Considérant la « nouveauté » du phénomène de dénonciation auprès des policiers et l’utilisation croissante du concept social de « crime motivé par la haine », peu d’études ont été réalisées au Canada sur l’incidence de ces crimes pour les personnes comme pour la société. Cette recherche exploratoire a comme objectif de comprendre la façon dont ce type de crime se distingue des autres manifestations de conflits ou d’incidents et de comprendre les impacts de ce type de victimisation pour les homosexuels en particulier. Plus spécifiquement, ce mémoire vise à approfondir la compréhension du stigmate homosexuel et son impact sur la reportabilité des événements de victimisation criminelle aux autorités judiciaires. Pour ce faire, cinq intervenants communautaires, deux policiers, un avocat et quatre victimes considérant avoir vécu des événements de violence homophobe ont été interviewés. Cet échantillon diversifié a permis de mieux comprendre le phénomène de sous-déclaration des incidents de violences homophobes de la part des victimes et d’obtenir une vue d’ensemble des perceptions des acteurs clés qui peuvent être confrontés au phénomène. L’analyse des entretiens suggère d’importantes lacunes sur le plan de la formation des divers intervenants qui entrainent des difficultés à reconnaître une violence homophobe. Les intervenants confient ne pas se sentir pas suffisamment outillés pour intervenir auprès d’une victime de violence homophobe, n’estiment pas tous posséder les compétences et une compréhension suffisante des réalités des minorités sexuelles, de l'homophobie et de l'hétérosexisme, en somme, l’ensemble des savoirs ultimement nécessaires à une assistance et un accompagnement efficaces pour la déclaration aux autorités d’une telle violence vécue par les victimes. Du côté des victimes de violence(s) homophobe(s), il ressort que la discrimination basée sur l’orientation sexuelle est encore prégnante dans leurs interactions quotidiennes. De leur point de vue, la banalisation et l’impunité de certains comportements homophobes par les instances judiciaires viennent renforcer l’idée chez les victimes et la société d’une forme d’infériorité de l’orientation homosexuelle. L’apposition d’une étiquette homosexuelle paraît ainsi avoir de multiples conséquences psychologiques et sociales sur les victimes, notamment sur leur développement identitaire et sexuel. L’intégration des stigmates homosexuels et l’autostigmatisation, qui les poussent à se déprécier, voire à déprécier l’ensemble de la communauté homosexuelle, surgissent de leur perception de la présence de forts stéréotypes homosexuels, d’une société majoritairement hétérosexiste et de l’opérationnalisation sociale d’une distanciation entre le « nous » hétérosexuel et le « eux » homosexuel. Par leur marginalisation, leur mise en infériorité historique, l’ambiguïté du concept de « crimes motivés par la haine », la noncompréhension de la violence et des répercussions qu’ont les intervenants communautaires et judiciaires de la situation et partant, dans bien des cas, de la prise en charge inadéquate qui en découle pour les victimes des violences homophobes, il est possible de comprendre les appréhensions mentales que les victimes entretiennent ainsi que leur réticence à solliciter de l’aide et encore plus à rapporter la victimisation vécue aux autorités judiciaires. / Given the “novelty” of the denunciation phenomenon with the police and the increasing use of the social concept of "hate crime", few studies have been conducted in Canada on the impact of these crimes for individuals and for society. This exploratory research aims to understand how this type of crime is different from other conflicts of events or incidents and to understand the impacts of this type of victimization on homosexuals in particular. More specifically, this paper aims to deepen understanding of the homosexual stigma and its impact on reportability of criminal victimization events to judicial authorities. For those purposes, five community stakeholder, two policemen, a lawyer and four victims who believes that they have experienced homophobic violence events were interviewed. This diversified sample allowed a better understanding of the phenomenon of underreporting of homophobic violence incidents by victims and a comprehensive overview of the perceptions of key stakeholders who may face this phenomenon. The interviews analysis suggests significant deficiencies in the training of the various stakeholders that cause difficulties to acknowledge homophobic violence. Stakeholders entrust feeling not sufficiently equipped to intervene with a victim of homophobic violence, acknowledge that they do not have the necessary skills and a sufficient understanding of the realities of sexual minorities, homophobia and heterosexism, in sum, all the knowledge ultimately necessary to provide assistance and effective support to report to authorities such violence experienced by victims. As for victims of homophobic (s) violence (s), it is clear that discrimination based on sexual