Persistently Harsh Punishments Amid Efforts to Reform: Using Tools From Social Psychology to Counteract Racial Bias in School Disciplinary Decisions

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 384-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Ispa-Landa
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
Racial Disparities ◽  
Perspective Taking ◽  
School Discipline ◽  
Racial Bias ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Psychological Skills ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Racial Gaps ◽  
Research And Policy

In response to concerns about overly harsh and racially inequitable school discipline, schools have introduced disciplinary reforms. However, even in schools where these reformative programs are present, many students continue to be subject to developmentally inappropriate discipline and striking racial gaps in disciplinary outcomes persist. Teachers’ implicit racial bias likely contributes to racial disparities in school discipline. In this article, I highlight two social psychological skills—perspective-taking and individuating—that have been found to reduce the effects of implicit bias in nonschool settings. I suggest that if developed in educators, these social psychological skills could also help reduce racial disparities in school discipline. I discuss implications for future research and policy.

scholarly journals Educating to Tolerance: Effects of Communicating Social Psychology Research Findings

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 476-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco La Barbera
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Ingroup Bias ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Psychology Research ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
School Students ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
High Motivation ◽  
Level Of Motivation

The effect of communicating social psychology research findings on ingroup bias in a classroom setting has been investigated. Two hundred and twenty one high school students either read or did not read a brief report about three classical social psychological studies, then completed evaluation scales for the ingroup and the outgroup. Participants’ motivation was manipulated, and the messages were different as regards the congruency between the content and participants’ actual intergroup experience. Results showed that communication exerted a significant effect in reducing ingroup bias for participants in the high motivation/high congruency condition, that is, the communication effect was moderated by the individual’s level of motivation and the content of the arguments proposed in the report. Practical implications of results for education work and stereotype change, limitations of the study, as well as possible directions for future research are discussed.

Will Becoming More Creative Make us More Tolerant?

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agata Groyecka
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Intergroup Relations ◽  
Openness To Experience ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Applied Psychology ◽  
The Common ◽  
Points Of View

AbstractThis commentary attempts to address the question of “Why creativity matters?” from the perspective of social psychology, by pointing out processes, which promote creativity while diminishing prejudices. I argue that through enhancing creativity, stereotyping can be reduced which can translate to the further improvement of intergroup relations. The common correlates of low prejudices and creativity supporting this hypothesis, are presented in this paper and comprise: (1) cognitive flexibility, (2) openness to experience and (3) perspective taking. Further, I invoke the existing literature regarding the link between schema-inconsistencies and creativity, which highlights the interrelatedness of these processes, but views creativity as an outcome, rather than a tool for social change. The assumed relationship can be seen as an opening to numerous future research paths, as it can give rise to various detailed questions from the points of view of basic and applied psychology.

On Emotion In Sport: Theoretical and Social Psychological Perspectives

1983 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Vallerand
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Research Issues ◽  
Psychological Study ◽  
Comprehensive Theory ◽  
Cognitive Theories ◽  
Antecedents And Consequences

This paper presents and critically assesses four major cognitive theories of emotion. Theories were selected on the basis of their pertinence to a social psychological study of emotion in sport. Four cognitive theories of emotion by Schachter (1964), Lazarus (1966), Arnold (1960), and Weiner (1981) were reviewed. Strengths and weaknesses of these theories were examined. Cognitive theories of emotion were also shown to be amenable to theoretical research in sport. It was suggested that a comprehensive theory of emotion in sport should incorporate aspects of different cognitive theories of emotion thus leading to a better understanding and prediction of emotion in sport settings. Such a comprehensive theory, however, must await future research. Issues for a social psychology of emotion in sport were formulated. It was argued that emotion research in sport should be incorporated within a social psychological framework. To this end it was suggested that a better understanding of the antecedents and consequences of affect is needed in order to fully understand emotion as experienced by sport participants.

scholarly journals The Social Psychology of Citizenship: Engagement With Citizenship Studies and Future Research

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 192-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clifford Stevenson ◽  
Nick Hopkins ◽  
Russell Luyt ◽  
John Dixon
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Current Trend ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Valuable Contribution ◽  
Psychological Study ◽  
Thematic Section ◽  
The Social

In this article we review the argument outlined in the opening article in this special thematic section: that the current social psychology of citizenship can be understood as the development of longstanding conceptualisations of the concept within the discipline. These conceptualisations have contributed to the current social psychological study of the constructive, active and collective (but often exclusive) understandings of citizenship in people’s everyday lives, as evidenced by contributions to this thematic section. We consider how this emerging body of work might fit with current citizenship studies and in particular how it may contribute to the current trend towards conceiving citizenship as an active practice embedded in everyday social life. Specifically, we highlight three areas of future research that we think are particularly promising: citizenship and recognition; displays and enactments of citizenship in public space; citizenship and lived coexistence. Although this is far from an exhaustive list of possibilities, we propose that research in these areas could enable the way for social psychology to articulate a distinct, recognisable and valuable contribution to citizenship studies.

Social Psychology and Language

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan C. Baker ◽  
Bernadette M. Watson ◽  
Cindy Gallois
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Early 21St Century ◽  
Language Identity ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Relationship

Language is a social behavior and a key aspect of social interaction. Language is ubiquitous and usually occurs with other human behaviors across diverse contexts. Thus, it is difficult to study it in isolation. This difficulty may be why most, albeit not all, social psychologists tend to neglect language, in spite of the prominence of language in early 20th century social psychology and the presence of numerous handbooks and reviews of this area. Language use has implications for many social psychological processes, and, given its role in daily social life, it is important to understand its social underpinnings. The field of language and social psychology highlights the relationship between language and communication and foregrounds the differences between the social-psychological and communication approaches. One central issue is bilingualism and the relationships among language, identity, and culture. Another is methodology, where social psychologists have tended to choose experimental and survey strategies to look at language (not always to the best advantage). This century has seen the development of new technologies that allow us to look at language on a large scale and in rich detail and that have the potential to transform this research. In part as a consequence, in the early 21st century there are many new topics emerging in language and social psychology that help to set a new agenda for future research.

The Psychology of Collective Action

2012 ◽  
pp. 780-803 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren E. Duncan
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Individual Difference ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Group Consciousness ◽  
Psychology Research ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Individual Difference Variables ◽  
Phenomenological Experience ◽  
The Social

Personality and social psychology research on motivation for collective action is reviewed and integrated into a model presented in Figure 31.1. The personality work effectively identifies correlates of collective action without necessarily providing explanations of motivation. The social psychological work provides convincing motives for collective action but downplays individual difference variables. The integration of these two traditions addresses these gaps and allows for a deeper, more complex understanding of the phenomenological experience of the development of group consciousness and links to collective action. Promising areas for potential future research are discussed.

A Matter of Measurement: How Different Ways of Measuring Racial Gaps in School Discipline Can Yield Drastically Different Conclusions About Racial Disparities in Discipline

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 382-387
Author(s):  
F. Chris Curran
Keyword(s):  
Racial Disparities ◽  
School Discipline ◽  
Discipline Gap ◽  
Racial Gaps

Racial disparities in school discipline remain central to policy discussions around school discipline. Recent research points to the importance of how discipline disparities are measured for the conclusions that are drawn about the extent of the problem or whether such disparities are improving. This brief uses data from Maryland to demonstrate how the choice of metric of the Black-White discipline gap can drastically change conclusions about whether the gap is closing or widening as well as conclusions about whether particular districts or schools have high or low racial disparities in discipline. This brief shows how interpretations of the Black-White discipline gap can be drastically different when using different metrics. Implications for educational researchers and practitioners studying school discipline are given.

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