Anti-Americanism in Europe: Theoretical Mechanisms and Empirical Evidence

One of the most popular explanations for post-9/11 anti-Americanism argues that resentment against America and Americans is mainly a function of the US government's unpopular actions. The present article challenges this interpretation: first, it argues that neither the vitality of the resentment in times when the United States had no influence in the respective parts of the world nor its recent radical manifestations are accounted for in a political reductionist framework. In fact, specific traditions of anti-Americanism have an influence on the negative attitudes observed today, as a comparison between Britain, France, Germany, and Poland reveals. Second, this article suggests an alternative theoretical approach. Anti-Americanism can be explained by two basic mechanisms: it functions as a strategy to project denied and disliked self-concepts onto an external object, and it offers an interpretation frame for complex social processes that allows to reduce cognitive dissonance. Multivariate analyses based on empirical data collected in the Pew surveys of 2002 and 2007 show the fruitfulness of our theoretical approac

Uncovering the nexus between attitudes, preferences, and behavior in sociological applications of stated choice experiments

Multifactorial survey experiments such as stated choice experiments are used more and more frequently in social science research. In this article, based on an experimental study on ethical and political consumption, we explore the potential of hybrid choice models to explicitly model latent psychological factors such as attitudes, overcoming a possible endogeneity bias and misrepresentation of causality. To this end, we employ a hybrid latent class choice model (HLCCM) in which the latent class structure allocates individuals to classes according to underlying latent attitudes that also influence the answers to attitudinal questions. This allows, in line with sociological action theories, a theory-guided testing of preference segmentation and modification caused by attitudes. We compare the complex HLCCM with less complex models that do not take the latent variable nature of attitudes into account and discuss in which cases less complex models might be more appropriate. However, the HLCCM always has the advantage of providing structure for theory testing and is therefore a useful tool to uncover preference heterogeneity, preference modification, and decision-making processes in sociological and other social science research

Uncovering the nexus between attitudes, preferences, and behavior in sociological applications of stated choice experiments

Multifactorial survey experiments such as stated choice experiments are used more and more frequently in social science research. In this article, based on an experimental study on ethical and political consumption, we explore the potential of hybrid choice models to explicitly model latent psychological factors such as attitudes, overcoming a possible endogeneity bias and misrepresentation of causality. To this end, we employ a hybrid latent class choice model (HLCCM) in which the latent class structure allocates individuals to classes according to underlying latent attitudes that also influence the answers to attitudinal questions. This allows, in line with sociological action theories, a theory-guided testing of preference segmentation and modification caused by attitudes. We compare the complex HLCCM with less complex models that do not take the latent variable nature of attitudes into account and discuss in which cases less complex models might be more appropriate. However, the HLCCM always has the advantage of providing structure for theory testing and is therefore a useful tool to uncover preference heterogeneity, preference modification, and decision-making processes in sociological and other social science research

Examining discrimination in everyday life : a stated choice experiment on racism in the sharing economy

Prejudice and discrimination in everyday life are persistent problems for most societies but difficult to uncover and explain by empirical social research. Complementing existing approaches to study discrimination, we demonstrate the usefulness of survey-based stated choice experiments to explore everyday discrimination and its heterogeneity within a multifactorial framework. In our study German respondents (n = 766) were asked to choose between various carpooling offers varying not only in regard to price, car type, and rating but also to the perceived ethnic background of the driver. Random parameter logit models show preference heterogeneity in the sample and that differences in choice behaviour related to perceived ethnic background of the driver can be explained by xenophobic attitudes and lack of regular contact with perceived ‘foreigners’. We find no indication that familiarity with the situation reduces discriminatory preferences. Our survey-based approach adds to existing research by experimentally singling out main and interactions effects of discriminatory attributes and by being able to determine the correlation between personal characteristics of the decision makers and their discriminatory preferences

Anti-Semitism Today, Measuring Current Manifestations of Hostility towards Jews Using Factorial Surveys

