Group dynamics on multidimensional object threat appraisals

The literature on attitudes toward objects includes seminal research on threat appraisals indicating that individuals locate an object in a multidimensional threat appraisal space defined by the object's perceived degree of being good or bad, weak or strong, and passive or active. We advance this research in three ways. First, we generalize the information integration on an object with the inclusion of other individuals’ displayed appraisals, and posit the existence of a dynamical system of information integration that generates a network of interpersonal influences on group members’ object appraisals. Second, we show that this influence system entails a set of non-obvious and rarely violated constraints on individuals’ settled appraisals. Third, with data collected in experiments on groups’ appraisals of images of nine animals and two nations, Russia and North Korea, we report empirical findings that support the existence of this system and its predicted constraints on individuals’ object appraisals.     

勾建高校辅导员胜任力模型的目标选择与程序设计

构建辅导员胜任力模型是推进高校辅导员队伍建设的有效方法。也是辅导员工作绩效考评体系建设的重要依据。而要构建一个有效、可行、客观、全面的辅导员胜任力模型,需要进行科学、有效的SWOT分析,恰当运用人职匹配的目标选择原理和PDCA循环、360度反馈评价等程序设计方法。     

1930年代苏联构建集体安全的失败——一种基于“威胁平衡理论”的分析

1930年代,如何认识和应对德国法西斯的威胁是摆在欧洲各国面前的一道难题.苏联基于自身对威胁的感知,提出共同应对德国威胁的“集体安全政策”,最后以失败告终.从国际关系结盟理论视角来看,沃尔兹代表的“传统结盟理论”认为各国会制衡权力最大的国家,斯蒂芬·沃尔特在对沃尔兹批判的基础上提出“威胁平衡理论”,认为国家需要制衡对其威胁最大的国家,而不一定是权力最大者.从“威胁平衡理论”的基本观点来看,苏联建立集体安全努力失败的根本原因是欧洲各国对“谁是最大威胁国家”的不同认定,进而加剧了集体行动的难度.     

Relational diversity and neighbourhood cohesion. Unpacking variety,balance and in-group size

Ethnic diversity is typically measured by the well-known Hirschman-Herfindahl Index. This paper discusses the merits of an alternative approach, which is in our view better suited to tease out why and how ethnic diversity matters. The approach consists of two elements. First, all existing diversity indices are non-relational. From the viewpoint of theoretical accounts that attribute negative diversity effects to in-group favoritism and out-group threat, it should however matter whether, given a certain level of overall diversity, an individual belongs to a minority group or to the dominant majority. We therefore decompose diversity by distinguishing the in-group share from the diversity of ethnic out-groups. Second, we show how generalized entropy measures can be used to test which of diversity’s two basic dimensions matters most: the variety of groups, or the unequal distribution (balance) of the population over groups. These measures allow us to test different theoretical explanations against each other, because they imply different expectations regarding the effects of in-group size, out-group variety, and out-group balance. We apply these ideas in an analysis of various social cohesion measures across 55 German localities and show that both in-group size and out-group diversity matter. For the native majority as well as for persons of immigration background, the variety component of diversity seems to be more decisive than has formerly been acknowledged. These findings provide little support for group threat and in-group favoritism as the decisive mechanisms behind negative diversity effects, and are most in line with the predictions of theories that emphasize coordination problems, asymmetric preferences, and network closure.     

The racial foundations of whites’ support for child saving

Scholars emphasize that attitudes toward rehabilitation and views about punitive polices are distinct phenomena with seemingly unique etiologies. However, few existing studies examine the sources of public views about juvenile rehabilitation, or “child saving,” and none engage a measure of racial attitudes. At the same time, recent theoretical work implicates racial concerns as a central foundation of public opinion about youth justice. This paper thus provides the first assessment of whether whites’ perceptions of the racial makeup of delinquents and animosities toward blacks are associated with their views about juvenile rehabilitation. Findings show that whites who more strongly associate delinquency with blacks and those who are racially resentful both tend to be less supportive—in absolute and relative terms—of rehabilitation. The results also suggest that contextual threat moderates the effect of racial typification of delinquency, but not that of racial resentment, on whites’ views about rehabilitation.     

