The many ways to be marginal in a group

Reinforcement learning of altruistic punishment differs between cultures and across the lifespan

Altruistic punishment is key to establishing cooperation and maintaining social order, yet its developmental trends across cultures remain unclear. Using computational reinforcement learning models, we provided the first evidence of how social feedback dynamically influences group-biased altruistic punishment across cultures and the lifespan. Study 1 (n = 371) found that Chinese participants exhibited higher learning rates than Americans when socially incentivized to punish unfair allocations. Additionally, Chinese adults showed slower learning and less exploration when punishing ingroups than outgroups, a pattern absent in American counterparts, potentially reflecting a tendency towards ingroup favoritism that may contribute to reinforcing collectivist values. Study 2 (n = 430, aged 12-52) further showed that such ingroup favoritism develops with age. Chinese participants' learning rates for ingroup punishment decreased from adolescence into adulthood, while outgroup rates stayed constant, implying a process of cultural learning. Our findings highlight cultural and age-related variations in altruistic punishment learning, with implications for social reinforcement learning and culturally sensitive educational practices promoting fairness and altruism.

Unraveling Image and Justice Concerns: A Social Identity Account on Appraisals and Emotional Drivers of High-Status Transgressor Group Members' Solidarity With Low-Status Groups

High-status group members typically respond defensively when their ingroup members transgress against low-status groups. However, when they identify highly with transgressor groups, they sometimes also engage in solidarity with victimized low-status groups due to ingroup-focused motives. Yet, the response of low-identified transgressor group members, who can prioritize victims' plight over ingroup interests, remains underexplored. To address this gap, we conducted three preregistered studies (Ntotal = 886) concerning education-based transgressions in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, employing cross-sectional (Study 1) and experimental designs (Studies 2-3). Supporting previous research, we found that high-identifiers engage in nonradical solidarity driven by ingroup image concerns and image-related emotions. Low-identifiers, however, engage in both nonradical and radical solidarity through perceived injustice and justice-related emotions. Our findings provide insights into the roots of high-status group collective action on behalf of low-status groups against intergroup transgressions. Theoretical and societal implications were discussed.

Norm Dynamics: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Social Norm Emergence, Persistence, and Change

Social norms are the glue that holds society together, yet our knowledge of them remains heavily intellectually siloed. This article provides an interdisciplinary review of the emerging field of norm dynamics by integrating research across the social sciences through a cultural-evolutionary lens. After reviewing key distinctions in theory and method, we discuss research on norm psychology-the neural and cognitive underpinnings of social norm learning and acquisition. We then overview how norms emerge and spread through intergenerational transmission, social networks, and group-level ecological and historical factors. Next, we discuss multilevel factors that lead norms to persist, change, or erode over time. We also consider cultural mismatches that can arise when a changing environment leads once-beneficial norms to become maladaptive. Finally, we discuss potential future research directions and the implications of norm dynamics for theory and policy.

Can Peripheral Group Members Not Represent the In-Group? The Effect of Member Prototypicality on Intergroup Conflict

Group member prototypicality is a factor in intergroup conflict-not all group members fight for group interests. This study focuses on the role of peripheral group members and the factors that influence their participation. We conducted two studies to examine the effects of group acceptance and self-uncertainty on the relationship between prototypicality and intergroup conflict. Results indicate that group acceptance moderates the relationship between prototypicality and intergroup conflict. Self-uncertainty moderates the effect of the interaction between prototypicality and group acceptance on intergroup conflict. Our findings have theoretical and practical implications for intergroup conflict resolution.

