Debating stereotypes: Online reactions to the vice-presidential debate of 2020.

The 2020 Vice-Presidential debate afforded the opportunity to examine online reactions toward a woman of color, Kamala Harris, and a white man, Mike Pence, as they vied for the same position. We collected tweets from the Twitter API related to Harris and Pence, mainly using neutral hashtags. We examined keywords for gender and race slurs and conducted a multivariate analysis of tweet sentiment. Gender and racial slurs surface in both Harris and Pence datasets, showcasing the insidious nature of sexist and racist stereotypes that seep into online conversations regarding a high-status job debate. As anticipated, tweets regarding Harris contained a higher proportion of racist and sexist curse words, highlighting greater levels of harassment and "intersectional," multi-ethnic/gender attacks. Racial insults targeting Blacks or Asians were more negative than those associated with Whites. Unexpectedly, tweets related to Harris were more positive in average sentiment than those regarding Pence. Yet, there were significantly more retweets, and more negativity of retweets, relating to Harris than to Pence, underscoring the relatively widespread broadcasting of derogatory messages about Harris. Overall, we found that harassing messages toward the candidates reinforced traditional race and gender stereotypes and bolstered the status of those who posted negative content by attaining more retweets. Harassers routinely invoked well-worn, stereotypical insults in their attacks, especially when targeting a multiracial woman

Too much of a good thing:’ Fatal attractions in adult intimate relationships

Why might people become dissatisfied with a partner or spouse? A common answer from those experiencing a divorce or breakup is that they are not getting what they want. The implication is that if only they could obtain what they desired in a partner, relationship conflict would dissipate. The argument we propose, however, is as follows: Disenchantment with a partner also occurs when, and perhaps because, individuals receive what they wanted in a loved one. That is, a "fatal attraction" occurs. A fatal attraction takes place when a quality that an individual comes to dislike in a partner is an exaggerated version of the same quality that was initially attractive In other words, fatal attractions transpire when an intimate partner is seen as having "too much" of an attractive quality. Note that the term "fatal" in this context is used in the sense of "prophetic," rather than "deadly." Illustrations of fatal attractions include a woman who was attracted to a man because of his "sense of humor," but who later complained that he was "never serious." In another instance a man was drawn to a woman because of her "nuturing" nature, and then disliked her tendency to be "smothering." Previous research on fatal attraction is based largely on samples of young college students, and it shows that fatal attraction is a relatively common phenomenon in romantic relationships (e.g., Previous work finds that fatal attractions are more likely when individuals are attracted to partner qualities that are seen as "different" from one's own, are extreme, or unique (Felmlee, 3 2001). Nevertheless, the theory behind this phenomenon is relatively underdeveloped and not well-tested. A second purpose of this research is to expand the theory and to test hypotheses regarding factors that are expected to influence the likelihood of a fatal attraction. We also do not know the extent to which this type of partner disenchantment happens in different types of attractions. Do fatal attractions occur in a wide assortment of personality dimensions? Another purpose of this project, thus, is to examine fatal attractions for various partner personality qualities, many of which are taken from established personality scales. Finally, previous work relies on open-ended data to identify the occurrence of a fatal attraction (e.g., BACKGROUN

Mothers and Fathers Matter: The Influence of Parental Support, Hostility, and Problem Solving on Adolescent Friendships

We examine the pathways by which parents influence adolescents’ close friendships, focusing on three types of behavioral styles: hostile, warm, and problem solving. Structural equation models are estimated using data at two time points from the Iowa Youth and Families Project (N = 227 friendship pairs). Results suggest that the lives of adolescents and both their mother and father are inexorably linked. Observed interactions with a close friend at Time 2 reveal teens recreate their parents’ original hostile, supportive, and problem-solving styles from Time 1. This outcome depends on (a) type of behavior and (b) gender. Mothers’ supportive behavior, fathers’ problem solving, and both parents’ hostile behavior significantly influence adolescents’ comparable interaction styles. Adolescents’ subsequent behavior toward their friend significantly affects friendship quality. Lower levels of hostile behavior in female youth, increased problem solving by males, and supportive actions toward a friend for both relate positively to rewarding friendships

Gender and Friendship Norms Among Older Adults

The authors examined same- and cross-gender friendship norms in a sample of 135 adults (average age 73 years). Participants evaluated a friend’s behavior, quantitatively and qualitatively, in vignettes in which the friend’s gender was experimentally manipulated. Gender often significantly, though modestly, influenced normative evaluations. Women frequently had higher expectations of friends than men and placed a greater emphasis on intimacy. Women were more disapproving of violations of friendship rules, such as betraying a confidence, paying a surprise visit, and failing to stand up for a friend in public. However, both men and women were less approving of a man than a woman who greets another friend with a kiss or who requests to stay overnight. Respondents’ open-ended comments reflected positive attitudes regarding cross-gender friendships. Most findings demonstrated that men and women across a wide age range held similar cultural norms for close ties, norms of trust, commitment, and respect

The Job Change: A Three-Part Process with Variations for Men and Women

There are three essential elements in the job-change process: 1) reasons for quitting the previous job; 2) unemployment between jobs; and 3) job search strategy in getting the present job. Of these three, job search has most often been the topic of prior sociological research. Using earnings as an indicator of job quality, I find that job-quit type is a more important factor than job-search type, and continuity of employment between jobs is a better predictor than either of these. There are variations by gender: Women report quitting for personal reasons much more often than men, but are similar to other women in present earnings. Men who quit for personal reasons are in the lowest present-pay group. Both women and men suffer earnings penalties when unemployed between jobs, but females’ penalties are greater. Overall, the best outcomes are found for workers who are able to maximize their job-change choices by securing a new job before the job-quit and having no break in employment between jobs. © 1997 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights received