College of Behavioral & Social Sciences
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/8
The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations..
Browse
16 results
Search Results
Item Federal Probation Officers and Sentencing Disparity: Examining the Role of Extralegal Factors in Guidelines Calculations(2024) Mullaly, Cara; Johnson, Brian; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Over the years, the relationship between extralegal factors and federal sentencing disparity has attracted a significant amount of research attention. Much of this work, however, has focused on judicial and prosecutorial decision-making, largely ignoring other influential actors. One such actor is the federal probation officer. Using data from the U.S. Sentencing Commission, this study explores the relationship between extralegal factors and federal probation officer’s guidelines calculations. This study uses a theoretical framework that combines focal concerns and causal attributions to argue that federal probation officers attribute the causes of criminal activity differently across demographic groups, shaping their perception of the defendant’s blameworthiness and dangerousness and ultimately resulting in differing guidelines calculations. Findings showed mixed support for the hypotheses in this study. After discussing the results and limitations of the current study, I provide direction for future study of federal probation officers and their influence on federal sentencing outcomes.Item APPLICANT REACTIONS TO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SELECTION SYSTEMS(2022) Bedemariam, Rewina Sahle; Wessel, Jennifer; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Practitioners have embraced the use of AI and Machine Learning systems for employeerecruitment and selection. However, studies examining applicant reactions to such systems are lacking in the literature. Specifically, little is known about how job applicants react to AI-based selection systems. This study assessed fairness perceptions of hiring decisions made by AIdriven systems and whether significant differences existed between different groups of people. To do so, a two-by-two experimental study where participants in a selection scenario are randomly assigned to a decision-maker condition (human vs AI) and outcome variability condition (hired vs rejected) was utilized. The results showed that the condition had a significant effect on the interactional justice dimension. The interaction effect of outcome and condition had an impact on job-relatedness, chance to perform, reconsideration opportunity, feedback perceptions, and interactional justice. The three-way interaction of outcome, race and condition influences general fairness reactions and emotional reactions. Given these findings, HR personnel should weigh the pros and cons of AI, especially towards applicants that are rejected.Item IMMIGRATION EFFECTS ON FAMILY STRUCTURE AND HOMICIDE VICTIMIZATION FOR GROUPS WITH DIFFERENT RACE AND ETHNICITY STATUS(2019) Luna, Mathew; Xie, Min; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Guided by the immigrant revitalization theory, this paper will argue that improvements in family structure play a role in the immigration-crime relationship. The data used in this study were obtained from the National Vital Statistics System, the American Community Survey, and the decennial census. This paper uses cross-sectional and longitudinal models to investigate whether family structure plays a role in the immigration-crime relationship. The longitudinal models will look at changes in homicide data from 2007 and 2017. Findings from the longitudinal models show no support to indicate that family structure plays a role in the immigration-crime relationship. However, findings from Black and White non-Hispanic cross-sectional models do show some support for the argument that family structure does play a role in the immigration-crime relationship.Item The role of the government in the creation of Places and, the impact that that action has on Identity: A case study in Puerto Rico(2018) Sanchez-Rivera, Ana Ivelisse; Geores, Martha; Geography; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Identity is at the crux of a person’s life. People’s pursuit of uniqueness strongly motivates the process of constructing identity. Place has a major role in that process but present theories focused on identity consider places as manifestations of the self, at the mercy of their populations who change and give meaning to them. The research presented here demonstrates that places are more than personal or groups’ constructions and that they act as agents, directly influencing identity dimensions. This research tests how places created by the government -and not by the people who live in them- can directly influence identity creation in Puerto Rico. The Island was selected as a case study because in 1948 the government decided to re-define “Puerto Ricannes” after recognizing the cultural influences the US was having on the population. Although it highlighted three groups as representatives of the culture -i.e., Tainos (Native-Indians), Spaniards (colonizers) and Africans (slaves)-, it selected the “Jíbaro” -a light-skinned peasant from the mountains- as the main representative of the “real” Puerto Rican. Today, even though PR is understood as a racially diverse place, over 75% of the population selects White as their race in the US Census. This study seeks to understand if the narratives created by the government about the Island influence how participants selected a racial category and identified with the ethnic/racial groups involved in history. Also, it tests how the construction of Loíza, (municipio with the highest proportion of “Blacks”) affects the way people talk and identify with it. The