N = 74) with prison inmates highlights a conceptual difference between the status behavior understood as signaling “deference” versus those signaling “respect.” Deference behavior signifies ordinal rank distinctions between actors in a power and prestige order. Respectful behavior signifies nominal distinctions rooted in perceived similarities and differences between actors. A theoretical model and typology of respect relations based on the correspondence between an actor's subjective belief and normative expectations is presented. The horizontal, intergroup structure found in the California prison system increases the profile of status behavior as marking nominal distinctions. I propose that the meaning of a given status behavior reflects the instrumentality of social situations and the objectivity or subjectivity of standards actors use in their evaluations of others.
Can Legal Interventions Change Beliefs? The Effect of Exposure to Sexual Harassment Policy on Men's Gender Beliefs
Authors: Tinkler Justine Eatenson , Li Yan E. , Mollborn Stefanie
Published: January 2010

In spite of the relative success of equal opportunity laws on women's status in the workplace, we know little about the influence of such legal interventions on people's attitudes and beliefs. This paper focuses, in particular, on how sexual harassment policy affects men's beliefs about the gender hierarchy. We employ an experimental design in which we measure the effect of a policy intervention on men's explicit and implicit gender beliefs. Results show that the sexual harassment policy did not alter explicit gender beliefs. Explicit beliefs changed in a different way, however. Compared to the baseline condition, participants in the policy intervention condition believed that most people think both men and women are lower-status, less competent, and less considerate. The policy intervention also affected implicit gender beliefs. Participants in the policy condition displayed more entrenched male-advantaged gender beliefs compared to the baseline condition. We interpret this as evidence that sexual harassment policies may have the unintended effect of activating unequal gender beliefs, which run contrary to the policy's equalizing aims. This research also suggests the value of measuring both explicit and implicit gender beliefs.
Does Unconscious Racism Exist?
Authors: Quillian Lincoln
Published: January 2010

This essay argues for the existence of a form of unconscious racism. Research on implicit prejudice provides good evidence that most persons have deeply held negative associations with minority groups that can lead to subtle discrimination without conscious awareness. The evidence for implicit attitudes is briefly reviewed. Criticisms of the implicit prejudice literature raised by Arkes and Tetlock (2004) are discussed, but found to be inconsistent with several findings of prejudice research.
Transferring Goods or Splitting a Resource Pool
Authors: Dijkstra Jacob , Van Assen Marcel A.L.M.
Published: January 2010

We investigated the consequences for exchange outcomes of the violation of an assumption underlying most social psychological research on exchange. This assumption is that the negotiated direct exchange of commodities between two actors (pure exchange) can be validly represented as two actors splitting a fixed pool of resources (split pool exchange). We designed five experimental conditions to determine differences in bargaining behavior in pure exchange and split pool exchange. We conclude that the validity of research using the split pool exchange approach is questionable, since we observed much less variance in outcomes and more efficient agreements in split pool exchange than pure exchange. Moreover, although theories accurately predicted outcomes of split pool exchange, they could not accurately predict outcomes of pure exchange. We discuss possible implications of our findings for exchange and research on exchange.