In der empirischen Antisemitismusforschung ist die standardisierte Befragung die populärste Methode der Datenerhebung. Ihre Verwendung kann jedoch weder die von Befragten wahrgenommene Normativität des Themas noch die situative Kontextabhängigkeit antisemitischer Kommunikation angemessen berücksichtigen. Die Methode des faktoriellen Surveys (auch „Vignettenexperiment“) bietet die Möglichkeit, solche situativen Merkmale systematisch zu variieren und so ihren Einfluss zu ermitteln. Damit wird eine bessere Operationalisierung von Kommunikationslatenz möglich, einem einflussreichen Konzept in der Antisemitismusforschung, dessen empirische Plausibilität unsere Studie zeigt. Sowohl Konsensgruppen- als auch Umwegkommunikation sind in der vorliegenden Stichprobe von Bedeutung: Stimmt die Mehrheit der Anwesenden antisemitischen Vorurteilen zu, steigt der Grad der Zustimmung zu antisemitischen Aussagen ebenso, wie wenn bei einer antisemitischen Aussage der Begriff „Juden“ durch den Begriff „Israelis“ ersetzt wird. Wird auf die deutsche Vergangenheit Bezug genommen, steigt die Zustimmung zu antisemitischen Aussagen ebenfalls (sekundärer Antisemitismus). Konsensgruppenkommunikation ist besonders bei eher links eingestellten Befragten, Umwegkommunikation besonders bei Personen mit niedrigem sozialen Status zu beobachten.Standardized surveys are the most popular method in research on anti-Semitism. Use of this method, however, neither accounts for the normativity of the subject nor the impact of situational contexts on anti-Semitic communication. Factorial surveys (also “vignette analyses”) overcome these limitations because they allow the systematic manipulation of situational attributes and, accordingly, an estimation of the influence of these attributes on individual evaluations. More particularly, they allow an assessment of communication latency, an influential concept in anti-Semitism research. Our study documents the empirical plausibility of this concept: both consensus-group communication and detour communication can be found in our sample. The degree of affirmation of anti-Semitic statements increases if a majority of co-present participants manifest anti-Semitism. The same effect can be observed if the term “Jews” is replaced by the term “Israelis” (anti-Zionism) and if reference to the Holocaust is made (Secondary Anti-Semitism). The impact of group consensus is stronger among respondents with generally left-wing political attitudes, and detour communication (the replacement of “Jews” with “Israelis”) is more apparent among persons of low social status

Anti-Americanism and Anti-Semitism: On the Relationship between Two Resentments

Der vorliegende Artikel befasst sich auf begrifflicher, theoretischer und empirischer Ebene mit Zusammenhängen zwischen antiamerikanischen und antisemitischen Ressentiments. Den begriffstheoretischen Ausgangspunkt bilden aus historischen Arbeiten destillierte gemeinsame Strukturprinzipien: Personifizierung von Modernisierungsfolgen, Manichäismus, Konstruktion eines identitären Kollektivs. Diese Strukturprinzipien gestatten es, etablierte Theorien des Antisemitismus auch auf den Antiamerikanismus anzuwenden. Auf der Basis einer kognitionspsychologischen Fundierung der Projektionsthese der Kritischen Theorie wird zum einen argumentiert, dass Antiamerikanismus (zusammen mit anderen Ressentiments) die psychische Funktion antisemitischer Einstellungen übernehmen kann, insbesondere bei der Kanalisierung von Unzufriedenheit mit gesellschaftlichen Verhältnissen (Projektionsverschiebung). Zum anderen spricht das Theorem der Kommunikationslatenz dafür, dass Antiamerikanismus als kommunikatives Vehikel antisemitischer Einstellungen auftreten kann (Umwegkommunikation). Beide theoretischen Zusammenhänge werden von einer exemplarischen empirischen Studie mit Querschnittsdaten gestützt, für die 241 Schülerinnen und Schüler aus Chemnitz, Dresden und Leipzig befragt wurden.The present paper investigates the relationship between anti-American and anti-Semitic resentments on a terminological, theoretical, and empirical level. We start by identifying a set of shared structural principles drawn from historical research: personification of modernity, Manichaeism, and the construction of identitary collectives. On this basis established theories of anti-Semitism are applied to anti-Americanism. Following the projection thesis of critical theory and basic assumptions of cognitive psychology, anti-Americanism (together with other resentments) can be seen as a psychofunctional substitute for anti-Semitic attitudes in the process of channeling social discontent (“projection shift”). The communication latency thesis, on the other hand, suggests that anti-Americanism can appear as a vehicle for the communication of anti-Semitic attitudes (“detour communication”). Empirical support for both theoretical relationships is provided by an exemplary study of cross-section data from interviews with 241 pupils from Chemnitz, Dresden, and Leipzig (Germany)