When and for Whom Organizational Identification is More Effective in Eliciting Safety Voice: An Empirical Study from Construction Industry Perspective

Safety voice (SV) is a form of voice in which employees express opinions or concerns about organizational safety. It plays an important role in preventing accidents and promoting safety performance. The purpose of this study is to reveal the emotional factors and boundary conditions behind employee engagement in SV, especially in the construction context. This study, therefore, investigated how organizational identification (OID) drove construction project participants' SV using a three-way interaction model of perceived insider status (PIS) as an individual difference and safety climate (SC) as an organizational contextual difference. The proposed model was tested using a sample of 357 participants in different construction projects. The results showed that OID was positively correlated with SV. The interaction effect of OID and PIS on SV depended on the SC, with PIS enhancing the identification-voice relationship at a low level of SC and weakening it at a high level of SC.

Motivating Collective Action in Diverse Groups: Person of Color Identity, Prototypicality Perceptions, and Environmental Attitudes

People of color (PoC) face common threats as marginalized ethno-racial groups, yet it remains unclear what drives a diverse range of people to collectively mobilize. Relative to White Americans, PoC are disproportionately endangered by environmental pollution. We suggest that when facing common threats, such as environmental injustice, making salient PoC-Identity (PoC-ID)—a superordinate category encompassing non-White groups—may motivate its members to collectively act. In a study with nationally representative samples of Black, Latinx, and Asian Americans ( N = 1,866), we found that higher levels of PoC-ID predicted attitudes and behavioral intentions to confront environmental injustices, which were mediated by anger about environmental injustices and efficacy as PoC. Although PoC-ID consistently explained Black Americans’ attitudes and behavioral intentions, its influence among Latinx and Asian Americans was moderated by self-perceived prototypicality as PoC. We discuss how these findings advance understanding of the psychological mechanisms of coalition-building among marginalized groups.

Fear of Missing Out (FOMO): The Effects of the Need to Belong, Perceived Centrality, and Fear of Social Exclusion

“Fear of Missing Out” (FOMO) is an all-consuming feeling that is associated with mental and emotional stress. Such strains are caused by a compulsive concern that one is missing an opportunity for a socially rewarding experience often spotted on social media networks. While several personality and psychological factors have been empirically validated as correlated with FOMO, so far, little research has examined the effects of perceived group centrality (i.e., the extent to which group members feel included in the group) and fear of social exclusion on FOMO. Therefore, this study is aimed at examining the mechanism that links these socially driven factors and the need to belong with social media use and, consequently, FOMO, using structural equation modeling. A total of 490 college students ( $\text{mean}\text{age}=20.56,\text{SD}=1.44$ ) completed a self-reported questionnaire that included measures of FOMO, the need to belong, social media use, perceived centrality, and fear of social exclusion. The need to belong emerged as the best predictor of FOMO, increasing it both directly and indirectly through the significant mediation of social media use. Females reported a greater need to belong and consequently more FOMO. Females also reported greater use of social media and greater perceived group centrality. Perceived centrality increased FOMO through social media use, but this indirect effect was not significant.

The effect of the 2019 coronavirus disease outbreak on social relationships: A cross-sectional study in Jordan

BACKGROUND

Social relationships refer to the existing associations between family members, friends, neighbours, co-workers, and other associates. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing has been imposed by the curfew program in Jordan.

AIM

To evaluate the effects of social distancing on the social relationships of the Jordanian population.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study using an online survey was conducted in Jordan between the 6th and the 30th of May, 2020. Our questionnaire was constructed to explore the population's perception of the quarantine period, how it is affecting their relationship with others, and the characteristics of their social relationships and communication with various population categories, including family members and work colleagues. Multiple linear regression was used to identify predictors of better social relationships and communication.

RESULTS

A total of 4,301 participants were involved in this study. The average score of the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on social relationships among the whole study population was 5.68 (SD: 2.33) out of 10 (equal to 56.8%), which indicates the marginal strength of the social relationships. Around 31.6% of the participants reported that their social relationships were affected to a high degree by the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants who were aged 36-45 were positively affected in terms of their social relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic.

CONCLUSION

The COVID-19 pandemic is negatively affecting social relationships, which could ultimately lead to negative health implications. Decision-makers are advised to provide educational campaigns that improve the sociological health of the general population.