orientation is still vivid in their daily interactions. From their perspective, the trivialization and impunity of some homophobic behavior by the courts reinforce the idea among victims and society of a form of inferiority of the homosexual orientation. The affixing of homosexual label appears to have multiple social and psychological consequences for victims, in particular on their identity and sexual development. The integration of gay stigma and self-stigma that drive homosexuals to depreciate themselves or the entire gay community, arise from their perception of the presence of strong homosexual stereotypes, a predominantly heterosexist society operationalizing social distancing between "us" heterosexuals and "them" gays. By their marginalization, their social inferiority position throughout History, the ambiguity of the concept of "hate motivated crimes", the lack of understanding of violence and the impact that community and judicial stakeholders of the situation and thus, in many cases, may be a consequence of inadequate care for victims of homophobic violence, it is possible to understand the mental apprehensions that victims have and their reluctance to seek help and even more, to report to judicial authorities their victimization.

Visão é um processo que envolve uma grande quantidade de informações, as quais precisam ser otimizadas de alguma forma para propiciar um processamento eficiente. Grande parte das informações visuais estão contidas nos contornos de uma imagem e uma grande redução no volume dos dados pode ser conseguida com a análise dos contornos. Além dos contornos, a detecção de segmentos de reta é o próximo passo na compressão das informações visuais. A detecção de retas ocorre no sistema visual humano, e também no de outros seres vivos. Entre os invertebrados terrestres, o melhor sistema de visão é o das aranhas da família Salticidae e este apresenta características que facilitam a detecção de retas. Este trabalho propõe um novo método de detecção de retas, baseado no sistema visual das aranhas saltadoras, que aborda este problema através de um enfoque inédito, por otimização. O método realiza a busca por retas através de janelas lineares. Para isso, a detecção de retas será feita em um espaço de parâmetros, com a utilização do algoritmo de maximização de funções \"Downhill Simplex\". O método desenvolvido leva em consideração a natureza discreta da imagem e do espaço de parâmetros utilizado, e este trabalho inclui um estudo detalhado destes espaços discretos. O método incorpora, para lidar adequadamente com as peculiaridades do problema, características como \"Simulated Annealing\" e largura adaptativa. O desempenho do método depende de um conjunto de parâmetros cujo comportamento é de difícil previsão, e a escolha de um conjunto foi realizada através de um algoritmo genético. O trabalho envolve também a construção de um protótipo para a realização de testes utilizando o método desenvolvido. Os resultados foram analisados quanto a precisão na detecção de retas, ao tempo de processamento e a movimentação das janelas lineares, relacionada aos esforços na busca por retas. / Vision is a process that involves a large amount of information that need to be somehow optimized to allow efficient processing. Most of the visual information is contained in the contours of an image and a considerable reduction in the amount of data can be achieved by fmding and processing these contours. The next step to further compress the visual data is to fmd straight segments, and represent the contours in terms of these entities. Straight-line segment detection is performed by the human visual system, as well as by other creatures. Among terrestrial invertebrates, the best visual system is that of the Salticidae family of spiders, also known as jumping spiders. This visual system presents some characteristics that facilitate the detection of straight-lines. The present work proposes a new method for straight-line detection, based on the visual system of the jumping spiders, using linear windows. This method approach the straight-line detection problem through an optimization point of view yet unexplored in literature. The detection will be accomplished in a parameter space, using the \"Downhill Simplex\" maximization algorithm. The method considers the discrete nature of both the image and the parameter spaces, and this work includes a detailed analysis of these discrete spaces. The method also incorporates, to adequately deal with the specific characteristics of the problem, resources such as \"Simulated Annealing\" and adaptive width of the linear windows. The performance of the method depends on a set of parameters, which behavior is hard to predict, and the choice of an adequate set was made using a genetic algorithm. The work also involves the project and construction of a prototype, to evaluate the proposed method. Results were analyzed regarding their precision, processing time and the movements of the linear windows, related to the effort made to detect the straight lines.

