Volume 42, Issue 3

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.

The present article investigates the reading literacy of students from immigrant families by means of a multilevel analysis of 24 Western countries based on PISA data from 2000 to 2009. Results indicate that on the level of macro-variables, the quality and the stratification within the educational system have a very important effect on immigrant students' reading skills. Schools and their resources as well as the social and ethnic composition of the student body are crucial as well. On the individual level, the cultural capital of the parents and the language spoken at home proved to be relevant. In addition, second-generation immigrant students had better scholastic achievements than first generation immigrant students. Furthermore, differences between natives and immigrant students have, over time, diminished in several countries.

Meta-analysis is a method of quantitatively summarizing findings from different studies and has mainly been employed in experimentally oriented disciplines. A major problem of meta-analysis in sociology is that studies rarely employ experimental designs with randomization which preclude distorting influences. This article discusses the applicability of meta-analyses in sociology and advocates conducting meta-analyses of original data. Three examples from divorce research are given. Meta-analyses of original data offer numerous advantages, most notably allowing the use of model specifications and evaluation concepts across different sets of data. The limitations of this method are that it requires a laborious harmonization of data and that it restricts the variables that can be used and thus the theoretical processes that can be examined.

Empirical research on the enforcement of norms in everyday life is rare. The norm “Walk left, stand right!” on escalators in Munich’s public transportation system offers a fortunate opportunity to study processes of norm enforcement. In a field experiment we restrained subjects from walking on the left side of the escalator and observed their reaction to this blockade (probability of sanctions, strength of sanctions, and length of time until a sanction occurs). Furthermore, we varied the clothing and gender of the persons blocking the escalator. Both treatments represent a dimension of social status, and both prove to be influential: An elegant outfit reduces the frequency and strength of sanctions and increases the delay before a sanction takes place; women are sanctioned within shorter time, verbally more frequently, and more strenuously, while men provoke more pronounced physical reactions.