research uses Mixed Methods to interpret data collected in four communities. The result are analyzed using two binary logistic regression models on over two-hundred-and-ninety surveys and, a Two-way Cluster Analysis based on frequency codes of twenty-five in-depth interviews. Findings suggest the identity construction the government has created around Puerto Rico and Loíza as places, actively informs participant responses to questions about their ethnic, national and racial identities.Item The Impact of Race on Newcomer Knowledge Utilization(2017) Crosby, Brandon; Gelfand, Michele; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The experiences of newcomers in groups and organizations have been studied for decades in organizational psychology. Touted for their abilities to produce innovation and give outside perspectives, successful newcomers are highly sought-after by many organizations. Unfortunately, newcomers are often met with resistance when attempting to influence more established group members. While this has been studied in organizational psychology, the literature has largely ignored the potential role of race in these interactions. This research sought to fill this void by examining the effects of race on the ability to influence established group members. This research hypothesized that the relationships between race and knowledge utilization would be explained by trust, as White newcomers are expected to be more trusted on an affective and cognitive level. In addition, these studies examined the role of selection as a moderator. Selecting a newcomer may make a newcomer appear more trustworthy and desirable and may balance out the effects of race. In Study 1, the race of the newcomer had no impact on how much they were trusted, nor the participants’ willingness to utilize the information the provided. In Study 2, White newcomers were trusted more and were more likely to get the participants to change their minds. Finally, Study 3 found that participants were more likely to be persuaded by a White newcomer as compared to a Black newcomer. However, when the group selected a Black newcomer, they were just as likely as the White newcomer to influence the established group members. These findings show that the act of choosing a newcomer may ameliorate ingroup or racial biases against minority newcomers.Item ‘DON’T TELL ME YOU’RE ONE OF THOSE!’ A QUALITATIVE PORTRAIT OF BLACK ATHEISTS(2017) Swann, Daniel; Marsh, Kris; Collins, Patricia H; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Black Atheists are one of the least studied and understood populations in American society. Drawing on literature from the sociology of religion, social psychology, and critical race theory, my research focuses on the following questions: Is there a meaningful ‘Black Atheist’ identity? And if there is, how do people who claim a Black Atheist identity conceive of it? How does this identity relate to the way in which they live their lives? To explore these questions, this project aims to understand what it means to be a Black Atheist in America through in-depth open-ended qualitative interviews with 46 Black Atheists in the Washington DC/Baltimore area. This includes but is not limited to investigating and understanding Black Atheist identities, how Black Atheists conceive of themselves, how they perceive, internalize, and manage stigma, how they view in-group belonging, and how they understand their experiences as Atheists to be racialized. This project addresses the paucity of information on Black Atheists in America by investigating and centralizing their experiences, lives, and identities. The results suggest that Black Atheists do indeed perceive themselves as holding a unique ‘Black Atheist’ identity. That is, they believe their being Black, and their being Atheist, inform each other in meaningful ways that affect their beliefs, behaviors, and lived experiences. Additionally, respondents described both an identity and emerging social space informed by the particular sets of challenges and racialized cultural and social pressures they face. Namely, they perceived pervasive and intense racialized stigma against Atheists within Black communities and often their own families, and also feel social distance from Mainstream Atheists, whom they perceive to be inattentive to the particular challenges faced by Black Atheists. Respondents also linked being Black Atheists to the way that they navigated familial relationships, romantic relationships, and broader communal spaces, engaging in significant amounts of stigma management. Most commonly this was done through use of the closet, which proved to be a significant social space for respondents. Additionally, there were potentially significant gendered ways in which respondents made sense of their identities, and linked them to the external world. In essence, the way stigma in America interacts with identity seemingly produces distinctive identities at this particular intersection of race and religion. Because they reside at the bottom of two separate hierarchies, namely, Atheists are at the bottom of religious hierarchies, while Blacks are at the bottom of racial hierarchies, identity work and behavioral strategies in the face of stigma are likely to be particularly pronounced among Black Atheists.Item The Economy and the American Presidency in a Polarized Era: Changes to Income and Unemployment by Class, Race, and Gender(2017) Mugglestone, Konrad Peter; Morris, Irwin L; Government and Politics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)For decades, political scientists have debated, with little consensus, whether Democratic and Republican presidents have contrasting macroeconomic records. While some scholars have argued that presidents can (and do) target economic benefits to constituents, existing