Believing that reduced discrimination against women directly corresponds to increased discrimination against men, referred to as a zero-sum perspective (ZSP), may inhibit further attempts toward ...gender equality. Based on a sample of 313 men and women, we developed and tested both a general measure and a domain-specific measure of the ZSP of gender status then examined sociodemographics (age, education, political orientation, religious beliefs, and past experience with discrimination) and social dominance orientation as predictors of the ZSP of shifts in gender status. Hostile and modern sexism were examined as potential mediators of this relationship. Structural equation models were computed to examine predictive paths separately for men and women. Although some similarities were found, results showed important differences in predictive paths for women and men, and supported the expected mediating role of sexism in the relationships between sociodemographic predictors and the ZSP. Findings have implications for targeting intervention efforts to enhance a win-win or non-zero-sum perspective that may facilitate efforts toward reducing gender discrimination.
Objectives
Despite a common belief that health declines with age, many older adults remain optimistic about their future health. However, the longitudinal impact of personal and comparatively ...optimistic future health estimates (FHEs) is unclear.
Method
Among 408 older adults (Mage = 70.32 years), this study identified the prevalence, source, and two‐year stability of comparatively optimistic FHEs; examined demographic, psychosocial, and health correlates of comparative FHEs; and assessed the role of comparative FHEs in predicting eight‐year survival odds.
Results
Nearly half of participants were comparatively optimistic due to interpersonal pessimism more so than personal optimism. Regarding stability, comparative optimism declined over the two‐year period. Being younger and having more perceived control, dispositional optimism, and recent positive emotions were associated with better FHEs for oneself and a similar other. Beyond effects of age, gender, relationship status, and dispositional optimism, optimistic personal FHEs predicted eight‐year survival odds.
Conclusions
Findings have implications for predicting survival and advancing the conceptual understanding of comparative FHEs.
Statement of contribution
What is already known on the subject?
Previous research has demonstrated that older adults tend to believe diminished health accompanies increasing age. Despite this notion, older adults remain comparatively optimistic about their health.
What does this study add?
The longitudinal results of the current study indicated that nearly half of participants were categorized as comparative optimists, primarily due to interpersonal pessimism.
The current study demonstrated that there is little distinction between personal FHEs and those for a similar other in terms of demographic, psychosocial, and health correlates.
The current study identified factors that predicted eight‐year survival among older adults, such as being female, younger, in a committed relationship, and better personal FHEs.
Several constructs have been identified as relevant to the juror decision-making process in hate crime cases. However, there is a lack of research on the relationships between these constructs and ...their variable influence across victim group. The purpose of the current study was to reexamine factors relevant to the juror decision-making process in hate crime cases within a structural model, and across victim group, to gauge the relative strength and explanatory power of various predictors. In the current study, 313 participants sentenced a perpetrator found guilty of a hate crime committed against either a Black man or a gay man; participants also responded to individual difference measures relevant to mock juror hate crime decision making, including prejudice toward the victim’s social group. Using path analysis, we explored the role of juror prejudice on sentencing decisions in hate crime cases as well as similarities and differences based on the victimized group. Results indicated that, when the victim was a Black man, modern racism influenced sentencing both directly and indirectly through perpetrator blame attributions, explaining 18% of the variance in sentencing. In contrast, when the victim was a gay man, modern homophobia did not directly predict sentencing, and the overall model explained only 4% of the variance in sentencing, suggesting variables beyond juror prejudice may be better suited to explain juror decision making in sexual orientation–based hate crimes. The current study suggests that the role of juror prejudice in hate crime cases varies as a function of the victimized group and raises questions about the importance of juror prejudice in the sentencing of hate crime cases, particularly antigay prejudice. The importance of blame attributions, social dominance orientation, and juror beliefs regarding penalty enhancements for hate crime cases, as well as policy implications, are also addressed.