Negative Gossip Decreases Targets' Organizational Citizenship Behavior by Decreasing Social Inclusion. A Multi-Method Approach

Ample experimental evidence shows that negative gossip fosters cooperation in groups by increasing individuals' reputational concerns. However, recent field studies showed that negative gossip decreases organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) among its targets (i.e., people whom gossip is about). Bridging these findings, we study the role of social inclusion in explaining how negative gossip affects targets' engagement in OCB. Based on social exchange theory, we predict that targets of negative gossip experience low social inclusion. In turn, we propose that low social inclusion leads to low OCB of gossip targets. Results of three studies, a correlational study (N = 563), a laboratory experiment (N = 85), and an online scenario experiment (N = 597), showed that being the target of negative gossip reduced social inclusion and indirectly decreased OCBs. Our multi-method approach bridges findings from research conducted in organizations and in laboratory experiments and offers a more nuanced understanding of the effects of negative gossip on targets' behavior. We show that due to its detrimental effect on targets' social inclusion, negative gossip may not be as effective for enabling sustainable cooperation as experimental studies claim it to be.

The effect of differential leadership on employees’ thriving at work in China: a moderated mediating model

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to test the mediating role of perceived insider status (PIS) on the relationship between differential leadership and thriving at work, and the extent to which this mediating role is moderated by proactive personality.

Design/methodology/approach

This study conducts a questionnaire with 332 employees from China, taking certain traditional cultural factors and social exchange theory into consideration. This paper then analyzes the responses using a structuring equation model with SPSS 24.0 and LISREL 8.7.

Findings

The results show that PIS mediated the relationship between differential leadership and thriving at work. In addition, proactive personality was found to moderate this mediating pathway, whereby a high proactive personality increased the mediating role of perceived insider status.

Originality/value

This study explores how and why differential leadership is positively related to thriving at work. This paper verifies the moderated mediation model relationship among the research variables and contributes to the literature on differential leadership.

Science as collaborative knowledge generation

The COVID-19 pandemic points to the need for scientists to pool their efforts in order to understand this disease and respond to the ensuing crisis. Other global challenges also require such scientific cooperation. Yet in academic institutions, reward structures and incentives are based on systems that primarily fuel the competition between (groups of) scientific researchers. Competition between individual researchers, research groups, research approaches, and scientific disciplines is seen as an important selection mechanism and driver of academic excellence. These expected benefits of competition have come to define the organizational culture in academia. There are clear indications that the overreliance on competitive models undermines cooperative exchanges that might lead to higher quality insights. This damages the well-being and productivity of individual researchers and impedes efforts towards collaborative knowledge generation. Insights from social and organizational psychology on the side effects of relying on performance targets, prioritizing the achievement of success over the avoidance of failure, and emphasizing self-interest and efficiency, clarify implicit mechanisms that may spoil valid attempts at transformation. The analysis presented here elucidates that a broader change in the academic culture is needed to truly benefit from current attempts to create more open and collaborative practices for cumulative knowledge generation.

The “ironic” fair process effect: A perceived fair naturalization procedure spurs anti-immigration attitudes through increased host national identification among naturalized citizens

A growing body of research has shown that naturalized citizens’ attitudes towards immigration worsen following citizenship acquisition. Accordingly, these socially mobile individuals tend to distance themselves from their former immigrant ingroup. The present contribution explains such self–group distancing coping strategy in terms of an “ironic” procedural fairness effect. Study 1 ( N = 566), a survey conducted among naturalized Swiss citizens, showed that fairness perceptions with respect to the naturalization process were indeed associated with stronger anti-immigration attitudes, and that this relationship was mediated by identification with the host nation. Next, two experiments were conducted to demonstrate the causality of the hypothesized mediation model. In Study 2 (Experiment 1; N = 248), fairness of the admission procedure (accurate vs. inaccurate) increased identification with a desirable group. In Study 3 (Experiment 2; N = 141), administration of a national identity prime evoked stronger anti-immigration attitudes. Taken together, our findings highlight a somewhat “dark side” of procedural fairness.

