Prejudice and Racism: Challenges and Progress in Measurement

The intent of this chapter is to review three categories of prejudice measures that practitioners and researchers can use in practice or research. Given that a recent comprehensive review of self-report racial prejudice measures was completed by Biernat and Crandall (1999), this chapter focuses on new developments in self-report measures of racial and anti-gay prejudice. Anti -gay prejudice is an important clinical and research area, and to date, only a few critical reviews of instruments measuring negative attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women have appeared in the literature (Herek, 1994; O\u27Donohue & Caselles, 1993; Schwanberg, 1993). Emerging prejudice measurement issues are the final focus, specifically addressing theoretical developments and the implications for prejudice measurement. Concluding comments address future needs in prejudice measurement and the application to counseling practice and research

Validity and Reliability of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Working Alliance Self-Efficacy Scales

In this paper, the authors report on the development and initial psychometric evaluation of the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Working Alliance Self-Efficacy Scales (LGB-WASES) with data collected from two studies and 534 counseling trainees. Exploratory factor analysis results yielded a 32-item scale with a three-factor model (a) Emotional Bond, (b) Establishing Tasks, and (c) Setting Goals. LGB-WASES scores were internally consistent and remained stable over a 3-week period. Construct validity evidence suggests the LGB-WASES scores were (a) positively related to general perceptions of counseling self-efficacy and multicultural counseling competency, (b) negatively related to attitudes toward lesbians and gay men, and (d) unrelated to social desirability. Recommendations for future research are also discussed

An investigation of biased language use as a tool for assessing anti-lesbian prejudice among heterosexual women

The present study examined the viability of a model of biased language use (e.g., Maass et al., 1989; Maass et al., 1996) as a measure of anti-lesbian prejudice among heterosexual women. As a matter of methodological and psychometric exploration, four alternative methods of scoring linguistic abstraction were employed.One hundred eighty-one female university undergraduates provided abstraction ratings for a series of seven fictitious news clippings, adapted from von Hippel et al. (1997), four of which depicted either heterosexual or lesbian women engaging in behaviors that were either socially favorable or unfavorable and lesbian stereotypic or counterstereotypic. Participants also completed a "Memory Test" devised for this study, a demographic questionnaire, and the ATL Subscale of the ATLG (Herek, 1988, 1994).The prediction that the linguistic expectancy bias (LEB; e.g., Maass, 1999) would be observed in the present intergroup context was not supported. The overall pattern of results suggested some stability across scoring methods. A number of implications of the findings are considered, with a focus on methodological concerns and applications to practice.Thesis (Ph. D.)Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Service

An investigation of biased language use as a tool for assessing anti-lesbian prejudice among heterosexual women

The present study examined the viability of a model of biased language use (e.g., Maass et al., 1989; Maass et al., 1996) as a measure of anti-lesbian prejudice among heterosexual women. As a matter of methodological and psychometric exploration, four alternative methods of scoring linguistic abstraction were employed.One hundred eighty-one female university undergraduates provided abstraction ratings for a series of seven fictitious news clippings, adapted from von Hippel et al. (1997), four of which depicted either heterosexual or lesbian women engaging in behaviors that were either socially favorable or unfavorable and lesbian stereotypic or counterstereotypic. Participants also completed a "Memory Test" devised for this study, a demographic questionnaire, and the ATL Subscale of the ATLG (Herek, 1988, 1994).The prediction that the linguistic expectancy bias (LEB; e.g., Maass, 1999) would be observed in the present intergroup context was not supported. The overall pattern of results suggested some stability across scoring methods. A number of implications of the findings are considered, with a focus on methodological concerns and applications to practice.Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance ServicesThesis (Ph. D.