Showing papers in "Journal of Social and Political Psychology in 2018"
TL;DR: Very Short Authoritarianism (VSA) as discussed by the authors is a six-item very short authoritarianism scale that equally represented the three content subdimensions and two directions of wording of Altemeyer's widely used RWA scale.
Abstract: Authoritarianism has been an important explanatory concept for more than 60 years and a powerful predictor of social, political, and intergroup attitudes and behaviour. An important impediment to research on authoritarianism has been the length of the measures available, particularly with the contemporary emphasis on the need for social research to use larger, more representative samples and measure multiple constructs across multiple domains. We therefore developed a six-item Very Short Authoritarianism (VSA) scale that equally represented the three content subdimensions and two directions of wording of Altemeyer’s widely used Right Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) scale. Over four samples (N = 1,601) from three countries the VSA scale showed satisfactory internal consistency and the expected hierarchical factor structure with three primary factors loading on a single higher-order factor. Additionally, the scale predicted variables such as nationalism, ethnocentrism, political orientation, political party/candidate support, attitudes towards ingroups or outgroups and anti-minority bias at moderate to strong levels with effects very close to those obtained for much longer established measures of RWA (including Altemeyer’s scale). The VSA scale also showed clearly better reliability and validity than a short measure of authoritarian parental values that has been used to measure authoritarianism.
87 citations
TL;DR: The authors investigated the relationship between exposure to structural injustice, experiences of social discrimination, psychological well-being, physical health, and engagement in activist solidarities for a large, racially diverse and inclusive sample of 5,860 LGBTQ/Gender Expansive youth in the United States.
Abstract: This article investigates the relationship between exposure to structural injustice, experiences of social discrimination, psychological well being, physical health, and engagement in activist solidarities for a large, racially diverse and inclusive sample of 5,860 LGBTQ/Gender Expansive youth in the United States. Through a participatory action research design and a national survey created by an intergenerational research collective, the “What’s Your Issue?” survey data are used to explore the relationships between injustice, discrimination and activism; to develop an analysis of how race and gender affect young people’s vulnerabilities to State violence (in housing, schools and by the police), and their trajectories to activism, and to amplify a range of “intimate activisms” engaged by LGBTQ/GE youth with powerful adults outside their community, and with often marginalized peers within. The essay ends with a theoretical appreciation of misrecognition as structural violence; activism as a racialized and gendered response to injustice, and an elaborated archive of “intimate activisms” engaged with dominant actors and within community, by LGBTQ/GE youth who have been exiled from home, school, state protection and/or community and embody, nevertheless, “willful subjectivities”.
41 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that three interrelated trends are subtly undermining a core practice of organizing: developing social relationships, an expanding technocratic influence on politics, an inflated focus on individual-level metrics for evaluating organizing, and a growing belief that digital technologies and big data leverage greater power, combine to engender an atomized view of people who are increasingly treated as consumers rather than producers of social change.
Abstract: The weakening of the everyday practice of democracy around the world presents profound challenges for social scientists working with an applied focus on issues of inequality and justice in social change. This paper examines community organizing (in the US) as an instrument for equitable and just social change, and argues that three interrelated trends are subtly undermining a core practice of organizing: developing social relationships. An expanding technocratic influence on politics, an inflated focus on individual-level metrics for evaluating organizing, and a growing belief that digital technologies and big data leverage greater power, combine to engender an atomized view of people, who are increasingly treated as consumers rather than producers of social change. In contrast, cultivating social relationships fuels the building of community and expanded networks that enables the exercise of social power necessary to effect change. Scholars promoting change for social justice should work to shape tools and measures to serve social dimensions of organizing and support people and collectivities as agents of democracy.
23 citations
TL;DR: This paper found that people like others who are similar to themselves and that political partisans tend to dislike those with opposing viewpoints, and they became more uncomfortable with targets after discovering ideological dissimilarity.
Abstract: Past research shows that people like others who are similar to themselves, and that political partisans tend to dislike those with opposing viewpoints. Two studies examined how initial person impressions changed after discovering that the target held similar or dissimilar political beliefs. Using potential mates as targets, we found that participants liked targets less, were less romantically interested in targets, and rated targets as less attractive after discovering political dissimilarity with them. Further, they became more uncomfortable with targets after discovering ideological dissimilarity. Theoretical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
22 citations
TL;DR: This paper conducted a thematic analysis of open-ended written accounts of the barriers to participating in sustained collective action (N = 112), finding that people can be reluctant to engage in some types of collective action.
