Dina Karafantis - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Dina Karafantis

"“Lay” theories are the theories that people use in their everyday life. They not only serve... more "“Lay” theories are the theories that people use in their everyday life. They not only serve people's epistemic needs to understand and make predictions about their social world but also serve their social needs to form and maintain relationships as well as psychological needs to feel in control and good about themselves. Decades of findings from cognitive, cultural, developmental, and social psychological research involving children, adolescents, and adults across numerous cultures indicate that lay theories are powerful predictors of greater or weaker prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination toward numerous groups (gay men, overweight persons, people living with AIDS, poor persons, socially stigmatized racial/ethnic groups, women). This chapter examines how lay theories foster prejudice or tolerance toward social groups. It highlights some relevant findings on a prominent lay theory, the Protestant work ethic (PWE), which appears to have at least two intergroup implications: one for prejudice and one for tolerance. The tolerant implication of PWE seems to exist across age, cultural, and social status groups; whereas the intolerant implication seems to be culturally bound with children in those cultures first learning the tolerant implication and later learning the intolerant implication.

The authors propose that, in the US, the Protestant work ethic (PWE) relates both to social toler... more The authors propose that, in the US, the Protestant work ethic (PWE) relates both to social tolerance and intolerance. PWE is proposed to have a surface meaning that relates to social tolerance, and also an associated meaning that relates to intolerance, which is acquired in part through social and cultural experience (e.g. PWE being used as a justifier of inequality). In correlational and experimental studies, PWE was related to greater egalitarianism and desired social closeness to African Americans among younger participants (9 to 12 and 14 to 16-year-olds) relative to older participants (college students). Subsequent experiments directly manipulated college students’ interpretations of PWE, showing that those experimentally led to focus on others' use of PWE in support of their arguments (associated meaning condition) endorsed egalitarianism to a lesser extent (Study 3) and donated less money to a homeless shelter (Study 4) than did those simply focusing on the definition of...

Oxford University Press, 2013

Psychology, Learning and Teaching, 2011

The impact of active learning techniques on student learning outcomes was assessed across two stu... more The impact of active learning techniques on student learning outcomes was assessed across two studies. Performance data from two parallel sections of Introduction to Psychology (one traditional and one redesigned in which active learning techniques as well as online activities were incorporated into each lecture) were compared. Data from the traditional and redesigned sections on three identical semester tests, final exam grades and overall course grades were compared. Study 1 results indicate that students in the redesigned section performed as well as students in the traditional section on the semester tests and the final exam. The final grade distribution did not differ significantly between the traditional and redesigned sections. However, in Study 2, when controlling for instructor and teaching style, the results indicate that the redesigned section performed significantly better on all measures compared to the traditional section.

Navigating the Social World: What Infants, Children, and Other Species Can Teach Us, 2013

Two studies with 9-to 12-year-old children supported the hypothesis that lay theories about the m... more Two studies with 9-to 12-year-old children supported the hypothesis that lay theories about the malleability of human traits impact judgments of and behavior toward groups in need of volunteer help. The more children endorsed an incremental view (attributes can change), the more they reported liking, desiring social contact with, and perceiving similarity between themselves and a disadvantaged outgroup (homeless, UNICEF-funded children). Moreover, children endorsing more of a malleable view reported greater past volunteering, active participation in collecting money for a UNICEF event, and intentions to volunteer again. These findings held when controlling for the effects of participants' gender, self-esteem, and perceived social pressure to help others. How a malleable view and intergroup volunteerism may be mutually sustaining is discussed.

Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, Aug 9, 2010

This investigation examined whether exposure to a multicultural or colorblind orientation influen... more This investigation examined whether exposure to a multicultural or colorblind orientation influenced social tolerance in racially diverse students. Students were randomly assigned to a colorblind, multicultural, or control ideology. They completed group-specific measures and general measures of diversity. Results indicate that successful anti-bias interventions require focus on the particular level from which intergroup attitudes are being formed. Second, the effectiveness of these opposing theories is a factor of the history of within group socialization practices. Finally, widespread use of these prominent ideologies in different sectors of society poses a threat to social tolerance in more diverse group settings. KEYWORDS Multiculturalism, colorblind ideology, lay theories Historically, issues of diversity have been approached with ideas toward assimilation. Specifically, it was felt that characteristics such as race, culture, and ethnicity, some of the most salient differences dividing individuals into groups, contradict the ideals of cohesiveness. Thus, we saw a drive toward ''integration-ism.'' This can be seen when reviewing the different types of

Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology an International Lifespan Journal, Nov 1, 2005

This experiment examined the impact of messages about uniqueness and similarity between groups of... more This experiment examined the impact of messages about uniqueness and similarity between groups of people on Black and Latino children's social attitudes. Children (ages 11-14) read two brief science books embedded with a similarities message (ball people are basically the sameQ), unique message (beach person is uniqueQ), combined similar-unique message (ball people are the same in a way, but each person is also uniqueQ), or no additional message (control). Relative to the other conditions, the combined condition increased general social tolerance and decreased desired social distance from White children. No message appeared to negatively impact participants' attitudes toward their own group. Implications of these results for basic and applied anti-bias work on promoting similarities, differences, or both are discussed.

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 10911359 2012 707904, Oct 3, 2012

What Infants, Children, and Other Species Can Teach Us, 2013

Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 2012

Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 2011

In the current study the author examined whether ethnocultural empathy affects people&amp... more In the current study the author examined whether ethnocultural empathy affects people&amp;amp;amp;#39;s beliefs and expectations regarding athletes, hypothesizing that (1) individuals demonstrating a high level of ethnocultural empathy would be less likely to endorse stereotypes toward athletes, (2) females would be less likely to stereotype toward athletes than would males, (3) athletes would be less likely to stereotype toward athletes than would non-athletes, and (4) behavioral science majors would be less likely to stereotype toward athletes than would non-behavioral science majors. As predicted, participants high on ethnocultural empathy were less likely to stereotype towards athletes, females were less likely to stereotype toward athletes than were males, and behavioral science majors were less likely to stereotype toward athletes than were non-behavioral science majors. However, contrary to the hypotheses, athletes were more likely to stereotype toward their own in-group than were non-athletes.

Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 2010

Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 2006

... their dominance, whereas to Asian Americans, the theory reminds them of an impermeable inter-... more ... their dominance, whereas to Asian Americans, the theory reminds them of an impermeable inter-group boundary and the obstacles to social mobility (see also Chao &amp; Hong, 2005). Studies examining children&#x27;s lay theories relevant to intergroup relations have tended to ...

Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 2005