Previous research suggests that young children expect individuals who are members of the same social group (e.g., race, gender) to have warmer and closer relationships than individuals who are members of different social groups. Such an expectation may act as a barrier to academic achievement for children assigned to cross-race teachers, particularly during kindergarten. To investigate the effect of student-teacher relationships on academic achievement, kindergarten students (N = 70; 27 European American, 14 African American, 25 Latino, 4 Asian American) were assigned to a teacher who was depicted as having either warm cross-race (experimental condition) or warm same-race (control condition) relationships. The consequential effects on students’ perceptions of the their student-teacher relationship quality and school performance was examined. Results indicated that students who viewed a presentation emphasizing their teacher’s positive same-race relations, and who were paired with a same-race (but not cross-race) teacher, perceived closer, more supportive relationships with their teachers than their peers. Similarly, African American and Latino students who viewed a presentation emphasizing positive same-race relations perceived closer relations with their teachers than their European American and Asian American peers. Overall, students who viewed a presentation emphasizing positive cross-race relations showed better work habits in the classroom. Unexpectedly, the experimental manipulation was ineffective at countering children’s explicit beliefs about others’ racial biases. Potential implicit mechanisms of change in perceptions of the student-teacher relationship are discussed. / text

Across two studies I examined how making an intergroup ideology salient affected White Canadians’ openness to persuasive appeals and their support for increased government funding to provide clean running water to First Nations communities. In Study 1, 247 White Canadian participants were exposed to either multicultural or colour-blind ideology or no ideology and read six strong arguments in favor of increased government funding. Participants then rated their support for increased funding. Results revealed that White Canadians exposed to multiculturalism allocated less government funding to the issue than did those in the no-ideology condition. In Study 2, 74 White Canadian participants completed all the same measures except they did not read the strong arguments prior to rating their support. Results revealed that White Canadians exposed to multicultural or colour-blind ideology showed greater support for government funding than did those in the no-ideology condition. Implications are discussed. / October 2015

Past research has suggested that exposure to media in which the audience can observe positive interactions between a member or their group and a member of an outgroup can have a positive impact on audience attitudes towards the outgroup. This dissertation examines the reasons why individuals might voluntarily watch these types of intergroup media. Participants were exposed to two television show proposals in which three media features were experimentally manipulated: The social comparison between groups, the stereotypicality of outgroup character, and the presence of intergroup romance. The findings indicate that individuals were motivated to consume media that reduced uncertainty about other groups and increased the perceived status of their own. In addition, although not consistent across the two proposed shows, several of the manipulated media features were found to interact and/or relate indirectly to the attractiveness of the television show through the gratification of these motivations. The theoretical relevance and applicability of these findings is discussed.

In the 1990's, the U.S. saw one of the largest periods of migration to its shores in its history. This surge of immigrants can be classified predominantly as Latino or Asian, which will inevitably result in demographic changes within the country. The largest proportion of immigrants claim Mexico as their country of origin, and according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Hispanics now represent the country's largest minority population. Given these facts, it is important to examine a body of literature that warns of the "balkanization" of America and suggests an inability of this new wave of immigrants to assimilate into American society. Previous research on attitudes towards immigrants has found both cultural and economic indicators to be important determinants of public opinion on this issue. I will expand this research by examining how the public perception of the ability of immigrants to assume an "American" identity and assimilate into society will affect attitudes towards immigrants. My primary research questions are: 1) How do different conceptions of national identity affect attitudes towards immigrants? 2) How do perceptions of the ability of immigrant groups to integrate into American society affect restrictionist views on immigration policy? 3) What group and individual-level characteristics determine differing levels of support for the dimensions of American national identity? My findings suggest that the weight attributed to three distinct dimensions of national identity conditions attitudes towards immigrants and their incorporation into American society.

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Adolescents (N=516) in a rural Midwest high school, grades 9-12, indicated the crowds to which they belong from a list of 10 crowds specified by 4 classes in the school (e.g., Jocks, Emo, Farmers, Smart Kids/Nerds), along with the crowd to which they belong "more than any other." Most of the students (76%) claimed to belong to more than one crowd. Two-step cluster analysis was used to identify patterns of crowd membership, resulting in 8 clusters of distinct, heterogeneous composition. Students were compared on S. E. Paulson's (1994) parenting scale and on J. T. Jost and E. P. Thompson's (2000) social dominance orientation scale. SDO differed significantly among the males in the different crowd clusters, but not the females. Male members of clusters with a majority of members belonging in the Smart Kids/Nerd crowd or who considered themselves "Just Normal" had lower SDO scores than members of clusters with few or no members in the Smart Kids/Nerd crowd. Both mother's and father's responsiveness significantly predicted adolescent's SDO scores after controlling for gender, which was higher among males than females in this adolescent sample. In combination, mother's and father's responsiveness and demandingness explained 12% of the variance in SDO scores. Adolescents who perceived their parents as more responsive had lower SDO scores than adolescents with less responsive parents, but parent responsiveness and demandingness were not related to crowd cluster membership. / Department of Educational Psychology

Objectives: The general problematic of social science research is located in individualized explanations of social and collectively based phenomena. This is due to methodological issues inherent in the way social research is conducted. Research on ingroup bias via the renowned minimal group studies is an exemplar of this general problem and is examined in this study. This research argued that explaining ingroup bias in terms of individuals’ psychological needs is insufficient. This is because the original paper and pencil test failed to account for the effects of social interaction and how the interaction unfolds over time. Consequently, the old problem of ingroup bias was revisited using a new technology: the Virtual Interaction Application (VIAPPL). Design: A within-subjects and between-groups experimental design was used. Methods: VIAPPL was used to replicate the original study but in a way that demonstrated how ingroup bias was produced in interaction over time. This was facilitated by the ‘Give and Get’ game, where participants allocated tokens to one another in a simulated game-like environment. A repeated measures ANOVA and social network analyses were used to analyse the data. Results: As predicted, 1) ingroup bias was found most likely to be manifest in social interaction characterised by group categorization, and 2) more ingroup bias was expressed when the group interaction is visible to those participating in the interaction. Ingroup bias did not amplify as the group interaction unfolded over time. However, there was evidence proving that ingroup bias is not static, as was previously thought. Instead, it changed by increasing and decreasing as the rounds of the game advanced. Furthermore, the investigation revealed that 1) participants distributed their tokens fairly when they acted with and without a group membership, 2) observing the interaction informed the way tokens were allocated in both individual and group conditions, and 3) reciprocity was not operant in the interaction. Conclusions: This study introduced a new framework for studies in the minimal group paradigm (MGP) that allowed participants to interact in a virtual environment and enabled both traditional ANOVA methods and social network analyses. By rendering social interaction visible in the MGP, this study moved beyond an individualized explanation of social interaction by offering a social explanation of the behaviours manifested. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2014.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2007. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 114-118).

Thesis (M.A.)--Bowling Green State University, 2009. / Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 60 p. Includes bibliographical references.