Showing papers in "Journal of Social Issues in 2016"

Ageism can be Hazardous to Women's Health: Ageism, Sexism, and Stereotypes of Older Women in the Healthcare System

Abstract: Women tend to live longer than men, and thus typically have more interactions with the healthcare system in old age than men do. Ageism and stereotypes of older people in general can have an important impact on elders’ physical and mental health and well-being. For example, internalized negative stereotypes can produce self-fulfilling prophecies through stereotype embodiment and contribute to weakness and dependency. Ageist beliefs and stereotypes can interfere with health care seeking as well as with diagnosis and treatment recommendations; they can, for example, contribute to gender disparities in the health care of older adults if older women are perceived as too frail to undergo aggressive treatments. Ageism also results in disrespectful treatment of older patients, which is communicated through baby talk and other forms of infantilization or the shrugging off of patients’ complaints and concerns as “just old age.” Intersectional identities can result in a cumulative burden for older women patients who may have a history of disrespectful treatment for other reasons (e.g., sexism, racism, bias against lesbians). Reduction of ageism and sexism and promotion of more realistic and diverse views of older women could improve doctor–patient relationships, facilitate adherence to treatment regimens, and reduce disparities in health and health care.

Progress on Understanding Ageism

Abstract: Almost 50 years ago, ageism (negative attitudes toward older adults) was introduced as a significant social issue. Since then, the worldwide population of adults ages 60 and over has rapidly become the fastest growing age group, making the study of ageism an even more pressing social issue. This review outlines three broad and intertwined themes as the field continues to develop a fuller understanding of ageism: studying both positive and negative aspects of ageism, taking a lifespan focus, and integrating the study of ageism with the study of aging. The review also focuses on several timely subthemes such as the need and benefits of expanding measures of ageism and intervening variables, expanding the diversity of study samples, expanding the research methodologies, and expanding the contexts under study toward greater cross-cultural and within-culture investigations. This review and the international, interdisciplinary research showcased in this special issue are intended to set the stage for the next wave of international research on ageism across the lifecycle and of effective interventions and public policies supporting older adults and positive intergenerational relations.

When Passionate Advocates Meet Research on Diversity, Does the Honest Broker Stand a Chance?

Abstract: In an ideal world, social science research would provide a strong basis for advocacy and social policy. However, advocates sometimes misunderstand or even ignore scientific research in pursuit of their goals, especially when research pertains to controversial questions of social inequality. To illustrate the chasm that can develop between research findings and advocates’ claims, this article addresses two areas: (a) the effects of the gender diversity of corporate boards of directors on firms’ financial performance and (b) the effects of the gender and racial diversity of workgroups on group performance. Despite advocates’ insistence that women on boards enhance corporate performance and that diversity of task groups enhances their performance, research findings are mixed, and repeated meta-analyses have yielded average correlational findings that are null or extremely small. Therefore, social scientists should (a) conduct research to identify the conditions under which the effects of diversity are positive or negative and (b) foster understanding of the social justice gains that can follow from diversity. Unfortunately, promulgation of false generalizations about empirical findings can impede progress in both of these directions. Rather than ignoring or furthering distortions of scientific knowledge to fit advocacy goals, scientists should serve as honest brokers who communicate consensus scientific findings to advocates and policy makers in an effort to encourage exploration of evidence-based policy options.

Ageism and Depression: Perceptions of Older People as a Burden in China

Abstract: Traditional values and beliefs about aging and older adults appear to be changing in China, as a result of transformations in family structure and social system in the context of rapid modernization and economic growth. This study examined the effects of burden views toward Chinese older adults on their depressive symptoms based on a secondary analysis of data collected from a sample of 954 Chinese adults aged 60 and over in Jiangsu Province. After controlling for sociodemographic, health, and family relationship variables, results of hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that participants with stronger views of older people as a burden to family and society were at higher risk of depressive symptoms. Findings of this study can inform the development of policies and programs to address mental health challenges facing older adults in China, focusing on helping them get rid of the burden views about older people, improving family relationship quality, and fostering a positive attitude toward aging in the wider society.

Acting in Solidarity: Cross‐Group Contact between Disadvantaged Group Members and Advantaged Group Allies

Abstract: The actions of advantaged group activists (sometimes called “allies”) are admirable, and they likely make meaningful contributions to the movements they support. However, a nuanced understanding of the role of advantaged group allies must also consider the potential challenges of their participation. Both in their everyday lives and during their activist work, advantaged group allies are especially likely to have direct contact with disadvantaged group members. This article considers when such contact may harm rather than help resistance movements by disadvantaged groups. We also suggest that to avoid these undermining effects, advantaged group allies must effectively communicate support for social change, understand the implications of their own privilege, offer autonomy-oriented support, and resist the urge to increase their own feelings of inclusion by co-opting relevant marginalized social identities.

Ageism in the Workplace: The Role of Psychosocial Factors in Predicting Job Satisfaction, Commitment, and Engagement

Abstract: With a worldwide aging population and increasingly youth-centered societies around the world, there are mounting concerns about how perceptions of age and aging may influence the workplace. Using an age diverse national sample of workers (n = 800) from a wide range of occupations and socioeconomic backgrounds in the United States, this study investigated understudied psychosocial factors (age identity, aging anxiety, perceived age discrimination, perceived social support at work, and work centrality) that may buffer or hinder job satisfaction, commitment, and engagement. Identity variables, both age identity and work centrality, as well as perceived social support at work, were found to be positively associated with job satisfaction, commitment, and engagement, while both perceived age discrimination and anxiety about aging were negatively associated with these three job longevity variables. The results suggest that psychosocial factors such as age identity, work centrality, and perceived social support could be targeted to improve job satisfaction, commitment, and engagement, while it would be beneficial for organizational policies to continue to focus on reducing age discrimination as well as reducing anxiety about aging in the workplace.

Stereotypes about Old Age, Social Support, Aging Anxiety and Evaluations of One's Own Health

Abstract: As the aging population in Colombia grows, caring for older adults falls not just to family but also to the community including friends and religious organizations. While there is very little research on ageism in Colombia, it is increasingly urgent to understand the role of social support of the growing older population. Two studies were conducted with a community sample in Bogota, Colombia. In a pilot study, we developed a measure of positive and negative stereotyping of older adults. In the main study with participants aged between 54 and 83, we explored the relations among endorsement of positive and negative stereotypes, anxiety about aging, perceived and expected physical and mental health, and expectations of social support. We found that perceived lack of social support and negative stereotyping significantly predict more anxiety towards aging, while positive evaluations of one's own mental health predict less anxiety. Surprisingly, greater expectations of social support predict more aging anxiety. In turn, aging anxiety and positive stereotyping predicted evaluations of mental (but not physical) health. Additionally, poorer evaluations of physical health, aging anxiety and negative stereotyping (though only marginally) significantly predict greater expectations of social support. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Old and Unemployable? How Age-Based Stereotypes Affect Willingness to Hire Job Candidates

Abstract: Across the world, people are required, or want, to work until an increasingly old age. But how might prospective employers view job applicants who have skills and qualities that they associate with older adults? This article draws on social role theory, age stereotypes and research on hiring biases, and reports three studies using age-diverse North American participants. These studies reveal that: (1) positive older age stereotype characteristics are viewed less favorably as criteria for job hire, (2) even when the job role is low-status, a younger stereotype profile tends to be preferred, and (3) an older stereotype profile is only considered hirable when the role is explicitly cast as subordinate to that of a candidate with a younger age profile. Implications for age-positive selection procedures and ways to reduce the impact of implicit age biases are discussed.

The Age of Ageism

Abstract: This article discusses how research on ageism has gained more attention, especially as the baby boomers have started retiring, shepherding in an era that some call “the graying of America.” As the population of the country aged 65 and over is projected to double by 2030, it is especially important to study and help reduce age prejudice, so that the lives of older people can be improved. The papers presented in this issue represent some of the best empirical and theoretical work on the influence of ageism on the workplace environment and on healthcare for the older adult. These papers are summarized, and their recommendations for change in policy, law, and education are further highlighted.

Resource Scarcity and Prescriptive Attitudes Generate Subtle, Intergenerational Older-Worker Exclusion.

