Sex Role Stereotypes and Middle and Old Age

Previous research focused on elderly as a generalized target group, with little differentiation between stereotypes of elderly men and elderly women. Similarly, research literature on sex-role stereotypes rarely makes reference to age of targets. To join the areas of attitude research in gerontology and sex-role stereotype research, 534 university students rated middle-aged or old man, woman, or person on a stereotype scale. A difference between male and female targets was found on only 3 adjective pairs, and age/sex interactions were found on 3. The few differences fit traditional sex-role stereotypes. Explanations for sparse sex differences and age/sex interactions are suggested.     

To Disclose or Not to Disclose Biracial Identity: The Effect of Biracial Disclosure on Perceiver Evaluations and Target Responses

Are biracial people perceived more negatively than their monoracial counterparts? Across two studies, we compared ratings of warmth, competence, and minority scholarship worthiness for biracial (Study 1: Black/White, Study 2: Asian/White), White, and minority (Study 1: Black, Study 2: Asian) college applicants. Findings suggest that both biracial applicants were perceived as colder and sometimes less competent than both White and corresponding minority applicants. Moreover, biracial people were also perceived as less qualified for minority scholarships than other racial minorities, which is partially explained by penalties to warmth and competence. Study 3 shows that disclosing one's biracial identity makes biracial people vulnerable to negative feedback. Taken together, these studies suggest that biracial people who disclose their biracial identity experience bias from perceivers and may be more vulnerable to that bias because of the personal nature of racial disclosure. Findings are discussed considering the stereotype content model ( Cuddy, Fiske, & Glick, 2007 ), cultural stereotypes about biracial people ( Jackman, Wagner, & Johnson, 2001 ), and the costs of disclosing devalued identities.     

The Spinster Stereotype: A Demographic Refutation?

Data on Australia's older single women are assembled into a demographic profile to question the legitimacy of the prevailing negative spinster stereotype and to make comparisons with US trends in the status of single women'. The socioeconomic status (SES) of single and married women in Melbourne is analysed and it is subsequently argued that high SES single women have satisfying careers which may provide them with a stable source of identity, but some lower SES single women lack this source and may assume the spinster identity as the only clearly defined role available to them.     

Voting for Catholic Candidates: The Evolution of a Stereotype*

Objectives. This article looks at the effects of candidate Catholicism on individual voters, turning the traditional inquiry into voters' religion on its head. Specifically, it hypothesizes that individuals stereotype Catholic candidates based on the voting behavior of Catholics in general, and that these stereotypes help voters make a decision in elections with Catholic candidates. Methods. Using data from the American National Election Studies (ANES), this article argues that citizens hold stereotypes of Catholics based on actual Catholic political behavior—solidly Democratic from the 1950s to the 1970s, but trending Republican starting in the 1980s. It also tests these stereotypes with Gallup data on hypothetical Catholic candidates and analyzes, through election‐day exit polls, the impact on voters of the Catholic conversion of a sitting U.S. Senator. Results. The data analyses strongly support the article's hypothesis, demonstrating that partisan attitudes toward hypothetical Catholic candidates shifted direction as the Catholic electorate shifted. In addition, Senator Sam Brownback's (R‐KS) conversion to Catholicism increased partisan polarization in his support—indicating a conservative shift in perceptions. Conclusions. Candidate religion plays a role in elections. Specifically, voters stereotype candidates based on candidate religion and use this stereotyped information to help them make an electoral decision. This article demonstrates this effect for Catholicism, but other religions should evidence similar impacts.     

Contextual Variability in Young Children's Gender Ingroup Stereotype

Self-categorization theorists (Oakes, Haslam & Turner, 1994) have shown that stereotypes are not rigid and fixed, and that they vary to reflect variations in the comparative context within which they are formed. In this paper we investigate stereotype variability in a sample of 6/7-year-old children. Participants describe a specific outgroup, and then describe the ingroup (that is 'boys' or 'girls', depending on the sex of the participant). There are two conditions: in condition one the outgroup is represented by adult 'men', if participants are boys, or by adult 'women', if participants are girls. In condition two the outgroup is represented by 'girls', if participants are boys, or by 'boys', if participants are girls. Results show that stereotypical traits attributed to the ingroup change significantly with changes in the frame of reference.     

The Interference of Stereotype Threat With Women's Generation of Mathematical Problem-Solving Strategies

At the highest levels of math achievement, gender differences in favor of men persist on standardized math tests. We hypothesize that stereotype threat depresses women's math performance through interfering with their ability to formulate problem-solving strategies. In Study 1, women underperformed in comparison to men on a word problemm test, however, women and me performed equally when the word problems were converted into their numerical equivalents. In Study 2, men and women worked on difficult problems, either in a high- or reduced-stereotype-threat condition. Problem-solving strategies were coded. When stereo-type threat was high, women were less able to formulate problem-solving strategies than when stereotype threat was reduced. The effect of stereotype threat on cognitive resources and the implications for gender differences in mathematical testing are discussed.     

