Intergroup Emotions and Intergroup Relations

The shadow of fear: hate crime victimization and stress after Charlottesville

Introduction

Recent years have witnessed an increase in highly publicized attacks targeting members of ethnoracial and religious minority groups. To date, existing research has primarily focused on the tendency for such "trigger events" to generate violent aftershocks. We argue that beyond such ripple effects, highly salient trigger events significantly increase hate-crime related stress among racial and ethnic minorities. Additionally, we explore whether these effects are limited to the group most clearly targeted, or if they "spill over" to other minoritized communities.

Methods

To study reactions to hate crimes, we draw upon national survey data (N = 1,122) in combination with a natural experiment involving the Unite the Right rally and vehicle attack in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017. We employ an "unexpected event during survey" design to estimate the causal effect of the Charlottesville rally on stress about hate crimes.

Results

We first show that there was an increase in anti-Black hate crimes in the 2 weeks following the Charlottesville incident. We also find a corresponding increase in stress due to the perception of personal vulnerability to hate crimes among African-Americans. However, we do not observe a significant increase in levels of stress following the trigger event among Hispanics and Asian Americans.

Discussion

Our results suggest that highly publicized instances of intergroup violence can have significant impacts on stress about hate crime victimization within the target group. However, we find that this effect is short-lived, and that both violent aftershocks and the general climate of fear spurred by hate crimes may be racially bounded.

Emotion processes in social and political contexts: the case of affective polarisation

Democratic societies have to face the challenge of increasing affective polarisation - a strong, emotionally fuelled, opposition between adherents of different political parties, or conflicting views and attitudes in different social groups. Social and psychological sciences can contribute to a better understanding of this phenomenon and the special role of emotion theory and research in this respect. In their invited contribution, Bakker and Lelkes note the lack of conceptual precision of the term affective and invite emotion scientists to fill this notion with a theoretical structure that encourages systematic research across different problem areas and cultures. Two invited comments on this article support this initiative but favour an approach that privileges discrete emotions. In his comment, Von Scheve argues that intentionality and the associated action tendencies are essential to understand the emotional basis of polarisation. Halperin et al., based on a conceptual analysis and their own empirical research, they highlight the multi-faceted emotion of disappointment, covering both negative and positive aspects, as the most promising candidate. Finally, I consider the potential role of mixed or blended emotions as well as the potential contributions of appraisal theory, especially with respect to appraisal bias and ensuing emotion dispositions and action tendencies.

Putting the affect into affective polarisation

While many believe that affective polarisation poses a significant threat to democratic stability, the definition and operationalisation of the concept varies greatly. This leads to conceptual slippage as well as imprecise tests of the causes and consequences of affective polarisation. In order to clearly identify and target its micro-foundations, we must understand the degree to which political divides are, in fact, affective. In this paper, we do so. We begin by delineating affective polarisation, a social divide that is purportedly distinct from policy-based disagreements. Subsequently, we explore the influence of emotions in politics, including how affect is conceptualised within the framework of polarisation. Where possible, our literature review is supplemented with analyses of existing datasets to support our points. The paper concludes by proposing a series of questions emotion researchers could address in the study of polarisation.

Psychological effects of anti-Arab politics on American and Arab peoples' views of each other

Disparaging rhetoric about Arab people was prevalent during Donald Trump's political rise in the United States. Although this rhetoric was intended to energize conservative Americans, it also echoed throughout many liberal parts of the United States and around the world. In this research, we experimentally examined the effects of such rhetoric on American and Arab people's attitudes and visual representations of each other before and after Trump was elected. Although people overwhelmingly reported not liking the negative rhetoric, the rhetoric alone did not influence explicit and implicit intergroup biases in either location, as measured by feeling thermometers and Implicit Association Tests. However, the election outcome moderated the way rhetoric influenced how American and Arab people visually represented each other. Our research sheds light on nuanced effects of global politics on various information processing stages within intergroup perception.

Managing emotions in the age of political polarization: A randomized controlled trial comparing mindfulness to cognitive reappraisal

Emotional appraisals of political stimuli (e.g., videos) have been shown to drive shared neural encoding, which correspond to shared, yet divisive, interpretations of such stimuli. However, mindfulness practice may entrain a form of emotion regulation that de-automatizes social biases, possibly through alteration of such neural mechanisms. The present study combined a naturalistic neuroimaging paradigm and a randomized controlled trial to examine the effects of short-term mindfulness training (MT) (n = 35) vs structurally equivalent Cognitive Reappraisal training (CT) (n = 37) on politically-situated emotions while evaluating the mechanistic role of prefrontal cortical neural synchrony. Participants underwent functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) recording while viewing inflammatory partisan news clips and continuously rating their momentary discrete emotions. MT participants were more likely to respond with extreme levels of anger (odds ratio = 0.12, p < .001) and disgust (odds ratio = 0.08, p < .001) relative to CT participants. Neural synchrony-based analyses suggested that participants with extreme emotion reactions exhibited greater prefrontal cortical neural synchrony, but that this pattern was less prominent in participants receiving MT relative to CT (CT > MT; channel 1 ISC = .040, p = .030).