Abstract: This paper considers collective action non-participation by people sympathetic but not committed to participating in actions for social change (‘sympathisers’). We conducted a thematic analysis of open-ended written accounts of the barriers to participating in sustained collective action (N = 112), finding that people can be reluctant to engage in some types of collective action. Participants wrote about the potential for detrimental consequences resulting from association with ‘protesters’, concern that they may be undermined by ‘extreme’ fringes of a movement, ambivalence about the visible performance of group normative behaviours (specifically, protesting), and trepidation about ‘loss of self’ within a group. We discuss the findings in relation to theory on social (dis)identification, social (dis)incentives, and identity performances, arguing that inaction does not necessarily stem from apathy. Rather, people may engage in motivated inaction – that is, active avoidance of some types of actions, or from affiliations with particular groups, as a response to negative inferences about the legitimacy or efficacy of some forms of collective action. Practical strategies are suggested for groups and individuals, including the potential for people to take actions for social change independently of a formally organised movement.
21 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, student-led participatory action research (PAR) was used as a tool to support the intersectional sociopolitical development of student activists organizing within racialized neoliberal settings of higher education that threaten the academic thriving and overall wellbeing of students of color.
Abstract: Political activism attests to the sociopolitical development and agency of young people. Yet the literature sparingly engages the intersectional subjectivities that inform the sociopolitical development of young people, especially women of color. Important questions remain in the theorizing of sociopolitical development among youth engaged in political activism within higher education settings. Thus, we focus on the following question: What experiences informed or catalyzed the sociopolitical development of women of color student activists within a racialized neoliberal university in the United States? In addressing this question we demonstrate how student-led participatory action research (PAR) within the neoliberal university can facilitate and support sociopolitical development. Of most value, this paper demonstrates how PAR can be used as a tool to support the intersectional sociopolitical development of student activists organizing within racialized neoliberal settings of higher education that threaten the academic thriving and overall wellbeing of students of color, specifically women of color. Sociopolitical development theorizing must engage elements of relational healing as a dimension of wellbeing. Therefore, our work contributes to these conversations by centering the experiences of women of color student activists.
20 citations
TL;DR: The tax climate in a society can vary on a continuum between antagonistic and synergistic as discussed by the authors, which suggests that tax compliance can be challenging given the inherently hidden nature of tax evasion.
Abstract: Given the inherently hidden nature of tax evasion, research on tax compliance can be challenging. By drawing on the ‘slippery slope’ framework, which suggests that the tax climate in a society can vary on a continuum between antagonistic and synergistic, we test a new tool in tax compliance research by comparing two areas that differ in terms of tax compliance but share the same language: Italy and the Canton of Ticino (Switzerland). After retrieving 3554 tax-related articles published between 2010 and 2016 from national newspapers with the highest circulation in the two considered countries, we performed a lexicographical analysis using the software T-LAB. The results show that the Italian and Swiss national presses depict their respective tax systems and tax authorities in very different ways. An antagonistic tax climate (coercive power of authorities and distrust in the tax system) appears to prevail in Italy, while a synergistic tax climate (legitimate power of authorities and trust in the tax system) prevails in the Canton of Ticino. The tool appears to be effective not only in detecting the tax climate of a country but also in monitoring changes over time, thus allowing policymakers to fine-tune their fiscal policies accordingly. The results also offer insights into the effects of the vicious cycle between the tax climate of a country and the way the press depicts it in terms of tax behaviour.
19 citations
TL;DR: This article examined intergroup relations between immigrants of different ethnic backgrounds (Croats, Serbs, and Bosniaks) originating from the same conflict area (former Yugoslavia) and living in the same host country (Australia).
Abstract: In this study we examined intergroup relations between immigrants of different ethnic backgrounds (Croats, Serbs, and Bosniaks) originating from the same conflict area (former Yugoslavia) and living in the same host country (Australia). For these (formerly) conflicted groups we investigated whether interethnic contacts depended on superordinate Yugoslavian and subgroup ethnic identifications as well as two emotionally laden representations of history: Yugonostalgia (longing for Yugoslavia from the past) and collective guilt assignment for the past wrongdoings. Using unique survey data collected among Croats, Serbs and Bosniaks in Australia (N = 87), we found that Yugoslavian identification was related to stronger feelings of Yugonostalgia, and via Yugonostalgia, to relatively more contact with other subgroups from former Yugoslavia. Ethnic identification, in contrast, was related to a stronger assignment of guilt to out-group relative to in-group, and therefore, to relatively less contact with other subgroups in Australia. We discuss implications of transferring group identities and collective memories into the diaspora.