Social Influence and Group Identity

This chapter reviews research on the group identity explanation of social influence, grounded in self-categorization theory, and contrasts it with other group-based explanations, including normative influence, interdependence, and social network approaches, as well as approaches to persuasion and influence that background group (identity) processes. Although the review primarily discusses recent research, its focus also invites reappraisal of some classic research in order to address basic questions about the scope and power of the group identity explanation. The self-categorization explanation of influence grounded in group norms, moderated by group identification, is compared and contrasted to other normative explanations of influence, notably the concept of injunctive norms and the relation to moral conviction. A range of moderating factors relating to individual variation, features of the intragroup and intergroup context, and important contextual variables (i.e., anonymity versus visibility, isolation versus copresence) that are particularly relevant to online influence in the new media are also reviewed.

Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a massive global health crisis. Because the crisis requires large-scale behaviour change and places significant psychological burdens on individuals, insights from the social and behavioural sciences can be used to help align human behaviour with the recommendations of epidemiologists and public health experts. Here we discuss evidence from a selection of research topics relevant to pandemics, including work on navigating threats, social and cultural influences on behaviour, science communication, moral decision-making, leadership, and stress and coping. In each section, we note the nature and quality of prior research, including uncertainty and unsettled issues. We identify several insights for effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight important gaps researchers should move quickly to fill in the coming weeks and months.

Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a massive global health crisis. Because the crisis requires large-scale behaviour change and places significant psychological burdens on individuals, insights from the social and behavioural sciences can be used to help align human behaviour with the recommendations of epidemiologists and public health experts. Here we discuss evidence from a selection of research topics relevant to pandemics, including work on navigating threats, social and cultural influences on behaviour, science communication, moral decision-making, leadership, and stress and coping. In each section, we note the nature and quality of prior research, including uncertainty and unsettled issues. We identify several insights for effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight important gaps researchers should move quickly to fill in the coming weeks and months.

Interactive effects of social network centrality and social identification on stress

The present study aimed to integrate the social identity approach to health and well-being with social network analysis. Previous research on the effects of social network centrality on stress has yielded mixed results. Building on the social identity approach, we argued that these mixed results can be explained, in part, by taking into account the degree to which individuals identify with the social network. We hence hypothesized that the effects of social network centrality on stress are moderated by social identification. Using a full roster method, we assessed the social network of first-year psychology students right after the start of their study programme and three months later. The effects of network centrality (betweenness, closeness, eigenvector centrality) and social identification on stress were examined using structural equation models. As predicted, our results revealed a significant interaction between network centrality and social identification on stress: For weakly or moderately identified students, network centrality was positively related to stress. By contrast, for strongly identified students, network centrality was unrelated to stress. In conclusion, our results point to the perils of being well-connected yet not feeling like one belongs to a group.

"It's Not Always Possible to Live Your Life Openly or Honestly in the Same Way" - Workplace Inclusion of Lesbian and Gay Humanitarian Aid Workers in Doctors Without Borders