Effects of Brief Mindfulness Meditation and Compassion Meditation on Parochial Empathy and Prosocial Behavior Toward Ethnic Out-Group Members

Objectives

Relative to the tendency to empathize with and help sociocultural in-group members, there are often social and psychological barriers to responding prosocially toward out-group members. This experiment examined the roles of mindfulness instruction and compassion instruction in fostering prosocial behavior toward an ethnic out-group (non-U.S. Arabs) relative to an ethnic in-group (U.S. residents). The study also examined whether contemplative practices would predict less parochial empathy and whether parochial empathy would mediate the relations between mindfulness/compassion and prosocial behavior toward the out-group.

Method

A national sample of n = 450 U.S. residents was recruited online via the Prolific platform using the standard sample function, which distributed the study to available participants on Prolific. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three brief, structurally equivalent audio-recorded instruction conditions: mindfulness meditation, compassion meditation, or a relaxation control, and then completed a series of tasks to assess prosociality toward in- and out-group members.

Results

The compassion training was most effective in reducing parochial empathy when controlling for all covariates. The mindfulness training reduced parochial empathy when controlling for in-group empathy, and it led to greater out-group altruism and support for out-group immigration. Parochial empathy predicted out-group altruism; however, it was not a better predictor of support for Arab immigration than trait empathic concern. Training conditions did not differ on support for out-group cause. Exploratory moderation analyses found that those with higher trait empathic concern and intergroup contact quality were more likely to show compassion training and mindfulness training effects, respectively, on support for out-group immigration.

Conclusions

Brief compassion training had the strongest effect on parochial empathy, but mindfulness training showed stronger effects on out-group altruism and support for out-group immigration. Predisposing social psychological characteristics may enhance intergroup prosociality among those receiving compassion or mindfulness instruction.

Preregistration

This study is preregistered at https://osf.io/rnc97.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12671-023-02100-z.

Ideological Frames and Reaction to Intergroup Norm Violations

This article examines how ideological frames, certain context factors and emotions influence choice of a retributory, retaliatory or reconciliatory reaction in intergroup conflict situations. Hindu and Muslim respondents supporting secular multiculturalism and composite culturalism gave their reactions to three norm-violating situations of varying intensities. Multinomial logistic regression was used to predict preferred reactions across situations. Reconciliation in comparison to retaliation and retribution was the most preferred reaction of both Hindus and Muslims. Ideological beliefs also predicted preferred reactions of respondents. Muslims with composite culture beliefs preferred retribution over reconciliation in two out of three situations, while Hindus having composite cultural beliefs preferred reconciliation over retaliation only in one situation. Positive out-group attitudes favoured a reconciliatory reaction in both groups. Anger and fear influenced choice of reactions of Hindus but not of Muslims. For Hindus and Muslims, resource power favoured choosing retribution over reconciliation. However, Muslims with greater retaliatory power chose retaliation. Own group identity and fraternalistic relative deprivation (FRD) played only a minor role.

Sociodemographic and psycho social Differences Between Hate Crime Offenders and Other Non-Bias-Motivated Criminals: Implications for Prison Rehabilitation Programs

Hate crimes have severe consequences for the victims and for all members of the victim's social category. Prison programs must address the criminogenic needs of the participants, especially in this kind of crime, in order to prevent recidivism. This study seeks to understand the role of prejudice and aggression in the execution of hate crimes, in order to design effective interventions for hate crime offenders. Sociodemographic, criminological, and psychosocial variables were assessed in a sample of 33 hate crime offenders sentenced to prison or community service and in a group of 38 non-bias-motivated criminals (n = 71). The individuals convicted of hate crimes have higher reactive and proactive aggression, subtle prejudice, homophobia, and social dominance orientation. The implications of these results for the Penitentiary Administration programs will be discussed.

Interdependence of Emotion: Conceptualization, Evidence, and Social Implications From Cultural Psychology

People feel a wide range of emotions. In many psychological traditions, emotions are defined as primarily emerging from within the individual, even if influenced by external factors (e.g., approval from other people). This definition is consistent with an independent self-construal. However, in some contexts, emotions are understood to have more interdependent characteristics that can be shared with other people and that arise from social contexts and collective, shared situations. We define the lay theory of interdependence of emotion as the perception that emotional experience or its causes and consequences are shared with other people. Interdependence of emotion can be conceptualized along a spectrum, rather than as categorical. Additionally, the degree to which people understand emotions as interdependent likely varies by cultural context. In this article, we review studies that have investigated this lay theory of emotions across cultures, focusing on function. We suggest that people from non-WEIRD cultures (i.e., cultures that are not Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) are more likely than others to experience emotions as interdependent. Next, we highlight examples of this interdependence, focusing on two specific emotions: happiness and awe, which may have both independent and interdependent elements. The mechanisms and functions of the lay theory of interdependence of emotions are discussed using the example of a current collective threat, COVID-19.