18 citations
TL;DR: This paper used computational text analysis and Linguistic Inquiry Word Count (LIWC) to investigate the identity formation process in an open online xenophobic, anti-immigrant, discussion forum and found that new users change from an individual identification to a group identification over time.
Abstract: Much of identity formation processes nowadays takes place online, indicating that intergroup differentiation may be found in online communities. This paper focuses on identity formation processes in an open online xenophobic, anti-immigrant, discussion forum. Open discussion forums provide an excellent opportunity to investigate open interactions that may reveal how identity is formed and how individual users are influenced by other users. Using computational text analysis and Linguistic Inquiry Word Count (LIWC), our results show that new users change from an individual identification to a group identification over time as indicated by a decrease in the use of “I” and increase in the use of “we”. The analyses also show increased use of “they” indicating intergroup differentiation. Moreover, the linguistic style of new users became more similar to that of the overall forum over time. Further, the emotional content decreased over time. The results indicate that new users on a forum create a collective identity with the other users and adapt to them linguistically.
15 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a liberatory ethics of care model is proposed as a path forward for community psychologists interested in societal transformation, and case studies of two different groups involved in transformation-oriented projects to improve the well-being of their communities are presented.
Abstract: Community psychology originated as a discipline designed to reduce societal inequities and promote social justice. The field’s development, however, coincides with the proliferation of neoliberal policies and ideology that run counter to many of the aims of community psychology. In light of the contemporary socio-political landscape, this paper advances a liberatory ethics of care model as a path forward for community psychologists interested in societal transformation. We illustrate liberatory care as a guide for social change via case studies of two different groups involved in transformation-oriented projects to improve the well-being of their communities (i.e., Latinx youth in the United States involved in an activist art project and women in rural Nicaragua involved in feminist organizing). We specifically illustrate that an ethics of care framework both guides the actions of these groups, and offers an alternative focus for community psychologists interested in promoting transformation towards more healthful and just societies. We aim to contribute to efforts to promote justice-oriented change by explicating the role of care oriented-communal values in promoting liberatory practices.
14 citations
TL;DR: This article conducted a survey with 213 university students, aged 18 to 35 years old, from these three countries, through an online questionnaire with open-ended questions about important events and people in the region's history.
Abstract: Social representations of history play an important role in defining the identity of national and supranational groups such asLatin America, and also influencing present-day intergroup relations. In this paper, we discuss a study that aimed to analyseand compare social representations of Latin American history among Brazilian, Chilean, and Mexican participants. We conducteda survey with 213 university students, aged 18 to 35 years old, from these three countries, through an online questionnairewith open-ended questions about important events and people in the region's history. Despite the reference to different historicalevents and the existence of national specificities, several common topics were noteworthy across the three samples. Therewas a centrality of events involving political issues, conflicts and revolutions, as well as a recency effect and a sociocentricbias, replicating previous research about social representations of world history in different countries. There was also a strongprominence of colonization and independence issues in all samples. Through an emphasis on a common narrative of struggleand overcoming difficulties, the participants’ social representations of Latin American history may favour mobilization andresistance, challenging the stability and legitimacy of the existing social order. Furthermore, the findings are discussed in termsof their potential connections with present-day intergroup relations within Latin America, and between Latin America and otherparts of the world.
TL;DR: The field of community psychology has for decades concerned itself with the theory and practice of bottom-up emancipatory efforts to tackle health inequalities and other social injustices, often assuming a consensus around values of equality, tolerance and human rights as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The field of community psychology has for decades concerned itself with the theory and practice of bottom-up emancipatory efforts to tackle health inequalities and other social injustices, often assuming a consensus around values of equality, tolerance and human rights. However, recent global socio-political shifts, particularly the individualisation of neoliberalism and the rise of intolerant, exclusionary politics, have shaken those assumptions, creating what many perceive to be exceptionally hostile conditions for emancipatory activism. This special thematic section brings together a diverse series of articles which address how health and social justice activists are responding to contemporary conditions, in the interest of re-invigorating community psychology’s contribution to emancipatory efforts. The current article introduces our collective conceptualisation of these ‘changing times’, the challenges they pose, and four openings offered by the collection of articles. Firstly, against the backdrop of neoliberal hegemony, these articles argue for a return to community psychology’s core principle of relationality. Secondly, articles identify novel sources of disruptive community agency, in the resistant identities of nonconformist groups, and new, technologically-mediated communicative relations. Thirdly, articles prompt a critical reflection on the potentials and tensions of scholar-activist-community relationships. Fourthly, and collectively, the articles inspire a politics of hope rather than of despair. Building on the creativity of the activists and authors represented in this special section, we conclude that the environment of neoliberal individualism and intolerance, rather than rendering community psychology outdated, serves to re-invigorate its core commitment to relationality, and to a bold and combative scholar-activism.