Despite the substantial amount of education research on “teaching for understanding” and “learning for understanding” processes that has occurred in the fields of achievement goals, constructivist-based pedagogy, motivational beliefs and self-regulated learning there is little research that considers in unison the pillar constructs of these fields. Three studies comprised the present research which was designed to address the proposal that important social- and personal-based constructs associated with achievement goals, constructivist-based pedagogy, motivational beliefs, and self-regulated learning act in an interdisciplinary fashion to influence learning in the high school science classroom. All the large-scale quantitative studies presented a single-level structural equation model that was applicable to the general high school science student, controlling for the variance associated with age, gender, and student type (regular or selective high school student). Results from the two large-scale trait-level correlational studies of Study 1 (n = 655) and Study 2 (n = 617) using the Achievement Goals Questionnaire (Elliot & Church, 1997), Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (Taylor, Fraser, & Fisher, 1997) and the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (Pintrich, Smith, Garcia, & McKeachie, 1991) as the main quantitative instruments found support for the hypothesis that a perceived emphasis on the constructivist-based pedagogical dimensions of personal relevance and student negotiation in science classrooms promotes the adoption of mastery-approach and intrinsic value. These analyses also showed the importance of self-efficacy in promoting mastery-approach, performance-approach and the use of regulatory strategies, and that test anxiety had positive associations with mastery-avoidance and performance-avoidance goals. / Study 3 comprised of two mini-studies that investigated the associations of competence perceptions, achievement goals and self-regulated learning in two science classroom learning contexts: teacher-led discussion (n = 451) and group work (n = 476). Using specifically developed context-level questionnaires, the results of these studies affirmed current theories concerning the interactions of self-efficacy, achievement goals, self-regulated learning (regulatory strategy use) and maladaptive strategy use. Students interviewed in Study 3 mostly reported the adoption of their achievement goals depended upon personal reasons that were commensurate with current achievement goal theory (Elliot, 1999) rather than specific classroom practices. The present research was also significant in that it tested the empirical stature of two frameworks by which social/cognitive research affiliated with learning environments, achievement goals and self-regulated learning may be conducted. Firstly, the results of the construct validity measures generated across Studies 1, 2 and 3 found support for the existence of the hypothesised 2 X 2 achievement goals framework (Elliot, 1999; Elliot & McGregor, 2001; Pintrich, 2000a). Secondly, the research introduced the tenets of a “context” hypothesis and found support for this perspective throughout the context-level studies. Adjunct multilevel multiple regressions were used in all the quantitative studies to examine the impact of subpopulation variables (age, gender, regular or selective high school student) and multiple goal interactions upon response variables, and to assess the variance attributed to the response variables at the class-level. Implications for the research disciplines studied are presented in terms of teaching practice, theory, future research and research methods.

