Showing papers in "Journal of Social Issues in 2018"

Media Violence and the General Aggression Model

Abstract: The General Aggression Model (GAM) is a meta-theory that considers the role of personal and situational variables on aggressive behavior, ranging from the biological to the cultural. Possible mediating variables include internal states (e.g., aggressive thoughts, angry feelings, increased physiological arousal) and the results of appraisal and decision processes (automatic and controlled). In this article, we focus on one situational variable—exposure to violent media—and how it can influence a wide array of cognitive, developmental, emotional, and social processes that can increase likelihood of aggression. Previous research has shown that exposure to violent media can increase aggression through all three internal state paths, and by increasing hostile appraisals. In this article, we use GAM as a theoretical framework to explain a wide variety of violent media effects. We also add some clarifications and extensions to GAM that research in the past 15 years has shown to be needed in the model. We also suggest new research directions in the media violence domain that we believe will be especially useful in the future.

Intersectional Oppression: Multiple Stigmatized Identities and Perceptions of Invisibility, Discrimination, and Stereotyping

Abstract: Participants (N = 602; having 0, 1, 2 or 3 stigmatized identities based on gender, race, sexual orientation, and social class) completed a survey on their feelings of invisibility and expectations of receiving unfair treatment (i.e., experiencing discrimination) and being stereotyped due to their group memberships. The results were consistent with the model of intersectional invisibility, with multiplystigmatized individuals reporting feeling more invisible than individuals who had one or zero stigmatized identities. In addition, multiply-stigmatized individuals reported more unfair treatment and greater stereotype concerns than individuals with one stigmatized identity, with both reporting more unfair treatment/stereotype concerns than individuals without stigmatized identities. Thus, the present data suggest that multiply-stigmatized individuals are keenly aware of their invisibility and that invisibility represents a source of perceived discrimination and stereotyping for multiply-stigmatized individuals.

You've Come a Long Way…Maybe: How Moral Emotions Trigger Backlash Against Women Leaders

Abstract: Despite the progress American women have made in other arenas, they still remain underrepresented in top leadership positions in both the public and private sectors, thus contributing to their marginalized status in these domains. Although people do not expect to encounter women in positions of power, a solely cognitive process cannot fully account for the negative interpersonal characterizations and poor leadership evaluations (i.e., backlash) that female leaders disproportionately receive. Rather, recent evidence suggests that because female leaders are seen as gender norm deviants who threaten the gender status hierarchy, the backlash they encounter more likely constitutes a motivated process whereby perceivers’ negative evaluations stem from a desire to maintain the status quo (i.e., gender inequality). Here, we expand on this work by proposing that a desire to defend the gender hierarchy causes people to feel negative moral emotions when encountering powerful women who display dominance and/or agency which, in turn, causes backlash effects against such individuals. Study 1 finds that morally laden negative affect explains why evaluators penalize dominant female leaders, but not dominant male leaders. Studies 2 and 3 then manipulate this mediator via the use of use disgust primes. Given that embodied disgust amplifies moral judgment severity, we hypothesized that if moral emotions underlie gender backlash, enhanced feelings of disgust should result in harsher penalties for leaders in gender-incongruent roles than those in gender-congruent roles as only the former violate core gender norms that undermine the status quo. Indeed, compared to a neutral prime, disgust primes (taste in Study 2, visual in Study 3) resulted in lower leadership evaluations and liking of only the gender deviant targets. We discuss the implications of these findings for organizational interventions and female leaders’ impression management strategies.

Immigration and Multiculturalism in Context: A Framework for Psychological Research

Abstract: Multiculturalism is a hotly debated issue in today's global arena. Much of the controversy arises due to different understandings of the term in public and political discourse. We argue that multiculturalism has three core components—diversity, ideology, and policy—and that heterogeneous cultural groups in multicultural societies are ultimately seeking social justice, but in different ways. Moving beyond the broad social science research to the influences and impacts of multiculturalism within psychological studies, we introduce the concept of normative multiculturalism and propose an integrative framework, presenting multiculturalism as a contextual variable and examining its impact in terms of intergroup relations and subjective well‐being. We also consider how multiculturalism at the societal level can be differentially experienced by immigrants and members of the receiving community. Finally, we discuss strategies for maximizing the benefits and minimizing the risks of multiculturalism, reconciling differing justice conceptions, and enhancing positive outcomes for the wider society.