Abstract: Prior work describes specific, prescriptive resource tensions between generations, comprising active Succession, passive Consumption, and symbolic Identity (SCI; North & Fiske, 2013a, 2013b). The current paper focuses on how these domains potentially drive intergenerational exclusion in work-related networking and training spheres. Studies 1a-1c-each focusing on a different SCI domain-manipulated perceived resource availability between generations, then introduced a professional networking opportunity. Across studies, scarcity reduced the likelihood of young participants' networking engagement with older workers who violated SCI resource expectations. Study 2 impelled participants to allocate scarce training resources among three similarly qualified but different-aged employees (younger, middle-aged, and older). Older workers received the lowest such investment, particularly among younger participants-an effect driven by Succession beliefs, per mediation analyses. Overall, the findings emphasize resource tensions in driving older workers' subtle exclusion by younger generations; minimizing such tensions will be critical for aging, increasingly intergenerational workplaces.

Navigating Multiple Identities: The Simultaneous Influence of Advantaged and Disadvantaged Identities on Politicization and Activism

Abstract: Most identity-based models of activism assume that action is motivated either by a disadvantaged identity (predicting own-group activism), or a feeling of solidarity with disadvantaged groups (predicting ally activism). They do not account for advantaged and disadvantaged identifications within the same person. Yet many activists have both advantaged and disadvantaged identities. Two interview studies from Hungary and the United States (N = 47) were used to examine how both disadvantaged and advantaged identities influence politicization and activism (both own-group and ally), via both direct and indirect experiences of marginalization and privilege. We also discuss the emergence of new identities from activist engagements and how such new activist identities recursively influence activism and politicization. We conclude our analysis by arguing that identity-based organizations may be more successful emphasizing multiple and intersecting identities and the structural aspects of disadvantages rather than singular disadvantaged identities.

The “Activist Identity” and Activism across Domains: A Multiple Identities Analysis

Abstract: Two correlational studies of activists examined the association between belonging to community organizations or groups and sustained activism within a particular domain. In Study 1 (N = 45) larger activist networks, controlling for activist identification and greater political knowledge, were associated with stronger activism intentions. In Study 2 (N = 155), larger Time 1 peace activism social networks were associated with more Time 2 peace activism and, via Time 2 activism, with sustained activism at Time 3. In contrast, Time 1 nationalist and party political identities were inhibiting factors of peace activism at Time 2, and indirectly at Time 3. In addition, larger peace activism networks at Time 1 were associated with greater international human rights activism and Christian activism at Time 3, but not as consistently with other forms of cross-domain activism. The possible organizing principles for these interrelationships are discussed.

Expanding on Psychological Theories of Engagement to Understand Activism in Context(s)

Abstract: Recent years have seen an increase in theoretical and empirical interest in the dynamics of social change. Missing from much of this literature, which has focused broadly on collective action, is attention to the people who seek to bring about social change, activists. Mass collective action is unlikely to occur without the involvement of people to recruit, mobilize, and organize social change campaigns. Including recent research from Australia, Europe, and North and South America, and studies of global online activists, this issue highlights multimethod approaches to studying activists and activism across a variety of different regional, issue-based, and sociopolitical contexts. In addition to contributing to ongoing theoretical and empirical discussions, the issue addresses the policy and strategic implications of this research for social change agents and organizations.

From Deficiency to Strength: Shifting the Mindset about Education Inequality

Abstract: The “achievement gap” as a symptom of persistent social inequity has plagued American education and society for decades. The vast chasm in academic achievement has long existed along racial and poverty lines. Children of color and from low-income families have, on average, performed worse on virtually all indicators of academic success: standardized test scores, high school graduation rates, and college matriculation rates. This gap perpetuates the existing inequalities in society. Efforts to close the achievement gap have had little effect. The gap remains and has actually widened. This article argues the gap is symptomatic of the deficit-driven education paradigm. Fixing the traditional paradigm is unlikely to close the gap because the paradigm reinforce and reproduces educational and social inequity by design. To work toward more educational and social equity, we need to adopt a different paradigm of education. The new paradigm should work on cultivating strengths of individual students instead of fixing their deficits.

Self-Expansion and Intergroup Contact: Expectancies and Motives to Self-Expand Lead to Greater Interest in Outgroup Contact and More Positive Intergroup Relations

Abstract: Sixty years of research on intergroup contact demonstrates that positive interactions across group boundaries can improve intergroup attitudes and can contribute to forging tolerant, integrated, multicultural societies. However, to fully realize the benefits of growing diversity around the globe, individuals need to exploit opportunities for intergroup contact that are available to them. Yet, it is relatively unknown why people might deliberately engage in cross-group interactions and how individuals’ expectations and motives prepare them to develop positive interpersonal relationships with outgroup members. In this article, we begin to address these research gaps. We discuss the self-expansion model and present new evidence that is consistent with this model. Two studies, one correlational in a cross-cultural setting and the other experimental, show the value of high self-expansion expectancies and motivation in promoting interest in and producing more and higher quality interactions across group boundaries. We discuss implications of these findings for policy and intervention.