'Living at work': COVID-19, remote-working and the spatio-relational reorganisation of professional services in UK universities

The COVID-19 pandemic has been the source of large-scale disruption to the work practices of university staff, across the UK and globally. This article reports the experiences of n = 4731 professional services staff (PSS) working in UK universities and their experiences of pandemic-related work disruption. It specifically focuses on a transition to remote-working as a consequence of social restrictions and campus closures, presenting both quantitative and qualitative findings that speak to the various spatio-relational impacts of PSS working at distance from university campuses. These survey findings contribute to a new narrative of work organisation in higher education which addresses the potential of remote-working as a means for boundary crossing, social connectedness and trust relationships in universities in the immediate context and strongly anticipated post-pandemic future.

From Micro to Macro: The Combination of Consciousness

Crick and Koch’s 1990 “neurobiological theory of consciousness” sparked the race for the physical correlates of subjective experience. 30 years later, cognitive sciences trend toward consideration of the brain’s electromagnetic field as the primary seat of consciousness, the “to be” of the individual. Recent advancements in laboratory tools have preceded an influx of studies reporting a synchronization between the neuronally generated EM fields of interacting individuals. An embodied and enactive neuroscientific approach has gained traction in the wake of these findings wherein consciousness and cognition are theorized to be regulated and distributed beyond the individual. We approach this frontier to extend the implications of person-to-person synchrony to propose a process of combination whereby coupled individual agents merge into a hierarchical cognitive system to which they are subsidiary. Such is to say, the complex mammalian consciousness humans possess may not be the tip of the iceberg, but another step in a succeeding staircase. To this end, the axioms and conjectures of General Resonance Theory are utilized to describe this phenomenon of interpersonal resonant combination. Our proposal describes a coupled system of spatially distributed EM fields that are synchronized through recurrent, entraining behavioral interactions. The system, having achieved sufficient synchronization, enjoys an optimization of information flow that alters the conscious states of its merging agents and enhances group performance capabilities. In the race for the neurobiological correlates of subjective experience, we attempt the first steps in the journey toward defining the physical basis of “group consciousness.” The establishment of a concrete account of the combination of consciousness at a scale superseding individual human consciousness remains speculation, but our suggested approach provides a framework for empirical testing of these possibilities.

Perceived Muslim population growth triggers divergent perceptions and reactions from Republicans and Democrats

The Muslim population is rapidly growing worldwide. Five experiments show that Republicans and Democrats respond to this demographic change with divergent reactions in three domains: perception of threats, celebratory reactions, and emotional responses. In terms of threat perceptions, Republicans tend to perceive Muslim population growth as a threat to Christians and the U.S. society in terms of American culture, legal norms, and peace. Furthermore, Republicans are less likely to have celebratory reactions to Muslim population growth (a theoretically novel reaction). They experience less hope and pride, along with more anxiety and anger. The divergent responses from partisans are partially explained by their ideological orientation and media exposure, but they are not explained by any racial mechanisms or the partisans’ religious identity. Together, these studies reveal that political leaning can be an antecedent to reactions to the demographic change in many complex ways beyond the dominant group’s concern for their status.

Specificity in the Study of Mixed Emotions: A Theoretical Framework

Research on mixed emotions is yet to consider emotion-specificity, the idea that same-valenced emotions have distinctive characteristics and functions. We review two decades of research on mixed emotions, focusing on evidence for the occurrence of mixed emotions and the effects of mixed emotions on downstream outcomes. We then propose a novel theoretical framework of mixed-emotion-specificity with three foundational tenets: (a) Mixed emotions are distinguishable from single-valenced emotions and other mixed emotions based on their emotion-appraisal relationships; (b) Mixed emotions can further be characterized by four patterns that describe relationships between simultaneous appraisals or appraisals that are unique to mixed emotions; and (c) Carryover effects occur only on outcomes that are associated with the appraisal characteristics of mixed emotion. We outline how mixed-emotion-specific effects can be predicted based on the appraisal tendency framework. Temporal dynamics, the application of mixed-emotion-specificity to individual difference research, methodological issues, and future directions are also discussed.

I Feel Different, but in Every Case I Feel Proud: Distinguishing Self-Pride, Group-Pride, and Vicarious-Pride

Various lines of research have hinted at the existence of multiple forms of self-conscious emotion pride. Thus far, it is unclear whether forms, such as self-pride, group-pride, or vicarious-pride are characterized by a similar feeling of pride, and what the communal and unique aspects are of their subjective experiences. The current research addressed this issue and examined the communal and unique characteristics of the subjective experiences of self-pride, group-pride, and vicarious-pride. Using recalled experiences, two experiments demonstrated that self-pride, group-pride, and vicarious-pride could be separated on the basis of their subjective experiences. More specifically, Experiment 2 demonstrated how self-pride, group-pride, and vicarious-pride were related to feelings of self-inflation, other-distancing vs. approaching, and other-devaluation vs. valuation. Finally, Experiment 3 showed that not only the responsibility for the achievement but also the number of people who had contributed to the achievement could influence the experience of other-oriented forms of pride. The current findings revealed that self-pride, group-pride, and vicarious-pride were all forms of pride with distinct subjective experiences. These findings provided valuable insights into the emotion of pride and might lead to divergent consequences for sociality, self-consciousness, and behavior.