Social distance toward Syrian refugees: The role of intergroup anxiety in facilitating positive relations

Abstract: The number of asylum seekers and refugees across the world is rapidly increasing. Negative attitudes towards these groups are globally prevalent and typically hostile because most receiving country citizens perceive them to be a security threat and an economic burden. This paper aims to understand the antecedents of negative attitudes toward a large refugee group currently garnering a great deal of attention – Syrian refugees, and experimentally test ways to ameliorate negative attitudes. In Study 1 (N = 122), we investigated predictors of social distance—as a proxy for prejudice—and found right-wing authoritarianism and intergroup anxiety to be significant predictors. In Study 2 (N = 162), we tested whether perceived acculturation orientation would predict social distance, and found that Americans were less prejudiced toward Syrians who preferred to assimilate rather than integrate. Finally, in Study 3 (N = 153), we tested if a form of vicarious contact could reduce social distance via reduced intergroup anxiety; we found initial evidence for this mediation link. We discussed the potential for the vicarious contact intervention to foster positive intergroup relations, and contribute to refugee wellbeing.

“I Have a Dream” of a Colorblind Nation? Examining the Relationship between Racial Colorblindness, System Justification, and Support for Policies that Redress Inequalities

Abstract: One of Dr. Martin Luther King's most memorable quotes came from his famous “I have a dream” speech, which arguably called for a racially colorblind society. Today, colorblindness represents a complex ideology used in education, businesses, and governments, with both positive and negative implications for intergroup relations. On the one hand, colorblindness is used to promote fairness and equality between groups by asking people to ignore group membership and treat everyone the same. On the other hand, colorblindness serves a system-justifying function by holding minority groups responsible for their current disadvantages. The present research utilizes a nationally representative sample of majority group New Zealanders (N = 8,728) to examine the implications of colorblindness on support for policies that redress inequalities between the indigenous (Māori) and majority (European) population through resource redistribution and symbolic incorporation into the nation's identity. Additionally, we examine the indirect effect of system-justifying beliefs on the relationship between colorblindness and policy support. Data revealed that colorblindness predicted opposition toward both resource-based approaches to redress inequalities and symbolic policies that incorporate indigenous culture into the national identity. Importantly, there was a significant indirect effect of system-justifying beliefs on both outcomes. Taken together, these findings suggest that colorblindness can be used to undermine support for policies that redress inequalities between majority and minority groups in a post-colonial society.

Deviance Credit: Tolerance of Deviant Ingroup Leaders is Mediated by Their Accrual of Prototypicality and Conferral of Their Right to Be Supported

Abstract: Leaders often deviate from group norms or social conventions, sometimes innovating and sometimes engaging in serious transgressions or illegality. We propose that group members are prone to be more permissive toward both forms of deviance in the case of ingroup leaders compared to other ingroup members or outgroup members and leaders. This granting of ‘deviance credit’ is hypothesized to be underpinned by perceptions of an ingroup leader’s prototypicality of the group (‘accrual’) and belief that occupancy of the role confers a right to be supported (‘conferral’). Analyses of data from four studies demonstrate that both accrual and conferral (a) mediate evaluations, inclusion and punishment of deviant leaders, and (b) they make independent contributions to deviance credit. Implications for leadership, marginalization, corruption, innovation and transformation are discussed.