Why and when do learning goal orientation and attitude decrease with aging?: The role of perceived remaining time and work centrality

Abstract: We conducted two studies to improve our understanding of why and when older workers are focused on learning. Based on socioemotional selectivity theory, which proposes that goal focus changes with age and the perception of time, we hypothesized and found that older workers perceive their remaining time at work as more limited than younger workers which, in turn, is associated with lower learning goal orientation and a less positive attitude toward learning and development. Furthermore, we hypothesized and found that high work centrality buffers the negative association between age and perceived remaining time, and thus the indirect negative effects of age on learning goal orientation and attitude toward learning and development (through perceived remaining time). These findings suggest that scholars and practitioners should take workers’ perceived remaining time and work centrality into account when examining or stimulating learning activities among aging workers.

Retirement as Meaningful: Positive Retirement Stereotypes Associated with Longevity

Abstract: Studies examining the association between retirement and health have produced mixed results. This may be due to previous studies treating retirement as merely a change in job status rather than a transition associated with stereotypes or societal beliefs (e.g., retirement is a time of mental decline or retirement is a time of growth). To examine whether these stereotypes are associated with health, we studied retirement stereotypes and survival over a 23-year period among 1,011 older adults. As predicted by stereotype embodiment theory, it was found that positive stereotypes about physical health during retirement showed a survival advantage of 4.5 years (hazard ratio = 0.88, p = .022) and positive stereotypes about mental health during retirement tended to show a survival advantage of 2.5 years (hazard ratio = 0.87, p = .034). Models adjusted for relevant covariates such as age, gender, race, employment status, functional health, and self-rated health. These results suggest that retirement preparation could benefit from considering retirement stereotypes.

Institutional Allyship for LGBT Equality: Underlying Processes and Potentials for Change

Abstract: Discussions of outgroup activism in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality reflect two shortcomings. First, such discussions generally present uncritically positive views of ally activism; second, research on ally activism has overly focused on individual allies. The aim of this article is twofold: to suggest that action toward LGBT equality may often be influenced by sexual prejudice and may thus recapitulate longstanding power dynamics between majority and sexual minority groups, and to expand our understanding of ally behavior beyond individuals by presenting an ethnographic study exploring the development of institutional ally identity in a mainstream church that underwent a marked shift from an explicit anti-LGBT to an expressly LGBT-supportive stance. The study employed critical discourse analysis to examine interview, textual, and participant-observation data. Dimensions of individual and institutional ally activism, and potential pitfalls in each, are explored. Suggestions for promoting more constructive collective action are offered.

Friendship Development and Intergroup Attitudes: The Role of Interpersonal and Intergroup Friendship Processes

Abstract: Although there is a growing body of work concerning cross-group friendship and intergroup attitudes, this work typically focuses on a limited number of interpersonal processes among established friendships. In addition, little is known about the role of group-related processes within such friendships. Two studies were conducted to address this gap. Results from a retrospective online survey and a longitudinal study reveal that both interpersonal friendship processes (e.g., intimacy, affection, trust, self-disclosure) and intergroup friendship processes (e.g., belief that outgroup friend respects one's own group, spending time with outgroup friend's family members and friends) are associated with positive intergroup attitudes. Specifically, the current findings suggest that interpersonal friendship processes are vital to fostering positive attitudes for the outgroup early in the relationship, but that intergroup friendship processes become more strongly linked to attitudes once the relationship progresses. Results may inform interventions designed to promote positive interactions across “real-world” group boundaries.