Competing collective narratives in intergroup rapprochement: A transgenerational perspective

In the context of an ethnically divided community, we explored the role of competing group narratives for intergroup rapprochement after violent conflict. In Study 1, data from a community survey conducted in Vukovar, Croatia, among 198 Croats, the local majority, and 119 Serbs, the local minority, were analysed to gain perspective on different narratives about the recent war and effects they may have on intergroup relations. In Study 2, focus groups with Croat and Serb children provided data to explore how these narratives were transmitted and transformed in living experience within the second generation. The quantitative results confirm the existence of opposing narratives of war among local Croats and Serbs. Multiple regression analyses show that, after controlling for exposure to war event and their personal impact, different factors predict rapprochement within the two groups. In the minority status group, that displayed higher overall levels of readiness for rapprochement, perceived ingroup victimization and outgroup stereotypes appeared more predictive than the outgroup affect. In contrast, within the majority group, variations in readiness for intergroup rapprochement were primarily predicted by outgroup affect, followed by perceived ingroup victimization. The qualitative inquiry complemented the findings from the survey. Despite the overwhelming dominant narrative, some alternative positions exist, but not consistent enough to be declared publicly. Perception of one’s own group as the primary victim of the war influences not only interpretations of the past, but also shapes identity, everyday life and future expectations. Mechanisms of perpetuating opposed narratives, as well as possible interventions, are discussed.

Multiculturalism, Culture Mixing, and Prejudice: Effects of Priming Chinese Diversity Models Among Hong Kong University Students

In two studies, we investigated how Hong Kong university students reacted to descriptions of China as multicultural vs. assimilatory, examining effects on emotions, prejudice toward Mainland Chinese, attitudes toward Hong Kong/China culture mixing, and cultural identities. Study 1 compared a multicultural priming condition to a control condition and found that the multiculturalism prime significantly reduced desire to socially distance from Mainland Chinese. Study 2 compared multiculturalism, assimilation, or control primes' effects, and found that the multiculturalism prime, through increased positive emotions, indirectly reduced social distancing from Mainland Chinese and disgust toward culture mixing, and increased Chinese ethnic identity and multicultural identity styles; the assimilation prime had the opposite indirect effects through increasing negative emotions. Results show new evidence of the importance of emotion in how non-immigrant regional groups, who are both minority and majority culture members, react to different diversity models. Multicultural frames increased positive emotions, with downstream positive effects on both intergroup attitudes and integrated identities.

The Role of Ethnic Prejudice in the Modulation of Cradling Lateralization

The left-cradling bias is the tendency to cradle an infant on the left side, regardless of the individuals' handedness, culture or ethnicity. Many studies revealed associations between socio-emotional variables and the left-side bias, suggesting that this asymmetry might be considered as a proxy of the emotional attunement between the cradling and the cradled individuals. In this study we examined whether adult females with high levels of prejudice toward a specific ethnic group would show reduced left-cradling preferences when required to cradle an infant-like doll with ethnical features of the prejudiced group. We manipulated the ethnicity of the cradled individual by asking 336 Caucasian women to cradle a White or a Black doll and then assessed their prejudice levels toward African individuals. Significant correlations were shown only in the Black doll group indicating that the more the prejudice toward Africans, the more the cradling-side preferences shifted toward the right. Furthermore, participants exhibiting low levels-but not those exhibiting high levels-of ethnic prejudice showed a significant left-cradling bias. These findings show that ethnic prejudice toward the specific ethnic group of the cradled individual can interfere with the left preference in the cradling woman. The present study corroborates our suggestion that the left-cradling bias might be considered as a natural index of a positive socio-communicative relationship between the cradling and cradled individuals. On the contrary, the right-cradling bias might be considered as a cue of the presence of affective dysfunctions in the relationship.

Implicit Attitudes Towards Robots Predict Explicit Attitudes, Semantic Distance Between Robots and Humans, Anthropomorphism, and Prosocial Behavior: From Attitudes to Human–Robot Interaction

How people behave towards others relies, to a large extent, on the prior attitudes that they hold towards them. In Human–Robot Interactions, individual attitudes towards robots have mostly been investigated via explicit reports that can be biased by various conscious processes. In the present study, we introduce an implicit measure of attitudes towards robots. The task utilizes the measure of semantic priming to evaluate whether participants consider humans and robots as similar or different. Our results demonstrate a link between implicit semantic distance between humans and robots and explicit attitudes towards robots, explicit semantic distance between robots and humans, perceived robot anthropomorphism, and pro/anti-social behavior towards a robot in a real life, interactive scenario. Specifically, attenuated semantic distance between humans and robots in the implicit task predicted more positive explicit attitudes towards robots, attenuated explicit semantic distance between humans and robots, attribution of an anthropomorphic characteristic, and consequently a future prosocial behavior towards a robot. Crucially, the implicit measure of attitudes towards robots (implicit semantic distance) was a better predictor of a future behavior towards the robot than explicit measure of attitudes towards robots (self-reported attitudes). Cumulatively, the current results emphasize a new approach to measure implicit attitudes towards robots, and offer a starting point for further investigations of implicit processing of robots.