TL;DR: This article examined whether implicit theories about groups are associated with political identity and whether this relationship is mediated by Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) and found that raising the salience of entity beliefs leads to increased right-wing political self-identification on social issues.
Abstract: In three studies across three cultures (U.S., Sweden, and Israel), we examine whether implicit theories about groups are associated with political identity and whether this relationship is mediated by Social Dominance Orientation (SDO). Study 1 found that raising the salience of entity beliefs leads to increased right-wing political self-identification on social issues, although no such effect was found regarding general or economic political identity. In Study 2, we found that the more participants endorsed entity beliefs about groups (vs. incremental beliefs about groups), the more they identified as political rightists (vs. leftists) in the U.S., Sweden, and Israel. SDO mediated this relationship in the U.S. and Swedish samples, but not in the Israeli sample – a political setting in which political identity is largely determined by attitudes regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Study 3 showed that SDO mediated the relationship between implicit theories about groups and Israelis’ political identity regarding social/economic issues, but did not have such a mediating role with respect to political identity regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
TL;DR: The authors analyzed representations of the core Soviet era (1945-1985) in Estonian post-Soviet history textbooks (1989-2016) and found that even if the style of writing has cooled down, issues of identity preservation, resistance and accommodation, together with a saliently negative representation of wrongdoings by the Soviet system still prevail.
Abstract: This paper analyses representations of the ‘core Soviet era’ (1945-1985) in Estonian post-Soviet history textbooks (1989-2016) Attitudes towards the Soviet system have been a rich resource for identity building, and hence a powerful political tool across the whole of the post-Soviet block Based on an analysis of sections about the Soviet era in Estonia in 21 textbooks, the paper takes a look at how textbooks reflect broader processes of social meaning making, identity building and othering after a profound social and political turn In 1989 and during the early 1990s, perspectives and narratives in Estonian history textbooks were closely related to social memory and national politics, enacting a specific social representation of the Soviet era that dominated the Estonian-speaking public space during the 1990s The Soviet era, Russia and local Russians became the main Others for Estonia and Estonians Over time, public discourse has diversified The national curriculum and textbooks, however, still maintain the canon that formed in 1990s and thus reflect earlier sentiments Apart from the increasing salience of Soviet-era daily life in more recent textbooks, the thematic choices and emphases have changed little since the 1990s Therefore, even if the style of writing has ‘cooled down’, issues of identity preservation, resistance and accommodation, together with a saliently negative representation of wrongdoings by the Soviet system, still prevail On the one hand, this testifies to the resilience of an established tradition in the textbook genre in general On the other hand, it reflects the dominance of an ethnocentric tradition in Estonian history textbook writing The paper discusses the implications of these findings for interethnic relations in Estonia
TL;DR: In this paper, the joint influence of political orientation and cultural context on support for free speech has been investigated in a multilevel analysis of data from 37 US states (n = 1,001).
Abstract: Political orientation influences support for free speech, with liberals often reporting greater support for free speech than conservatives We hypothesized that this effect should be moderated by cultural context: individualist cultures value individual self-expression and self-determination, and collectivist cultures value group harmony and conformity These different foci should differently influence liberals and conservatives’ support for free speech within these cultures Two studies evaluated the joint influence of political orientation and cultural context on support for free speech Study 1, using a multilevel analysis of data from 37 US states (n = 1,001), showed that conservatives report stronger support for free speech in collectivist states, whereas there were no differences between conservatives and liberals in support for free speech in individualist states Study 2 (n = 90) confirmed this pattern by priming independent and interdependent self-construals in liberals and conservatives Results demonstrate the importance of cultural context for free speech Findings suggest that in the US support for free speech might be embraced for different reasons: conservatives’ support for free speech appears to be motivated by a focus on collectively held values favoring free speech, while liberals’ support for free speech might be motivated by a focus on individualist self-expression
TL;DR: In this paper, a theoretical and empirical incursion into the phenomenon of state violence, namely police violence, is made by shedding light on the main processes of moral disengagement, disclosed in the internal perspectives of six Portuguese police officers about common daily work-related situations.
