Stereotypes and Prejudice as Dynamic Constructs: Reminders about the Nature of Intergroup Bias from the Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts

Following Hurricane Katrina, hundreds of thousands of Gulf Coast residents, many of whom were African Americans, were relocated to communities around the U.S., including predominantly European American communities. The experiences of relocation community members are a potent reminder of the ever-changing and multiply-determined nature of stereotypes and prejudice. Prejudice and stereotyping are dynamic processes that evolve in response to numerous factors. Although several models of prejudice and stereotyping are dynamic and/or time-oriented, research on these topics predominantly has involved single-session laboratory experiments examining single mechanisms. To illustrate the importance of dynamic research, we outline a longitudinal model describing the potential independent and interactive effects of intergroup contact, individuating information, and perceived group threat from Katrina evacuees on prejudice and stereotypes about African Americans. The "natural experiment" created by the Katrina relocation reminds psychologists that naturalistic and longitudinal research on prejudice and stereotypes is an important complement to laboratory experiments.     

Predictors of children in foster care being adopted: A classification tree analysis

When returning home is not a viable option, adoption is the primary means by which youth in substitute care achieve permanency. Therefore, understanding the factors that impact adoption is critical to both evaluating and improving the child welfare system. Prior research has mostly studied “main effects” in regard to adoption rates and has not explored the ways in which youth and foster family variables might interact in complex ways to predict adoption. This study uses a classification tree analysis approach known as Optimal Data Analysis (ODA) to predict probability of adoption in 2003 using Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) data. 30,000 adopted youth and 30,000 non-adopted youth were randomly selected for participation in the study. Similar to previous studies, univariate analyses revealed that age, foster parent race/ethnicity, foster parent marital status, and number of previous placements all predicted probability of adoption. However, going further, several combinations of individual variables (multivariate ODA) improved prediction accuracy (e.g., age × structure of foster family × number of previous placements). Results also suggested that the impact of the state on adoption rates varied when essentially controlling for youth and family variables, supporting concerns regarding the crude use of AFCARS data when comparing states.     

Treatment participation and outcome in a program for problem drinker-drivers

Relationships were examined between 13 predictor variables and two criteria of improvement in a program for problem drinker-drivers. Four measures of social background (income, educations, age, marital status), four measures of psychopathology based on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), one measure of general alcoholism, and four indicators of treatment involvement served as predictor variables. Two factorially derived criteria served as outcome indicators, one reflecting general improvement, the other reflecting improved social adjustment, but a failure to reduce drinking. This second factor was interpreted as indicating resistance. Analysis included partial correlation and multiple regression, from which explained variance was completely partitioned into sources unique to each predictor, and sources shared by combinations of predictors. Results suggested that with other factors controlled, treatment involvement was linked both to improvement and to resistance. Similar conclusions were suggested for social background, but slightly different ones for psychopathology and alcoholism. Psychopathology was uniquely related to improvement; alcoholism, to resistance.     

Indirect behavioral measures of cognition among sexual offenders

Indirect measures of cognition have become an important tool in research on sexual offending. Such methods allow the exploration and testing of models of cognitive processes that might underpin sexual preferences and, in turn, sexual offending. The article reviews studies that have used a large range of indirect techniques (e.g., Implicit Association Test, Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure, Choice Reaction Times, Stroop Interference, Rapid Serial Visual Presentation, Lexical Decision Priming Task, and Viewing Times), and aims to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of this research.