Anti-roma Bias (Stereotypes, Prejudice, Behavioral Tendencies): A Network Approach Toward Attitude Strength

The Roma have been and still are a target of prejudice, marginalization, and social exclusion across Europe, especially in East-Central European countries. This paper focuses on a set of stereotypical, emotional, and behavioral evaluative responses toward Roma people selected as representing the underlying components of anti-Roma bias. Employing network analysis, we investigated if attitude strength is associated with stronger connectivity in the networks of its constituent elements. The findings from representative surveys carried out in Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, France, and Ireland supported our assumption, as high attitude strength toward the Roma resulted in stronger connectivity in all pairs of high- versus low-attitude-strength networks. Our finding yields a solid theoretical framework for targeting the central variables-those with the strongest associations with other variables-as a potentially effective attitude change intervention strategy. Moreover, perceived threat to national identity, sympathy, and empathy were found to be the most central variables in the networks.

Do dominant group members have different emotional responses to observing dominant-on-dominant versus dominant-on-disadvantaged ostracism? Some evidence for heightened reactivity to potentially discriminatory ingroup behavior

The importance of social connection to well-being is underscored by individuals’ reactivity to events highlighting the potential for rejection and exclusion, which extends even to observing the social exclusion of others (“vicarious ostracism”). Because responses to vicarious ostracism depend at least in part on empathy with the target, and individuals tend to empathize less readily with outgroup than ingroup members, the question arises as to whether there is a boundary condition on vicarious ostracism effects whereby individuals are relatively immune to observing ingroup-on-outgroup ostracism. Of particular interest is the case where members of a dominant ethnic group observe fellow ingroup members ostracize a member of a disadvantaged ethnic minority group, as here there is a compelling potential alternative: Perceived violation of contemporary social norms condemning prejudice and discrimination might instead lead dominant group members to be especially upset by “dominant-on-disadvantaged” ostracism. Accordingly, the present research examines, across four studies and 4413 participants, individuals’ affective reactions to observing dominant-on-disadvantaged versus dominant-on-dominant ostracism. In each study, dominant group members (White/Europeans) observed dominant group members include or ostracize a fellow dominant group member or a disadvantaged ethnic minority group member (a Black individual) in an online Cyberball game. Results revealed that dominant group members felt more guilt, anger, and sadness after observing severe ostracism of a disadvantaged as opposed to dominant group member. Although no direct effects emerged on behavioral outcomes, exploratory analyses suggested that observing ostracism of a disadvantaged (versus dominant) group member had indirect effects on behavior via increased feelings of anger. These results suggest that observing ostracism may be a sufficiently potent and relatable experience that when it occurs across group boundaries it awakens individuals’ sensitivity to injustice and discrimination.

Guilty by association: How group-based (collective) guilt arises in the brain

People do not only feel guilty for transgressions that they are causally responsible for (i.e., personal guilt); they also feel guilty for transgressions committed by those they identify as in-group members (i.e., collective or group-based guilt). Decades of research using scenario-based imagination tasks and self-reported measures has shown that when reminded of transgressions committed by in-group members, people express guilt and are willing to make amends, even when they are not causally responsible for the transgressions. However, it remains elusive whether people genuinely experience guilt or simply display remorseful gestures deemed appropriate in those contexts. To resolve this puzzle, it is critical to closely examine the neurocognitive basis of group-based guilt and its relationship with personal guilt, a goal that self-reported measures alone cannot satisfactorily achieve. Here, we combined functional MRI with an interaction-based minimal group paradigm in which participants either directly caused harm to a group of victims (i.e., personal guilt), or observed in-group members cause harm to the victims (i.e., group-based guilt). In three experiments (N ​= ​90), we demonstrated and replicated that the perceived responsibility one shared with in-group members in transgression predicted both behavioral and neural manifestations of group-based guilt. Multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) of the functional MRI data showed that group-based guilt recruited patterns of neural responses in anterior middle cingulate cortex that resembled personal guilt. These results have broadened our understanding of how group membership is integrated into the neurocognitive processes underlying social emotions.