Abstract: This paper comprises a theoretical and empirical incursion into the phenomenon of state violence, namely police violence. Although extensively explored in different perspectives within and outside academia, police violence is complex and has not been sufficiently problematized yet. In our understanding, this phenomenon requires a dialectical and dynamic discussion wherein both the development of state powers (macro-perspective) and how these powers affect the subjectification of those who act on their behalf (micro-perspective) are articulated into a critical analysis. In more concrete terms, the present study contributes to such analysis by shedding light on the main processes of moral disengagement (cf. Bandura, 1990, 1999, 2004) disclosed in the internal perspectives of six Portuguese police officers about common daily work-related situations. To legitimize the resort to police violence, police officers rely heavily on different mechanisms of moral disengagement. For instance, sanitizing language (anchored in a police technical jargon) is typically used as a linguistic mechanism to disguise violent actions; advantageous comparisons with other law enforcement agencies or with the recipient’s conduct are typically employed; non-lethal violence is usually minimized and portrayed as innocuous; and the recipient of violence is usually dehumanised and seen as responsible for the acts of violence. The findings are discussed based on the moral disengagement theory (Bandura, 1990, 1999, 2004); on the denial approach (Cohen, 2001, 2003); and on the impact of organizational, legal and socio-cultural dimensions of police organization (e.g., Fassin, 2011; Huggins, Haritos-Fatouros, & Zimbardo, 2002).
TL;DR: In this article, the authors aim to demonstrate and change negative perceptions of descendants of members of the Indonesian Communist Party (Partai Komunis Indonesia/PKI), a stigmatized social group in Indonesia.
Abstract: This study aims to demonstrate and change negative perceptions of descendants of members of the Indonesian Communist Party (Partai Komunis Indonesia/PKI), a stigmatized social group in Indonesia. In Studies 1 and 2, participants were given positive descriptions of an adult (Study 1) and a child (Study 2), and were asked to evaluate them twice, before and after reading information about the target’s family background. In Study 1, targets were described either as descendants of PKI members, members of another Indonesian party or criminals. In Study 2, the target was presented as a descendant of PKI members, of members of another Indonesian party or without information on family background (control condition). The studies showed that whenever people were ‘revealed’ to be descendants of PKI members, the respondents’ judgments became more negative, and their assumptions about commonly shared views of these people became more negative as well. In Studies 3 and 4, participants were again given descriptions of an adult (Study 3) and a child (Study 4), which were both described as descendants of PKI members. Half of the participants were reminded afterwards with a written statement that every human is by nature good and unique (the experimental condition), while the other half did not get any additional information (control group). By making salient a shared and positively valued human ‘essence’, it was possible to alleviate the stigma that still is attached to PKI-affiliations in Indonesian society. We end the study with a discussion of our findings’ political and societal implications.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors bring forth ten articles focusing on distinct aspects of the relations between representations of the past and present day intergroup dynamics, including the antecedents of collective memories, contents and structure of collective memory, official or institutional transmission, and distinct socio-psychological correlates of the collective memories in present-day societies.
Abstract: This special thematic section aims to bring together current research on the connections between collective memories – or representations of history – and present-day intergroup relations. Drawing from a multitude of geographical and historical contexts as well as different methodologies, we bring forth ten articles focusing on distinct aspects of the relations between representations of the past and present day intergroup dynamics. The topics covered in these articles focus on one or more of the four research lines identified within this field: 1) the antecedents of collective memories; 2) the contents and structure of collective memories; 3) the official or institutional transmission of collective memories; and 4) distinct socio-psychological correlates of collective memories in present-day societies. Together, the contributions in this special thematic section showcase current directions of research within the field and highlight the need to consider the role of representations of the past for understanding present day instances of intergroup conflict or harmony. We discuss the need for more interdisciplinary work in this field, as well as more applied research in the future.
TL;DR: In this article, a quantitative measure of individuals' self-censorship orientation (SCO) was developed, which is defined as intentionally and voluntarily withholding information from others in absence of formal obstacles.
