How university diversity rationales inform student preferences and outcomes.

It is currently commonplace for institutions of higher education to proclaim to embrace diversity and inclusion. Though there are numerous rationales available for doing so, US Supreme Court decisions have consistently favored rationales which assert that diversity provides compelling educational benefits and is thus instrumentally useful. Our research is a quantitative/experimental effort to examine how such instrumental rationales comport with the preferences of White and Black Americans, specifically contrasting them with previously dominant moral rationales that embrace diversity as a matter of intrinsic values (e.g., justice). Furthermore, we investigate the prevalence of instrumental diversity rationales in the American higher education landscape and the degree to which they correspond with educational outcomes. Across six experiments, we showed that instrumental rationales correspond to the preferences of White (but not Black) Americans, and both parents and admissions staff expect Black students to fare worse at universities that endorse them. We coded university websites and surveyed admissions staff to determine that, nevertheless, instrumental diversity rationales are more prevalent than moral ones are and that they are indeed associated with increasing White-Black graduation disparities, particularly among universities with low levels of moral rationale use. These findings indicate that the most common rationale for supporting diversity in American higher education accords with the preferences of, and better relative outcomes for, White Americans over low-status racial minorities. The rationales behind universities' embrace of diversity have nonlegal consequences that should be considered in institutional decision making.

Attitudes toward defendants with substance-related charges: An analysis of a national sample of criminal defense attorneys.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: While a large percentage of criminal offenders suffer from substance use disorders (SUDs), virtually nothing is known about the attitudes criminal defense attorneys possess toward their clients who are facing substance-related charges. This is a serious concern, as the burden of steering individuals with SUDs into treatment often falls to criminal defense attorneys. The goal of this study was to examine the attitudes of criminal defense attorneys toward individuals who have been accused of drug crimes. METHODS: A questionnaire was sent to criminal defense attorneys (N = 1,933) from all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. It was comprised of (i) demographic information and (ii) a version of the 11-item Medical Condition Regard Scale (MCRS). RESULTS: Criminal defense attorneys held generally positive attitudes toward clients with substance-related charges, but there was a significant divergence in attitudes between private and public attorneys, with the latter showing both greater familiarity with and better attitudes toward this same group of clients. These differences were impactful: worse attitudes toward clients strongly correlated with greater predictions that the clients would reoffend. CONCLUSION AND SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: Given the magnitude of the incarcerated population with SUDs and the centrality of defense attorneys in the treatment process, especially its initiation, the divergence in attitudes between private and public criminal defense attorneys is concerning. There is a clear need for increased collaboration between physicians and attorneys, with an aim of increasing the number of individuals with SUDs receiving proper treatment (Am J Addict 2018;XX:1-7).

A pragmatist philosophy of psychological science and its implications for replication.

A pragmatist philosophy of psychological science offers to the direct replication debate concrete recommendations and novel benefits that are not discussed in Zwaan et al. This philosophy guides our work as field experimentalists interested in behavioral measurement. Furthermore, all psychologists can relate to its ultimate aim set out by William James: to study mental processes that provide explanations for why people behave as they do in the world.

Beyond students: how teacher psychology shapes educational inequality.

Although researchers investigating psychological contributors to educational inequality have traditionally focused on students, a growing literature highlights the importance of teachers' psychology in shaping disparities in students' educational achievement and attainment. In this review, we discuss recent advances linking teachers' attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs to inequality in students' outcomes. First, we identify specific aspects of teacher psychology that contribute to educational disparities, including teachers' biases, perceptions and expectations of students, beliefs about the nature of ability, and beliefs about group differences. Second, we synthesize mechanisms underlying the effects of teacher psychology on educational inequality, including teachers' disparate assessment of students' work and abilities, interpersonal interaction with students, and psychological impact on students. Implications for future research and interventions are discussed.

Is your own team against you? Implicit bias and interpersonal regard in criminal defense.

Racial disparities in conviction and incarceration have been lamentable features of legal systems for a long time. Research has addressed the attitudes and decisions of police, prosecutors, jurors, and judges in contributing to these disparities, but very little attention has been paid to defendants' own team members-i.e., criminal defense attorneys. Researchers have specifically identified this as a "scholarly gap". To address this, we conducted an empirical study of criminal defense attorneys practicing in forty-three U.S. states (N = 327). The attorneys completed both an implicit measure designed to capture racial bias (a race Implicit Association Test) and an explicit measure designed to capture interpersonal regard for clients. The results provided support for longstanding, but previously speculative, assertions of bias in criminal defense.

Racial and political resistance: an examination of the sociopolitical action of racially marginalized youth.

This paper reviews recent literature on racially marginalized youth's sociopolitical action in the United States by highlighting three trends regarding the nature of, the factors shaping, and the implications of youth action. First, we trace the nature of racially marginalized youth's individual/interpersonal action, collective action, and digital action. Then, we describe the sociopolitical, sociocultural, and contextual domains that shape their sociopolitical action. Importantly, we examine the significant implications for the mental health of youth, particularly as these actions have both positive and negative results. Finally, we highlight recent advances in the measurement of racially marginalized youth's sociopolitical action while imploring the field for more holistic and intersectional approaches to both measurement and theory.