Endorsement of Polyculturalism Predicts Increased Positive Intergroup Contact and Friendship across the Beginning of College

Abstract: U.S. universities are increasingly racially/ethnically diverse, offering students opportunities for positive, proactive intergroup interactions. However, not all students take advantage of these opportunities, making it important to understand what factors contribute to intergroup contact and friendship. In the current longitudinal investigation with 329 undergraduates at a diverse, mid-sized, public university in the Northeastern U.S., we examined the role of polyculturalism, which is the belief that diverse racial/ethnic groups have throughout history interacted and exchanged with each other, thereby influencing each other's cultures over time. We found that greater endorsement of polyculturalism before the start of college prospectively predicted increases in intergroup contact and friendship from spring of first year to fall of second year, controlling for endorsement of multiculturalism, colorblindness, and egalitarianism before the start of college. Findings suggest polyculturalism deserves further attention in research and might be useful for interventions, programs, and policies aimed at fostering positive intergroup interactions.

Empathic Joy in Positive Intergroup Relations

Abstract: Research on empathy focuses almost exclusively on its negative variety, empathic sorrow, either by defining empathy as a state involving negative emotions or by confining its empirical study to the negative. In contrast, we investigate empathy's positive variety, empathic joy. We do so in the context of intergroup relations. A total of 1,216 predominantly White teachers participated in a yearlong investigation of whether their attitudes toward, and empathy for, their predominantly ethnic minority students affected their teaching style and the students’ learning. Consistent with expectations, we found that teachers’ experience of empathic joy predicted better student outcomes and that it did so by leading to more allophilia toward students and, in turn, toward more proactive and positive interactions with students. Implications are considered for the role of empathic joy in positive intergroup relations more generally.

Different Origins of Xenophile and Xenophobic Orientations in Human Personality Structure: A Theoretical Perspective and Some Preliminary Findings

Abstract: Building on an integration of research findings on proactive intergroup behavior from multiple fields of inquiry (biology, paleoanthropology, social psychology) as well as research on the HEXACO personality framework, a prospective study among adolescents investigated the relations between personality traits and xenophile and xenophobic orientations (Total N = 455, 219 males, Mage = 17.66 years). Path models corroborate that xenophile orientations and xenophobic orientations were predicted by two distinct subsets of major personality traits: High scores in endeavor-related traits (i.e., Openness to Experience, Extraversion, and Conscientiousness) predicted greater xenophile orientations, whereas low scores in altruism/cooperation-related traits (i.e., Honesty-Humility, Agreeableness, and Emotionality) predicted greater xenophobic orientations. Conclusions on the effects of personality traits were complemented by a distinct pattern of gender effects suggesting higher levels of xenophobic orientations among male adolescents and higher levels of xenophile orientations among females. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Children's Reasoning about Poverty, Economic Mobility, and Helping Behavior: Results of a Curriculum Intervention in the Early School Years

Abstract: This study evaluated the efficacy of an inquiry-based poverty curriculum unit on students’ beliefs about causes of poverty, economic mobility, and helping behaviors. Participants were 89 kindergarten, first- and second-grade students (mean age = 6.81 years, SD = .93) across two intervention and two control classrooms. Students in intervention classrooms participated in a 5- to 7-week curriculum unit focused on poverty. Preintervention results showed no differences in outcomes by condition. Postintervention results indicated that, compared to the control condition, students in the intervention were more likely to say that poverty is malleable over time and less likely to suggest giving money to poor families as a way to help. There were no differences, however, by condition in the types of causal attributions that students provided (i.e., individualistic, fatalistic, and structural). Implications for theory and educational practice regarding teaching about economic inequality and mobility are discussed.

Does civic participation stimulate political activity

Abstract: Activists are the engines of social movements. What spurs their activism? This article scrutinizes the role of civic participation in stimulating political action. We examine how the type of voluntary organization, scope of involvement and intensity of activity relate to political activity. Contrary to existing studies that collapse noninstitutional political activities into a single measure, we differentiate collective activities from individualized activities, enabling us to investigate how the type, intensity and scope of civic participation differentially stimulate political activities. Our sample included 14,787 participants in 71 street demonstrations. We show that membership and interest in activist organizations stimulates political activity, especially for those actively involved and especially for collective noninstitutionalized activities, while membership in leisure organizations only stimulates individualized political activities, but not collective activities. We therefore conclude that civic participation is a multifaceted phenomenon associated with various political activities in different ways.