Group-based meta-emotion and emotion responses to intergroup threat

In a secularizing world, religious groups are increasingly threatened by anti-religious groups. We present two studies investigating religious peoples' responses to anti-religious threats. We expected intergroup threats to shape group-based emotions and behavioural intentions through a novel pathway whereby threat affects group-based meta-emotions: the ingroup's perception of the outgroup's emotions towards the ingroup. In Study 1, we experimentally manipulated threat and group salience with participants from two different cultures (British and Latinx/Hispanic). Study 1 demonstrated non-interactive effects of threat increasing negative emotional responses and of group salience strengthening emotional responses. The results illustrated the role of group-based meta-emotions in predicting outgroup-directed emotions and behavioural response intentions. Study 2 used a different manipulation of threat in an American sample and an identity-based manipulation of salience to assess the impact of real-world anti-religious campaigns involving symbolic and realistic threats. Both threat types increased negative group-based meta-emotions, negative outgroup-directed emotions, desire to respond, and opposition to the anti-religious campaign compared to no threat. Overall, religious identity salience had little impact on outcomes. The indirect pathway through meta-emotion replicated, suggesting the importance of considering this novel meta-emotion pathway in intergroup relations.

“A matter of trust”: Perception of morality increases willingness to help through positive emotions

Moroccans are still the lowest rated immigrants in Spain. This research analyses the relationships between different dimensions of stereotypes (i.e., morality, sociability, and competence), positive emotions, and facilitation behavioural tendencies between Spaniards and Moroccans. Specifically, this work aims to explore whether the three stereotype dimensions play distinct roles in predicting helping behavioural tendencies through emotions, with a focus on the distinctive role of morality. Three studies are presented. In Study 1, Spanish adolescents assessed Moroccan immigrants. Study 2 considered the minority perspective by analysing Moroccans’ stereotypes, emotions, and behavioural tendencies toward Spaniards. Study 3 experimentally tested the effect of the stereotype dimensions on positive emotions and facilitation behavioural tendencies in a sample of Spaniards. The results showed a consistent pattern: perceived morality always indirectly predicted facilitation behavioural tendencies through positive emotions, regardless of the perspective analysed (i.e., majority/minority), age of participants (i.e., adults/adolescents), or design (i.e., correlational/experimental).

When the Advantaged Feel Victimised: The Case of Hindus in India

This article seeks to understand the collective victimhood of the Hindus, a majority group in India, relative to the feelings of collective victimhood of the Muslim minority. It studies the role that is played by feelings of collective victimhood (CV) along with ingroup identity, fraternalistic relative deprivation (FRD), intergroup emotions and relative power in responding to intergroup conflict situations. The results showed that Hindus reported collective victimhood in greater amount compared to Muslims. Muslims felt more FRD than Hindus. Hindus also carried more negative emotions as a consequence of experiencing collective victimhood. The preferred reaction of Hindus in conflict situations was of revenge and less of reconciliation. Collective victimhood of Hindus was explained by ingroup identity and negative emotions associated with the experiences of collective victimhood and fraternalistic relative deprivation. The action of revenge of Hindus and Muslims was explained by different sets of factors. Identity and CV-related negative emotions were more important in explaining the revengeful reactions of Hindus, while in the case of Muslims relative power, FRD and FRD-related negative emotions were found more efficacious. Results are explained in the context of current Hindu–Muslim relations in India.

Solving the paradox - (further) evidence for a quadratic relationship between in-group centrality and group-based guilt

Previous research on the relationship between strength of in-group identification and collective guilt about an in-group's wrongdoing is mixed, providing evidence for both a negative and a positive relationship. One possible way to reconcile these findings is to explore non-linear (quadratic) functions. Correlational data (Study 1) and experimental data (Study 2) from two questionnaire studies (Ntotal = 311) were in line with a quadratic relationship between self-centrality of the in-group and collective guilt (inverted U-shaped function). Collective guilt about a group's transgression was highest at medium levels of in-group centrality and lower for low and high levels of centrality, respectively. Additionally, defensive in-group beliefs (i.e., beliefs restoring a positive in-group image) were also associated non-linearly with in-group centrality (cubic relation relationship). Our findings call for a more detailed look on possible non-linear relationships between in-group identification and collective guilt or in-group defensiveness.

Democratic Systems Increase Outgroup Tolerance Through Opinion Sharing and Voting: An International Perspective

Democracy may contribute to friendly attitudes and positive attitudes toward outgroups (i.e., outgroup tolerance) because members of democratic societies learn to exercise their rights (i.e., cast a vote) and, in the process, listen to different opinions. Study 1 was a survey study with representative samples from 33 countries (N = 45,070, 53.6% female) and it showed a positive association between the levels of democracy and outgroup tolerance after controlling for gender, age and the rate of immigrants influx from 2010 to 2013. Study 1 demonstrated that members in countries with higher political participation and civil liberty showed greater tolerance toward immigrants. In Study 2, we conducted an experimental study in Taiwan (N = 93, 67.7% female) to further examine two potential mediators (opinion sharing and voting) of the effect of democratic system on tolerance toward outgroups (i.e., attitudes toward mental patients) after controlling for gender and age. We found that when individuals were allowed to share opinions and vote, they had the highest positive other-oriented emotions toward mental patients, which in turn led to greater tolerance toward outgroups compared to those who were not allowed to share opinions or vote. In general, these results demonstrated that the democratic system plays a critical role in increasing outgroup tolerance. Limitations of the two studies and implications regarding opinion sharing, voting, democratic systems, and effects on outgroup tolerance are discussed.

