Showing papers in "Journal of Social Issues in 2020"

The Perils of Explaining Climate Inaction in Terms of Psychological Barriers

Abstract: As awareness of climate change and its consequences increases, many have asked, “Why aren’t people taking action?” Some psychologists have provided an answer that we describe as a “psychological barriers explanation” (PBE). The PBE suggests that human nature is limited in ways that create psychological barriers to taking action on climate change. Taking a critical social psychology approach (e.g., Adams, 2014), we offer a critique of the PBE, arguing that locating the causes of inaction at the psychological level promotes a misrepresentation of human nature as static and disconnected from context. Barriers to environmental action certainly exist, and most if not all involve psychological processes. However, locating the barrier itself at the psychological level ignores the complex interplay between psychological tendencies, social relations, and social structures. We consider the ways in which psychological responses to climate change are contingent upon social-structural context, with particular attention to the ways unequal distributions of power have allowed elites to block climate action, in part by using their power to influence societal beliefs and norms. In conclusion, we suggest that psychologists interested in climate (in)action expand their scope beyond individual consumer behaviours to include psychological questions that challenge existing power relations and raise the possibility of transformative social change.

Could Vegans and Lycra Cyclists be Bad for the Planet? Theorizing the Role of Moralized Minority Practice Identities in Processes of Societal-Level Change

Abstract: Shifting society to more sustainable modes of consumption poses significant challenges to the way people live their lives. Many everyday practices commensurate with addressing sustainability goals are currently minority pursuits, especially in highly industrialised countries. Such minority practices often come to form the basis of social identities (e.g., as ‘vegans’ or ‘cyclists’). These moralised minority practice identities (MMPIs) represent the focus of this theoretical paper. We theorise the nature and genesis of MMPIs, discuss how their characteristics shape intergroup interactions and consider implications for societal-level change. We make the contentious suggestion that, contrary to what might be predicted on the basis of social identity approaches to social change, strong identification with ‘green practice’ groups may hamper, rather than facilitate, societal-level shifts towards sustainability. We discuss the need for policy approaches that enable people to experiment with new sustainable practices without the pressure to commit to a particular practice identity.

Toward Trans Reproductive Justice: A Qualitative Analysis of Views on Fertility Preservation for Australian Transgender and Non‐binary People

Abstract: This article is part of the Special Issue “Reproductive Justice: Moving the Margins to the Center in Social Issues Research” Asia A. Eaton and Dionne P. Stephens (Special Issue Editors).

Overestimating One's “Green” Behavior: Better-Than-Average Bias May Function to Reduce Perceived Personal Threat from Climate Change

Abstract: The actions of others, and what others approve of, can be a powerful tool for promoting proenvironmental behavior. A potential barrier to the utility of social norms, however, are cognitive biases in how people perceive themselves and others, including the better-than-average effect. This effect describes the tendency for people to think they are exceptional, especially when compared with their peers. To investigate the role of the better-than-average effect in proenvironmental behavior, we administered questions as part of a larger online survey of 5,219 nationally representative Australians. Participants were asked to report whether they engaged in a list of 21 proenvironmental behaviors, and then asked to estimate how their engagement compared with that of the average Australian. Over half of our participants self-enhanced; they overestimated their engagement in proenvironmental behaviors relative to others. Self-enhancement was related to reduced perceptions of personal harm from climate change, more favorable assessments of coping ability, less guilt, and lower moral and ethical duty to take action to prevent climate change. These relationships held when participants skeptical about anthropogenic climate change were removed from analyses. We discuss the

Gender at Work Across Nations: Men and Women Working in Male-Dominated and Female-Dominated Occupations are Differentially Associated with Agency and Communion

Abstract: Occupational gender segregation is a worldwide phenomenon. Research from Western regions such as the United States and Europe shows that the observation of occupational gender segregation can perpetuate gender stereotypes (social role theory; men are ascribed agentic traits, whereas women are ascribed communal traits). However, predictions from social role theory have not been well-tested in non-Western nations. In a study with 1,918 participants from 10 nations systematically differing in gender inequality, we investigated the extent to which target men and women in gender-segregated occupations are associated with stereotype-relevant traits. Results showed that 12 preselected occupations were perceived as gender-segregated in all nations. In line with social role theory, across nations, target men and women in male-dominated occupations were associated with agentic traits, whereas targets in female-dominated occupations were associated with communal traits. Targets' gender, but not national-level gender inequality, moderated these results. The relevance of cross-national research for understanding gender stereotypes and pathways to reduce gender inequality are discussed.

Reproductive Justice Special Issue Introduction “Reproductive Justice: Moving the Margins to the Center in Social Issues Research”

Abstract: Reproductive justice recognizes that women and girls’ reproductive health is shaped by intersecting systemic oppressions (e.g., racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism) which affect their ability to make meaningful choices about their reproductive lives. The articles in this issue represent a coordinated effort to apply the reproductive justice framework to the scientific study of social issues. Consistent with reproductive justice principles, all articles acknowledge the foundation of reproductive justice in the experiences and knowledge of women of color, consider the roles of power, privilege, and oppression throughout the inquiry process, and address the utility of findings for improving the lives of marginalized groups through structural and social change. With this special issue, we hope to reframe the relationship between research and practice on marginalized populations’ reproductive health, and contribute to efforts to apply reproductive justice across domains of social science, including psychological science.