Abstract: Self-censorship is defined as intentionally and voluntarily withholding information from others in absence of formal obstacles. We conducted cross-sectional and longitudinal research to develop a quantitative measure of individuals’ Self-Censorship Orientation (SCO) and investigated its correlates and outcomes in the context of the intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Stage 1 investigated the factor structure of the scale and its convergent and discriminant validity in a representative sample (N = 499). Findings revealed two negatively related factors representing preferences for self-censorship and for disclosure of information. The factors were distinct from measures of similar constructs and correlated as expected with variables representing conservatism, ingroup commitment and universalistic values. In Stage 2, participants were re-surveyed five months later to establish test-retest reliability and predictive validity. SCO factors assessed at Stage 1 predicted readiness to conceal or reveal information portraying the ingroup’s conduct in the conflict negatively beyond all Stage 1 measures. The SCO scale provides a reliable and valid instrument for future investigations of self-censorship and its individual and societal implications.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated how perceived ethnic discrimination is related to attitudes towards the national majority group and willingness to confront injustice to promote the social standing of a minority group in Estonia, Finland, and Norway.
Abstract: In this study, we investigated how perceived ethnic discrimination is related to attitudes towards the national majority group and willingness to confront injustice to promote the social standing of a minority group. We examined this relationship via two mediating factors; national (dis)identification from and out-group (dis)trust of the national majority group. The Rejection-Disidentification Model (RDIM) was refined, first, to account for willingness to confront injustice as a consequence of perceived rejection, and second, intergroup (dis)trust was examined as an additional mediating mechanism that can explain attitudinal and behavioural reactions to perceived rejection simultaneously with national disidentification. The model was tested in a comparative survey data of Russian-speaking minority in Estonia (N = 482), Finland (N = 254), and Norway (N = 219). In all three countries, the more Russian-speakers identified as Russians and the more they perceived ethnic discrimination, the more negative were their attitudes toward the national majority groups and the more willing they were to engage in action to confront group-based injustice. Whereas disidentification from and distrust of national majority group accounted for the discrimination-attitude link to a large extent, both factors had demobilizing effects on willingness to confront injustice, making Russian-speaking immigrants more passive but hostile. The findings are discussed in relation to the risks involved in politicization of immigrants struggling with perceived inequalities.
TL;DR: The Pro-Truth Pledge as mentioned in this paper is a set of 12 behaviors that research in psychology shows correlate with an orientation toward truthfulness, and it has been shown to reduce sharing misinformation on social media.
Abstract: Some recent psychology research has shown why people engage in deceptive behavior, and how we can prevent them from doing so. Given the alarming amount of fake news in the US public sphere, a group of psychologists has sought to combine the available research in a proposed intervention, the Pro-Truth Pledge, to help address this problem. The pledge asks signees to commit to 12 behaviors that research in psychology shows correlate with an orientation toward truthfulness. Early results show both that private citizens and public figures are willing to take the pledge, and initial survey, interview, and observational evidence shows the effectiveness of the pledge on reducing sharing misinformation on social media.
TL;DR: In this article, the Bringing in the Bystander (BitB) training was evaluated on first-year students at a private Jesuit Catholic liberal arts college in Massachusetts and the results indicated that BitB implementation is feasible and effective on a new campus despite modest modifications to training delivery and despite differences in religious affiliation, median income, and class size.
Abstract: To address sexual assault, many universities are implementing Bringing in the Bystander™ (BitB) training, a prevention program that aims to improve participants’ bystander self-efficacy and reduce rape myth acceptance. Although growing evidence supports the efficacy of BitB, data primarily have been amassed at one large public university, the University of New Hampshire, limiting the generalizability of intervention effectiveness. To address this gap, we made modifications to training structure and assessed BitB effectiveness among first-year students at a private Jesuit Catholic liberal arts college in Massachusetts. Using a within-subjects pre-/post-test survey design, we found that students’ (N = 164) bystander self-efficacy significantly increased and rape myth acceptance significantly decreased following training. Results indicate that BitB implementation is feasible and effective on a new campus despite modest modifications to training delivery and despite differences in religious affiliation, median income, and class size between the two campuses.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the role of heterosexism within political ideology systems and the process through which these systems promote discrimination by focusing on sexual prejudice, and found that more conservative political ideologies and greater levels of sexual prejudice will be associated with more negative evaluations of an applicant with a sexual stigma, and that prejudice will mediate the link between ideology and evaluation.