Researchers have spent considerable effort examining unrealistic absolute optimism and unrealistic comparative optimism, yet there is a lack of research exploring them concurrently. This longitudinal ...study repeatedly assessed unrealistic absolute and comparative optimism within a performance context over several months to identify the degree to which they shift as a function of proximity to performance and performance feedback, their associations with global individual difference and event‐specific factors, and their link to subsequent behavioural outcomes. Results showed similar shifts in unrealistic absolute and comparative optimism based on proximity to performance and performance feedback. Moreover, increases in both types of unrealistic optimism were associated with better subsequent performance beyond the effect of prior performance. However, several differences were found between the two forms of unrealistic optimism in their associations with global individual difference factors and event‐specific factors, highlighting the distinctiveness of the two constructs.
Optimistic performance estimates tend to diminish as
performance and feedback draw near, yet it is unclear what contributes to
subsequent performance estimates after feedback. At multiple time ...points, 166
undergraduates estimated their performance on two exams within a course, which
was then compared to their actual exam scores. Along with assessing accuracy and
shifts in estimates as performance and feedback drew near, the current study
explored the mechanisms involved in "learning from one's
mistakes" by examining what happens after feedback on actual performance.
We assessed the post-feedback emotional impact of performance estimates and
identified predictors of subsequent estimates and later performance. Although,
individuals overestimated their performance for both exams, feedback on Exam 1
resulted in significantly lower estimates for Exam 2. Irrespective of actual
performance, higher expectations detrimentally impacted emotional responses to
feedback, prior estimates played a central role in predicting subsequent
estimates, and various predictors of actual subsequent performance were
identified. Findings contribute to understanding changes in pre- to
post-feedback performance expectations and identify predictive factors of
post-feedback performance estimates and later performance.
Research has shown that social norms may influence individuals’ engagement in potentially dangerous behaviors. The current study examined the influence of descriptive norms and injunctive norms on ...risk perceptions, intentions, and behavioral outcomes for tanning and binge drinking. Participants were 359 Caucasian women between the ages of 21 and 25 years old residing in the United States who completed online surveys via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk). The study employed a 3 (Descriptive norm information: high risk estimate vs. low risk estimate vs. none) x 3 (Injunctive norm information: approval vs. disapproval vs. none) x 2 (Target risk behavior: tanning vs. binge drinking) factorial design. It was expected that exposure to high risk (vs. low risk) estimate information and disapproval norm information (vs. approval norm information) would produce higher personal risk estimates, weaker intent to engage in the target behavior, and less engagement in that behavior during the follow-up period. The results showed that descriptive norms impacted risk estimates in the expected direction, and injunctive norms impacted behavior intentions in the expected direction. However, exposure to social norms did not influence subsequent behavioral outcomes. Findings provided insight into the varying relationships between social norms and young women’s risk perceptions as a function of different types of health-related behaviors.
Past research has shown that individuals have a strong tendency to believe that they are less likely than others to experience negative health outcomes (Weinstein, 1980). This tendency to be ...“unrealistically optimistic” can contribute to greater engagement in risky health behaviors, and in turn, greater actual risk of the negative health outcome. Within the current study, factors previously shown to influence unrealistically optimistic health perceptions (i.e., images of risky/protective health behavior, peer risk estimates, personal risk/protective factors) were directly manipulated to examine their effects on young women’s perceived risk of developing skin cancer. Participants were 363 Caucasian women between the ages of 18 and 24 who completed an online study via MTurk. The study entailed an Image (high risk, low risk, no image) x Peer Information (given, not given) x Personal Factors List (risk, protective, none) 3 x 2 x 3 factorial design. Results showed no significant differences in risk estimates among participants who received the “unrealistic optimism diminishing” conditions vs. those who received the “unrealistic optimism enhancing” conditions, and neither group differed from those who received the control conditions. However, a significant main effect for Peer Information indicated that participants who received peer information estimated their absolute risk and comparative risk as significantly lower than those who did not view peer information. Findings from the study provide a better understanding of the factors that contribute to young women’s risk perceptions regarding skin cancer.
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