SAGE Journal Articles

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Journal Article 1: Rattan, A., & Ambady, N. (2014). How “it gets better”: Effectively communicating support to targets of prejudice. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40, 555–566.

Abstract: What is said when communicating intergroup support to targets of prejudice, and how do targets react? We hypothesized that people not targeted by prejudice reference social connection (e.g., social support) more than social change (e.g., calling for a reduction in prejudice) in their supportive messages. However, we hypothesized that targets of prejudice would be more comforted by social change messages. We content coded naturalistic messages of support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning teenagers from youtube.com (Study 1) and college undergraduates’ statements (Study 2a) and found social connection messages more frequent than social change messages. Next, we explored targets’ responses (Studies 2b-4b). Lesbian and gay participants rated social connection messages less comforting than social change messages (Study 3). Study 4 showed that only targets of prejudice distinguish social connection from social change messages in this way, versus non-targets. These results highlight the importance of studying the communication, content, and consequences of positive intergroup attitudes.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What research design is used this study (i.e., experiment, quasi-experiment, correlational study, case study)? Describe any independent and dependent variables in the design.
  2. Should the authors make one-tailed or two-tailed hypotheses for their statistical analysis? Explain why.
  3. State the null and alternative hypotheses for this study.
  4. What decision did the researchers make regarding the null hypothesis?

Journal Article 2: Thomas, A. J., & Blackmon, S. M. (2015). The influence of the Trayvon Martin shooting on racial socialiation practices of African American parents. Journal of Black Psychology, 41, 75–89.

Abstract: Many perceived the death of Trayvon Martin as racially motivated. We hypothesized that hearing about the death of Trayvon Martin also had an effect on African American parents. This qualitative investigation explored African American parents’ perceptions of the death of Trayvon Martin and how it affected the provision of racial socialization. The analysis indicated that a number of parents felt that Trayvon Martin’s death was a form of racial profiling and that young Black men needed to be protected. Participants were also worried about their children after the shooting and took approaches to explaining the shooting that involved discussing the presence of racism, framing it as an individual violent incident, as well as engaging in emotional processing with their children. Finally, parents also provided suggestions on what their children should do if they were placed in a similar situation. These included obtaining help, getting away from the perpetrator, being respectful to the perpetrator, and engaging in self-defense.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What research design is used this study (i.e., experiment, quasi-experiment, correlational study, case study)? Describe any independent and dependent variables in the design.
  2. Should the authors make one-tailed or two-tailed hypotheses for their statistical analysis? Explain why.
  3. State the null and alternative hypotheses for this study.
  4. What decision did the researchers make regarding the null hypothesis?