Die wahrgenommene feministische Bedrohung: Empirische Befunde zum Antifeminismus in Deutschland

Die Frauenbewegung war von Beginn an von antifeministischen Diskursen und Initiativen begleitet. Diese reagieren auf den Erfolg feministischer Bewegung und Politik. Mit einer empirischen Analyse antifeministischer Einstellungen auf Grundlage einer quantitativen Bevölkerungsbefragung können wir zeigen, dass in Deutschland aktuelle antifeministische Überzeugungen nicht nur in ein umfassendes Einstellungscluster eingebettet sind, das eine konservativ-traditionelle Geschlechterordnung widerspiegelt, sondern sich auch als Reaktion auf als negativ empfundene Folgen des institutionellen und gesamtgesellschaftlichen Wandels verstehen lassen müssen.The women's movement has been accompanied by antifeminist discourses and initiatives from its beginning. Those can be considered a response to the success of feminist movements and politics. Using quantitative survey data of antifeminist attitudes, we show that recent antifeminist beliefs in Germany are not only embedded in a comprehensive attitudinal cluster of a traditional-conservative gender order but can also be understood as a reaction towards negatively perceived consequences of institutional and social change

Two-Phase Flow Experiments on Counter-Current Flow Limitation in a model of the Hot Leg of a Pressurized Water Reactor (2015 test series): Two-Phase Flow Experiments on Counter-Current Flow Limitation in a model of the Hot Leg of a Pressurized Water Reactor (2015 test series)

Counter-Current Flow Limitation (CCFL) is of importance for PWR safety analyses in several accident scenarios connected with loss of coolant. Basing on the experiences obtained during a first series of hot leg tests now new experiments on counter-current flow limitation were conducted in the TOPFLOW pressure vessel. The test series comprises air-water tests at 1 and 2 bar as well as steam-water tests at 10, 25 and 50 bar. During the experiments the flow structure was observed along the hot leg model using a high-speed camera and web-cams. In addition pressure was measured at several positions along the horizontal part and the water levels in the reactor-simulator and steam-generator-simulator tanks were determined. This report documents the experimental setup including the description of operational and special measuring techniques, the experimental procedure and the data obtained. From these data flooding curves were obtained basing on the Wallis parameter. The results show a slight shift of the curves in dependency of the pressure. In addition a slight decrease of the slope was found with increasing pressure. Additional investigations concern the effects of hysteresis and the frequencies of liquid slugs. The latter ones show a dependency on pressure and the mass flow rate of the injected water. The data are available for CFD-model development and validation

Betriebshandbuch für die Mehrzweck-Thermohydraulikversuchsanlage TOPFLOW

Ausgehend von einer ausführlichen Beschreibung der Mehrzweckversuchsanlage TOPFLOW und der zu ihrem Betrieb erforderlichen Bedien- und Sicherheitshinweise enthält dieses Betriebshandbuch Anweisungen zur Inbetriebnahme der Versuchsanlage sowie für die Vorbereitung und Durchführung von Experimenten zur Untersuchung von transienten Zweiphasenströmungen mit den Medien Dampf-Wasser bzw. Luft-Wasser. Erläuterungen über Sonderbetriebsfälle schließen das Betriebshandbuch ab. Eine Auflistung der technologischen Verriegelungen und Visualisierungen der Anlagenschemata aus dem Prozessleitsystem sind als Anlagen angefügt