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How are people of Asian origin perceived in contemporary U.S. culture? While often depicted as a "model minority"—competent and hardworking but also quiet, unsociable, or cold—little work measures whether and how these stereotypes vary for Asians in different social locations. We use a large (n ≈ 4,700) quota sample of the United States, matched to key U.S. demographics, to map the content of Asian stereotypes across ethnicity, gender, income, and birthplace. We find that some stereotypes are largely consistent across subgroups—such as the perception that Asians lack sociability, but not warmth, relative to White Americans—while others vary substantially. Perceptions of dominance vary by income, while perceptions of competence are moderated by income and ethnicity in complex ways. Stereotypes have important consequences, ranging from everyday frustrations to depressive symptoms and employment discrimination. Our work provides a detailed picture of how stereotypes vary across social locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laboratory experiments have a long history within sociology, with their ability to test causality and their utility for directly observing behavior providing key advantages. One influential social psychological field, status characteristics and expectation states theory, has almost exclusively used laboratory experiments to test the theory. Unfortunately, laboratory experiments are resource intensive, requiring a research pool, laboratory space, and considerable amounts of time. For these and other reasons, social scientists are increasingly exploring the possibility of moving experiments from the lab to an online platform. Despite the advantages of the online setting, the transition from the lab is challenging, especially when studying behavior. In this project, we develop methods to translate the traditional status characteristics experimental setting from the laboratory to online. We conducted parallel laboratory and online behavioral experiments using three tasks from the status literature, comparing each task's ability to differentiate on the basis of status distinctions. The tasks produce equivalent results in the online and laboratory environment; however, not all tasks are equally sensitive to status differences. Finally, we provide more general guidance on how to move vital aspects of laboratory studies, such as debriefing, suspicion checks, and scope condition checks, to the online setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Quantitative survey research findings reveal that Western countries have lower rates of public stigma surrounding mental illness than other nations. However, qualitative media research across selected Western countries reports differences in stigmatising messages. Here, we take an in-depth look at country-level data exploring both similarities and differences in this stigma across three countries. Specifically, we use previous findings on global differences in public stigma and media to examine whether there is a correspondence between themes in newspaper reporting and variations in attitudes across seven stigma dimensions. Methods: The Stigma in Global Context – Mental Health Study provides nationally representative data from Iceland (N=1033; response rate=71%), Germany (N=1255; response rate=63.16%) and the USA (N=1425; response rate=67.31%). We limit analyses to respondents who received a vignette describing an individual meeting clinical criterion for schizophrenia or depression. Exploratory data analyses are used to examine overall patterns and cross-national differences. Results: Graphical analyses show patterned similarities, especially for more individuals endorsing social distance as contact becomes more intimate. However, results also corroborate cross-national differences documented in media research. More Americans endorse evaluations of dangerousness, to both self and others. Fewer Icelanders report exclusionary tendencies, whilst Germans report the most consistently moderate levels of stigma. Conclusions: While Western nations tend to report similar, lower levels of stigma globally, they each have unique areas of concern. Anti-stigma programs must take note of both similarities and differences to tailor their efforts to the local context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Are men and women categorized differently for similar sexual behavior? Building on theories of gender, sexuality, and status, we introduce the concept of precarious sexuality to suggest that men’s—but not women’s—heterosexuality is an especially privileged identity that is easily lost. We test our hypotheses in a series of survey experiments describing a person who has a sexual experience conflicting with their sexual history. We find that a single same-sex sexual encounter leads an observer to question a heterosexual man’s sexual orientation to a greater extent than that of a heterosexual woman in a similar situation. We also find that a different-sex sexual encounter is more likely to change others’ perceptions of a lesbian woman’s sexual orientation—compared to perceptions of a gay man’s sexual orientation. In two conceptual replications, we vary the level of intimacy of the sexual encounter and find consistent evidence for our idea of precarious sexuality for heterosexual men. We close with a general discussion of how status beliefs influence categorization processes and with suggestions for extending our theoretical propositions to other categories beyond those of sexual orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]