research on party differences in macroeconomic politics has assumed that the two major parties have constituencies distinguished by class and that each party managed the macroeconomy to benefit these class-based constituencies. However, political and economic conditions have changed over the past thirty years. Scholars have been concerned about the effects of increasing political polarization, which has caused unusually contentious and slow-paced policymaking. High debt levels have made major budgetary changes more difficult, and monetary policy has been checked by the zero lower bound. In light of these new political and economic challenges, this dissertation utilizes a unique dataset to examine presidential administrations from 1970 to 2014. Using this data, this project seeks to answer several key questions: Do modern presidents of opposing parties have contrasting macroeconomic records? In light of changing political and economic conditions, have these differences grown or decreased from the differences observed in the past? Finally, do modern presidents reflect the identity politics of the polarized, modern era by focusing not only on class constituencies, but on race and gender constituencies as well? Some of the findings are predictable, but others are surprising. In terms of the macroeconomy, Democratic presidents demonstrate economic records superior to their Republican counterparts. However, the party of the president rarely has any meaningful impact on income growth for specific class, race, and gender groups. Even so, the party of the president does have a consistently meaningful effect on unemployment rates. On average, Democratic presidents have greater impacts than Republicans on the overall unemployment rate and the unemployment rates of some of their constituent groups: the working class, and racial minorities. Moreover, evidence suggests that other political factors sometimes matter – both divided government and an election year variable capturing the Political Business Cycle have statistical relevance, especially in unemployment models. Finally, this study finds little statistical evidence that polarization is having a meaningful impact on presidential economic policymaking.Item Racial Differences in the Propensity to Negotiate(2015) Crosby, Brandon John Richburg; Gelfand, Michele J; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This research set out to examine the potential impact of race on the willingness to negotiate in the workplace. Drawing on previous research on gender influences on the willingness to negotiate and research on race and workplace discrimination, it was predicted that Black employees would be less willing to negotiate as compared to Whites, yet that this relationship would be moderated by a positive climate for diversity. Findings from interview data and a survey with employed participants showed that Black participants were less likely to negotiate on various topics such as promotions, bonuses and stock options. The ambiguity of these topics as well as climate for diversity were investigated further in a lab experiment designed to manipulate organizational factors that could impact one’s willingness to negotiate. The manipulation for the ambiguous condition, climate for diversity nor the race of the participant impacted negotiation rates. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.Item The Interaction of Race and Social Status in Determining Discrimination(2012) O'Brien, Julia Diane; Stangor, Charles; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This research examines the interaction of race and social status in determining stereotypes and discrimination. Through six experiments, I demonstrate that because High Status Blacks are stereotyped positively and similarly to High Status Whites in domains related to economic resources (Pilot Study), they are perceived as competitors when economic resources are scarce. As such, they face increased discrimination (relative to Low Status Blacks) in economic-resource relevant domains (Study 1b), particularly when these resources are scarce (Study 1a). I demonstrate that this discrimination is driven by Zero-Sum Beliefs about the social status hierarchy and competition for resources (Study 2 and Study 3b). I also present novel evidence of the ironic effect of having strong Zero-Sum Beliefs for those who are internally motivated to control prejudice (IMS; Plant & Devine, 1998; Study 3b). I discuss these findings in the context of the Instrumental Model of Group Conflict (Esses, Jackson, and Armstrong, 1998) and research on racial prejudice and discrimination, and also apply these findings to broader issues regarding the social mobility of Black Americans.Item The duality of bias: Predictors of racially motivated Differential Test Functioning in interview evaluations(2011) Aiken, Juliet Renee; Hanges, Paul J; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Despite continued interest in and research on discrimination, the complex nature of the process through which it emerges has not been adequately explored. In the current study, I assessed racially-motivated Differential Test Functioning (DTF) and its drivers in an interview context. Specifically, I investigated patterns of DTF-for, DTF-against, and no DTF across three studies. Moreover, I predicted five patterns of responding using in-group belonging (rater race and ethnic identity), prejudice, and motivation to hide prejudice. Results indicate that patterns of responding indicative of DTF-against blacks, DTF-against whites, and no DTF emerged in both student and adult samples. Additionally, in-group belonging and a motivation to hide prejudice appear to predict bias-against, whereas a low in-group belonging may result in no DTF. Implications for research and practice are discussed.