传统固有观念的心理暗示与中国学生的测试表现

在美国,研究已经多次证明关于智力的否定性固有观念会妨碍受这些固有观念影响的个体的成绩表现。在中国,认为女性在数学上弱于男性的观念已经持续了很长时间。本文通过一项程度颇深的数学和英语测试,对中国大学生进行了关于传统固有观念暗示理论的研究。在数学测试中,研究的假设是：同美国测试者的表现相似,受“性别数学”固有差异观念影响的女性测试者的成绩要比不受固有观念影响的人差;而在英语测试中,研究则假设受“性别语言”固有差异观念影响的男性会比不受此种观念影响的人得分低。然而测试的结果并没有证实这两个假设。研究结果对当今中国现存的社会和教育因素进行了讨论。     

刻板印象内容模型的修正与发展——源于大学生群体样本的调查结果

刻板印象是对社会群体及其成员固定或模式化的看法。对刻板印象形成维度的研究，被系统地总结为刻板印象内容模型（Stereotype Content Model, SCM）。本文对SCM的相关理论进行了简要梳理。作者按照SCM的典范程序，进行了有效样本为115人的试验性调查和160人的正式调查，以问卷的方式要求被调查者对21个社会群体进行分类和评价，建立起了大学生关于21个社会群体的刻板印象类型，并在此基础上进行了理论层面的探讨。本文的研究试图突破以往的SCM研究仅限于发现事实的局限，尝试对形成特定群体刻板印象背后的社会心理机制进行解释。     

Situational Power and Interpersonal Dominance Facilitate Bias and Inequality

A model is proposed that describes interpersonal phenomena that maintain intergroup hierarchies and conflict. Situational control and interpersonal dominance are identified as conditions that promote motives to stereotype, leading to cognitive and judgment biases that cumulatively reinforce the status quo. Three general hypotheses are derived from the model. First, powerholders are predicted to use attention strategies that favor stereotype maintenance, stereotyping subordinates by default (ignoring counterstereotypic information) and by design (increasing attention to stereotypic information). Second, high-dominance perceivers are predicted to respond with the same cognitive biases as people with situational power. Finally, power and dominance are predicted independently to facilitate bias in explicit judgments. Results from our research program support the hypotheses. Implications for future change are discussed.     

The effects of gender role stereotypes on political attitudes

Public attitudes toward women may be understood in terms of two dimensions: inferiority and indifference. Some people (both men and women) believe that women are inferior to men, whereas others believe that the sexes are merely different. Factor analysis of the NORC General Social Survey shows that the inferiority stereotype explains political attitudes better than the difference stereotype.     

The Personal/Group Discrimination Discrepancy

This article extends Allport's (1954) analysis of targets of discrimination by examining why minority group members perceive more discrimination directed at their group than at themselves. Two studies were conducted to explain this personal/group discrimination discrepancy by focusing on the role of stereotypes, which allow people to process information faster. Women (Study 1) and African Americans (Study 2) made ratings of personaland group discrimination while a computer recorded the time it took them to respond. Both took less time to make ratings of group discrimination than personal discrimination. Moreover, the less time it took for them to respond to questions about group discrimination, the larger the discrepancy was between their ratings of personal and group discrimination. These results suggest that the personal/group discrimination discrepancy emerges when minority groupmembers are using a stereotype in which discrimination encountered by their group is believed to be high.     

财经院校大学生语文能力的调研分析与培养对策

财经院校大学生一般要求具备较高的语文素质和能力,但由于重专业轻人文思想、对大学语文不够重视以及传统语文教学方法不当的影响,财经院校大学生普遍在文字、语言、文章、文学修养等方面存在问题。应重新整合选修课资源,统筹进行通识教育改革,适时实施语文水平达标测试,以提高学生的语文水平和能力。     

Bias in Social Work Intervention with Battered Women

A total of 149 social workers from 21 social service agencies responded to questions regarding a client after reading one of six possible case vignettes. The results indicate that social workers stereotype clients who have been battered. In addition, social workers are less likely to consider relocation as an option to protect the victim who is married to her attacker. Also, surprisingly, male-social workers focus on violence related concerns as targets for intervention more than do female social workers.     

An Exploratory Study of Self-Neglectful Elderly

This paper describes and contrasts the characteristics of 227 elders who were reportedly competent but self-neglectful. The sample was found to be disproportionately aged and to have higher rates of disabling conditions such as Alzheimer's or other related dementias and alcoholism when compared with the general older population. When contrasted with a sample of elderly who had been maltreated, self-neglectful elders were found more likely to be male and disabled. Services which were offered to self-neglectful elderly were also examined. The author recommends that the type as well as the number of services being offered to self-neglectful elderly be further investigated.     