Intergroup Relations in Latin America: Intergroup Contact, Common Ingroup Identity, and Activism among Indigenous Groups in Mexico and Chile

Abstract: In two correlational studies in Mexico (Study 1: N = 152, Mexican Indigenous people) and Chile (Study 2: N = 185, Chilean Indigenous people, Mapuche), we investigated how different dimensions of common ingroup identity (CII) and intergroup contact between Indigenous people influence activist tendencies and how past participation moderates this influence. In Study 1, CII as Mexican and intragroup contact between Indigenous people predicted activist tendencies via increased group efficacy. In Study 2, CII as Chilean positively predicted normative activism both directly and via group efficacy. In both studies intragroup contact between Indigenous people directly and positively predicted future intentions to engage in political action and past activism moderated these associations. These findings suggest that the negative effects of CII on activism do not readily map onto contexts where subgroup and CII overlap, and contact might have beneficial effects on activism. Implications for future research and policy are discussed.

Education Inequality: Broadening Public Attitudes Through Framing

Abstract: Research over the last 50 years have been remarkably consistent when it comes to addressing education inequality: background factors like family and socioeconomics matter to school success. Yet policies remain narrowly focused on school-based reforms like testing, standards, and charter schools due in large part to the American public's limited understanding of education and inequality. I argue that scholars, as the experts, are ultimately responsible for changing how policymakers and the public think about these issues—a duty they have yet to embrace. In this connection, the use of framing can help education researchers broaden attitudes and stimulate political will. Drawing mainly from disciplines outside education, this article explores the potential of framing as a communication tool for education scholars. Specifically, I examine how it has been used in science, political, and marketing communication to broaden public opinion. I also offer ways to frame the issue of education inequality to help the public, including decision makers and influencers, conceive of solutions and opportunities beyond the status quo.

Global Equality of Educational Opportunity: Creating the Conditions for all Students to Succeed

Abstract: How does equality of education opportunity compare globally? What policy options do different countries have when trying to improve performance and tackle inequality at the same time? What policies are countries implementing? These are some of the questions this article addresses. While the article does not provide definitive answers, or one-size fits all solutions, it does paint a picture of what different countries are achieving in terms of reducing education inequalities and how when trying to provide all students regardless of background with equal educational opportunity, thus enhancing social mobility.

The Power to be Moral: Affirming Israelis’ and Palestinians’ Agency Promotes Prosocial Tendencies across Group Boundaries

Abstract: Based on recent extensions of the needs-based model of reconciliation, we argue that in conflicts characterized by mutual transgressions, such as the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, group members prioritize their agency-related over morality-related needs. Optimistically, however, two studies conducted among Israeli Jews (Study 1) and West Bank Palestinians (Study 2) found that addressing group members’ pressing need for agency by affirming their in-group's strength, competence, and self-determination brought their moral considerations to the fore, leading to stronger prosocial tendencies across group boundaries. These studies suggest that group members need to feel secure and agentic in order to allow their otherwise unprioritized moral needs to come into play. Practically, our insights regarding the positive effects of agency affirmation can be used in the planning of interventions by dialog group facilitators, mediators, or group leaders who wish to encourage members to relinquish some power in order to exhibit greater morality toward their out-group.

Separating Social Science Research on Activism from Social Science as Activism

Abstract: This special issue illustrates that for a better understanding of activism, we need to look at activities that differ from one another in their means and goals. As the topic is inherently politically contentious, reflection on what, why, and how we study activism becomes especially important. Drawing on the findings of the studies in this special issue, this concluding article outlines five propositions for areas of self-reflection from scientific and policy perspectives. The propositions touch on (a) broadening the scope of activism research to include movements with politically antagonistic goals, (b) the importance of examining activities that contest the social structure as well as those that work within the system by providing support and services, (c) the necessity of testing traditional theories of activism in a technologically changing context, (d) endorsing methodological plurality in activism research, and finally (e) researchers’ responsibilities for the practical implications of their findings.

Altering Perceived Cultural and Economic Threats can Increase Immigrant Helping

Abstract: We report two experimental studies in which we investigated the effects of perceived economic and cultural threat on positive interactions between a host society and immigrants. Study 1 showed that people who perceived immigrants as less of a threat to their society's economy were more willing to provide immigrants with empowerment help and less likely to expect immigrants to solve their own problems (group change). In Study 2, we found that high culturally adapted immigrant was seen as less of a threat than low culturally adapted immigrants among the low and moderate nationalists, but not among high nationalists, who viewed immigrants as threatening regardless of their cultural adaptation. Participants who perceived immigrants as culturally nonthreatening were subsequently more willing to provide immigrants with help in the form of direct assistance and less likely to expect the group to change.