Public attitudes toward policies related to labor migrants in Israel

This paper focuses on determinants of public attitudes in Israel toward two policy questions. First, should immigration policy measures be more restrictive toward overseas labor migrants? Secondly, should overseas labor migrants be replaced with Palestinian workers? Based on an attitudinal survey administered to a representative sample of the Israeli population, the findings indicate that support for a restrictive immigration policy is quite prevalent among Israelis. However, the survey reveals only moderate consent for replacing overseas labor migrants with Palestinian commuters. Attitudes toward a restrictive immigration policy are explained by the perceived threat posed by overseas labor migrants to social and economic interests. This threat is explained by the respondents’ socio-economic characteristics. Attitudes toward the replacement policy are partially explained by the sense of threat to the Jewish character of the state posed by overseas migrants, but are also attributed to several personal characteristics. Policy implications of these findings are discussed.     

绩效期望落差对制造企业进入房地产行业的影响研究

以2008~2017年中国制造业上市公司为样本,实证考察了绩效期望落差对企业进入房地产行业的影响。研究发现:绩效期望落差越大,企业面临的效率威胁越严重,越可能为改善业绩而进入房地产行业;绩效期望落差对进入房地产行业的影响强度,与房地产行业利润率和企业持有土地没有显著差异;民营和现金流权比例高的控股股东,对绩效期望落差带来的效率威胁更敏感,更可能通过进入房地产行业,以缓解绩效期望落差带来的效率威胁,导致绩效期望落差对进入房地产行业的影响更强;企业冗余资源越多,进入房地产行业越可行,绩效期望落差对进入房地产行业的影响越强。进一步的分析发现,绩效期望落差对企业进入房地产行业的程度也有正向影响。     

对“伊斯兰威胁论”的几点反思

近年特别是9·11事件后,“伊斯兰威胁论”在西方世界再次得到响应。本文试图说明这种论点的错误在于忽略了当代伊斯兰世界面临的历史困境和社会根源,而正确的方法是从结构的视角出发来研究伊斯兰文化在国际关系中的作用,将它放在社会和国际背景的约束下进行考察。     

When stressors make you work: Mechanisms linking challenge stressors to performance

Based on previous empirical findings, “challenge stressors” (Cavanaugh, Boswell, Roehling, & Bouderau, 2000 Cavanaugh, M. A., Boswell, W. R., Roehling, M. V., & Boudreau, J. W. (2000). An empirical examination of self-reported work stress among U.S. managers. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 65–74. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.85.1.65[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Lepine, Podsakoff, & Lepine, 2005 LePine, J. A., Podsakoff, N. P., & LePine, M. A. (2005). A meta-analytic test of the challenge stressor hindrance stressor framework: An explanation for inconsistent relationships among stressors and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 48, 764–775. doi: 10.5465/AMJ.2005.18803921[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), such as the amount and scope of responsibility, can be loosely considered as “good stressors” that are consistently and positively related to job satisfaction and performance. We introduce the role of appraisal to further examine how challenge stressors are connected to performance. Structural equation modelling analyses using an applied sample of 284 employee–supervisor dyads showed that affective commitment to the organization mediated the relationship between both opportunity and threat appraisal and performance (in-role and extra-role). The mediating role of increased psychosomatic distress was supported only for the relationship between threat appraisal and in-role performance. The findings indicate the importance of taking into account the actual appraisal of “challenge stressors”, as it carries implications for performance, and reveals the key role of affective commitment and induced distress mechanisms in this relationship. In conclusion, “challenge stressors” are not always positively related to performance, but only when they are perceived as opportunities.     

Gender and Mathematics Achievement in China and the United States

This study examines the relationship between gender and mathematics achievement among students in China and the United States, with an emphasis on the gender gap among mathematically talented students. The results show that in neither the US nor China are there gender differences in eighth grade math-achievement test scores. In China, there are no gender differences in mean college entrance examination math scores among high-school seniors, while in America, the mean SAT-Math score among male high-school seniors has been consistently higher than those of their female counterparts. In both the US and China, there are gender differences among the top math performers on college entrance examinations; boys are over-represented. The Chinese national mathematics curriculum, well-trained teachers, beliefs by students and their parents that academic achievement is more a product of effort than of natural ability, a gender-neutral parental expectation for children’s education, and generous family spending on the education of girls are suggested as possible factors underlying the comparable performance of the Chinese female and male students. The sorting system at Chinese secondary school level and a cultural stereotype favoring boys in mathematics are suggested as possible contributors to the math-achievement gender gap found among the top Chinese high school seniors.