Allport's Legacy and the Situational Press of Stereotypes

This article focuses on two aspects of Allport's (1954) investigation of the psychology of being a target of prejudice. Whereas most researchers in this area view Allport as an expectancy theorist, we revisit another aspect of Allport's theory: the situational threat posed by negative stereotypes. First, we examine this issue, as it applies to the academic underachievement of negatively stereotyped groups, by contrasting the situational threat posed by stereotypes with traditional and current expectancy-oriented conceptions. Second, we show that stereotypes do not appear to affect self-expectations; instead, they appear to foster a climate of mistrust that results in depressed performance. Finally, we discuss how interventions that ameliorate the climate of mistrust, such as the presence of educators who are competent minority group members, tend to raise levels of performance.     

Admission to Nursing Homes in Taiwan

The population of Taiwan is facing a radical ageing process. A proportion of the growing number of people aged 65 and over is expected to need nursing home care. This research concerns the family context of decision‐making in the process of admission to a nursing home in Taiwan. Employing survey data from interviews with elderly people in nursing homes (235 interviews) and their carers/key families (265 interviews), the factors affecting their views about admission were explored. Bivariate analysis and a logistic regression model were also used to examine perceptions of alternatives to nursing home care among family members with elderly relatives in nursing homes. Most elderly people in Taiwan are cared for in their own homes by their families but, in some circumstances, entry to a nursing home seemed inevitable. This research found that the decisions were taken mainly within a family context. The adult children of the elderly people, carers/key families’ preferences and the availability of carers influenced the decision. Apart from the important need factors of elders, families’ views about alternatives to nursing homes were significantly influenced by their preferences. This study has important implications for long‐term care in Taiwan. It is hoped that this will be needs‐led, both by elderly people and their families.     

The Value of Pets in Geriatric Practice

Abstract

A program designed to help elderly pet owners is succeeding in areas unrelated to pet care. The relationships that seniors establish with the coordinating social worker and participating volunteer create opportunities in other areas. The program establishes a social work connection which can be tapped in an emergency and enhances socialization through volunteer visits. Program participation may also reduce the severity of housing problems and provide a chance to discuss end-of-life issues. Implications for policy and practice are discussed, including the importance of acknowledging the central role of a pet in the lives of many elderly people.     

Minority comparison model: Effects of Whites’ multiracial evaluation on symbolic racism and racialized policy preferences

Most Racial Studies primarily focus on African Americans without paying attention to nonblack minorities, and it fails to capture recent increase in racial diversity. Based on previous theories and empirical findings, we propose a new model, minority comparison model, which accounts for theoretical shortcomings in Racial Studies. This model (1) captures psychological processes that compare blacks and nonblacks, and (2) explores the effects of whites’ multiracial evaluation on racialized policy preferences. Drawing on a 2008 national representative sample, this study finds that whites who have positive stereotype of nonblacks (e.g., Hispanics and/or Asians) but negative stereotype of blacks show substantially higher symbolic racism and stronger opposition to Affirmative Action, whereas whites who have positive stereotype of blacks but negative stereotypes of nonblacks have stronger opposition to expansive immigration policy. Our study offers new ways of understanding and accounting for symbolic racism in modern context, and shows how whites’ preferences in racialized policies are influenced by multiracial evaluation.     

Is home care a realistic alternative to residential care among institutionalized elderly people in Finland?

The high rate of institutionalization among elderly people in Finland is widely discussed among policy-makers. We studied how realistic the wishes for deinstitutionalization are among the least sick elderly people in residential care, and what patient characteristics predict whether residential care is appropriate. This issue was assessed by the residential home personnel. Personnel assessment of institutional care as appropriate was mainly explained by patients' needing help with medication, limitations in activities of daily living, absence of own home to return to, no living children, incontinence, and poor vision. Discharging elderly people from long-term residential care back to society is limited by factors such as inadequate housing and shortage of domiciliary and rehabilitative services, as well as by attitudes among the institutionalized elderly people themselves. It seems more realistic to prevent the inappropriate institutionalization of elderly people than to discharge the small numbers of fairly independent individuals already in residential homes.     

Integrated Group Program for Improving Sleep Quality of Elderly People

ABSTRACT

This article reports an exploratory study on the effects of an integrated group program for improving the sleep quality of elderly people in Hong Kong. Elderly people aged over 55 who had obtained a Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score >5 were recruited as subjects of the study. While 19 subjects of the treatment group were taking part in an integrated group program involving social group work intervention as well as Chinese medicine therapeutics, 9 subjects of comparison group received no intervention. Using a pretest and posttest design, the study revealed positive effects of the integrated group program. It has added knowledge serving the development of interventions that can help to improve the sleep quality of elderly people.