Vid tidigare forskning inom redovisningsområdet har det framkommit att individers (ekonomers) bedömningsförmåga påverkas av effektivitetsmotiverat resonerande. Det innebär att personen ifråga gör en mental avvägning mellan att utföra arbetet för att uppnå bästa effekt eller på det effektivaste sättet under press. Bedömningsförmågan påverkas i negativ men även i positiv riktning av olika faktorer. Tidspress har visat sig ha negativ inverkan. Detta resulterar i att personens bedömning, exempelvis i en granskningssituation kan vara genomförd på ett snabbt och tillräckligt sätt enligt gällande regler, men inte nödvändigtvis vara utförd på bästa sättet. Etiska riktlinjer och erfarenhet har i olika studier visat sig ha en positiv inverkan på medarbetares beteende respektive bedömningsförmåga. Studien avser att testa dessa effekter och syftet är att undersöka om bedömningsförmågan försämras av tidspress och om erfarenhet och etiska riktlinjer förbättrar densamma. Detta sker med hjälp av en enkät som via e-post skickats till 976 redovisningskonsulter anslutna till SRF, med en reviderad svarsfrekvens på 13,83 %. Konsulterna fick bedöma relevansen för påståenden av negativ och positiv karaktär, om hur internkontrollen sköts på ett fiktivt företag. En del av respondenterna fick även frågor relaterade till etiska riktlinjer. Resultatet från studien kan inte påvisa någon påverkan av tidspress, men en tendens att etiska riktlinjer och erfarenhet kan ha en dämpande effekt på effektivitetsmotiverat resonerande noterades. / Previous research within the auditing field has found individuals to be influenced by Efficiency Motivated Evaluation (EME). Meaning that the economists’ assessment ability is affected and their ability to evaluate information is deteriorated by different pressure factors, such as time pressure, resulting in their accounting evaluations being implemented in an effective, but not necessarily an efficient way. Other studies also indicates that ethical guidelines and work experience has a positive effect on work performance under pressure. This study intends to test these effects with the aim to investigate if the assessment ability is deteriorated by time pressure and if experience and ethical guidelines improves the assessment ability. The method used was a questionnaire, sent out to 976 authorized accounting consultants, with a response rate of 13, 83 %. The participants responded to assertions about internal control and ethical guidelines. The result from the study shows no significance for influence of time pressure. Although a tendency of calming effect from ethical guidelines and experience was noticed.

Visão é um processo que envolve uma grande quantidade de informações, as quais precisam ser otimizadas de alguma forma para propiciar um processamento eficiente. Grande parte das informações visuais estão contidas nos contornos de uma imagem e uma grande redução no volume dos dados pode ser conseguida com a análise dos contornos. Além dos contornos, a detecção de segmentos de reta é o próximo passo na compressão das informações visuais. A detecção de retas ocorre no sistema visual humano, e também no de outros seres vivos. Entre os invertebrados terrestres, o melhor sistema de visão é o das aranhas da família Salticidae e este apresenta características que facilitam a detecção de retas. Este trabalho propõe um novo método de detecção de retas, baseado no sistema visual das aranhas saltadoras, que aborda este problema através de um enfoque inédito, por otimização. O método realiza a busca por retas através de janelas lineares. Para isso, a detecção de retas será feita em um espaço de parâmetros, com a utilização do algoritmo de maximização de funções \"Downhill Simplex\". O método desenvolvido leva em consideração a natureza discreta da imagem e do espaço de parâmetros utilizado, e este trabalho inclui um estudo detalhado destes espaços discretos. O método incorpora, para lidar adequadamente com as peculiaridades do problema, características como \"Simulated Annealing\" e largura adaptativa. O desempenho do método depende de um conjunto de parâmetros cujo comportamento é de difícil previsão, e a escolha de um conjunto foi realizada através de um algoritmo genético. O trabalho envolve também a construção de um protótipo para a realização de testes utilizando o método desenvolvido. Os resultados foram analisados quanto a precisão na detecção de retas, ao tempo de processamento e a movimentação das janelas lineares, relacionada aos esforços na busca por retas. / Vision is a process that involves a large amount of information that need to be somehow optimized to allow efficient processing. Most of the visual information is contained in the contours of an image and a considerable reduction in the amount of data can be achieved by fmding and processing these contours. The next step to further compress the visual data is to fmd straight segments, and represent the contours in terms of these entities. Straight-line segment detection is performed by the human visual system, as well as by other creatures. Among terrestrial invertebrates, the best visual system is that of the Salticidae family of spiders, also known as jumping spiders. This visual system presents some characteristics that facilitate the detection of straight-lines. The present work proposes a new method for straight-line detection, based on the visual system of the jumping spiders, using linear windows. This method approach the straight-line detection problem through an optimization point of view yet unexplored in literature. The detection will be accomplished in a parameter space, using the \"Downhill Simplex\" maximization algorithm. The method considers the discrete nature of both the image and the parameter spaces, and this work includes a detailed analysis of these discrete spaces. The method also incorporates, to adequately deal with the specific characteristics of the problem, resources such as \"Simulated Annealing\" and adaptive width of the linear windows. The performance of the method depends on a set of parameters, which behavior is hard to predict, and the choice of an adequate set was made using a genetic algorithm. The work also involves the project and construction of a prototype, to evaluate the proposed method. Results were analyzed regarding their precision, processing time and the movements of the linear windows, related to the effort made to detect the straight lines.

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No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Liza Gutierrez_Tese.pdf: 1216689 bytes, checksum: c6df0ac59719cbf67fdcd526bea8bac0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-11-14 / Sem bolsa / Esta tese se insere no campo dos estudos de aquisição da escrita e desenvolveu-se a partir da implementação do programa de estimulação da consciência fonológica (PECF), conforme proposto por Adams, Foorman et al (2006). O objetivo da pesquisa foi implementar e avaliar os efeitos do programa de estimulação sobre a evolução dos níveis de escrita, o desempenho em consciência fonológica (CF) e as escritas produzidas pelas crianças um ano após o programa, especialmente no que diz respeito à produção de erros considerados como decorrentes de complexidades fonológicas concernentes à sílaba e ao segmento. A amostra estudada está composta por dezoito crianças, as quais cursavam o primeiro ano em duas escolas municipais da cidade de Pelotas – RS, divididas em dois grupos, um experimental, com nove alunos, outro controle, composto pelo mesmo número de alunos. A turma experimental recebeu ao longo de nove meses a estimulação em CF por meio da implementação do programa, realizada pela professora da turma. Os dois grupos foram avaliados no início de 2013, a fim de que se pudesse verificar o desempenho em CF (avaliação realizada por meio do CONFIAS de Moojen et al, 2003) e o nível de conceituação da escrita, avaliação realizada a partir do ditado de palavras e uma frase (Ferreiro e Teberosky ,1999). Ao final do ano, novamente foram realizadas avaliações para verificar o desempenho em CF e o nível de escrita em que se encontravam as crianças. Um ano após a implementação do programa, ao final de 2014, os alunos foram novamente avaliados, mas apenas no âmbito da escrita, para que se pudesse analisar a presença de erros motivados pela fonologia, categoria empregada nos estudos desenvolvidos pelo GEALE (Grupo de Estudos sobre Aquisição da Linguagem Escrita). Os resultados obtidos, ainda que com base em uma amostra reduzida, mostram diferenças significativas entre os grupos e apontam para os efeitos positivos da estimulação por meio do PECF, uma vez que 66,67% dos alunos do grupo experimental evoluíram nos níveis de conceituação de escrita, alcançando a base alfabética ao final do ano, enquanto apenas 11,12% do grupo controle chegou a este nível. No CONFIAS, os experimentais apresentaram diferença de escores estatisticamente significativos nas habilidades com sílabas e fonemas e tendência favorável para ambos os sexos em todas as tarefas de CF. A avaliação dos erros motivados pela fonologia mostrou que os experimentais tiveram proteção pela exposição que sofreram com PECF, em comparação aos controles, que escreveram menos e produziram mais erros relacionados à grafia das sílabas e dos segmentos complexos. Conclui-se ao final do trabalho que o programa contribui para o desenvolvimento da escrita e pode diminuir a incidência de erros motivados pela fonologia no grupo estudado. / This thesis is in the field of Writing Acquisition Studies and was developed starting from the implementation of the Phonological Awareness Stimulation Program (PASP), according to what was proposed by Adam, Foorman et al (2006). The main goal of this research was to implement and evaluate the effects of the stimulation program over the evolution of writing levels, the performance in phonological awareness (PA) and the texts produced by the children one year after the implementation of the program, particularly regarding the production of errors considered originated from the phonological complexities concerning the syllable and the segment. The studied sample is composed of 18 children, all of them in the first scholar year in two public schools in the city of Pelotas – RS. The children were divided into two groups, experimental and control, both composed of nine children each. The experimental group received, throughout nine months, the stimulation performed by the class teacher. We evaluated both groups in the beginning of 2013, in order to make it possible to evaluate their performance in PA (evaluation made with the test CONFIAS, by Moojen et al, 2003) and their level of writing concept (evaluation made from a word and sentence spelling from Ferreiro and Teberosky, 1999). By the end of the year, we had new evaluations made to verify the performance in PA and the writing level the children were in. One year after implementing the program, by the end of 2014, the students were once again evaluated, this time only regarding writing, so we could analyze the presence of errors motivated by phonology, category employed in the studies developed by GEALE (Group of Studies on Written Language Acquisition). The results obtained, although with a reduced