Not Just a National Issue: Effect of State-Level Reception of Immigrants and Population Changes on Intergroup Attitudes of Whites, Latinos, and Asians in the United States

Abstract: National discourse about immigration in the United States has become increasingly unwelcoming. In two studies, we examine whether regional-level (state) information about welcoming (vs. unwelcoming) immigrant policies in the context of either stable or increasing rate of immigration can influence intergroup relations in receiving communities. Among Whites (Study 1), welcoming policy proposals elicited more positive attitudes toward immigrants generally and toward Latinos, the ethnic group most closely associated with immigration in the United States, but only when rate of immigration is constant. In contrast, among Latinos (Study 2), an unwelcoming reception led to more positive attitudes toward immigrants (legal and undocumented) but again only when rate of immigration is constant. Asians’ attitudes (Study 2) toward immigrants were not affected by contextual information about immigration. Together, these findings suggest that

Leadership diversity: Effects of counterstereotypical thinking on the support for women leaders under uncertainty

Abstract: Despite societal shifts, women are still underrepresented in leadership positions. Previous research has found that women are often placed in risky and precarious leadership positions. This is likely to be the case when the context (economic, social, political) is uncertain. This article investigates (1) the support given to women leaders with leadership styles that are congruent or not with gender stereotypes, under uncertainty (Study 1) and (2) the role of counterstereotypical thinking in strengthening the support for women leaders who are role congruent (vs. incongruent) under uncertainty (Study 2). Study 1 found a preference for strong, role incongruent women leaders in times of uncertainty (vs. certainty). Study 2 found that this preference can be attenuated and role congruent women leaders perceived as more effective following a counterstereotypical thinking intervention that challenge participants’ social cognitive processing styles. We discuss applied implications regarding how to effectively promote diversity in leadership.

Leadership and Social Transformation: The Role of Marginalized Individuals and Groups

Abstract: Leadership is a process of influence, an omnipresent feature of human societies, and an enduring focus of research and popular interest. Research tends to focus on individual and situational factors facilitating effective leadership and identifying obstacles to leadership. One key obstacle many leaders face it being stigmatized as an outsider who is not suited to leadership. This article and issue of the Journal of Social Issues focuses on how and when people can overcome these obstacles to leadership–the emergence of marginalized, deviant, or minority group members as leaders even when their success is unexpected. This article and issue discuss the challenges these leaders face and identifies conditions under which such leaders can exert influence to achieve social change. We cover various forms of marginal leadership, focusing on leaders who are marginal individuals (e.g., non?prototypical leaders), who belong to marginal minority subgroups (e.g., leaders from numerical minority groups), or who have marginal demographic status (e.g., female leaders). This article introduces and frames the subsequent articles in this issue of the Journal of Social Issues, on the psychology of being a marginal leader.

The Psychology of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Creative Maladjustment” at Societal Injustice and Oppression

Abstract: Many theoretical frameworks in psychology are premised on the notion that people are hedonistic in nature—drawn to pleasure and avoidant of discomfort. In this essay, we argue that psychology’s hedonism contrasts with Martin Luther King Jr’s conception of creative maladjustment, wherein a feeling of “cosmic discontent” is focused on the ugly truth of societal injustice. After reviewing hedonistic assumptions in the psychology of coping, well-being, and views of societal inequality, we discuss MLK’s conception of creative maladjustment and tie it to critical consciousness and the present-day idea of being “woke.” We then use MLK’s ideas as a lens on contemporary psychological research of views of societal injustice “from above” and “from below.” We suggest that MLK’s analysis continues to challenge psychology to develop an approach to cognition, emotion, and motivation at societal injustice that identifies the ethical value of a sustained discontent that illuminates truth and animates opposition.

Immigration and Receiving Communities: The Utility of Threats and Emotions in Predicting Action Tendencies toward Refugees, Asylum-Seekers and Economic Migrants

Abstract: Traditional accounts of intergroup bias often fail to consider the complexity of intergroup phenomena by insufficiently distinguishing between (a) attitudes, emotions and action tendencies, (b) classes of threat that promote intergroup bias and (c) subtle category distinctions amongst social groups. We develop a nuanced account of antimigrant bias by distinguishing between (a) manifestations of bias in emotions and action tendencies, (b) kinds of threat that drive antimigrant bias, and (c) kinds of migrant groups (economic migrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers). By employing within-subjects designs in two prominent migrant-receiving countries (NAustralia = 239, NUS = 200), we find that two distinct classes of threat emerge: in-group morality threat and conflict-related threat. These threats predict specific emotion and action tendency profiles. Our findings carry important implications for the conceptualization of antimigrant bias. We also discuss implications of our findings for facilitating positive relations between receiving communities and migrants via in-group morality threat.