MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'associations'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:22:37 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159222&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F08%2F21%2Fsarah-haskins-on-ladyfriend-stereotypes%2F From Current: The best part about being a girl is your girlfriends. They keep you happy when you’re sad and make you laugh when you want to cry, and most importantly, tell you what to buy. Related Situationist posts: Barbie Commercials Across the Decades and the Implications on Female Identity and Objectification The Gendered Situation of Math, Humanities, and Romance Sexism: The Worst Part Is Not Knowing Unlevel Playing Fields: From Baseball Diamonds to Emergency Rooms Susan Fiske on “Inclusive Leadership, Stereotyping and the Brain” Sexual Harassment at Wal-Mart? The Situation of Sexual Harassment Susan Fiske’s New Book Susan Fiske Discusses her Work on Different Types of Prejudices “The Situation of Objectification,” “Women’s Situational Bind,” and “Y... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159222 Sun, 21 Aug 2011 04:01:11 +0100 5159222 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096361&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F08%2F04%2Fpolicy-implications-of-implicit-social-cognition%2F Situationist Contributor Brian Nosek and Rachel Riskind recently posted their paper, “Policy Implications of Implicit Social Cognition” on SSRN.  Here is the abstract. * * * Basic research in implicit social cognition demonstrates that thoughts and feelings outside of conscious awareness or conscious control can influence perception, judgment and action. Implicit measures reveal that people possess implicit attitudes and stereotypes about social groups that are often distinct from their explicitly endorsed beliefs and values. The evidence that behavior can be influenced by implicit social cognition contrasts with social policies that implicitly or explicitly assume that people know and control the causes of their behavior. We consider the present state of evidence for implicit... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096361 Thu, 04 Aug 2011 04:01:10 +0100 5096361 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5069818&cid=t_157903_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FrIaNzGppPTA%2F Three years after making a proposal that would have allowed drugmakers to publish product information in consumer newspapers and magazines, the European Commission is going back to the proverbial drawing board and plans to issue a new proposal this fall, an EC spokesman writes us. The move comes after its initial effort was widely criticized and rejected by the European Parliament. “The European Commission will revise the proposals to clarify and harmonize the rules in what companies can and can’t say to patients,” Peter Arlett, who heads pharmacovigilance and risk management at the European Medicines Agency, tells Bloomberg News. The EMA, he adds, recently received a letter from the EC about its intention to revise its proposal. The original EC effort, which was unveiled in ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5069818 Wed, 27 Jul 2011 18:04:00 +0100 5069818 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050743&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F07%2F19%2Fimplicit-bias-symposium-with-links-to-videos%2F Discussion:  Concrete Solutions and Next Steps. The last panel will bring back all the panelists for a final robust, interdisciplinary, and unscripted conversation about the challenges and opportunities highlighted throughout the day. What can and should be done now? What research agenda will provide the knowledge necessary to lessen the impact of implicit bias within the courtroom and the judiciary?  What forces, besides the scientific merits, might drive the conversation and debate? Moderator: Jerry Kang, UCLA, Law Video: Panel 4: Back to Reality – Rountable Discussion: Concrete Solutions and Next Steps (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050743 Tue, 19 Jul 2011 04:02:27 +0100 5050743 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5028487&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F07%2F12%2Fcolorblind-really%2F From Sister Blog, Law and Mind (by HLS student, Rachel Funk): Aunt Vivian: Gee, when Janice described him she didn’t mention that he was…tall. Not that I have a problem with people who are…tall. Uncle Lester: My cousin used to date a girl who was…tall. Uncle Phil: Heck, the boy go to a predominantly…tall school. Will: Now, am I alone on this or didn’t y’all notice he was white? ~ Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (Episode #2.6, Guess Who’s Coming to Marry) In a short article in the February/March 2009 issue of Scientific American Mind, Siri Carpenter discusses two studies done by psychologists at Tufts and Harvard indicating that people who avoid mentioning race may actually appear more prejudiced. In the experiment, one white participant was paired up... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5028487 Tue, 12 Jul 2011 15:42:25 +0100 5028487 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4984511&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F06%2F28%2Fsusan-fiske-on-inclusive-leadership-stereotyping-and-the-brain%2F Discussion about (In)Equality,” “The Interior Situational Reaction to Inequality,” (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4984511 Wed, 29 Jun 2011 03:18:58 +0100 4984511 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934364&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F06%2F16%2Fthe-gendered-situation-of-math-humanities-and-romance%2F From the Boston Globe: Psychologists have found that being stereotyped can subconsciously alter behavior. For example, subtle stereotypes of women being weaker in math and science can create a self-fulfilling prophecy, undermining women’s math and science aptitude. According to a new study, though, even supposedly innocent aspects of daily life can have a similar effect. Women who were briefly exposed to romantic images or a third-party conversation about a romantic relationship were subsequently less interested in math and science, and more interested in the humanities, than if they had been exposed to content related to intelligence or friendship. Men leaned in the opposite direction — towards math and science, and away from humanities — after being exposed to romantic content. Lik... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934364 Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:27:52 +0100 4934364 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4911587&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F06%2F07%2Fanthony-greenwald-on-the-psychology-of-blink%2F From ResearchChannel: [Situationist friend] Dr. Anthony Greenwald, professor of psychology at the University of Washington, describes his research developing the method (described in Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink) that reveals unconscious thought patterns that most people would rather not possess. Learn about these mental contents, as Dr. Greenwald demonstrates the method and describes how these patterns affect our behavior. From ResearchChannel: In this program from the University of Washington psychology department, MacArthur awardee Dr. Lisa Cooper, professor at John Hopkins University School of Medicine, describes her research on how patient race influences patient-physician communication and physician clinical decision making. She also includes her efforts to design interventions to... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4911587 Tue, 07 Jun 2011 04:01:43 +0100 4911587 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4883686&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F05%2F31%2Fdavid-eagleman-on-the-brain-and-the-law%2F From theRSAorg: Dr David Eagleman considers some questions relating to law and neuroscience, challenging long-held assumptions in criminality and punishment and predicting a radical new future for the legal system. [Eagleman's examples in the first 15 minutes will  strike long-term readers of The Situationist as non-novel.  For others, that portion of the video may be a useful primer to neurolaw.] Related Situationist Posts: Dan Dennett at Harvard Law on “Free Will, Responsibility, and the Brain” “Interview with Professor Joshua Greene,” “Daniel Dennett on the Situation of our Brain,” “Dan Dennett on our Interior Situation,” “Bargh and Baumeister and the Free Will Debate,” “Bargh and Baumeister and the Free Will Debate – Part II,” “The Death of Fre... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4883686 Tue, 31 May 2011 04:01:56 +0100 4883686 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4775440&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F05%2F03%2Fshared-human-experiences%2F Matt Motyl and his co-authors recently posted their excellent article, titled “Subtle Priming of Shared Human Experiences Eliminates Threat-Induced Negativity Toward Arabs, Immigrants, and Peace-Making” on SSRN (forthcoming  (April 20, 2011). Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. * * * Many studies demonstrate that mortality salience can increase negativity toward out-groups but few have examined variables that mitigate this effect. The present research examined whether subtly priming people to think of human experiences shared by people from diverse cultures increases perceived similarity of members of different groups, which then reduces MS-induced negativity toward out-groups. In Study 1, exposure to pictures of people from diverse cultures engaged in common human act... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4775440 Tue, 03 May 2011 04:01:18 +0100 4775440 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4771216&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F05%2F01%2Fgingerism%2F B. Greaney wrote this post for the Law & Mind Blog Well brunettes are fine man And blondes are fun But when it comes to getting a dirty job done I’ll take a red headed woman ~ Bruce Springsteen – Red Headed Woman While my hair is now shade of auburn, I was admittedly a redhead for most of my adolescent life. With that privilege came the onslaught of nicknames: ginger, carrot top, big red, and more recently, Weasley. Then of course there was that oh-so-famous South Park episode that taught the American public that redheads simply have no souls. Pair these nicknames with expressions like “better dead than red on the head” and the Facebook event “Kick a Red Head Day,” and as you can imagine, there is plenty of material with which to tease a redhead. To be honest, I, l... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4771216 Sun, 01 May 2011 22:16:50 +0100 4771216 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4768046&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F04%2F29%2Fbest-of-our-blogs-april-29-2011%2F You know what amazes me? No matter how far we come in life, there is always a point where we suddenly forget. Maybe it’s the relative who negated your recent accomplishment or the friend who brushed off your latest idea. It could be the classmate that surpassed you in school or the colleague who got one step ahead of you in your career. Suddenly, everything you ever did is just not good enough. How do you get back to that place of peace and gratitude? How do you return to the moment where you remember all of the trials and tribulations and trauma you have already overcame in the past? You get back to yourself. Whether it’s by yoga, meditation or walking, these posts will help inspire you to do just that. Yoga and Meditation: The Benefits (ADHD in Focus) – Are you mystifi... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4768046 Fri, 29 Apr 2011 11:07:25 +0100 4768046 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4742472&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F04%2F22%2Funconscious-racial-attitudes%2F This article is the introduction to a law review symposium on unconscious racism and social science and statistical evidence of bias as bases for race discrimination claims, focusing concretely on discrimination in employment and housing. The article starts with an example of unconscious racism in the bail-setting court in Philadelphia. Two drunk-driving cases about a week apart were identical in all respects except the races of the defendants, but the judge, who was not an overt or self-perceived racist, showed empathy to the white drunk driver while his reaction to the black one was dominated by fear. Unconscious racism specifically, and the biases and motivations of alleged discriminators in general, were not of much interest in civil rights law or litigation until the Supreme Court beg... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4742472 Fri, 22 Apr 2011 04:01:57 +0100 4742472 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4696697&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F04%2F11%2Fstereotype-threat%2F From Wikipedia: A stereotype threat is the experience of anxiety or concern in a situation where a person has the potential to confirm a negative stereotype about their social group. First developed by social psychologist Claude Steele and his colleagues, stereotype threat has been shown to reduce the performance of individuals who belong to negatively stereotyped groups. For example, stereotype threat can lower the intellectual performance of African-Americans taking the SAT, due to thestereotype that African-Americans are less intelligent than other groups.Since its introduction into the scientific literature in 1999, stereotype threat has become one of the most widely studied topics in the field of social psychology. Stereotype threat is often discussed as a potential contributing... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4696697 Mon, 11 Apr 2011 04:01:36 +0100 4696697 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4696698&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F04%2F10%2Fthe-disorderly-situation-of-stereotyping%2F From Los Angeles Times: Picture yourself in a well-kept room — pictures neatly hung on walls, books organized on a shelf, floors clear of junk. Now sit yourself in a room with crooked pictures, scattered books and dirty laundry on the floor. Feeling any different? In the second room, you might be more apt to keep your distance from a person of another race, believe that Muslims are aggressive or think that gay people are creative, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Science. The idea, said researchers from Tilburg University in the Netherlands, is that people in messy environments tend to compensate for that disorder by categorizing people in their minds according to well-known stereotypes. Testing the relationship between disorder and discrimination in real-life situa... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4696698 Sun, 10 Apr 2011 04:01:36 +0100 4696698 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4653385&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F30%2Fthe-situational-effects-of-iqbal%2F This article examines the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. 1937 (2009) from a social-psychological perspective, and empirically studies Iqbal’s disparate effect on claims of race discrimination. In Twombly and then Iqbal, the Court recast Rule 8 into a plausibility standard. Under Iqbal, federal judges must evaluate whether each complaint contains sufficient factual matter “to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” When doing so, Iqbal requires judges to draw on their “judicial experience and common sense.” Courts apply Iqbal at the pleading stage, before evidence has been presented, when judging the plausibility of all claims, including claims of discrimination by members of stereotyped groups. Decades of social-psychological researc... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4653385 Wed, 30 Mar 2011 04:01:14 +0100 4653385 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4631522&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F25%2Fpsychology-of-inequality%2F Elaine McCardle wrote a terrific review of last month’s Fifth Annual PLMS Conference.  Her article is the spotlight piece on the Harvard Law School website and includes several excellent videos, photos, and links.  Here’s the story. * * * While equality is a fundamental principle of American law and the bedrock of the national psyche, inequality has actually increased in the past four decades in the distribution of wealth, power, opportunity, even health. Yet the topic of inequality has received relatively little attention from legal theorists, and, for the most part, it is ignored in the basic law school curriculum. A conference last month at HLS, “The Psychology of Inequality,” presented by the Project on Law & Mind Sciences (PLMS), stepped into that vacuum, bringi... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4631522 Fri, 25 Mar 2011 04:01:28 +0100 4631522 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4615202&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F21%2F25-mil%25c2%25adlion-years-of-us-vs-them%2F From World News: Like peo­ple, some of our mon­key cousins tend to take an “us ver­sus them” view of the world, a study has found. This sug­gests that the ten­den­cy for hu­man groups to clash may stem from a dis­tant ev­o­lu­tion­ary past, sci­en­tists say. Yale Un­ivers­ity re­search­ers led by psy­chol­o­gist Lau­rie San­tos found in a se­ries of ex­pe­ri­ments that mon­keys treat mon­keys from out­side their groups with the same sus­pi­cion and dis­like as their hu­man cousins tend to treat out­siders. The find­ings are re­ported in the March is­sue of the Jour­nal of Per­son­al­ity and So­cial Psy­chol­o­gy. “One of the more trou­bling as­pects of hu­man na­ture is that we eval­u­ate peo­ple dif­fer­ently de­pend­ing on wh... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4615202 Mon, 21 Mar 2011 04:01:44 +0100 4615202 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4611003&cid=t_157903_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FWXsonFvU_bM%2F Hired someone new and exciting? Promoted a rising star? Finally solved that hard-to-fill spot? Share the news with us and we’ll share with it others. That’s right. Send us your announcements and we’ll find a home for them. Don’t be shy. Everyone wants to know who is coming and going, especially with all the layoffs. Despite the downsizing, there is movement. Here are some of the latest changes. Recognize anyone? And here is our regular feature. Send us a photo and we will spotlight a different person each week. This time around, we note that MTI Information Technologies, which provides marketing services to healthcare providers, hired Brian Tvenstrup as sr vp of business analytics. Previously, he headed analytics for First Equity Card, a commercial lender to small businesses, and w... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4611003 Fri, 18 Mar 2011 12:03:11 +0100 4611003 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4605882&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F18%2Fbelonging%2F From Eureka Alert: Along with the excitement and anticipation that come with heading off to college, freshmen often find questions of belonging lurking in the background: Am I going to make friends? Are people going to respect me? Will I fit in? Those concerns are trickier for black students and others who are often stereotyped or outnumbered on college campuses. They have good reason to wonder whether they will belong – worries that can result in lower grades and a sense of alienation. But when black freshmen participated in an hour-long exercise designed by Stanford psychologists to show that everyone – no matter what their race or ethnicity – has a tough time adjusting to college right away, their grades went up and the minority achievement gap shrank by 52 percent. And years late... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4605882 Fri, 18 Mar 2011 05:34:54 +0100 4605882 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4552075&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F06%2Fthe-situation-of-natural-talent%2F From Harvard Gazette: Fields such as music, math, and chess have had a predilection for a long time to seek out the youngest and most accomplished among them. According to Chia-Jung Tsay, this is because “we want to seek something that’s inherent to us. We associate accomplishment at a young age with something that comes effortlessly.” But does this desire to seek out “natural” talent eventually skew our view of what talent is? * * * Tsay and her adviser, [Situationist Contributor] Mahzarin Banaji, the Richard Clarke Cabot Professor of Social Ethics, began looking at different domains, considering which fields more strongly emphasize natural talent over hard work and experience. They found that music was the most often cited for natural talent, and business was most cited for ha... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4552075 Sun, 06 Mar 2011 04:01:37 +0100 4552075 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4527779&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F02%2F27%2Fsalms-liveblogs-plms-conference%2F Read James Wang’s excellent notes from yesterday’s terrific conference here. (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4527779 Sun, 27 Feb 2011 23:40:44 +0100 4527779 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4495254&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F02%2F19%2Fresponding-to-subtle-racial-harassment%2F This article traces the development of racial harassment jurisprudence, explaining the development of the traditional model, which does not recognize subtle bias. It concludes with an analysis of an alternative jurisprudential model that “sees” subtle racism. * * * Download the article for free here. Related Situationist posts: “What Are the Legal Implications of Implicit Biases?,” “Confronting the Backlash against Implicit Bias,” and “The Situation of Situation in Employment Discrimination Law – Abstract.” (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4495254 Sat, 19 Feb 2011 04:01:27 +0100 4495254 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4455307&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F02%2F09%2Fnegotiating-the-situation%2F Lu-in Wang,  has posted an intriguing situationist paper, titled “Negotiating the Situation: The Reasonable Person in Context ” (forthcoming Lewis & Clark Law Review, Vol. 14, p. 1285, 2010) on SSRN.  Here’s the abstract. * * * This Essay argues that our understanding of the reasonable person in economic transactions should take into account an individual’s race, gender, or other group-based identity characteristics – not necessarily because persons differ on account of those characteristics, but because of how those characteristics influence the situations a person must negotiate. That is, individuals’ social identities constitute features not just of themselves, but also of the situations they inhabit. In economic transactions that involve social interac... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4455307 Wed, 09 Feb 2011 04:12:00 +0100 4455307 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4441991&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F02%2F06%2Fpatrick-shin-at-harvard-law-school%2F On Tuesday, the HLS Student Association for Law and Mind Sciences (SALMS) is hosting a talk by Suffolk Law professor Patrick Shin entitled “Unconscious Bias and the Legal Concept of Discrimination.” Professor Shin is a professor of law at Suffolk University Law School. He conducts research into the meaning and value of diversity in antidiscrimination law. He has applied psychology to real-world problems of employment discrimination law. Professor Shin will be speaking in Austin East from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Free burritos will be provided! For more information, e-mail salms@law.harvard.edu. (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4441991 Sun, 06 Feb 2011 19:12:52 +0100 4441991 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4304932&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F01%2F03%2Fthe-gendered-situation-of-recommendation-letters%2F From Rice University: A recommendation letter could be the chute in a woman’s career ladder, according to ongoing research at Rice University. The comprehensive study shows that qualities mentioned in recommendation letters for women differ sharply from those for men, and those differences may be costing women jobs and promotions in academia and medicine. Funded by the National Science Foundation, Rice University professors Michelle Hebl and Randi Martin and graduate student Juan Madera, now an assistant professor at the University of Houston, reviewed 624 letters of recommendation for 194 applicants for eight junior faculty positions at a U.S. university. They found that letter writers conformed to traditional gender schemas when describing candidates. Female candidates were descri... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4304932 Mon, 03 Jan 2011 04:01:35 +0100 4304932 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4275394&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F12%2F21%2Fblood-race%2F From the Harvard Gazette: The centuries-old “one-drop rule” assigning minority status to mixed-race individuals appears to live on in our modern-day perception and categorization of people like Barack Obama, Tiger Woods, and Halle Berry. So say Harvard University psychologists, who’ve found that we still tend to see biracials not as equal members of both parent groups, but as belonging more to their minority parent group. The research appears in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. “Many commentators have argued that the election of Barack Obama, and the increasing number of mixed-race people more broadly, will lead to a fundamental change in American race relations,” says lead author Arnold K. Ho, a Ph.D. student in psychology at Harvard. “Our work challenges the ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4275394 Tue, 21 Dec 2010 13:36:58 +0100 4275394 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4249093&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F12%2F11%2Fpushback-from-the-left%2F Situationist Contributor Jerry Kang recently posted his thoughtful essay, “Implicit Bias and the Pushback from the Left” (St. Louis University Law Journal, Vol. 54, p. 1139, 2010) on SSRN.  Here’s the abstrct. * * * Over the past three decades, the mind sciences have provided remarkable insights about how our brains process social categories. For example, scientists have discovered that implicit biases – in the form of stereotypes and attitudes that we are unaware of, do not consciously intend, and might reject upon conscious self-reflection – exist and have wide-ranging behavioral consequences. Such findings destabilize our self-serving self-conceptions as bias-free. Not surprisingly, there has been backlash from the political Right. This Article examines so... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4249093 Sat, 11 Dec 2010 04:01:35 +0100 4249093 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4207342&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F11%2F28%2Fsam-sommers-on-empirical-perspectives-on-jury-diversity%2F Tufts Psychology Professor Sam Sommers speaks at Harvard Law School about his research on the interaction between the legal system and the psychology of race, stereotyping, and diversity. For a sample of related Situationist posts, see “Sam Sommers at Harvard Law School” or click here. (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4207342 Sun, 28 Nov 2010 16:06:50 +0100 4207342 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4142821&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F11%2F08%2Fnalini-ambady-at-harvard-law-school%2F On Tuesday the HLS Student Association for Law and Mind Sciences (SALMS) is hosting a talk by Tufts psychology professor Nalini Ambady entitled “Nonverbal Behavior: Accuracy and Contagion.” Professor Ambady is a Neubauer Faculty Fellow and professor at Tufts University.  Her research focuses on interpersonal perception and communication, particularly in relation to the accuracy of judgments, the influence of personal and social identities on cognition and performance, and the mechanisms of nonverbal and cross-cultural communication.  She has received accolades for her research into the ways that people can perceive others’ sexual identity and political affiliation from photos of their faces. Professor Ambady will be speaking in Pound 107 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Fre... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4142821 Mon, 08 Nov 2010 04:01:16 +0100 4142821 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4139295&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F11%2F05%2Fsam-sommers-at-harvard-law-school%2F Today the HLS Student Association for Law and Mind Sciences (SALMS) is hosting a talk by Tufts psychology professor Sam Sommers entitled “Empirical Perspectives on Jury Diversity.” Professor Sommers has extensively studied the interaction between the legal system and the psychology of race, stereotyping, and diversity and has served as an expert witness on racial bias and eyewitness testimony in a number of trials. Professor Sommers will be speaking in Hauser 102. Free bagels will be provided!  For more information, e-mail salms@law.harvard.edu. You can review a list of Situationist posts discussing Professor Sommers’s work by clicking here. (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4139295 Fri, 05 Nov 2010 04:01:16 +0100 4139295 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4133852&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F11%2F04%2Fsusan-fiske-discusses-her-work-on-different-types-of-prejudices%2F Situationist Contributor Susan Fiske discusses her research on stereotypes and prejudice and the systematic principles that influence how groups are treated in society. * * * * * * For a sample of related Situationist posts, see “The Situation of Objectification,” “Women’s Situational Bind,” “Hey Dove! Talk to YOUR parent!,” and “You Shouldn’t Stereotype Stereotypes.” (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4133852 Thu, 04 Nov 2010 04:01:18 +0100 4133852 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4125070&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F11%2F02%2Fthe-psychology-of-guns-and-race%2F I have just posted my forthcoming article, Quick on the Draw: Implicit Bias and the Second Amendment, on SSRN.  The abstract appears below: African Americans face a significant and menacing threat, but it is not the one that has preoccupied the press, pundits, and policy makers in the wake of several bigoted murders and a resurgent white supremacist movement. While hate crimes and hate groups demand continued vigilance, if we are truly to protect our minority citizens, we must shift our most urgent attention from neo-Nazis stockpiling weapons to the seemingly benign gun owners among us—our friends, family, and neighbors—who show no animus toward African Americans and who profess genuine commitments to equality. Our commonsense narratives about racism and guns—centered on a conceptio... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4125070 Tue, 02 Nov 2010 04:01:19 +0100 4125070 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4023134&cid=t_157903_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FkGRuStkhCj0%2F The European Parliament has rejected a controversial proposal by the European Commission that would have allowed drugmakers to publish product info in consumer newspapers and magazines. The effort was designed to provide more reliable medical advice at a time when the Internet allows widespread dissemination of questionable info, since drugmakers are prevented from circulating data. However, the proposal, which was first introduced nearly two years ago, was criticized for weakening existing EU restrictions on contacts between drugmakers and patients, including a strict ban on US-style direct-to-consumer advertising. Some critics argued the proposal, which was branded ‘advertising in disguise,’ would encourage the inappropriate use of medicines. A ban on DTC advertising on broad... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4023134 Fri, 01 Oct 2010 13:12:03 +0100 4023134 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3868797&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F08%2F16%2Fthe-implicit-situation-of-love%2F Earlier this month, Anthony Greenwald, one of the pioneers in IAT research, posted on Scientific American.  Here is how his piece, titled “I Love Him, I Love Him Not” began. * * * Over a decade ago, I devised a test for detecting attitudes and biases operating below the level of a person’s awareness. Known as the Implicit Association Test, or IAT, it is presently the most widely used of the measures of implicit attitudes that have been developed by social psychologists over the past 25 years. It has been self-administered online by millions, many of whom have been surprised—sometimes unpleasantly—by evidence of their own unconscious attitudes and stereotypes regarding race, age, gender, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. Now it is my turn to be surprised—pleas... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3868797 Mon, 16 Aug 2010 04:01:55 +0100 3868797 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3790765&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F07%2F27%2Fthe-shirley-sherrod-situation-and-the-situation-of-race%2F Situationist friend Charles Ogletree and Johanna Wald had a terrific editorial this Sunday, titled “After Shirley Sherrod, We all Need To Slow Down and Listen,” in which, among other things, they discuss the relevance of research by Situationist Contributors Mahzarin Banaji and Jerry Kang.  Here are some excerpts. * * * President Obama has called and chatted with Shirley Sherrod. Tom Vilsack and Ben Jealous have issued heartfelt apologies. There is talk of a “Chardonnay summit” in the Rose Garden. The subtext to all this? Let’s wrap up this incident quickly so we can all go on our vacations guilt-free, secure in the knowledge that our “post-racial society” remains intact. Once again, in the midst of the cacophony, calls abound for a national &#82... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3790765 Tue, 27 Jul 2010 04:01:07 +0100 3790765 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3726651&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F07%2F06%2Fthe-situation-of-common-sense%2F On April 15, I had the pleasure of participating in a Collaborative training symposium on Implicit Bias and Eyewitness Identification, conducted for Connecticut prosecutors and public defenders.  I spoke on the topic of implicit bias, a core research interest.  It was an interesting conversation, and the engagement was intelligent, thoughtful, and public minded. Afterwards, Chris Nolan, a journalist for the Connecticut Law Tribune, interviewed me over the phone for a long while, and I tried to give him more information about the relevant science and policy implications.  He wrote up an article, which spawned a strident response by Karen Lee Torre. She was pretty darn angry.  She called me a “known left-winger,” “liberal political operative,” “an active Ob... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3726651 Tue, 06 Jul 2010 04:01:56 +0100 3726651 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3702997&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F06%2F28%2Fthe-situation-of-presidential-death-threats%2F Gregory Scott Parks, and Danielle Heard recently posted their fascinating paper, titled “‘Assassinate the Nigger Ape’: Obama, Implicit Imagery, and the Dire Consequences of Racist Jokes,” on SSRN.  Here is the abstract. * * * In 1994, Congress passed legislation stating that Presidents elected to office after January 1, 1997, would no longer receive lifetime Secret Service protection. Such legislation was unremarkable until the first Black President – Barack Obama – was elected. From the outset of his campaign until today, and likely beyond, President Obama has received unprecedented death threats. These threats, we argue, are at least in part tied to critics and commentators’ use of symbols, pictures, and words to characterize the Obama as a primate... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3702997 Mon, 28 Jun 2010 04:01:39 +0100 3702997 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3701722&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F06%2F26%2Fsarah-jones-on-stereotypes-and-stereotyping%2F We highly recommend a 13-minute podcast in which Sarah Jones (a Tony Award winning playwright and performer) reflects on morals, racial stereotyping, and the perils of West Coast jaywalking.  You can listen to the podcast (recorded  live at The Moth Main Stage) here. * * * For a sample of related Situationist posts, see “Why Race May Influence Us Even When We “Know” It Doesn’t,” “Hoyas, Hos, & Gangstas,” “The ‘Turban Effect’,” “Journalists as Social Psychologists & Social Psychologists as Entertainers,” “The Situation of Racial Profiling,” “The Situation of Prejudice: Us vs. Them? or Them Is Us?,” “Do We Miss Racial Stereotypes Today that Will Be Evident Tomorrow?,” “Perceptions of Racial Divide,” and “The Psychology of... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3701722 Sun, 27 Jun 2010 01:53:12 +0100 3701722 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3699705&cid=t_157903_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FRuhuV7m-ktM%2F In a move to strengthen standards and burnish images, the trade group for Europe’s drugmakers has released a new ‘leadership statement on ethical practices‘ that calls for limiting samples, tougher guidelines for sales reps, new standards for industry sponsorship of medical meetings so that science is not “overshadowed,” greater disclosure of relationships with patient advocacy organizations and create ethics councils for oversight. High on the list is sampling. The members of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations agreed to limit the practice by creating a “four by two” plan - four packets per doctor and for no longer than two years after the launch of a new drug. Unlike in the US, where samples are often doled out t... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3699705 Fri, 25 Jun 2010 12:33:03 +0100 3699705 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3672036&cid=t_157903_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FXG8ViSrcrXA%2F Rise and shine. Another day is on the way. Hello, everyone, hope all is well as you gear up for those meetings and deadlines. We can relate. To cope, we are brewing the mandatory cup of stimulation. Feel free to indulge yourself, or grab a water bottle if you prefer. Meanwhile, here are a few items to help you get started. Have a good one and stay in touch… Pay For Delays Deals Nearing A Turning Point? (Bloomberg News) FDA To Decide On Orexigen Obesity Pill In January (Reuters) Merck To Cut 800 Jobs In France (La Tribune) Merck KGgA Resumes Vaccine Trial For Lung Cancer (Reuters) UK’s NICE Refuses To Cover Roche’s Tarceva (PharmaTimes) Medicare To Review Coverage Of Anemia Drugs (Reuters) AstraZeneca May Fight Canadian Court Ruling On Nexium Generic (Bloomberg) Industry G... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3672036 Thu, 17 Jun 2010 11:55:27 +0100 3672036 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3629708&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F06%2F04%2Fthe-situational-influence-of-red-ink%2F Last week, NPR’s All Things Considered included a story by Guy Raz about California psychology professor Abraham Rutchick‘s study of how people use red and blue pens to grade papers. Rutchick tells host Raz that the red graders were way tougher than those who used blue pens.  Here are some excerpts from the interview (which you can listen at this link). * * * GUY RAZ, host: Tell me how you went about studying this theory. Prof. RUTCHICK: The basic idea is that throughout our lives we get papers handed back to us from teachers with a bunch of corrections on them, and typically they’re in red ink. * * * Prof. RUTCHICK: That happens enough times over the course of our lives that the idea of red ink and red pens and error is in correction, you know, gets sort of lodged in ou... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3629708 Fri, 04 Jun 2010 15:18:40 +0100 3629708 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3621772&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F06%2F02%2Fracial-bias-clouds-ability-to-feel-others-pain%2F From EurekAlert!: When people witness or imagine the pain of another person, their nervous system responds in essentially the same way it would if they were feeling that pain themselves. Now, researchers reporting online on May 27th in Current Biology, . . . have new evidence to show that that kind of empathy is diminished when people (black or white) who hold racial biases see that pain is being inflicted on those of another race. The good news is that people continue to respond with empathy when pain is inflicted on people who don’t fit into any preconceived racial category—in this case, those who appear to have violet-colored skin. “This is quite important because it suggests that humans tend to empathize by default unless prejudice is at play,” said Salvatore Maria ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3621772 Wed, 02 Jun 2010 04:01:48 +0100 3621772 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3538181&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F05%2F06%2Fthe-racialized-situation-of-vandalism-and-crime%2F Here is another segment from John Quinones excellent ABC 20/20 series titled “What Would You Do?” — a series that, in essence, conducts situationist experiments through hidden-camera scenarios (in consultation with renowned social psychologist John Dovidio). * * * * * * * * * To review a sample of related Situationist posts, see “Journalists as Social Psychologists & Social Psychologists as Entertainers,” “The Situation of Bystanders,” “The Situation of Racial Profiling,” “The Situation of Black and White,” “He’s a Banana-Eating Monkey, but I’m Not a Racist,” “The Legal Situation of the Underclass,” “Why Race May Influence Us Even When We “Know” It Doesn’t,” “Jennifer Eberhardt’s “Pol... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3538181 Thu, 06 May 2010 04:14:33 +0100 3538181 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3533923&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F05%2F05%2Fexamining-the-gendered-situation-of-harvard-business-school%2F Julia Brau, Paayal Desai, Alexandra Germain, Akmaral Omarova, Jung Paik,  and Julie Sandler are all students at Harvard Business School (HBS) who last week published a thoughtful article in their student newspaper The Harbus.  With potential lessons and relevance for many institutions, the piece discusses recent efforts  to understand and address sources of gender discrepancies in academic performance at HBS.  Here are some excerpts. * * * Are men and women equal at HBS? It’s a question that has been front of mind at HBS in recent weeks. . . . One of these many efforts is a field study that focuses on analyzing and addressing the current differences between the male and female academic experience at HBS. As The Harbus published in a Fall article, “WSA Academic Initiative Su... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3533923 Wed, 05 May 2010 04:01:32 +0100 3533923 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3522686&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F05%2F01%2Femily-pronin-reviews-whistling-vivaldi%2F One of the great social psychologists of our time, Claude Steele, was recently on NPR discussing his new book Whistling Vivaldi and Other Clues to How Stereotypes Affect Us. The book is a moving personal account and a compelling scientific discussion of how stereotypes shape the thoughts, feelings, and actions of those whom they target. Steele is the originator of “stereotype threat,” an idea that has spawned countless experiments around the world and profoundly impacted the way that we think about the racial achievement gap in American schooling. Stereotype threat is a situationist concept if ever there was one. The idea goes like this:  In certain situations, all of us are subject to negative stereotypes because of identities we have (as a professor, we might be stereotyped as absen... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3522686 Sat, 01 May 2010 04:01:02 +0100 3522686 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3511604&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F04%2F28%2Fliability-for-unconscious-discrimination%2F Patrick Shin recently posted his excellent article, titled “Liability for Unconscious Discrimination? A Thought Experiment in the Theory of Employment Discrimination Law” (forthcoming Hastings Law Journal) on SSRN.  Here’s the abstract. * * * A steadily mounting body of social science research suggests that ascertaining a person’s conscious motives for an action may not always provide a complete explanation of why he did it. The phenomenon of unconscious bias presents a worrisome impediment to the achievement of fair equality in the workplace. There have been numerous deeply insightful articles discussing various aspects of this problem and canvassing its implications for antidiscrimination law. My purpose in this paper is to focus directly on what might be called a mo... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3511604 Wed, 28 Apr 2010 04:01:33 +0100 3511604 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3475889&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F04%2F16%2Fsome-situational-signals-of-a-suicidal-disposition%2F From Physorg: Following the suicide of a relative or close friend, surviving family members and friends are left with a number of painful questions: “What made them do it?,” “Why didn’t they get help?”  The most troublesome question is often, “Is there anything I could have done to prevent this?” People who are contemplating suicide tend to conceal their behavior, or deny they are having suicidal thoughts, so it can be difficult to identify warning signs. Even experienced clinicians sometimes do not catch any warning signs and suicide experts have been searching for a clear behavioral marker of suicide risk. Psychological scientist Matthew Nock of Harvard University, along with colleagues from Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3475889 Fri, 16 Apr 2010 04:01:40 +0100 3475889 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3463657&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F04%2F13%2Fsam-gosling-snoop-the-secret-language-of-stuff%2F From ForaTV: For the last 10 years psychologist Gosling has been studying how people project (and protect) their inner selves. By exploring our private worlds (desks, bedrooms, even our clothes and cars), he shows not only how we showcase our personalities in unexpected ways, but also how we create personality in the first place, communicate it others and interpret the world around us. Does what’s on your desk reveal what’s on your mind? Do those pictures on your walls tell true tales about your character? Is your favorite outfit about to give you away? * * * * * * For a sample of related Situationist posts, see “The Situational Power of Appearance and Posture,” “Seeing Your Interior Situation through your Exterior Situation,” “What Our Exterior Sit... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3463657 Tue, 13 Apr 2010 04:23:04 +0100 3463657 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3411151&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F03%2F27%2Fdan-wegner-on-psychological-studies-of-the-guilty-mind%2F From the Student Association for Law and Mind Sciences (SALMS) and the Project on Law and Mind Sciences (PLMS) at Harvard Law School, here is an remarkable presentation, titled “Psychological Studies of the Guilty Mind,” by Dan Wegner, one of the most thoughtful and influential social psychologists in the business. * * * * * * To review a collection of Situationist posts discussing Dan Wegner’s research, click here. (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3411151 Sat, 27 Mar 2010 04:01:54 +0100 3411151 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3378561&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F03%2F18%2Fhanson-kysar-to-deliver-the-2010-monsanto-lecture%2F Situationist Contributor Jon Hanson and Yale Law Professor Doug Kysar are co-delivering the 2010 Monsanto Lecture on Tort Law and Jurisprudence tomorrow at Valparaiso University School of Law.  Their lecture is titled “Abnormally Dangerous: Inequality Dissonance and the Making of Tort Law.”  Here’s the abstract. * * * At the conceptual heart of tort law rests a choice between negligence and strict liability as the default standard of care for unintentional wrongs. The prevailing American view holds that strict liability should be reserved for rare cases in which an activity poses significant hazards even after a defendant has taken all reasonable care. The types of explanations for that preference have shifted over time from a classical liberal rationale to an economic... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3378561 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:01:06 +0100 3378561 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3374197&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F03%2F17%2Fsubconscious-human-bias-in-ncaa-tournament-selection%2F Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated has an engaging column on new research identifying subconscious bias in the selection of teams for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament (a.k.a. March Madness).  We excerpt it below. * * * The study, by Jay Coleman, Mike DuMond and Allen Lynch, looked at selection data from 10 tournaments (1999-2008) and found that when seeding the tournament, membership in one of the six BCS conferences is worth an average of an extra 1.75 seeds. The study also found that having a conference representative on the 10-member selection committee resulted not only in a higher seed but also in a better chance of getting an at-large bid. According to the authors, a true bubble team (one with a 50-50 chance of getting in or being left out) would have a 49 percent better c... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3374197 Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:01:34 +0100 3374197 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3350350&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F03%2F10%2Fmahzarin-banaji-at-harvard-law-school%2F On Thursday, March 11th, the HLS Student Association for Law and Mind Sciences (SALMS) is hosting a talk by Harvard psychology professor Mahzarin Banaji entitled “Mind Bugs and the Science of Ordinary Bias.”  Here’s the description. * * * How deep are the bounds on human thinking and feeling and how do they shape social judgment?  Our focus has been on the mechanics of unconscious mental processes, with attention to those that operate without conscious awareness, intention, or control.  Most recently, we have worked with a task that reveals unconscious preferences in a rather blunt manner, showing that they can sit, at one level, in contradiction with consciously endorsed preferences.  We use the tool largely for theory testing, focusing on questions about the natur... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3350350 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:01:51 +0100 3350350 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3298393&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F02%2F23%2Fthe-situation-of-suspicion%2F This article examines this claim by exploring in depth the cognitive biases and abilities that serve respectively as obstacles to, and opportunities for, police making accurate judgments about individualized suspicion. The article concludes that requiring police consciously to justify their intuitions can improve their accuracy, that the greatest accuracy comes from constructing institutions in a way that combines the best of unconscious intuition with more systematic critique, and that police training can be improved in various ways to enhance cognitive accuracy about the individualized suspicion judgment. * * * For a sample of related Situationist posts, see “The Legal Situation of the Underclass,” “Jennifer Eberhardt’s “Policing Racial Bias” – Video,” and “Th... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3298393 Tue, 23 Feb 2010 04:01:00 +0100 3298393 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3251258&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F02%2F08%2Frace-and-implicit-american-ness%2F In case you missed it, here is a worthwhile CNN International interview of Thierry Devos and Debbie Ma about their study, titled “Is Barack Obama American Enough to Be the Next President?: The Role of Ethnicity and National Identity in American Politics” (pdf  here).  The study’s introduction is as follows. * * * Recent research has demonstrated a tenacious propensity to more readily ascribe the American identity to Whites than to ethnic minorities . . . . Interest in this American = White effect is timely given that a front runner in the 2008 presidential election is African American. The aim of the present research was to determine the role of ethnicity and national identity in the perception of political candidates, as well as identify correlates (behavioral, attitu... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3251258 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 04:01:10 +0100 3251258 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3227858&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F02%2F01%2Fthe-nerdy-gendered-situation-of-computer-science%2F From University of Washington News (by Joel Schwarz): * * * In real estate, it’s location, location, location. And when it comes to why girls and women shy away from careers in computer science, a key reason is environment, environment, environment. The stereotype of computer scientists as nerds who stay up all night coding and have no social life may be driving women away from the field, according to a new study published this month. This stereotype can be brought to mind based only on the appearance of the environment in a classroom or an office. “When people think of computer science the image that immediately pops into many of their minds is of the computer geek surrounded by such things as computer games, science fiction memorabilia and junk food,” said Sapna Cheryan... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3227858 Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:29:02 +0100 3227858 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3220577&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F01%2F29%2Fstereotyping-political-ideology%2F Susan Perry has a terrific article in yesterday’s Minneapolis Post, titled “How we use stereotypes to identify people’s political affiliations.”   Here are some excerpts. * * * . . . . According to a study published this month in the open-access journal PLoS ONE, people can identify with remarkable accuracy (more than by chance guessing) whether another person is a Republican or a Democrat by simply looking at that person’s headshot. How do we do it? By relying on stereotypes, the study found. Republicans, apparently, look “powerful” in our minds, and Democrats appear “warm.” Of course, these kinds of stereotypes can lead to perceptual errors. “Not all Democrats appear warm and not all Republicans appear powerful,” wrote the study’s authors. “How... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3220577 Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:01:08 +0100 3220577 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3197729&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F01%2F22%2Fthe-embodied-situation-of-metaphors%2F In the current issue of  Observer, the magazine of the Association of Psychological Science, Barbara Isanski and Catherine wrote a great article, “The Body of Knowledge” summarizing the growing field of embodied cognition.  Here are some excerpts. * * * The cold shoulder. A heavy topic. A heroic white knight. We regularly use concrete, sensory-rich metaphors like these to express abstract ideas and complicated emotions. But a growing body of research is suggesting that these metaphors are more than just colorful literary devices — there may be an underlying neural basis that literally embodies these metaphors. Psychological scientists are giving us more insight into embodied cognition — the notion that the brain circuits responsible for abstract thinking are closely tied ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3197729 Fri, 22 Jan 2010 05:58:11 +0100 3197729 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3163850&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F01%2F12%2Fkrieger-on-the-situation-of-discrimination-in-france%2F Situationist Contributor Linda Hamilton Krieger is the French-American Foundation’s scholar-in-residence at Sciences Po.  She recently appeared on a France24 debate to discuss French and American strategies for fighting discrimination in hiring and education.  You can watch the roughly six-minute video of the interview below. * * * * * * To review a sample of related Situationist posts, see see “Implicit Associations on Oprah,” “Afraid of Knowing Ourselves,” “Why Race May Influence Us Even When We “Know” It Doesn’t,” “Geoffrey Cohen on “Identity, Belief, and Bias”,” “Colorblinded Wages – Abstract,” “The Cognitive Costs of Interracial Interactions,” “Measuring Implicit Attitudes,” “Firefighters and ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3163850 Tue, 12 Jan 2010 04:10:43 +0100 3163850 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3142644&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F01%2F04%2Fimplicit-associations-on-oprah%2F Oprah, Malcolm Gladwell, and Dr. Anthony Greenwald discuss the race-based Implicit Association Test and why some people show an unconscious bias in favor of White people over Black people. * * * * * * For a sample of related Situationist posts, see “Measuring Implicit Attitudes,” “What Are the Legal Implications of Implicit Biases?,” “Confronting the Backlash against Implicit Bias,” “Do You Implicitly Prefer Markets or Regulation?,” “Legal Academic Backlash - Abstract,” “Naïve Cynicism in Election 2008: Dispositionism v. Situationism?,”  “Implicit Bias and Strawmen.”and “The Situation of Situation in Employment Discrimination Law – Abstract.” To take the Policy IAT, click here.  For a list of Situationist posts discussing the research ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3142644 Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:32:41 +0100 3142644 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3096855&cid=t_157903_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2Fbcq6qZOsmlU%2F The following guest post by Susan Crowley, President of Multilateral Consulting, LLC, is part of Disruptive Women’s “The Value of Health: Creating Economic Security in the Developing World” series. By any measure, giving programs directed at developing countries by research-based pharmaceutical companies are the most generous of any industry. The Geneva-based International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA), whose methodology and data presented in its most recent “Partnerships Report” were validated by the London School of Economics, reported $6.7 billion in giving. The 2009 “Index on Global Philanthropy,” published by the Hudson Institute, provides a measure of global private giving and, once again, demonstrates that private flows... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3096855 Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:23:47 +0100 3096855 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3084844&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F12%2F14%2Fjohn-jost-speaks-about-his-own-research%2F This is Part III and the conclusion of an interview of Situationist Contributor John Jost by the Association for Psychological Science Student Caucus.    Part I is here and Part II is here.  This segment focuses on John’s own remarkable and pathbreaking research. * * * APSSC: Much of your research has focused on psychological characteristics of liberals and conservatives. What have you learned that could be applied in the increasingly partisan world of politics? Jost: Well, that is an interview in itself, and I have given several on this topic (including one that is archived at The Situationist). The bottom line is that major differences of opinion (such as the debate over health care reform) are not easy to resolve because they are rooted in fundamental differences not only in pers... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3084844 Mon, 14 Dec 2009 04:01:42 +0100 3084844 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3075593&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F12%2F10%2Ftake-the-policy-iat-5%2F If you haven’t already (or even if you have), we invite you to take, the “Policy IAT.”  We urge  individuals of all political and ideological orientations to participate in the on-line test designed to examine whether and to what extent people have implicit preferences for certain types of policy options.  Please encourage your friends (and, to those of you who are bloggers, your readers) to participate as well. To learn more or to take the Policy IAT (a roughly 15-minute task), click here. (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3075593 Thu, 10 Dec 2009 04:01:12 +0100 3075593 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3036985&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F11%2F29%2Fracial-attitudes-in-the-presidential-race%2F From Project Implicit Blog: An article by Project Implicit researchers published this month in Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy reports evidence that both implicit and explicit race attitudes were related to intended vote in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. 1,057 registered voters completed a study conducted at Project Implicit’s research website during the week before the presidential election. The participants completed multiple measures of racial attitudes including self-reported feelings of warmth toward Blacks and Whites, a measure of “symbolic” racism, two implicit measures of racial attitudes – a brief version of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and the Affective Misattribution Procedure (AMP), and reported their intended vote. Analyses suggested that parti... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3036985 Sun, 29 Nov 2009 04:01:50 +0100 3036985 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3035939&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F11%2F28%2Fmeasuring-implicit-attitudes%2F From University of Washington News * * * Study supports validity of test that indicates widespread unconscious bias In the decade since the Implicit Association Test was introduced, its most surprising and controversial finding is its indication that about 70 percent of those who took a version of the test that measures racial attitudes have an unconscious, or implicit, preference for white people compared to blacks. This contrasts with figures generally under 20 percent for self report, or survey, measures of race bias. A new study (pdf here) validates those findings, showing that the Implicit Association Test, a psychological tool, has validity in predicting behavior and, in particular, that it has significantly greater validity than self-reports in the socially sensitive topics of race,... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3035939 Sat, 28 Nov 2009 04:01:17 +0100 3035939 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3008171&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F11%2F19%2Faaron-kay-%25e2%2580%259cthe-psychological-power-of-the-status-quo%25e2%2580%259d%2F Situationist Contributor Aaron Kay is an Assistant Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Waterloo in Canada. Professor Kay’s research has focused on the integration of implicit social-cognitive processes with the study of broad social issues. In his primary line of work, he investigates the myriad ways by which people cope with, adapt to, and rationalize social inequalities. At the moment, this research program addresses questions such as: (1) How do people rationalize and justify their good fortune and bad fortune, others’ good fortune and bad fortune, and the social systems that dictate these outcomes? (2) What are the psychological tools employed in aiding people to cope with the internal conflict produced from participating in social systems that are, in many obje... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3008171 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:20:31 +0100 3008171 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2908669&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F10%2F20%2Four-metaphorical-situation%2F We recently published a post based on Drake Bennett’s terrific overview of the burgeoning research on the embodied cognition.  Here’s a quick excerpt from that post. * * * Now, however, a new group of people has started to take an intense interest in metaphors: psychologists. Drawing on philosophy and linguistics, cognitive scientists have begun to see the basic metaphors that we use all the time not just as turns of phrase, but as keys to the structure of thought. By taking these everyday metaphors as literally as possible, psychologists are upending traditional ideas of how we learn, reason, and make sense of the world around us. The result has been a torrent of research testing the links between metaphors and their physical roots . . . . Researchers have sought to determin... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2908669 Tue, 20 Oct 2009 04:01:58 +0100 2908669 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2862575&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F10%2F05%2Fsocial-psychologists-discuss-stereotype-threat%2F Amber Tunnell has an article in the Columbia Spectator describing a recent talk given by social psychologist (and Columbia Provost) Claude Steele about his pathbreaking work on stereotype threat.  Here are some excerpts. * * * Two problems launched Steele’s career, he said: the underperformance of women and minority students on cognitive tests in academic settings, and what he called the “diversity problem,” or the difficulty that arises when trying to make a situation comfortable for everyone, while at the same time integrating different groups. “Everyone experiences a stereotype a couple times a day,” Steele said, highlighting the thrust of his speech. “Identity contingencies,” he said, are the identity questions central to daily existence. For example, Steele said he deve... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2862575 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:01:07 +0100 2862575 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2846432&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F09%2F30%2Fthe-situation-of-metaphors%2F Drake Bennett had a superb article, “The surprising ways that metaphors shape your world,” in Sunday’s Boston Globe. Here are some excerpts. * * * [W]hether they’re being deployed by poets, politicians, football coaches, or realtors, metaphors are primarily thought of as tools for talking and writing–out of inspiration or out of laziness, we distill emotions and thoughts into the language of the tangible world. We use metaphors to make sense to one another. Now, however, a new group of people has started to take an intense interest in metaphors: psychologists. Drawing on philosophy and linguistics, cognitive scientists have begun to see the basic metaphors that we use all the time not just as turns of phrase, but as keys to the structure of thought. By taking thes... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2846432 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 04:01:34 +0100 2846432 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2834298&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F09%2F26%2Fsocial-neuroscience-and-the-study-of-racial-biases%2F From Eureka Alert: * * * Overt expressions of bigotry are relatively infrequent, but current psychological research finds that racial biases often lurk in the unconscious mind, influencing behavior in subtle ways without one’s intent. Under a five-year, $834,000 National Science Foundation CAREER award, New York University Psychology Assistant Professor David Amodio is examining the dynamics of such unconscious, or “implicit,” racial associations, through research that aims to advance our basic understanding of how neural mechanisms of learning and memory function in social behavior. The award is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Amodio and his colleagues are conducting research that links emotional and conceptual (i.e., stereotyping) form... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2834298 Sat, 26 Sep 2009 16:20:19 +0100 2834298 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2824178&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F09%2F23%2Fthe-motivated-situation-of-inequality-and-discrimination%2F Aaron C. Kay, Danielle Gaucher, Jennifer M. Peach, Kristin Laurin, Justin Friesen, Mark P. Zanna, and Steven J. Spencer have recently published their article, “Inequality, Discrimination, and the Power of the Status Quo: Direct Evidence for a Motivation to See the Way Things Are as the Way They Should Be” (97 Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 421– 434 (2009).  Here’s the abstract. * * * How powerful is the status quo in determining people’s social ideals? The authors propose (a) that people engage in injunctification, that is, a motivated tendency to construe the current status quo as the most desirable and reasonable state of affairs (i.e., as the most representative of how things should be); (b) that this tendency is driven, at least in part, by people�... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2824178 Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:01:41 +0100 2824178 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2793230&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F09%2F14%2Fthe-interior-situation-of-trial-judges-abstract%2F Jeffrey Rachlinski , Sheri Lynn Johnson, Andrew Wistrich, and Chris Guthrie, recently posted their fascinating article, “Does Unconscious Racial Bias Affect Trial Judges?” (84 Notre Dame Law Review (2009)) on SSRN.  Here’s the abstract. * * * Race matters in the criminal justice system. Black defendants appear to fare worse than similarly situated white defendants. Why? Implicit bias is one possibility. Researchers, using a well-known measure called the implicit association test, have found that most white Americans harbor implicit bias toward Black Americans. Do judges, who are professionally committed to egalitarian norms, hold these same implicit biases? And if so, do these biases account for racially disparate outcomes in the criminal justice system? We explored thes... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2793230 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 04:01:42 +0100 2793230 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2785989&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F09%2F11%2Fthe-situation-of-burritos%2F Majorie Florestal recently posted her intriguing article, “Is a Burrito a Sandwich? Exploring Race, Class and Culture in Contracts” (14 Michigan Journal of Race and Law (2008)) on SSRN. * * * A superior court in Worcester, Massachusetts, recently determined that a burrito is not a sandwich. Surprisingly, the decision sparked a firestorm of media attention. Worcester, Massachusetts, is hardly the pinnacle of the culinary arts – so why all the interest in the musings of one lone judge on the nature of burritos and sandwiches? Closer inspection revealed the allure of this otherwise peculiar case: Potentially thousands of dollars turned on the interpretation of a single word in a single clause of a commercial contract. Judge Locke based his decision on ‘common sense&#82... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2785989 Fri, 11 Sep 2009 04:01:13 +0100 2785989 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2768670&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F09%2F05%2Fthe-situation-of-litigators%2F This study examined whether explicit and implicit biases in favor of Whites and against Asian Americans would alter mock jurors’ evaluation of a litigator’s deposition. We found evidence of both explicit bias as measured by self-reports, and implicit bias as measured by two Implicit Association Tests. In particular, explicit stereotypes that the ideal litigator was White predicted worse evaluation of the Asian American litigator (outgroup derogation); by contrast, implicit stereotypes predicted preferential evaluation of the White litigator (ingroup favoritism). In sum, participants were not colorblind, at least implicitly, towards even a “model minority,” and these biases produced racial discrimination. This study provides further evidence of the predictive and eco... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2768670 Sat, 05 Sep 2009 04:01:22 +0100 2768670 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2766084&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F09%2F04%2Ftake-the-policy-iat-4%2F If you haven’t already (or even if you have), we invite you to take, the “Policy IAT.”  We urge  individuals of all political and ideological orientations to participate in the on-line test designed to examine whether and to what extent people have implicit preferences for certain types of policy options.  Please encourage your friends (and, to those of you who are bloggers, your readers) to participate as well. To learn more or to take the Policy IAT (a roughly 15-minute task), click here. (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2766084 Fri, 04 Sep 2009 04:01:25 +0100 2766084 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2747977&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F08%2F31%2Fthe-situation-of-college-education-why-going-for-the-money-makes-sense-for-some-prep-players%2F Would you turn down a multi-million dollar contract in order to play for free? How about an education? This athlete did. Meet 17-year-old Enes Kanter. For any basketball fan, the scouting report on this Swiss-born Turkish basketball player is enticing: a physical specimen at 6′9″-6′10″ who possesses superior positioning and is a “clever defender.” A few months ago, at an age when most of his peers are working part-time jobs in the service industry or on a factory floor, Kanter played in the Euroleague (widely touted to be the world’s second-best professional league) against grown men and recorded 5 points, 3 rebounds and a steal in a mere 10 minutes of game time. Expectations are that the precocious Kanter will grow a few inches, improve on his al... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2747977 Mon, 31 Aug 2009 04:01:43 +0100 2747977 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2709188&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F08%2F18%2Fa-rose-by-any-other-name-might-become-a-lawyer%2F Bentley Coffey and Patrick McLaughlin have recently published their intriguing article, titled “Do Masculine Names Help Female Lawyers Become Judges? Evidence from South Carolina,” in American Law and Economics Review (Spring 2009). Here are some excerpts from the paper’s introduction (citations omitted). * * * In Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, a woman named Portia masquerades as a man in order to argue before the court as an attorney. Indeed, for centuries the only way a woman could have practiced law was incognito because the courtroom was a domain reserved exclusively for men. A notable exception on record is Miss Margaret Brent, circa 1640, who was permitted by Lord Baltimore to practice law as a woman; nonetheless, she was still addressed as “Gentleman Margaret Brent” d... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2709188 Tue, 18 Aug 2009 04:01:18 +0100 2709188 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2691541&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpodcast.sciam.com%2Fdaily%2Fsa_d_podcast_090810.mp3 Scientific American has an interesting, “60-Second Podcast” by Steve Mirsky about research by Situationist Contributor  Mahzarin Banaji and San Diego State’s Thierry Devos finding that white Americans inherently regard white Europeans as somehow more “American” than Asian- or African-Americans.  Here are some excerpts from the podcast, which you can link to here. * * * The so-called birthers can’t accept that President Obama is really a natural-born American citizen. Part of what’s behind this seemingly irrational belief may lie in what’s called implicit social cognition—the deep-rooted assumptions we all carry around, and may act on without realizing it. Harvard’s Mahzarin Banaji studies such implicit cognition. Last fall she talked to journalists... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2691541 Tue, 11 Aug 2009 04:01:54 +0100 2691541 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2667471&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F08%2F04%2Fmsnbc-com-video-player%2F Here’s a ten-minute MSNBC segment on IAT test, in which Tony Greenwald attempts to shed light on the test results of two commentators on MSNBC’s Morning Meeting. To read a sample of related Situationist posts, see “Mispredicting Our Reactions to Racism,” “Banaji & Greenwald on Edge – Part IV,” “Mahzarin Banaji’s Situation,” “The Situation of  Situationist – Mahzarin Banaji.” To review the full collextion of previous Situationist posts discussing implicit associations click on the “Implicit Associations” category in the right margin or, for a list of such posts, click here. Go to Project Implicit to take the IAT discussed in this report here.  Take the Policy IAT here. (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2667471 Tue, 04 Aug 2009 04:01:31 +0100 2667471 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2663978&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F08%2F03%2Fhes-a-banana-eating-monkey-but-im-not-a-racist%2F Whatever may have been the payoffs of the recent discussion between Harvard University Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Cambridge police Sergeant James Crowley, Vice President Biden, and President Obama, the teachable moments unfortunately continue.  Last week, Crowley’s colleague, Officer Paul Barrett wrote an e-mail responding to a Boston Globe columnist this way: “If I was the officer he verbally assaulted like a banana eating jungle monkey, I would have sprayed him in the face with OC [pepper spray] deserving of his belligerent non-compliance.” Crowley summed up his old-school rant as follows: “Gates is a goddamned fool and you the article writer simply a poor follower and maybe worse, a poor writer. Your article title should read CONDUCT UNBECOMING A JUNGLE ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2663978 Mon, 03 Aug 2009 04:01:58 +0100 2663978 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2649048&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F07%2F29%2Fthe-situation-of-black-and-white%2F Over on We’re Only Human, Wray Herbert has another of his characteristically superb posts, this one about the automatic associations with black and white. Here’s a sample. * * * The colors white and black have carried layers of moral meaning since long before American’ infatuation with cowboys and automobiles, and some scientists believe that those associations may be automatic and universal and ancient. Indeed, blackness and whiteness may be wired into our neurons, and tightly tangled up with notions of sin and virtue and cleanliness and dirt. Two University of Virginia psychologists recently decided to explore this provocative idea in the laboratory. Gary Sherman and Gerald Clore wanted to know if common metaphors may be more than mere rhetorical devices, if in fact they might be ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2649048 Wed, 29 Jul 2009 04:01:26 +0100 2649048 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2637853&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F07%2F25%2Fleaving-the-past%2F Sam has been an active racist his entire life.  For decades, he has called blacks demeaning names; he has written about their inferiority; he has threatened them and beaten them; he has attended lynchings. Under great pressure from various acquaintances and friends, in his seventieth year of life, he stops using the “n” word and ends the explicit prohibition on hiring blacks at his factory. Ten years later, however, his business still has an almost all white workforce, despite getting lots of black applications, and no managers. Should we trust Sam that racial bias has nothing to do with the disparity? If you are like me, despite hoping that Sam has changed, you are deeply skeptical.  A person carries his past with him, and it continues to shape his life—even when he genuinely beli... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2637853 Sat, 25 Jul 2009 04:01:57 +0100 2637853 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2626074&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F07%2F22%2Fwhy-are-they-so-biased%2F Last week Sally Lehrman published an interesting op-ed, titled “Why are people of color presumed biased, and we are not?“ in the Oakland Tribune.   Here are some excerpts. * * * On the first day of the Sonia Sotomayor confirmation hearings, one senator after another demanded assurances the judge would not allow her background to influence her decisions on the U.S. Supreme Court. Sen. Jeff Sessions, of Alabama, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, decried anyone “who believes it is acceptable for a judge to allow their personal background, gender, prejudices or sympathies to sway their decision in favor of or against parties before the court.” It’s certainly fair to demand that members of the high court set aside personal politics and p... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2626074 Wed, 22 Jul 2009 04:01:31 +0100 2626074 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2615377&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F07%2F19%2Fbloggingheads-tv-percontations-system-justification-theory%2F * * * To read a selection of related Situationist posts, see “John Jost’s “System Justification and the Law” – Video,” “Independence Day: Celebrating Courage to Challenge the Situation,” “Thanksgiving as “System Justification”?” and “Patriots Lose: Justice Restored!“  To review the full collection of Situationist posts related to system justification, click here. (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2615377 Sun, 19 Jul 2009 04:01:26 +0100 2615377 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2602038&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F07%2F15%2Fwhat-are-the-legal-implications-of-implicit-biases%2F A federal judge and regular reader of The Situationist recently sent me a thoughtful e-mail containing the following paragraph.  The judge is asking for input regarding the practical legal consequences of IAT research for employment law. * * * A thought about the IAT and employment law from a practicing judge–even if the law as it now stands does not effectively address some instances of bias, where do we go with that insight? I see no practical, effective way to utilize the IAT in actual employment cases.  Moreover, by far the biggest problem in employment law that any one studying our actual cases would discern is the surfeit of meritless cases.  The ease with which many weak cases get by summary judgment and the likelihood of substantial litigation expense lead to settlement o... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2602038 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:01:07 +0100 2602038 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2598275&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F07%2F14%2Fsituational-branding-effects%2F Situationist contributor Grainne Fitzsimons conducted a fascinating study in collaboration with Gavan Fitzsimons and Tanya Chartrand on the effects of popular company logos on human behavior.  In the following video Gavan and Tanya describe the study. * * * * * * To read some related Situationist posts, see “The Unseen Behavioral Influence of Company Logos,” “The Situation of Repackaging,” and “The Big Game: What Corporations Are Learning About the Human Brain.” To read other Situationist posts on marketing, click here; for those on priming, click here. (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2598275 Tue, 14 Jul 2009 04:01:21 +0100 2598275 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2588257&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F07%2F10%2Fthe-gendered-situation-of-chess%2F From ChessBase News:  “Normally knowing your enemy is an advantage. Not so in chess games between the sexes. In a study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, Volume 38, Issue 2 (March/April 2008) (pdf here), Anne Maass, Claudio D’Ettole, Mara Cadinu, Dr Anne Maass (et al.) pitted male and female players against each other via the Internet. Women showed a 50% performance decline when they were aware that they were playing a male opponent.”  Here’s the article’s abstract. * * * Women are surprisingly underrepresented in the chess world, representing less that 5% of registered tournament players worldwide and only 1% of the world’s grandmasters. In this paper it is argued that gender stereotypes are mainly responsible for the underper... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2588257 Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:09:42 +0100 2588257 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2580251&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F07%2F08%2Fthe-situation-of-gender-science-stereotypes%2F A BBC podcast of an interview with Situationist Contributor Brian Nosek about Project Implicit’s recent gender-science stereotypes article is available at the BBC World Service’s Science in Action series. * * * To read a sample of related Situationist posts about gender and science, see “The Situation of Gender and Science,” “The Behavioral Consequences of Unconscious Bias,” “Stereotype Threat and Performance,” “The Gendered Situation of Science & Math,” “Gender-Imbalanced Situation of Math, Science, and Engineering,” “Sex Differences in Math and Science,” “You Shouldn’t Stereotype Stereotypes,” “Women’s Situation in Economics,” and “Your Group is Bad at Math.” (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2580251 Wed, 08 Jul 2009 04:01:44 +0100 2580251 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2556159&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F06%2F30%2Fthe-situation-of-displinary-welfare-programs-abstract%2F We present experimental evidence based on hypothetical vignettes that case managers are more likely to recommend sanctions for Latina and black clients – but not white clients – when discrediting markers are present. We triangulate these findings with analyses of state administrative data. Our results for Latinas are mixed, but we find consistent evidence that the probability of a sanction rises significantly when a discrediting marker (i.e., a prior sanction for noncompliance) is attached to a black rather than a white welfare client. Overall, our study clarifies how racial minorities, especially African Americans, are more likely to be punished for deviant behavior in the new world of disciplinary welfare provision. * * * To download the paper for free, click here.  To read ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2556159 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:01:05 +0100 2556159 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2553077&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F06%2F28%2Fthe-situation-of-gender-and-science%2F Rachana Dixit wrote a worthwhile article in Daily Progress summarizing recent research illustrating the implicit links between gender and science.  Here are some excerpts. * * * A new study has found that both men and women hold unspoken stereotypes that males are more easily linked with science than females. The work’s authors say the stereotypes may contribute to continuing underachievement and under-participation among girls and women in science, furthering the idea that science is a male career. “I think this is pervasive in our culture, but it is changing,” said [Situationist Contributor] Brian Nosek, a University of Virginia psychology professor who led the study. . . . The findings suggest that 70 percent of respondents harbored implicit stereotypes associating science with m... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2553077 Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:44:40 +0100 2553077 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2511026&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F06%2F23%2Fthe-depressing-effects-of-racial-discrimination%2F From Cornell News Service, here is a news release regarding fascinating research on the effects of racial discrimination. * * * Many studies have shown that experiencing chronic racial discrimination chips away at the mental health of African-Americans. But a new Cornell study sheds light on precisely how – and to what effect – chronic racial discrimination erodes mental health. The study found blacks may, in general, have poorer mental health as a result of two mechanisms: First, chronic exposure to racial discrimination leads to more experiences of daily discrimination and, second, it also results in an accumulation of daily negative events across various domains of life, from family and friends to health and finances. The combination of these mechanisms, reports Anthony Ong... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2511026 Tue, 23 Jun 2009 04:25:58 +0100 2511026 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2511027&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F06%2F22%2Fthe-behavioral-consequences-of-unconscious-bias%2F From EurekaAlert and the new Blog, Project Implicit: In the decade since the Implicit Association Test was introduced, its most surprising and controversial finding is its indication that about 70 percent of those who took a version of the test that measures racial attitudes have an unconscious, or implicit, preference for white people compared to blacks. This contrasts with figures generally under 20 percent for self report, or survey, measures of race bias. A new study published this week validates those findings, showing that the Implicit Association Test, a psychological tool, has validity in predicting behavior and, in particular, that it has significantly greater validity than self-reports in the socially sensitive topics of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and age. The re... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2511027 Mon, 22 Jun 2009 04:01:56 +0100 2511027 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2511028&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F06%2F21%2Fthe-situation-of-pollworkers-and-voting-booths-abstract%2F This article addresses how unconscious bias may play a role in the interaction between pollworkers and prospective voters and discusses some ways in which the potential for unconscious bias to operate in America’s polling places may be mitigated. * * * For a sample of related Situationist posts, see “The Racial Situation of Voting,” “Why Race May Influence Us Even When We “Know” It Doesn’t,” “The Interior Situation of Undecided Voters,” “On Being a Mindful Voter,” “Implicit Associations in the 2008 Presidential Election,” “The Situation of Political Animals,” and “Your Brain on Politics.” To review all of the previous Situationist posts discussing implicit associations click on the “Implicit Associations” category in the ri... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2511028 Sun, 21 Jun 2009 04:01:01 +0100 2511028 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2463060&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F06%2F08%2Fthe-situational-effects-of-a-black-president%2F Last week for Diverse Online, Angela Dodson, wrote an excellent review of conflicting studies regarding the so-called “Obama Effect” — the increase in standardized test scores of Blacks owing to the election of Barack Obama.  Here are some excerpts. * * * Could merely knowing that a Black man has been elected president of the United States raise the scores of Blacks on standardized tests and shrink the unrelenting and formidable achievement gap? Possibly, suggests a recent study documenting the “Obama Effect” that will appear in the July issue of a scientific journal along side a study that contradicts it. Preliminary results of a study suggesting that Barack Obama’s political success translated into a narrower gap between Blacks and Whites on a standardized tests ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2463060 Mon, 08 Jun 2009 04:01:24 +0100 2463060 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2441610&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F05%2F22%2Fenough-with-the-bias-against-implicit-bias%2F Below you will find some excerpts from an important paper by Situationist Contributor John T. Jost and six distinguished co-authors (Laurie A. Rudman, Irene V. Blair, Dana R. Carney, Nilanjana Dasgupta, Jack Glaser, Curtis D. Hardin).  The paper is titled “The Existence of Implicit Bias is Beyond Reasonable Doubt:  A Refutation of Ideological and Methodological Objections and Executive Summary of Ten Studies that No Manager Should Ignore.” The paper will be published in Research in Organizational Behavior.  Many thanks to Julian Darwal for putting this post together. * * * In this chapter, we respond to recent critiques of research on implicit bias, especially studies using the Implicit Association Test (IAT). Philip Tetlock and Gregory Mitchell argue that measures of implicit bias ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2441610 Fri, 22 May 2009 04:01:59 +0100 2441610 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2348434&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F04%2F20%2Fthe-situation-of-the-achievement-gap%2F Situationist Contributor Geoffrey Cohen has received a lot of attention in the media over the last week because of fascinating research he and his collaborators are doing and reently desribed in Science regarding one way to help reduce the achievement gap in education. Here are excerpts from one such story, this one, titled “Study: Writing About Values Boosts Grades, Shrinks Achievement Gap,”  by Lea Winerman for Online NewsHour With Jim Lehrer. * * * A short self-affirming writing exercise that took only about an hour of class time boosted struggling black junior high school students’ grade point average by nearly half a point over two years, according to a new study.  The surprising result, published this week in the journal Science, suggests a new way to combat the... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2348434 Mon, 20 Apr 2009 04:04:29 +0100 2348434 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2348435&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F04%2F18%2Fthe-situation-of-situation-in-employment-discrimination-law-abstract%2F This article puts the debate over social framework expert testimony in context, explaining what the testimony is and the role it has played in employment discrimination litigation, with a particular focus on the way the testimony has been offered in class action suits like Dukes v. Wal-Mart. It explains how the normal rules of evidence law should apply to social framework expert testimony, and under the flexible and permissive standards of the Federal Rules of Evidence, framework testimony offered by a qualified expert should be admissible in many employment class actions. The argument that this kind of evidence should always be excluded is driven as much by a particular view of employment discrimination law as by the governing evidentiary rules. Ultimately, the arguments for blanket exclu... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2348435 Sat, 18 Apr 2009 04:01:39 +0100 2348435 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2348436&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F04%2F17%2Fthe-situational-effect-of-groups%2F In his Guardian article, “Hands up if you’re an individual,” Stuart Jeffries offers a brief summary of some social psychology classics.  Below, we have included excerpts.  After reviewing Milgram’s famous experiments on obedience, Jeffries writes: * * * This was one of the classic experiments of group psychology, though not all have involved duping volunteers into believing they had electrocuted victims. Group psychology has often involved experiments to explain how individuals’ behaviours, thoughts and feelings are changed by group pressures. It is generally thought to have originated in 1898 when Indiana University psychologist Norman Triplett asked children to spin a fishing reel as fast as they could. He found that when the children were doing the task ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2348436 Fri, 17 Apr 2009 04:01:30 +0100 2348436 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2287164&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F03%2F20%2Ftake-the-policy-iat-4%2F If you haven’t already (or even if you have), we invite you to take, the “Policy IAT.”  We urge  individuals of all political and ideological orientations to participate in the on-line test designed to examine whether and to what extent people have implicit preferences for certain types of policy options.  Please encourage your friends (and, to those of you who are bloggers, your readers) to participate as well. To learn more or to take the Policy IAT (a roughly 15-minute task), click here. (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2287164 Fri, 20 Mar 2009 04:01:25 +0100 2287164 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2287166&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F03%2F18%2Fconference-on-the-free-market-mindset%2F From the Harvard Law School Website (published yesterday and written by Christine Perkins), here is an a nice summary of  the Project on Law and Mind Science’s Third Annual Conference. * * * On Saturday, March 7, Harvard Law School’s Program on Law and Mind Sciences held its third annual conference, “The Free Market Mindset: History, Psychology and Consequences.” Close to 200 people attended the day-long event at HLS, bringing together leading scholars in law, economics, social psychology, and social cognition to discuss their research on the historical origins, psychological antecedents, and policy consequences of the free market mindset. According to HLS Professor Jon Hanson, Director of the Project on Law and Mind Sciences at HLS, the conference’s topic was originally in... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2287166 Wed, 18 Mar 2009 04:01:53 +0100 2287166 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2258104&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F03%2F11%2Fafraid-of-knowing-ourselves%2F Last month Charles Blow wrote a nice opinion piece, titled “A Nation of Cowards?” in the New York Times, in which he discussed Attorney General Eric Holder’s comments on the topic and echoed many of the themes routinely raised on The Situationist.   Here are some excerpts. * * * . . . . According to an ABC News/Washington Post poll released last month, twice as many blacks as whites thought racism was a big problem in this country, while twice as many whites as blacks thought that blacks had achieved racial equality. . . . [A] CNN poll from last January found that 72 percent of whites thought that blacks overestimated the amount of discrimination against them, while 82 percent of blacks thought that whites underestimated the amount of discrimination against blacks. What ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2258104 Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:00:37 +0100 2258104 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2249548&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F03%2F07%2Fthe-situation-of-objectification%2F The Daily Mail’s Fiona Macrae and CNN’s Elizabeth Landau each had brief articles last week on the fascinating research by Situationist contributor Susan Fiske and her collaborators.   We’ve mashed up excerpts of the two articles below. * * * It may seem obvious that men perceive women in sexy bathing suits as objects, but now there’s science to back it up. New research shows that, in men, the brain areas associated with handling tools and the intention to perform actions light up when viewing images of women in bikinis. At the same time, the region they use to try to tune into another person’s thoughts and feelings tunes down, brain scans showed. The research was presented this week by [Situationist Contributor] Susan Fiske . . .  at the annual meeting of th... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2249548 Sat, 07 Mar 2009 11:01:04 +0100 2249548 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2234134&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F03%2F05%2Fjohn-josts-system-justification-and-the-law-video%2F At the 2007 Project on Law and Mind Sciences Conference, John Jost’s presentation was titled “System Justification and the Law.” Here is the abstract for his talk. Although there can be little doubt that individual and group self-interest motivate human behavior to a considerable degree, research in social psychology has revealed a quite different and often powerful motive: the motive to defend and justify the social status quo. This motive is present (at least to some degree) even among those who are seemingly most disadvantaged by the status quo; in some cases, in fact, this motive is strongest among those who are the most severely disadvantaged. System justification theory seeks to elucidate the nature of this motive and the situations in which it operates. * * * Dr. J... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2234134 Thu, 05 Mar 2009 04:01:37 +0100 2234134 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2234137&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F03%2F03%2Fthe-situation-of-voting-for-obama%2F For the Stanford New Service, Adam Gorlick has summarized a fascinating study indicating that some people who voted for Obama may, as a consequence, be more inclined to favor whites. * * * The election of Barack Obama was as much a milestone in civil rights history as it was a political event. In newspaper columns and crowded bars, around university campuses and family dinner tables, people have hailed the election of the first black president as proof of progress in the country’s reckoning with race. Now some Stanford psychologists are focusing on an irony they’ve found at the expense of those widespread feelings of racial harmony. In three experiments conducted before the November election, they found that expressing support for Obama makes some people feel justified in favo... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2234137 Tue, 03 Mar 2009 04:01:59 +0100 2234137 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2211548&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F02%2F24%2Fthe-situation-of-objectification%2F The Daily Mail’s Fiona Macrae and CNN’s Elizabeth Landau each had brief articles last week on the fascinating research by Situationist contributor Susan Fiske and her collaborators.   We’ve mashed up excerpts of the two articles below. * * * It may seem obvious that men perceive women in sexy bathing suits as objects, but now there’s science to back it up. New research shows that, in men, the brain areas associated with handling tools and the intention to perform actions light up when viewing images of women in bikinis. At the same time, the region they use to try to tune into another person’s thoughts and feelings tunes down, brain scans showed. The research was presented this week by [Situationist Contributor] Susan Fiske . . .  at the annual meeting of th... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2211548 Tue, 24 Feb 2009 04:01:04 +0100 2211548 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2205520&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F02%2F21%2Funconsciously-regarded-as-disabled-abstract%2F Dale Larson has posted his  comment, “Unconsciously Regarded as Disabled: Implicit Bias and the Regarded-As Prong of the Americans with Disabilities Act” (56 UCLA Law Review 451 (2008)) on SSRN.  Here’s the abstract. * * * Much scholarly work has been written detailing the shift away from the original congressional intent behind the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), starting with the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Sutton v. United Air Lines. While the U.S. Congress intended the protections under the ADA to be broad, courts have interpreted the act very narrowly, denying protections for many whom Congress intended to protect. Missing from this scholarship, however, is an examination of how the shift has been particularly harmful for potential plaintiffs in... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2205520 Sat, 21 Feb 2009 04:01:17 +0100 2205520 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2201226&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F02%2F19%2Fwhy-race-may-influence-us-even-when-we-know-it-doesnt%2F The image to the left is a portion of a controversial cartoon that ran in yesterday’s New York Post. The cartoon (the entirety of which is here) includes this punchline: “Now they will have to find someone else to write the stimulus bill.” * * * A common assumption among most Americans is that race is not an issue these days; after all, most of us rarely if ever feel ourselves being “racist.” If we are not thinking about race when we go about our daily lives and if we are not harboring any racial animus when we interact or socialize inter-racially, then, we assume, race is not influencing us.  We may not be blind to color, but we might as well be.  Most Americans, I’m guessing, would therefore not have a problem with this cartoon. Rev. Al Sharpton, on ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2201226 Thu, 19 Feb 2009 05:40:00 +0100 2201226 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2191194&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F02%2F17%2Fthe-stereotype-tax%2F The last issue of The Economist includes an interesting article, titled “The Price of Prejudice,” summarizing IAT research and two other studies employing conjoint analysis to measure the difference between what we would do as compared to what we would say we would do.  Here’s an excerpt. * * * Nobody likes to admit an uncomfortable truth about himself, especially when charged issues such as race, sex, age and even supersized waistlines come into play. That makes the task of the behavioural scientist a difficult one. Not only may participants in a study be lying to those running a test, but they may also, fundamentally, be lying to themselves. Prising the lid off human assumptions and hidden biases thus requires clever tools. One of the most widely deployed, known as the... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2191194 Tue, 17 Feb 2009 04:41:01 +0100 2191194 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2183310&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F02%2F13%2Fresident-evil-5-and-racism-in-video-games%2F Hilary Goldstein of IGN has an interesting piece on possible evidence of racism in the upcoming video game Resident Evil 5, which will be sold for the XBox 360 and PlayStation 3 and is expected to be one of the most popular games of the year. * * * What’s drawing the ire of many outside the industry (and raising the eyebrows of some within it) is who you kill in Resident Evil 5 (”RE5″). Set in Africa, your primary targets are native Africans. With the release of the first full RE5 trailer in 2007, numerous journalists and social commentators raised concern that RE5 depicted Africa as a nation of savages and that the game itself would reinforce unhealthy stereotypes. When Resident Evil 5 releases this March, those concerns won’t subside. I’ve played the first ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2183310 Fri, 13 Feb 2009 04:01:06 +0100 2183310 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2183311&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F02%2F12%2Fthe-primitive-appeal-of-the-color-red%2F Below we excerpt, in time for Valentine’s Day, a press release of an interesting new study linking red to sexual attraction. * * * A study by two University of Rochester psychologists published in Oct. by the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology adds color — literally and figuratively — to the age-old question of what attracts men to women. Through five psychological experiments, Andrew Elliot, professor of psychology, and Daniela Niesta, post-doctoral researcher, demonstrate that the color red makes men feel more amorous toward women. And men are unaware of the role the color plays in their attraction. “It’s only recently that psychologists and researchers in other disciplines have been looking closely and systematically at the relationship between co... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2183311 Thu, 12 Feb 2009 04:01:13 +0100 2183311 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2168136&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F02%2F08%2Fcoloring-situation%2F In the International Herald Tribune, Pam Belluck has a nice summary of recent research indicating that colors matter in ways we probably don’t imagine.  Her article, titled “Accurate red, creative blue: Color counts, study says,” is excerpted below. * * * Trying to improve your performance at work or kick-start that novel you want to write? Maybe it’s time to consider the color of your walls, or your screen saver. If a new study is any guide, the color red can make people’s work more accurate, but blue can make them more creative. In the study, published Thursday in the online edition of Science magazine, researchers at the University of British Columbia conducted tests with 600 participants to see how cognitive performance varies when people see red or blue... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2168136 Sun, 08 Feb 2009 04:01:36 +0100 2168136 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2160715&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F02%2F05%2Fwages-are-only-skin-deep-abstract%2F Joni Hersch recently posted a fascinating paper, titled “Color, Discrimination, and Immigrant Pay” on SSRN.  This is her latest paper in a larger set of articles on the topic.  Here’s the abstract. * * * In “Profiling the New Immigrant Worker: The Effects of Skin Color and Height,” (Journal of Labor Economics 2008), I present strong evidence of a wage penalty to darker skin color among new legal immigrants to the United States. Immigrants with the lightest skin color earn on average 17 percent higher wages than comparable immigrants with the darkest skin color, taking into account Hispanic ethnicity, race, country of birth, education, English language proficiency, family background, and occupation in the source country. This current paper demonstrates that ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2160715 Thu, 05 Feb 2009 04:01:20 +0100 2160715 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2122079&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencemag.org%2Fcontent%2Fvol321%2Fissue5892%2Fimages%2Fdata%2F1100%2FDC2%2F1100.mp3 From the Science Podcast: Robert Frederick interviews Bertram Gawronski on how automatic mental associations predict future choices. “Bertram Gawronski and colleagues report that they could predict the decision of 70% of those who indicated they were undecided about a controversial political issue. The prediction was based on testing people’s automatic mental associations, or how quickly people responded to and correctly categorized images and words. The results indicate that decision makers often already have made up their mind at an unconscious level, even when they consciously report they are still undecided.” Open the file here or link to Science Podcast page here.        (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2122079 Thu, 22 Jan 2009 04:01:59 +0100 2122079 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2110911&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F01%2F17%2Ftake-the-policy-iat-3%2F If you haven’t already (or even if you have), we invite to take, the “Policy IAT.”  We urge  individuals of all political and ideological orientations to participate in the on-line test designed to examine whether and to what extent people have implicit preferences for certain types of policy options.  Please encourage your friends (and, to those of you who are bloggers, your readers) to participate as well. To learn more or to take the Policy IAT (a roughly 15-minute task), click here.        (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2110911 Sat, 17 Jan 2009 04:01:25 +0100 2110911 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2098189&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F01%2F13%2Fmahzarin-banajis-situation%2F From the Harvard Crimson, by Weiqi Zhang, here is a fascinating article titled “A Chance Road to Harvard” about the remarkable journey of Situationist contributor Mahzarin Banaji. * * * Fifteen-year-old Mahzarin R. Banaji says she dreamed of living the adventurous life of a secretary upon graduating from high school because she believed that further academic pursuit was useless and was thirsting for an independent life away from her home in Secunderabad, India. But a little less than a decade later—after a series of self-described “fortuitous” events—Banaji found herself a student at Ohio State University, studying for a Ph.D. in social psychology. And in 2002 she became a Harvard professor at the invitation of University President Drew G. Faust, then-dean of the newly-... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2098189 Tue, 13 Jan 2009 04:21:05 +0100 2098189 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2090271&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F01%2F09%2Fmispredicting-our-reactions-to-racism%2F For more evidence of how of the power of situation and the illusion of disposition, read the following mashup of articles from CNN, Canadian Press, and Associated Press. * * * It’s one thing to hear reports of racial slurs being hurled at individuals or to see such epithets in literature or as graffiti on walls. But how would you react if someone used such language in your presence? Shocked. Disgusted. Outraged. Even horrified, some might say. However, a Canadian-led study suggests real-life responses to prejudice don’t always reflect how people think they will react. In the study, which appears in Friday’s edition of the journal Science, undergraduate students at Toronto’s York University took part in experiments which cast them in distinct roles: those observing... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2090271 Fri, 09 Jan 2009 04:01:05 +0100 2090271 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2000523&cid=t_157903_113_f&fid=38130&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tempdev.net%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D396 Laura and I have worked with EMRs in a wide range of settings, including small private practices, large private practices, IPAs, MSOs, public health systems, and correctional health systems. Each setting provides its own nuances and difficulties, but IPAs have some unique challenges. An IPA is a group of independent practices that come together to collectively contract with HMOs. The IPAs receive capitation, a set fee per member per month, which is in turn used to pay claims from the participating physicians. The most interesting aspect of an IPA from an EMR perspective is the fact that all of the practices are completely independent from each other and the IPA itself. When an IPA chooses to implement an EMR (which is a very altruistic act of the IPA; there’s no direct net revenue be... Implementing EMRs blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2000523 Sun, 30 Nov 2008 19:00:06 +0100 2000523 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1969493&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F11%2F19%2Ftierneys-skepticism-at-the-new-york-times%2F Recently, John Tierney who writes a Science column in the New York Times has shown great skepticism about the concept of implicit bias, how it might be measured (through the Implicit Association Test), and whether it predicts real-world behavior. See, e.g.,  Findings column (Nov. 17, 2008).    I write to make provide praise, critique, and cultural commentary. First, praise.  I praise Tierney’s skepticism, which is fundamental to critical inquiry generally and good science especially.  Serious, critical inquiry is why most of us got into academics, and it’s why you the reader are reading this blog. Second, critique.  But skepticism should not be one-sided.  Tierney’s columns suggest that one side is just asking for good, skeptical science, whereas the other side is... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1969493 Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:53:39 +0100 1969493 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1945597&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F11%2F09%2Fdan-kahnemans-situation%2F In the following video, Harry Kreisler interviews Princeton Psychology Professor and Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman about his life as well as his research on intuition and decision making.        (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1945597 Sun, 09 Nov 2008 05:08:56 +0100 1945597 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1921290&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F10%2F31%2Fthe-color-of-sex-appeal%2F Theresa Tamkins has an interesting article on CNN.com, titled “Wearing Red May Boost Your Sex Appeal.”  Here are some excerpts. * * * Does wearing the color red give you a sexual edge? Maybe, according to a new study, which found that men find women sexier if they’re sporting a crimson hue rather than, say, blue or green. However, red won’t make you look smarter or more competent, says study author Andrew Elliot, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the University of Rochester in New York. “We only found the effect for attraction, so males don’t rate females in red as more intelligent, more likable, or as having a better personality; they only rate her as sexier and more attractive,” he says. Men also were more likely to say they wanted to have sex... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1921290 Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:35:27 +0100 1921290 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1906265&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F10%2F24%2Fthe-situation-of-a-situationist-mahzarin-banaji%2F Billy Baker wrote a nice article, titled “She Explores Inner Workings of Bias,” about Situationist contributor Mahzarin Banaji in last week’s Boston Globe.  Here are some excerpts. * * * For two decades, Banaji has been a leading researcher into the nature of our implicit, unconscious biases, particularly as they unfold in a social context. Bias, she has found through her experiments into memory and its associations, is a part of being human. Every person divides up the world in certain ways. Most of the time, she said, people show an unconscious preference toward their social group. By participating in her own experiments, Banaji has found that she favors women over men, and Harvard over MIT. But there are exceptions to these findings, which is what makes this election... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1906265 Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:26:20 +0100 1906265 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1902263&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F10%2F23%2Fdo-you-implicitly-prefer-markets-or-regulation%2F To find out, you can take the “Policy IAT 1.0″ (a roughly 15-minute task), click here. For those of you on IBM-compatible computers, you can now access our new version, “Policy IAT 2.0,”  by clicking here.        (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1902263 Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:00:26 +0100 1902263 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1873265&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F10%2F13%2Fthe-situation-of-being-unamerican%2F Shankar Vedantam has written another terrific (situationist) article, “Does Your Subconscious Think Obama Is Foreign?,” published in today’s Washington Post.  Here are some excerpts. * * * A few years ago, psychologists [and Situational contributor] Mahzarin Banaji and Thierry Devos showed the names of a number of celebrities to a group of volunteers and asked them to classify the well-known personalities as American or non-American. The list included television personality Connie Chung and tennis star Michael Chang, both Asian Americans, as well as British actors Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley. The volunteers had no trouble identifying Chung and Chang as American and Grant and Hurley as foreigners. The psychologists then asked the group which names they associated with... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1873265 Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:29:59 +0100 1873265 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1863217&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F10%2F08%2Ftake-the-policy-iat-2%2F The Situationist Staff urges you to urge your friends (and, to those of you who are bloggers, your readers) to take, the “Policy IAT 1.0.”  We are eager to encourage individuals of all political and ideological orientations to take the on-line test designed to examine whether and to what extent people have implicit preferences for certain types of policy options. To learn more or to take the Policy IAT (a roughly 15-minute task), click here.        (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1863217 Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:00:40 +0100 1863217 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1856555&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F10%2F07%2Fsituational-racism-in-presidential-election%2F Nicholas Kristoff in Sunday’s New York Times has an interesting op-ed on the possible role of unconscious racism in Senator Barack Obama’s pursuit of the Presidency.  We excerpt the op-ed below. * * * [T]he evidence is that Senator Obama is facing what scholars have dubbed “racism without racists.” The racism is difficult to measure, but a careful survey completed last month by Stanford University, with The Associated Press and Yahoo, suggested that Mr. Obama’s support would be about six percentage points higher if he were white. That’s significant but surmountable. Most of the lost votes aren’t those of dyed-in-the-wool racists. Such racists account for perhaps 10 percent of the electorate and, polling suggests, are mostly conservatives who would not vote for any De... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1856555 Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:44:32 +0100 1856555 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1837587&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F09%2F29%2Ftake-the-policy-iat%2F Social science has documented that unconscious factors play a far more significant role in our ideological beliefs than we realize. Now you can take the “Policy IAT 1.0″ - a test designed to examine whether and to what extent people have implicit preferences for certain types of policy options and how those preferences may or may not correspond with explicit attitudes and vary across the ideological spectrum. To take the Policy IAT (a roughly 15-minute task), click here.        (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1837587 Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:47:13 +0100 1837587 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1812938&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F09%2F22%2Fpolicy-iat-launched%2F The Project on Law and Mind Science recently launched a policy-oriented implicit association test (IAT). The IAT is an experimental method designed to measure associative information that people are either unwilling or unable to report. The test was first published by Greenwald and colleagues in 1998. The IAT builds on the implicit-explicit distinction in memory. It reflects the observation that because much social cognition occur in an implicit mode, measuring unconscious cognition likely provides the “missing ingredient” necessary to support efficient testing and development of psychoanalytic, behaviorist, and cognitive theories. Development & Status of the Implicit Association Test PRE-IMPLICIT ASSOCIATION TEST RESEARCH: 1990 - 1997 In the early 1990s, Greenwald and Situationist... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1812938 Mon, 22 Sep 2008 04:01:45 +0100 1812938 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1790596&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F09%2F14%2Fvirtual-bias%2F This study suggests that interactions among strangers within the virtual world are very similar to interactions between strangers in the real world,” Eastwick said. The study suggests that users in online virtual environments routinely extend their social selves to inhabit their online avatars. “People are increasing the amount of social interaction that takes place online, whether through participation in virtual worlds or other online communities or even just social networks like Facebook or Twitter,” Gardner said. “And all these environments present potentially fertile testing grounds for new psychological theories.” * * * For related Situationist posts, see “Judging One by the Actions of Another,” “Virtual Infection, Disease Dynamics, an... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1790596 Sun, 14 Sep 2008 04:01:54 +0100 1790596 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1786252&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F09%2F12%2Fsexism-the-worst-part-is-not-knowing%2F From New Scientist (”Chauvinists Less Unnerving than Ambiguous Men“). * * * Chavinistic men can be petty and infuriating, but that might be as far as it goes. Women are more unnerved by not knowing a man’s views than by overt sexism - so much so that they perform worse in exams. Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton at the University of California, Berkeley, asked 170 female undergraduates to take a written test. Before the test they were randomly assigned to one of three empty offices, which they were told belonged to their male examiner. The fictional offices were furnished in one of three ways to allow the students to infer the examiner’s view of women. They either had “progressive” decor such as a breast-cancer awareness banner, overtly sexist posters of women, or ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1786252 Fri, 12 Sep 2008 04:53:19 +0100 1786252 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1779928&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F09%2F10%2Fthe-racial-situation-of-criminal-juries-and-the-consequences%2F We presented them with two prospective jurors, A and B, and asked participants to assume the role of prosecutor in the case. When photos revealed that Juror A was Black and Juror B was White, participants were more likely to use a peremptory challenge to remove A. But when we kept the information about Jurors A and B the same and simply switched their photos, suddenly B, now the Black juror, was more likely to be challenged. In other words, regardless of the personal and ideological information provided for each prospective juror, participants were basing their challenge decisions on race. And when we asked participants to justify their peremptories? They never talked about race, instead inflating the importance of race-neutral information that supported their challenge, in true top-down f... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1779928 Wed, 10 Sep 2008 04:01:45 +0100 1779928 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1773355&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F09%2F08%2Fthe-situation-of-trust%2F Drake Benefit recently had a great Boston Globe piece, titled “The Confidence Game,” examining the situation of trust. In it, he examines some of the techniques employed by Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter (aka Clark Rockefeller) in his constructed life as Clark Rockefeller. * * * Human beings are social animals, and our first instinct is to trust others. Con men, of course, have long known this - their craft consists largely of playing on this predilection, and turning it to their advantage. But recently, behavioral scientists have also begun to unravel the inner workings of trust. Their aim is to decode the subtle signals that we send out and pick up, the cues that, often without our knowledge, shape our sense of someone’s reliability. Researchers have discovered that surp... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1773355 Mon, 08 Sep 2008 04:01:30 +0100 1773355 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1760273&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F09%2F04%2Fpatricia-devine-on-resisting-implicit-associations%2F Nicole Fritz has a nice article summarizing research of Patricia Devine, a University of Wisconsin-Madison psychology professor. Here’s a sample. * * * It is a question on many Americans’ minds: Is the United States ready for a black president, or will deep-rooted and even unconscious prejudices show at the polls? For Patricia Devine, . . . who researches prejudice, the answer isn’t black and white. “Your conscious mind might tell you to vote for [Obama], but in the privacy of the election booth your unconscious biases may vote differently,” Devine says. However, Devine holds out when she reflects on the outcome of the election. “It remains to be seen but, cautiously, I think America is ready.” It is Devine’s rare and constant optimism in peo... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1760273 Thu, 04 Sep 2008 04:02:31 +0100 1760273 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1750497&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F09%2F01%2Fthe-situation-of-metaphor%2F Over on We’re Only Human, Wray Herbert has another one of his superb posts, this one about the situtational sources of temperature-based metaphors — and the association of cold and lonely. Here’s a sample. * * * Psychologists are curious about this metaphor, and others. Some believe that metaphors are much more than literary conventions, indeed that they are constellations of ancient and recent experience that we use to help us comprehend the complexity of our emotional lives. According to this view, metaphors are readily available because they are deep-wired into our neurons. But how did they get there? Two psychologists at the University of Toronto decided to explore this question in the laboratory. Chen-Bo Zhong and Geoffrey Leonardelli wanted to see if our use of meta... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1750497 Mon, 01 Sep 2008 04:01:16 +0100 1750497 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1730804&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F08%2F25%2Fthe-cognitive-costs-of-interracial-interactions%2F Ann Conkle has an article, titled “Investigating Interracial Interactions,” (in the current APS Observer) summarizing Jennifer Richeson’s presentation at the APS 20th Annual Convention at which Richeson described her remarkable research on interracial interactions. * * * [Richeson] . . . presented her recent findings in the During an encounter between people of different races, if one or both parties are worried about the possibility of expressing or being thought to express prejudice, they may experience some level of anxiety or self-consciousness and may even induce physiological responses to stress, like an increased heart rate and constriction of blood vessels. These reactions can also be cognitively costly. After being primed with a racial situation, like discussing ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1730804 Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:01:22 +0100 1730804 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1729733&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F08%2F23%2Fthe-interior-situation-of-undecided-voters%2F From Anne McIlroy’s article, titled “You May Know How You’ll Vote Before You Know It,” in the Science section of the Globe and Mail: Undecided about how you will vote if there is a federal election this fall? New research suggests you may not know your own mind. Voters make decisions at an unconscious level before they deliberate about their options, University of Western Ontario psychologist Bertram Gawronski said. In the latest edition of the journal Science, he and two Italian researchers report on a technique that may allow pollsters one day to read the minds of undecided voters and accurately predict whom they will end up supporting. * * * In the Science article, he and colleagues Luciano Arcuri and Silvia Galdi at the University of Padova describe an experime... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1729733 Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:32:23 +0100 1729733 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1720621&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F08%2F20%2Flegal-academic-backlash-abstract%2F This article is the third of a multipart series. The first part, “The Great Attributional Divide,” argues that a major rift runs across many of our major policy debates based on our attributional tendencies: the less accurate dispositionist approach, which explains outcomes and behavior with reference to people’s dispositions (i.e., personalities, preferences, and the like), and the more accurate situationist approach, which bases attributions of causation and responsibility on unseen influences within us and around us. The second part, “Naive Cynicism,” explores how dispositionism maintains its dominance despite the fact that it misses so much of what actually moves us. It argues that the answer lies in a subordinate dynamic and discourse, naive cynicism: the... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1720621 Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:00:48 +0100 1720621 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1711885&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F08%2F17%2Fsituatiolympics-abstracts%2F This study out of Clemson catalogued all commentary by NBC-affiliated personalities during the network’s prime-time coverage of the 2006 Winter Olympics. Not only were men covered and mentioned more extensively (even when the women were more successful), but attributions of success and failure differed by gender, too. Male athletes were seen as more composed and intelligent in victory, and less committed in defeat. Female athletes were seen as more courageous in victory, and weaker athletes in defeat. The differences were more prevalent among on-site reporters than among the (more scripted) anchors. A similar pattern was found with regard to nationality. Americans were seen as having more concentration, composure, commitment, and courage in victory, while non-Americans were granted m... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1711885 Sun, 17 Aug 2008 18:16:13 +0100 1711885 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1692478&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F08%2F08%2Fthe-psychology-of-barack-obama-as-the-antichrist%2F We recently highlighted the possible role of implicit associations in the John McCain ad connecting Barack Obama to Britany Spears and Paris Hilton. To continue the discussion of possible subconscious manipulations in political ads, we bring you an interesting new article on McCain’s “The One” ad by Amy Sullivan of Time Magazine. Sullivan examines whether The One (available above) implicitly suggests that Obama is the Antichrist. We excerpt her article below. * * * The Republican nominee’s advisers brush off the charges, arguing that the spot was meant to be a “creative” and “humorous” way of poking fun at Obama’s popularity by painting him as a self-appointed messiah. But even this innocuous interpretation of the ad — which includes ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1692478 Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:35:35 +0100 1692478 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1679715&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F08%2F05%2Fpolitical-psychology-in-2008%2F Sharon Begley has a very interesting article, “How Our Unconscious Votes,” in HealthNewsDigest.com. Here’s an excerpt. * * * Give the democrats of West Virginia points for honesty. As Hillary Clinton romped to a landslide of 67 to 26 percent over Barack Obama in the primary, 20 percent of voters in exit polls said that race was an important factor in their choice—triple the percentage of earlier primaries. Of those, 80 percent voted for Clinton, making clear what they meant by “important.” Obama’s “black supremacist” minister concerns her, one woman told my colleague Suzanne Smalley. Another found Obama’s “background, his heritage” suspicious. Both said they’d vote for John McCain over Obama. The 2008 campaign has be... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1679715 Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:28:44 +0100 1679715 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1675244&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F08%2F01%2Frace-and-hollywood-black-images-on-film-clip-01-cosby-and-bogle%2F (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1675244 Fri, 01 Aug 2008 18:31:47 +0100 1675244 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1671915&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F07%2F31%2Fanimated-gender-stereotypes%2F [via Sociological Images] (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1671915 Fri, 01 Aug 2008 01:58:52 +0100 1671915 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1657460&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F07%2F27%2Fthe-interior-situation-of-suicide%2F The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine included an article by Peter Bebergal, titled “On the Edge.” (The teaser reads as follows: “Can a test reveal if a person has a subconscious desire to kill himself? Peter Bebergal, who lost a brother to suicide, goes inside Mass. General, where Harvard researchers are trying to find out.”) Here are a few excerpts. * * * Four years after my brother’s death, Harvard researchers at MGH are experimenting with a test they think could help clinicians determine just that. It focuses on a patient’s subconscious thoughts, and if it can be perfected, these researchers say it could give hospitals more of a legal basis for admitting suicidal patients. * * * This missing piece in the suicidal puzzle is what prompted the innovative res... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1657460 Sun, 27 Jul 2008 04:01:05 +0100 1657460 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1652696&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F07%2F24%2Fsocial-psychology-and-the-unconscious-the-automaticity-of-higher-processes%2F The cognitive revolution of psychology in the 1970s began to give way to the early findings of automaticity in the 1980s, which were spearheaded by Situationist contributor John Bargh, whose dissertation on automatic social perception won the Dissertation Award from the Society of Experimental Social Psychology in 1982. Since that time, the field of automaticity has grown from a few studies on social perception and judgment to encompass research across the social psychology spectrum, including research on emotions, attitudes, goal pursuit, relationships, and evaluations. In Bargh’s latest book, Social Psychology and the Unconscious: The Automaticity of Higher Processes, he collects chapters from researchers working on automaticity within these varied contexts. Bargh makes clear in his in... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1652696 Thu, 24 Jul 2008 21:25:19 +0100 1652696 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1561425&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F07%2F02%2Fthe-turban-effect%2F Christian Unkelbach, has authored a fascinating study which suggests the “turban effect” as a source of Islamophobia. The study will be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. The following excerpts about this study are taken from a recent article in The Vancouver Sun. * * * A Muslim-style turban is perceived as a threat, according to a new study, even by people who don’t realize they hold the prejudice, dubbed “the turban effect” by researchers. Research volunteers played a computer game that showed apartment balconies on which different figures appeared, some wearing Muslim-style turbans or hijabs and others bare-headed. They were told to shoot at the targets carrying guns and spare those who were unarmed, with points... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1561425 Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:24:42 +0100 1561425 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1552080&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F06%2F28%2Fthe-situation-of-a-name%2F Robin Turner has an interesting article in Wales Online, titled “People’s names linked to self-esteem, says Welsh research.” We’ve pasted a few excerpts below. * * * What’s in a name? Future happiness, self-esteem and peace of mind, according to research carried out in a Welsh university. But Jochen Gebauer, lead author of a new psychological study, warns that people really have to like their own names before the peace of mind, happiness and self- esteem kick in. He claims to have uncovered a clear link between name-liking and overall self-esteem. “People who have high self-esteem tend to like their name more,” said Mr Gebauer, a PhD student in the school of psychology at Cardiff University. “The reason is known as the ‘mere-ownership effect’ which essen... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1552080 Sat, 28 Jun 2008 16:00:01 +0100 1552080 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1492392&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F06%2F03%2Fon-being-a-mindful-voter-2%2F This post was first published in January. We thought it was worth republishing today. Situationist contributor Mahzarin Banaji has an eloquent editorial, “We Don’t Know What We Think,” in yesterday’s Atlanta Constitution. We excerpt portions of it below. * * * Our intense scrutiny of the presidential candidates has produced a relentless stream of questions, some thoughtful and relevant, others spectacularly irrelevant and even embarrassing: Why are you not more likable, Hillary? How good a Christian can he be with the name Hussein? With our focus solely on the candidates, however, we have neglected to examine the other powerful determinant of the election: the state of our own minds. And yet we know that the voter’s mind, the very thing doing the question... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1492392 Wed, 04 Jun 2008 05:03:46 +0100 1492392 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1417952&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F05%2F02%2Fdiscriminating-mind%2F Amy Wax posted her article, “The Discriminating Mind: Define it, Prove it” (forthcoming 40 Connecticut Law Review (2008)) on SSRN. The abstract is below. * * * Differential group achievements in competitive spheres like business, government, and academia, in conjunction with professed organizational commitments to fairness and equal opportunity, fuel claims that unconscious discrimination operates widely in society today. But attempts to blame disparities by race or sex on inadvertent bias must be approached with caution in the current climate. Many allegations concerning unconscious discrimination do not properly allege category-based treatment at all but rather target the disparate impact, or differential effects, of category-neutral criteria. Such impacts often reflect w... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1417952 Fri, 02 May 2008 22:00:52 +0100 1417952 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1416565&cid=t_157903_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F05%2F02%2Fthe-interior-situation-of-infants%2F We presented them with pictures of faces, side by side, one white and one African, and we observed where they preferred to look. The white children in Israel preferred white faces. Babies in Ethiopia preferred to look at Ethiopian faces. The third group showed no preference.’ More fascinating still is that Spelke’s lab has revealed a deep-seated prejudice, present in infants, that trumps racial bias: language. Dr Katherine Kinzler, though based in Harvard, spends much time running parallel studies in France. ‘Five-month-old babies will look longer at somebody who spoke to them in their language. Older infants want to accept a toy from someone who has spoken their language,’ Dr Kinzler says. ‘They like toys more that are associated with some... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1416565 Fri, 02 May 2008 13:36:09 +0100 1416565