Policy as normative influence? On the relationship between parental leave policy and social norms in gender division of childcare across 48 countries.

In the present work, we addressed the relationship between parental leave policies and social norms. Using a pre-registered, cross-national approach, we examined the relationship between parental leave policies and the perception of social norms for the gender division of childcare. In this study, 19,259 students (11,924 women) from 48 countries indicated the degree to which they believe childcare is (descriptive norm) and should be (prescriptive norm) equally divided among mothers and fathers. Policies were primarily operationalized as the existence of parental leave options in the respective country. The descriptive and prescriptive norms of equal division of childcare were stronger when parental leave was available in a country - also when controlling for potential confounding variables. Moreover, analyses of time since policy change suggested that policy change may initially affect prescriptive norms and then descriptive norms at a later point. However, due to the cross-sectional nature of the data, drawing causal inferences is difficult.

Perceptions of the appropriate response to norm violation in 57 societies.

Norm enforcement may be important for resolving conflicts and promoting cooperation. However, little is known about how preferred responses to norm violations vary across cultures and across domains. In a preregistered study of 57 countries (using convenience samples of 22,863 students and non-students), we measured perceptions of the appropriateness of various responses to a violation of a cooperative norm and to atypical social behaviors. Our findings highlight both cultural universals and cultural variation. We find a universal negative relation between appropriateness ratings of norm violations and appropriateness ratings of responses in the form of confrontation, social ostracism and gossip. Moreover, we find the country variation in the appropriateness of sanctions to be consistent across different norm violations but not across different sanctions. Specifically, in those countries where use of physical confrontation and social ostracism is rated as less appropriate, gossip is rated as more appropriate.

An age apart: the effects of intergenerational contact and stereotype threat on performance and intergroup bias.

An experimental study examined the effect of intergenerational contact and stereotype threat on older people's cognitive performance, anxiety, intergroup bias, and identification. Participants completed a series of cognitive tasks under high or low stereotype threat (through comparison with younger people). In line with stereotype threat theory, threat resulted in worse performance. However, this did not occur if prior intergenerational contact had been more positive. This moderating effect of contact was mediated by test-related anxiety. In line with intergroup contact theory, more positive contact was associated with reduced prejudice and reduced ingroup identification. However this occurred in the high threat, but not low threat, condition. The findings suggest that positive intergenerational contact can reduce vulnerability to stereotype threat among older people.

Race and willingness to cooperate with the police: The roles of quality of contact, attitudes towards the behaviour and subjective norms.

Black individuals are usually reluctant to co-operate with the police (Smith, 1983a). We propose that a history of unpleasant interactions with the police generates hostile attitudes towards the institution (Jefferson & Walker, 1993). Using a sample of 56 black and 64 white participants, we examined whether quality of contact predicts black people's attitudes and subjective norms concerning co-operating with the police. Our findings indicated that the Contact Hypothesis (Pettigrew, 1998) and Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, 1991) jointly provide some insight into the disinclination of black individuals to co-operate with the police. We found that the relationship between race and attitudes or subjective norms concerning co-operation with police investigations was mediated by quality of previous contact with the police. In turn, the relationship between quality of contact and willingness to co-operate with police investigations was mediated by both attitudes and subjective norms. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Verification of ingroup identity as a longitudinal mediator between intergroup contact and outgroup evaluation.

Almost six decades of research have consistently demonstrated that intergroup contact is one of the most powerful ways of improving intergroup attitudes. At least two important limitations, however, still compel researchers to continue work in this area: the issue of long-term effects of contact, and the processes underlying such effects. This report makes a theoretical and empirical contribution with regard to these two aspects introducing a new mediator of the effects of contact: verification of qualities of typical ingroup members that may or may not characterize individual group members (e.g. verification of ingroup identities). One hundred and forty-two high school students participated in a two-wave longitudinal study with 12 weeks' lag in Spain. Cross-sectional and longitudinal mediational analyses using multiple imputation data showed that intergroup contact improves general outgroup evaluation through increasing verification of ingroup identities. This research demonstrates the relevance of considering verification of ingroup identity as a mediator for the positive effects of intergroup contact.

