Department of Psychology, Yale University, P. O. Box 208205, New Haven, CT 06520-8205, USA.
Psychol Sci. 2012 Jul 1;23(7):756-63. doi: 10.1177/0956797611433877. Epub 2012 May 31.
Myrdal (1944) described the "American dilemma" as the conflict between abstract national values ("liberty and justice for all") and more concrete, everyday prejudices. We leveraged construal-level theory to empirically test Myrdal's proposition that construal level (abstract vs. concrete) can influence prejudice. We measured individual differences in construal level (Study 1) and manipulated construal level (Studies 2 and 3); across these three studies, we found that adopting an abstract mind-set heightened conservatives' tolerance for groups that are perceived as deviating from Judeo-Christian values (gay men, lesbians, Muslims, and atheists). Among participants who adopted a concrete mind-set, conservatives were less tolerant of these nonnormative groups than liberals were, but political orientation did not have a reliable effect on tolerance among participants who adopted an abstract mind-set. Attitudes toward racial out-groups and dominant groups (e.g., Whites, Christians) were unaffected by construal level. In Study 3, we found that the effect of abstract thinking on prejudice was mediated by an increase in concerns about fairness.
默达尔（1944 年）将“美国困境”描述为抽象的国家价值观（“人人享有自由和正义”）与更具体、日常的偏见之间的冲突。我们利用构建水平理论来实证检验默达尔的命题，即构建水平（抽象与具体）会影响偏见。我们在研究 1 中测量了个体在构建水平上的差异，并在研究 2 和研究 3 中操纵了构建水平；在这三项研究中，我们发现，采用抽象思维模式会提高保守派对被认为偏离犹太-基督教价值观的群体（男同性恋者、女同性恋者、穆斯林和无神论者）的容忍度。在采用具体思维模式的参与者中，保守派比自由派对这些非规范群体的容忍度更低，但政治取向对采用抽象思维模式的参与者的容忍度没有可靠影响。对种族外群体和主导群体（如白人、基督徒）的态度不受构建水平的影响。在研究 3 中，我们发现，抽象思维对偏见的影响是通过增加对公平的关注来介导的。