The Short and Longer Term Impacts of Hate Crimes Experienced Directly, Indirectly, and Through the Media

A longitudinal study ( N = 774) explored the short and longer term impacts of anti-Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans (LGBT) hate crime experienced directly, indirectly, and through the media. In the short term, being a victim (direct) or personally knowing of a hate crime victim (indirect) was positively associated with vulnerability, emotional responses, and behavioral intentions after reading about a hate crime. Direct victims were also less empathic toward other victims and engaged in more victim-blaming. A structural equation model showed direct experiences (via personal vulnerability and empathy) and media experiences (via group-threat and victim-blaming) to be cross-sectionally associated with behavioral intentions. Media experiences also had lasting demobilizing impacts on actual behaviors, again serially mediated by group-threat and victim-blaming. The findings highlight the emotional and behavioral impacts of hate crimes on both direct victims and on the wider LGBT community. They also raise questions about media reporting of hate crimes and the role of victim-blaming.

Cognition in a Social Context: A Social-Interactionist Approach to Emergent Phenomena

The formation of collective memories, emotions, and beliefs is a fundamental characteristic of human communities. These emergent outcomes are thought to be the result of a dynamical system of communicative interactions among individuals. But despite recent psychological research on collective phenomena, no programmatic framework to explore the processes involved in their formation exists. Here, we propose a social-interactionist approach that bridges cognitive and social psychology to illuminate how microlevel cognitive phenomena give rise to large-scale social outcomes. It involves first establishing the boundary conditions of cognitive phenomena, then investigating how cognition is influenced by the social context in which it is manifested, and finally studying how dyadic-level influences propagate in social networks. This approach has the potential to (a) illuminate the large-scale consequences of well-established cognitive phenomena, (b) lead to interdisciplinary dialogues between psychology and the other social sciences, and (c) be more relevant for public policy than existing approaches.

Emotional Reactions to Intergroup Norm Violations

The present study investigates emotional reactions that follow norm violations involving Hindus and Muslims in India. It also studies how in-group’s emotional reaction is predicted by the emotion that the group experiences in tandem with certain contextual factors, such as, fraternal relative deprivation (FRD), social identity, power to harm and resource power. Data were collected on 221 Hindus and 167 Muslims. Three different types of norm-violating situations were presented and subjects were asked to rate the extent to which they and their group will experience anger, fear or anxiety in such situations. Respondents were asked to choose between conciliation, retaliation and retribution as one of their preferred emotional reactions. Although, conciliation was the most preferred reaction for resolving conflicts for both, Hindus and Muslims, this preference changed from one situation to another. Across three situations, anger was the most intensely experienced emotion followed by the emotions of anxiety and fear. Anger evoked retaliatory reactions among Hindus while Muslims preferred a retributory reaction in situations involving strong norm violations. Multinomial logistic analysis showed that no emotion was consistently related with the preferred emotional reaction to norm violations across situations. For Hindus, fear in Situation 1 (personal humiliation of a group member) was associated with preference for retribution but with conciliation in Situation 3 (mocking of Gods and Goddesses). Similarly, anger enhanced the odds of Hindus for engaging in retaliation in Situation 2 (obstruction of in-group’s religious procession). As for Muslims, contextual factors, such as, resource power, power to harm in association with different negative emotions increased the odds for their preferred choices of emotional reaction.

Feeling for and as a group member: Understanding LGBT victimization via group-based empathy and intergroup emotions

In two experimental studies (N = 120; N = 102), we apply intergroup emotions theory (IET) to examine the effects of hate crime on other community members. With participants from an oft-targeted group - Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans people, we are the first to show empirically that hate crimes elicit more pronounced emotional and behavioural responses in other members of the victims' community than comparable non-hate crimes. The findings also reveal the psychological processes behind these effects. Consistent with IET, hate crimes were seen to pose more of a group-based threat and so led to heightened emotional reactions (anger and anxiety) and, subsequently, to behavioural intentions (avoidance and pro-action). Importantly, we also show that hate crime victims, due to increased perceptions of similarity, received more empathy than non-hate crime victims. Such empathy, although neglected in previous research, was shown to be a potential mediator in understanding the indirect effects of hate crime. Results are discussed in terms of their contribution to psychological theory and their potential to support the argument for the utility and appropriateness of hate crime legislation.

Bad Is Stronger Than Good for Stigmatized, but Not Admired Outgroups: Meta-Analytical Tests of Intergroup Valence Asymmetry in Individual-to-Group Generalization Experiments

Theories of risk aversion, epistemic defense, and ingroup enhancement converge in predicting greater impact of negative (vs. positive) experiences with outgroup members on generalized evaluations of stigmatized outgroups. However, they diverge in predictions for admired outgroups. Past tests have focused on negative outgroups using correlational designs without a control group. Consequently, they have not distinguished between alternative explanations or ascertained the direction of causality/generalization, and they have suffered from self-selection biases. These limitations were redressed by a meta-analysis of experimental research on individual-to-group generalization with positive and negative outgroups (59 tests; 3,012 participants). Controlling for modest confounds, the meta-analysis found a generalization advantage of negative experiences for stigmatized outgroups and a generalization advantage of positive experiences for admired outgroups. These results highlight the centrality of valenced expectations about outgroups, consistent with epistemic defense and ingroup enhancement and inconsistent with risk aversion. Implications for positive changes in intergroup dynamics are discussed.