#Ladies y #gentlemen del DF: Dominancia social y actitudes hacia la discriminación / #Ladies & #Gentlemen of Mexico City: Social Dominance and Discriminatory Attitudes

La teoría de la dominancia social (SDO) explica el nivel en que las personas aceptan o rechazan las ideologías que le imprimen legitimidad a las jerarquías y la discriminación o a la igualdad y justicia. Este estudio aplica SDO en México y investiga si la dominancia social en abstracto tiene conexión con la aprobación de la discriminación en concreto (usando los casos de Lady de Profeco, Ladies de Polanco y Gentleman de las Lomas). Predecimos (1) que los hombres, los participantes de mayor edad y los que provienen de clases sociales más altas mostrarían niveles más altos de SDO; y (2) que la aprobación de discriminación será determinada por el nivel de SDO (alto > bajo) y por clase social (alta > media > baja). Participantes fueron N=150 miembros del publico en el DF. Llenaron cuestionarios en la calle, midiendo sexo, edad, lugar de residencia, SDO y aprobación de discriminación. Los resultados generalmente aportaron las hipótesis. Hombres tenían puntajes mas altos de SDO que mujeres, pero las clases sociales mas bajas que altas tenían niveles mas altos de SDO. Hubo una correlación positiva entre SDO y aprobación de discriminación. Los resultados se discutieron en términos de diferencias en educación y movilidad social.

Social dominance orientation/theory (SDO) explains the extent to which individuals accept or reject ideologies that legitimize hierarchies and discrimination or equality and social justice. Numerous studies have shown that SDO predicts a wide range of political, ideological, and intergroup phenomena, particularly in relation to negativity towards minorities and outgroups. The aims of the present study were to apply the SDO scale in a Mexican context; examine differences in SDO according to sex, age group, and social class; and investigate whether an orientation towards social dominance would be detectable not only on an abstract level but a concrete level, that of approving inter-class discrimination. We predicted that (1) SDO would be higher in men than women, older than younger participants, and upper rather than lower social classes, (2) that approval of discrimination would be determined by SDO and social class, and (3) that SDO would correlate with approval of discrimination. Participants were N=150 members of the public in Mexico City, with a mean age of 35.3 years (range: 18-74) and from areas of different social classes. Participants completed paper-and-pencil questionnaires on the street. We measured demographics (sex, age, place of residence), a 16-item SDO scale (e.g., "Some people are just more deserving than others") with a Cronbach's alpha of .83, and three instances of discriminatory behavior on the part of upper-class members towards lower-class members, alpha=.90, e.g.: "The behavior of the 'Ladies of Polanco' insulting a police officer is justified". All items were measured on 5-point Likert-type scales, from 1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree. Results were generally in line with the hypotheses. A three-way ANOVA on social dominance showed significant effects of sex and place of residence, but not age group nor significant interactions. Men scored significantly higher than women on social dominance, providing evidence for the "invariance hypothesis". Unexpectedly, lower-class participants showed highest levels of SDO, followed by middle-class and upper-class participants. A two-way ANOVA on approval of discrimination showed significant effects of place of residence and SDO and a significant interaction. Middle-class participants showed significantly higher levels of approval of discrimination than the other two classes. SDO correlated with approval of discrimination. Unexpected effects might be due to differential levels of education among social classes and/or to social mobility. The present study is the first investigation of SDO in Mexico and shows the link between an abstract orientation towards social hierarchies and approval of class-based discrimination in everyday life.

Solidarity.com: is there a link between offline behavior and online donations?

Solidarity websites, such as The Hunger Site, where people can donate food at no financial cost and minimal effort, have become immensely popular and effective since 1999. These new forms of philanthropy are characterized by wide participation and direct assistance and feedback. The present longitudinal, quasi-experimental study aimed to examine whether online solidarity can be predicted by offline contact with, attitudes about, and altruistic behavior tendencies towards a population in need, asylum seekers. Fifty-seven university students completed two surveys, separated by 1 year. Prior to T1, only 9% of respondents had visited solidarity websites, while at T2 47% reported clicking. Multiple regression analysis showed that T2 visits to solidarity websites were (negatively) predicted by T1 quantity of contact, and marginally, by T1 general evaluation of asylum seekers. These long-term, offline-to-online effects are intriguing, although there were no effects of offline contact quality and altruistic behavior tendencies. Future research should further investigate the causal direction between offline and online behavior and the factors that might influence the link between offline and online attitudes and behavior.