Abstract: Understanding the complex manifestations of sexual stigma is crucial in helping to prevent discrimination toward sexual minorities. In this research, we examined the role of heterosexism within political ideology systems and the process through which these systems promote discrimination by focusing on sexual prejudice. Across four studies, we tested the predictions that more conservative political ideologies and greater levels of sexual prejudice will be associated with more negative evaluations of an applicant with a sexual stigma, and that prejudice will mediate the link between ideology and evaluation. We employed an experimental paradigm such that participants were presented nearly identical information in an intern applicant evaluation context, however, cues to sexual stigma were either present or absent. Overall, conservative ideology negatively predicted evaluation in the stigma, but not the control, condition and greater levels of sexual prejudice more strongly negatively predicted evaluations in the stigma, relative to control, condition. Finally, whereas ideology indirectly predicted candidate evaluation through prejudice generally, the effect was stronger for the applicant with the sexual stigma. This research extends the scholarship linking ideology to sexual stigma by examining employment discrimination and testing the mediating role of prejudice linking ideology to discrimination. By examining the role of ideology, it also broadens the research on bias in employment contexts. Understanding the role of both political ideology as well as individual sexual prejudice in discrimination may facilitate efforts to dismantle discrimination.
TL;DR: The Brighton Citizen's Health Services Survey (BCHSS) as discussed by the authors was developed to explore and potentially challenge how knowledge is used and by whom in the production of local health commissioning institutions and relations.
Abstract: The Brighton Citizen's Health Services Survey (BCHSS) was developed to explore and potentially challenge how knowledge is used and by whom in the production of local health commissioning institutions and relations. Through the creation of an ‘animating set of questions’, it sought to open up spaces through which to make visible some of the ways of knowing and valuing the NHS and health services that had been minimised through the commensuration practices of post-2012 public engagement. In this way there was a clear agenda to facilitate a form of knowledge democratisation which opened up and validated different 'health publics’, in order to explore and broaden participative engagement opportunities. The paper provides an account of the project. It considers the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of this example of ‘evidence-based activism’, reflects on the impact of the project on local commissioning and considers the range of controversies that arose as a result of the work. It explores the way that research straddling the boundary between academic inquiry and political activism speaks to the many issues that are prevalent in the changing HE sector as well as NHS privatisation, health commissioning and public sector cuts.
TL;DR: This article found that majority politicization mediates the effect of majority grievances on intergroup polarization and that, in contrast to the divisive role of majority politicisation, majority solidarity likely fosters social inclusion.
Abstract: The article reports two experiments that examined politicization in the name of the majority population and intergroup polarization as a function of perceived grievances of the majority population. To manipulate perceived majority grievances, we used three different injustice frames (cultural, economic, political), each of which targeted an important arena of societal participation and thus a typical breeding ground for societal injustices and psychological grievances. In addition, both experiments included a (no frame) control condition. The samples recruited for the two experiments differed from each other in (left–right) political orientation and consequently in their perceptions of and reactions to potential majority grievances. The most striking differential influences were observed for the cultural grievance symbolized by the political correctness norm. However, both experiments provided evidence that majority politicization mediates the effect of majority grievances on intergroup polarization and that, in contrast to the divisive role of majority politicization, majority solidarity likely fosters social inclusion.
TL;DR: How health activisms on social media are reclaiming visions of healthcare that move beyond individual and depoliticised models of health technologies is explored.
Abstract: This article explores the challenges and opportunities of social media health activisms to shape public participation in the digital future of healthcare. As health becomes ever more entangled with digital technologies, a growing ecology of digital health services promise greater individual autonomy to learn about and managing medical conditions, as well as accessing health services and engaging in forms of self-care. Cautioning against optimist visions of digital health and their promise of empowerment and autonomy, the article explores how health activisms on social media are reclaiming visions of healthcare that move beyond individual and depoliticised models of health technologies. The notion of cosmopolitics is employed to conceptualise relations between technology and health that implicate human and non-human interests in entanglements between health, morality and technology.
TL;DR: The authors examined the role of ethnic and religious minorities in official constructions of history in Turkey and found that denial of historical information regarding minority populations documented in sources outside the national curriculum was associated with greater endorsement of ethno-cultural constructions and less support for minority rights and freedom of expression.