"Si eres moral y competente adoptaré elementos de tu cultura”: el rol mediador de las emociones positivas en el proceso de aculturación de inmigrantes ecuatorianos en España

Los procesos psicosociales implicados en las preferencias de aculturación de las personas inmigrantes son importantes para comprender las relaciones interculturales en contextos multiculturales. Este trabajo analiza las relaciones entre tres dimensiones estereotípicas y las emociones positivas experimentadas hacia españoles con las preferencias de aculturación de inmigrantes ecuatorianos en España. Noventa y dos personas ecuatorianas (53.3% mujeres; Medad = 31.58 años) respondieron a un cuestionario que evaluaba la moralidad, sociabilidad, y competencia percibidas en los españoles, las emociones positivas experimentadas hacia ellos y sus preferencias de mantenimiento y adopción cultural. Los resultados muestran que la percepción estereotípica de ecuatorianos sobre españoles (en las dimensiones de moralidad y competencia) predice su preferencia por adoptar costumbres españolas a través de las emociones positivas.

Giving versus acting: Using latent profile analysis to distinguish between benevolent and activist support for global poverty reduction

There are a variety of ways that people can respond to inequality. This article considers the distinction between collective giving and collective acting, but also adopts a focus on the people who engage in those behaviours. Benevolent supporters engage in efforts to alleviate suffering through the transfer of money or provision of goods ('giving'), while activist supporters engage in actions that aim to challenging an underlying injustice or exploitation ('acting'). Using samples obtained through anti-poverty non-governmental organizations (N = 2,340), latent profile analysis suggested two qualitatively different forms of support for global poverty reduction: a benevolent supporter profile (defined by moderate levels of charitable support) and an activist supporter profile (defined by engagement in a suite of socio-political actions). The two forms of support are predicted by different appraisals for, emotional reactions to (outrage v sympathy), and social change beliefs about, global injustice. Results highlight the theoretical and practical importance of considering subgroup differences in how social justice is pursued.

Under threat by popular vote: German-speaking immigrants' affect and cognitions following the Swiss vote against mass immigration

A popular initiative in support of regulating future immigration to Switzerland was accepted by the electorate in 2014. Assuming that the initiative acted as an exclusionary threat for current immigrants of Switzerland, we conducted an online survey among a sample of highly-skilled German-speaking immigrants (“expats”). Participants reported having experienced negative affect following the vote. Moreover, having a more left-wing orientation, living in a political constituency that had voted pro-regulation and having proportionally few Swiss friends positively predicted negative affect following the vote. Negative affect was associated with a reported negative change in one’s attitudes towards Switzerland, increased considerations to leave the country, and impaired satisfaction with life. In sum, the results suggest that a powerful exclusionary threat such as a national vote may be experienced as distressful by highly-skilled immigrants currently living in the country.

Associations between social identity diversity, compatibility, and recovery capital amongst young people in substance use treatment

This study explored associations between group memberships and recovery capital amongst 20 young adults aged 18 to 21 years in residential alcohol and drug treatment.

METHOD

Participants completed an interviewer administered research interview based on measures of recovery capital and a social networks assessment mapping group memberships, group substance use, and relationships between groups.

RESULTS

Higher personal and social recovery capital was associated with lower diversity of group memberships, a higher number of positive links between groups, and greater compatibility of lower substance-using groups with other groups in the network. Higher compatibility of heavier-using groups was also associated with having a higher number of negative, antagonistic ties between groups.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings indicate that it is higher compatibility of a lower substance-using social identity and lower-using group memberships that contributes to recovery capital. Further, positive ties between groups and lower diversity of group memberships appear to be key aspects in how multiple social identities that are held by young adults relate to personal and social recovery capital.

To dissent and protect: Stronger collective identification increases willingness to dissent when group norms evoke collective angst

Research has shown that collective angst (i.e., concern for a group’s future vitality) triggers ingroup protective responses. The current studies examined whether group members seek to protect their group by dissenting from collective angst-inducing group norms. We hypothesized that strong (vs. weak) identifiers holding non-normative opinions would be more willing to dissent, but only when the normative opinion elicited collective angst. In Study 1, as predicted, strongly (vs. weakly) identified Republicans who held non-normative opinions about Obamacare were more willing to dissent, but only when collective angst was high. In Study 2, we manipulated rather than measured collective angst and examined a different political issue: the deployment of American ground troops to fight terrorism overseas. We observed the same pattern of dissent detected in Study 1. This research contributes to current understandings of dissent in groups and the motivating power of collective angst.