Intersecting Sexual Identities, Oppressions, and Social Justice Work: Comparing LGBTQ Baby Boomers to Millennials Who Came of Age After the 1980s AIDS Epidemic.

Abstract: In this study we analyze 50 interviews with racially diverse, predominantly low-income, LGBTQ participants living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Rooted in intersectional theory that conceptualizes identities as shaped by interlocking forms of oppression and privilege, we compared interviews with "Baby Boomers" to those with "Millennial" participants, who came into adulthood in a time of greater legal and social inclusion for LGBTQ people. Our analysis focused on three questions: How do participants understand their sexual identities? How are the identities of sexual minority participants co-constructed with intersecting forms of oppression? What motivates LGBTQ people in our sample to engage in social justice work? We found that white LGBTQ people tended to see their sexualities as primary to their identity, compared to LGBTQ Black and/or Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) who tended to see their identities in intersectional terms. Younger LGBTQ people were more likely to delink sex and gender identity; consequently, they were more likely to frame their sexual identities with terms not rooted in a gender binary (e.g., pansexual or queer). Experiences with homophobia were prevalent across generations, and intersected with racism and economic oppressions, but younger people more often described support from institutional agents. Participants' sense of community and commitment to giving back after experiences of trauma motivated them to engage in social justice work. Our findings highlight the intersectional nature of oppressions faced by LGBTQ people and the need for organizations to move away from focusing exclusively on homophobic oppression as a monolith.

Fat Reproductive Justice: Navigating the Boundaries of Reproductive Health Care

Abstract: This work was funded by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) operating grant #137019

“Good Mothers Work”: How Maternal Employment Shapes Women's Expectation of Work and Family in Contemporary Urban China

Abstract: Drawing on 70 in-depth interviews, I investigate how maternal employment shapes urban young Chinese women’s work-family expectation in a context of rapid social change. I show that respondents attach strong moral meaning to mothers’ wage work, regarding it as integral to a “good” mother and an “ideal” woman. This moralization of maternal employment, in turn, leads contemporary young Chinese women to view wage work as a taken-for-granted choice. Yet different from their own mothers, these young women are confronted with profound transformation across various domains of the post-reform Chinese society. The normative expectation of women’s wage work, coupled with slow-to-change expectation about women’s roles at home and in a changing labor market, intensifies young women’s burden of “doing it all.” This paper highlights the importance of bringing the macro-level context back into the mother-daughter dyad in understanding the intergenerational transmission of gender beliefs and behavior.

In the Fabric of Research: Racial and Gender Stereotypes in Survey Items Assessing Attitudes about Abortion

Abstract: We investigated the content of survey items to assess whether and how racist and sexist stereotypes are woven into the fabric of research on attitudes about abortion in the United States. We collected and analyzed a comprehensive set of survey items (456 items from 80 studies) used in peer-reviewed research published from 2008 to 2018 in representative and nonrepresentative studies of U.S. respondents. Our analysis was guided by historical narratives that have been influential in shaping representations of women and reproduction in the United States (e.g., the Moynihan Report). With this background, we developed three themes pertaining to how individuals’ attitudes about abortion are measured: we found that items rely on (1) moral, (2) sexual, and (3) financial evaluations of women seeking abortion care. These themes highlighted implicit and explicit judgments of women, including representations of them as unwilling to partner with men and as fiscally and sexually irresponsible. We argue that survey items meant to objectively assess abortion attitudes draw on negative racial and gender stereotypes and that these stereotypes then travel widely under the veneer of scientific objectivity. Critical methods, such as the item bank analysis described in this study, are crucial to discern how inequality, prejudice, and discrimination can be reproduced in the

Cultural Factors Influencing Young Adult Indian Women's Beliefs about Disclosing Domestic Violence Victimization

Abstract: According to India’s National Family Health Survey (Ghosh, 2007), over one third of women in India have experienced domestic violence (DV). In this study, we examined young adult Indian women’s attitudes toward domestic violence DV help seeking behaviors using a reproductive justice framework. A total of 81 young adult women age 18–24 from Mysore, India, participated via indepth qualitative focus groups. Findings suggested that informal familial systems and gender-focused formal support systems were viewed as the most acceptable networks for disclosing DV victimization. Women’s organizations emerged as the second most appropriate network, particularly when it was deemed that an escalated response to DV victimization was needed. If the DV was perceived as severe or escalating, seeking judicial support was deemed appropriate. However, there were several cultural barriers that informed the women’s perceptions of these systems effectiveness, including cultural beliefs about privacy, gender roles, and prior experiences. These results highlight the importance of addressing the multilevel cultural processes that serve to both facilitate and limit young adult Indian women’s ability to address DV victimization. In contrast to the popular perception of abused women as passive victims, these women’s assertions valuing empowerment highlight culturally specific responses to effectively addressing DV. Gender based violence (GBV) has been named an urgent global health priority by the World Health Organization (WHO; Garcia-Moreno & Watts, 2011). Characterized by acts of violence against women rooted in gender-based power inequalities, the prevalence of GBV is highest in countries in which ∗ Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Dionne Stephens, Department of Psychology, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th Street, DM 256, Miami, Florida, 33199 [e-mail: stephens@fiu.edu].