Abstract: Dominant representations of history evolve through differential exercise of power to enable memory of collective triumphs and silence memory of collective misdeeds. We examined silence regarding minorities in official constructions of history and the implications of this silence for national identity and intergroup relations in Turkey. A content analysis of official constructions of history inscribed in Turkish national university admissions exams (Study 1) revealed an emphasis on celebratory events, silence about ethnic and religious minorities, and a construction of national identity in ethno-cultural (e.g., as “Turk” and “Muslim”) rather than civic terms (e.g., in terms of citizenship). An investigation with Turkish participants (Study 2) revealed that denial of historical information regarding minority populations documented in sources outside the national curriculum was associated with greater endorsement of ethno-cultural constructions of identity and less support for minority rights and freedom of expression. We discuss the liberatory potential of alternative forms of historical knowledge to promote more inclusive models of identification and improve intergroup relations.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the ways in which activism is undermined in the water and sanitation wars in South Africa and argue that activists paradoxically draw on common sense accounts of race, class, geography, dignity and democracy that may limit activism.
Abstract: This paper focuses on the ways in which activism is undermined in the water and sanitation wars in South Africa. The paper extends previous work that has focused on the politics of water and sanitation in South Africa and is based on an analysis of talk between activists and stakeholders in a television debate. It attempts to make two arguments. First, activists who disrupt powerful discourses of active citizenship struggle to highlight water and sanitation injustices without their actions being individualised and party politicised. Second, in an attempt to claim a space for new social movements, activists paradoxically draw on common sense accounts of race, class, geography, dignity and democracy that may limit activism. The implications for water and sanitation activism and future research are discussed.
TL;DR: This article applied a cultural psychological perspective on collective memory as mediated action to examine how constructions of a national past serve as tools that both reflect and shape national identity concerns and found that participants exposed to typically silenced, critical events reported lower national identification and greater perception of injustice against marginalized groups than did those exposed to nation-glorifying events.
Abstract: The present research applies a cultural psychological perspective on collective memory as mediated action to examine how constructions of a national past serve as tools that both reflect and shape national identity concerns. We employ a situation-sampling method to investigate collective memory in a series of studies concerning intergroup relations in the Indian context. In Study 1, participants (N = 55) generated three historical events that they considered important/relevant for Indian history. In Study 2, participants (N = 95) rated the importance and relevance of these events in a within-participant design. Illuminating the psychological constitution of cultural reality, frequency of recall (Study 1) and ratings of importance/relevance (Study 2) were greater for nation-glorifying events celebrating ingroup triumph than for typically silenced, critical events acknowledging ingroup wrongdoing. Moreover, these patterns were stronger among participants who scored higher in national identification. In Studies 3 (N = 65) and 4 (N = 160), we exposed participants to different categories of events in a between-participants design. Illuminating the cultural constitution of psychological experience, participants exposed to typically silenced, critical events reported lower national identification and greater perception of injustice against marginalized groups than did participants exposed to nation-glorifying events. Together, results illuminate a conception of collective memory as mediated action. Producers invest memory products with an identity-interested charge that directs subsequent intergroup relations toward identity-consistent ends.
TL;DR: This paper examined how researchers dealt with the series of ethical dilemmas that emerged while doing research in immigration detention centres in Canada, and found that field work in detention is an emotionally demanding process and that there were several pivotal moments in which their sense of moral and clinical obligations toward distressed detainees, especially children, were in conflict with their role as researchers.
Abstract: In a time of mass displacement, countries across the globe are seeking to protect borders through coercive methods of deterrence such as immigration detention. In Canada, migrants—including children—may be detained in penal facilities having neither been charged nor convicted of crimes. In this paper we examine how we dealt with the series of ethical dilemmas that emerged while doing research in immigration detention centres in Canada. Using a critical ethnographic approach, we examine the process of our research in the field, seeking to understand what our emotional responses and those of the staff could tell us about detention itself, but also about what is at stake when researchers are faced with the suffering of participants in these spaces of confinement. The findings suggest that field work in immigration detention centres is an emotionally demanding process and that there were several pivotal moments in which our sense of moral and clinical obligations toward distressed detainees, especially children, were in conflict with our role as researchers. We also grapple with how the disciplinary gaze of the detention centre affects researchers entering the space. Given these tensions, we argue, spaces of critical reflection that can consider and contain the strongly evoked emotions are crucial, both for researchers, and perhaps more challengingly, for detention centre employees and gatekeepers as well.