A test of three hypotheses concerning attributions toward female promiscuity

We performed two experiments to test three alternative hypotheses concerning negative attributions toward sexually promiscuous females. The first two possibilities are based on female-to-female negative attributions. The first hypothesis, the Competition Hypothesis, states that females could be using a negative attribution towards other females for derogation purposes when in competition for a mate. Second, the Self-esteem Hypothesis states that females could be using negative attributions towards other females to build Self-esteem. Finally, according to the Social Norm Hypothesis, both males and females see female promiscuous behaviors as deviant thereby resulting in negative attributions towards the women who perform them. In both experiments, the Social Norm Hypothesis received more support than the other two hypotheses.     

Cultural stereotypes and the gendering of senior management

This paper asks whether place is significant in understanding the gendering of senior management and how it might be integrated into existing theories. Drawing on interviews and focus group discussions with women and men in senior management in Wales, it compares the gendering of senior management in Wales with other regions of the UK. The situation in Wales is explained by the historical legacy of a peripheral economy dependent on male‐dominated heavy industries and the gender relations and stereotypes associated with this. There is a relative lack of senior managerial positions, for both women and men, and women are under‐represented in middle management compared with women elsewhere. There is evidence that paternalistic masculinites are widespread in managerial cultures and that although women may find this form of masculinity easier to deal with than a more aggressively 'macho' masculinity, it casts them in a subordinate role at work. Cultural stereotypes such as the 'Welsh mam' operate in contradictory ways, in some instances holding women back and in others furthering their careers, and there is evidence that women are challenging existing gender stereotypes. A lack of geographical mobility and associated attachment to place affects progress into senior management and creates stability at middle‐management level. Place needs to be taken into account in explaining the gendering of senior management because of the spatial distribution of production and the cultural patterns and stereotypes associated with different economic structures.     

Affirmative Action: Psychological Contributions to Policy

Affirmative action is a controversial policy. Lauded by many, the attempt at social engineering has also been condemned by some as unnecessary and by others as counterproductive to the goal of social equality. As such, affirmative action is ideally situated to benefit from psychological research pertaining to the need for and the effectiveness of the policy. This article discusses both the potential benefits to American society of affirmative action and the potential costs of such a policy. Concluding that affirmative action is useful, we end with a look at ways to make affirmative action programs as effective as possible.     

CONTRIBUTOR INFLUENCE IN CONGRESS: Social Ties and PAC Effects on U.S. House Policymaking

Knowing how campaign contributors influence policymaking is important for understanding political power, but the existing literature—much of it outside sociology—has mixed findings. Using data on Political Action Committee (PAC) contributors and roll call voting in eight U.S. Houses, 1991–2006, I approach the issue using a novel, sociological approach that focuses on social ties between lawmakers and mutually shared contributors. The findings show consistent, statistically significant contributor influence via these ties in seven of the eight Houses. I discuss the implications of these findings for contributor‐lawmaker reciprocal exchange, the social embeddedness of policymaking, and political power.     

Race at the top: How companies shape the inclusion of African Americans on their boards in response to institutional pressures

Drawing on institutionalist theory, we conceptualize the racial composition of the boards of directors of large American companies as shaped in response to social and political norms. We use new longitudinal and cross-sectional data to test hypotheses about factors that shape the degree of racial inclusion on boards of directors among large public corporations, and we draw upon in-depth interviews with key participants to gain insights into the mechanisms that are likely to have generated the patterns we detect in our statistical models. We find evidence suggesting that large American corporations manage the racial composition of their elite leadership groups in response to these norms.     

Self‐harm by people with learning difficulties: something to be expected or investigated?1

A review of the literature exploring self-harm highlights variations in the way it is understood. A marked difference in approach appears to relate to the presence of a learning difficulty in the person utilizing self-harm. Linkage with abuse has been given credence as one possible explanation for self-harming behaviour in the general population and yet has received little consideration within literature regarding people with learning difficulties. This paper proposes that it is oppression and abuse which provide the context in which self-harm is used by many people with learning difficulties. Continually ignoring the 'message' in self-harm is to further traumatize individuals. Therefore a challenge is posed to look beyond existing responses to the use of self-harm by people with learning difficulties.     

Contested communities: the refuge movement and cultural identities in Wales

This paper explores different meanings of community and cultural identity. Women involved in the refuge movement in rural Wales belong to overlapping communities: geographically located rural communities; linguistic and ethnic communities; and the gendered and occupationally based community of Welsh Women's Aid. Language is an important marker of belonging to Welsh rural communities which are under threat from an influx of non-Welsh speakers. Incoming women who are homeless as a result of domestic violence may be perceived as part of this threat. This creates a potential conflict for refuge workers, some of whom are also Welsh speakers, who represent the interests of this group of women but also belong to Welsh-speaking, rural communities. We explore the interrelation between these refuge workers, the various communities to which they belong, and how belonging or not belonging shapes their identities. We conclude that these women, in spite of the conflicting rights and interests of their various communities, negotiate a shared collective identity which owes something to all three.