Mixed Discriminatory Judgments of Individuals’ Warmth and Competence-Related Abilities

Although several studies have demonstrated that stereotypes can be mixed in terms of warmth and competence (e.g., cold but competent), the possibility of mixed discrimination has received very little attention so far. To this end, the present study investigated mixed discriminatory judgments of individuals. In two studies, the participants judged the empathic (warmth) and the cognitive (competence) ability of individuals who differed only in whether they belonged to a group typically stereotyped as warm but incompetent or cold but competent. Study 1 compared Greeks with Germans (nationality) and Study 2 preschool teachers with lawyers (occupation). In both studies, the judgments were discriminatory in a mixed pattern consistent with the groups’ stereotype content.

Melville's Ship of Fools

Two of the surest critical propositions about Melville are that his prevailing theme is the problem of moral evil and that his prevailing narrative vehicle is the ship-microcosm. With few exceptions his major works have some fairly obvious basis in the fusion of that image and that theme. In most cases the competent study of source materials and of the image-theme pattern peculiar to the work in question has yielded an understanding sufficient to the purposes of responsible criticism. Only The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade has continued to tantalize both casual readers and dedicated students, notwithstanding the scholarly and critical attention which has long been lavished on it and which is now available to all in the admirable edition of Miss Elizabeth Foster. The singularly baffling quality of this novel is the more surprising, too, for its wearing so plainly on its face the signs of its author's characteristic theme and image; not even Moby-Dick bespeaks its artistic character so forthrightly. In order to penetrate a little farther into the stubborn mysteries of The Confidence-Man I propose to examine some antecedents, both in and out of Melville's own writings, which may have exerted a significant or even a definitive influence on its structure and meaning.