base sample, show relevant differences between groups and point towards positive effects of stimulation by PASP, since 66.67% of students from the experimental group have evolved in their levels of writing concept, reaching the alphabetical basis by the end of the year, while in the control group this percentage drops to 11.12%. In CONFIAS, the students from the experimental group showed scores statistically significant in their ability with syllables and phonemes, and a positive tendency for both genders in all PA tasks. The evaluation of errors motivated by phonology showed that students from the experimental group were protected by the stimulation they suffered from PASP, when compared to the students from control group, which wrote less and produced more errors related to spelling of syllables and complex segments. We conclude, by the end of this work, that the program contributes to the development of writing skills and can reduce the incidence of phonological motivated errors.

The aim of my thesis is to discover how prevalent the sexual harassment by teachers at Czech secondary schools is and how students perceive such described problematic behaviour. In the theoretical section, I describe the history of origin of the term sexual harassment abroad as well as in the Czech Republic. Further, I present its definitions and Czech legislation of this phenomenon. Consequently, the readers will learn about theories of sexual harassment in the academic setting and about findings of some foreign and Czech researches recently held on this topic. Finally, the last chapter of the theoretical part is devoted to specific setting of secondary schools with emphasis on the main functions of educational institutions. I also point out consequences of adolescent students' sexual harassment. The empirical part then describes a chosen method - quantitative survey research - and its practical use. After that, the findings are presented and analyzed. Besides the overall occurrence of sexual harassment at Czech secondary schools I also focus on the comparison of this phenomenon perception between boys and girls and also among different types of Czech secondary schools.

Research on hate crime has tended to utilize sociological frameworks to best explain the incidence of such offending, but little research has been conducted to determine whether political factors may play a role. Although Olzak (1990) touched upon the relationship between racial violence and third-party politics during the American Progressive era (1882-1914), the research did not fully articulate how political competition may influence the commission of hate crime. The current study seeks to fill this gap, while also extending concepts associated with social disorganization theory and the defended communities perspective. It does so by utilizing a longitudinal research design to assess the impact of theoretical predictors and political competition measures on hate crime prevalence in counties across three states (Tennessee, Virginia & West Virginia) over a seven-year span (2010-2016).

No description available.

L’objectif général de cette thèse de doctorat est de mieux comprendre comment le public interprète les nouvelles scientifiques portant sur la génétique humaine, plus précisément les nouvelles portant sur la génétique des comportements et celles portant sur la génétique des groupes raciaux. L’ouvrage prend la forme d’une thèse par article. Le Chapitre 1 introduit le lecteur aux buts et aux pratiques de la vulgarisation scientifique, présente un sommaire de la recherche sur les effets des médias, résume les principaux travaux produits par le champ de la génopolitique, et définit la structure des croyances du public à l’égard de l’influence de la génétique sur les traits humains. Le Chapitre 2 présente les fondements de la méthode expérimentale, il en explique les atouts et il offre des exemples de différents types de devis expérimentaux utilisés en science politique. Toutes les recherches produites dans cette thèse reposent au moins en partie sur cette méthode. Le Chapitre 3 présente les résultats d’une expérience de sondage qui vise à mesurer l’effet de la lecture d’une nouvelle à propos de la recherche en génétique des comportements sur des participants. L’étude démontre que le public interprète la nouvelle avec maladresse et tend à généraliser l’influence de la génétique à d’autres traits humains qui n’y sont pas mentionnés. J’avance l’hypothèse qu’un raccourci psychologique amplement documenté puisse expliquer cette réaction : l’heuristique de l’ancrage et de l’ajustement. Le Chapitre 4 présente lui aussi les résultats d’une expérience de sondage. L’étude consiste à manipuler certaines informations du contenu d’une nouvelle sur la génopolitique de manière à vérifier si certains éléments sont particulièrement susceptibles de mener à la généralisation hâtive mise en évidence dans le Chapitre 3. Les analyses suggèrent que cette généralisation est amplifiée lorsque la nouvelle présente de hauts niveaux d’héritabilité tirés d’études de jumeaux, ainsi que lorsqu’elle présente des travaux de génétique des populations visant à étudier l’origine des différences géographiques. Ce chapitre présente des recommandations à l’égard des journalistes scientifiques. Le Chapitre 5 s’intéresse à un aspect différent de la génétique humaine : celui de la génétique des races. L’objectif de cette recherche est de comprendre comment le public réagit aux travaux qui invalident l’idée selon laquelle les humains sont divisés en différentes races génétiquement distinctes. Les analyses de données transversales ainsi que les résultats d’une expérience de sondage convergent et indiquent que les conservateurs et les libéraux réagissent de manière diamétralement opposée à cette information. D’un côté, les libéraux acceptent le constat scientifique et réduisent leur impression que la génétique explique en partie les inégalités sociales; de l’autre, les conservateurs rejettent l’argument avec une intensité si forte que le rôle qu’ils attribuent aux différences génétiques s’en voit bonifié. Ces résultats sont interprétés à partir de la théorie du raisonnement motivé. Enfin, le Chapitre 6 résume les principaux constats, met en évidence les contributions que ma thèse apporte à la science politique et à la communication scientifique, et présente quelques pistes pour la recherche future. / The main objective of this doctoral thesis is to improve our understanding of how the public interprets scientific news about human genetics, specifically, behavioral genetics and the genetic underpinnings of racial groups. The core of the dissertation is a collection of three research articles and one book chapter. Chapter 1 introduces the readers to the goals and practices of science journalism, presents a summary of the literature on media effects, summarizes research on genopolitics, and discusses findings in public opinion on how people understand genetic influence on human characteristics. Chapter 2 presents the rationale behind the experimental method, explains its pros and cons, and provides examples of how different types of research designs have been used in political science. All the empirical evidence presented in this dissertation rests at least in part on experiments. Chapter 3 presents the results of a survey experiment that aims to measure the effects on individuals of reading a news article about behavioral genetics research. The study suggests that the public has difficulty in making sense of such research findings. The results show that participants tend to generalize the conclusions of one particular genetic study to other characteristics not mentioned by the study. I hypothesize that these results can be explained by a well-known and widely documented psychological process: the use of anchoring and adjustment heuristics. Chapter 4 presents the results of a second survey experiment. This experiment manipulates the content of a news article about behavioral genetics. The purpose of the manipulation is to test whether particular aspects of article’s message are more likely than others to cause the hasty generalizations revealed in Chapter 3. The findings show that the tendency to generalization is greater when the news presents high heritability estimates derived from twin studies or insights from research using population genetics methods to account for aggregate geographic difference. Based on these findings, the chapter develops recommendations for science journalists interested in covering behavioral genetics. Chapter 5 focuses on a different field of human genetic research, namely, that investigating the genetic bases of racial differences. The chapter’s aim is to improve our understanding of how the public reacts when exposed to scientific claims arguing against the idea that that human beings belong to different, genetically distinct races. Both cross sectional survey data and experimental data suggest that conservatives and liberals react to this information in opposing ways. Liberals tend to accept such arguments and temper their beliefs that genetic differences account for racial inequalities. By contrast, conservatives reject the arguments so strongly that exposure to them actually strengthens these citizens’ beliefs that genetics explain a proportion of racial inequality. These results are interpreted from the perspective of motivated reasoning theory. Finally, Chapter 6 summarizes the main findings of the doctoral dissertation, highlights its contribution to the discipline of political science and the field of science communication, and suggests directions for future research.