In this exploratory study, we present findings from semi-structured interviews with 11 self-identified lesbian and gay (LG) humanitarian aid workers of Doctors without Borders (MSF). We investigate their perceptions of workplace inclusion in terms of perceived satisfaction of their needs for authenticity and belonging within two organizational settings, namely office and field. Through our combined deductive and inductive approach, based on grounded theory, we find that perceptions of their colleagues' and supervisors' attitudes and behaviors, as well as organizational inclusiveness practices play a role in LGs' perceived authenticity, but not belonging, in the workplace. However, these organization-level characteristics do not account for between-participant differences in perceived authenticity. Therefore, we inductively construct a typology of three groups, which we coined conscious first-missioners, authentic realists, and idealistic activists, based on how LG humanitarian aid workers assess and deal with not being able to be their authentic selves when they are in the field, because homosexuality is illegal in many project countries. Conscious first-missioners are separated from the other two groups based on having gone to the field once, whereby they felt in control over the decision on how to manage their sexuality. Alternatively, authentic realists and idealistic activists alike felt they did not really have a choice in how to manage their sexuality, but handled that differently. We find the importance of one's sexuality as well as adherence to the overarching organizational mission relevant individual-level factors herein. Furthermore, we find disclosure of sexual identity to be strongly context-dependent, as participants are 'out of the closet' in the office, but go back into the closet when they enter the field, with different country contexts even leading to different decisions concerning self-disclosure, thus demonstrating the importance of careful sexual identity management. This so-called disclosure dilemma, we find, may not be merely an individual choice, but rather a shared dilemma involving multiple stakeholders, such as the organization and fellow team members. We discuss the findings' contributions to existing literature on LGs' workplace experiences and implications for future research on inclusion of sexual and other invisible minorities in the workplace.

The Ben Carson Effect: Do voters prefer racialized or deracialized black conservatives?

A plethora of research has explored how blacks and whites respond to deracialized and racialized outreach. However, these studies overwhelmingly focus on individuals' reactions to liberal black elites. We explore whether whites and/or blacks favor co-racial elites who take a conservative deracialized position in the form of support for privatizing social security or a conservative racialized position in the form of advocating for ending the norm of political correctness. Using an online experiment with an oversample of black respondents, we find that whites, and in particular white Republicans, have a strong preference for racialized black conservatives over deracialized black conservatives. In contrast, we find that blacks display a preference for deracialized co-racial conservatives, but view black and white racialized conservatives as being equally likeable.

Parliamentary identity and the management of the far-right: A discursive analysis of Dutch parliamentary debates

In many Western democratic societies, the far-right has considerable popular support and is often perceived as the winner of political debates. This raises the important question of how other politicians try to manage the far-right. We use parliamentary debates to examine how politicians define the identity of Member of Parliament (MP) in response to Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right Party for Freedom in the Netherlands. The analysis shows that politicians made relevant the shared responsibility of MPs to solve societal problems, by using inclusive language, asking for concrete proposals, and emphasizing engagement in debate. These identity-related features question the parliamentary role performance of the far-right. In response, Wilders stressed the MP's responsibility of representing the ordinary people. The politicians used three strategies to challenge this defence: Questioning that the far-right actually fulfils their self-ascribed representative role; challenging the notion that only the far-right would represent the people; moving into a more populist position. Implications for social psychological research on marginal group members are discussed.

PILAR: A Model of Collaboration to Encapsulate Social Psychology

This article presents an iterative examination of a grounded theory of collaboration in conjunction with social psychology literature. The resulting PILAR (Prospects, Involved, Liked, Agency, Respect) model of collaboration encapsulates over 30 social and group psychology (SGP) theories, including social identity theory, social network analysis, and psychological safety. Selected works of the early 20th-century scholars Lewin, Moreno, Simmel, and Foucault resonate with the PILAR model. We considered that, in constructing a generalized model of collaboration made possible by the availability of modern SGP theory, PILAR may represent advancement toward accomplishing these early scholars’ original intent. To validate PILAR, we proposed an empirical investigation for its consistency with organizational psychology, positive psychology, and appreciative inquiry, and for testing whether learning PILAR may improve collaboration skills for individuals lacking empathy.

Gender Stereotypes

There are many differences between men and women. To some extent, these are captured in the stereotypical images of these groups. Stereotypes about the way men and women think and behave are widely shared, suggesting a kernel of truth. However, stereotypical expectations not only reflect existing differences, but also impact the way men and women define themselves and are treated by others. This article reviews evidence on the nature and content of gender stereotypes and considers how these relate to gender differences in important life outcomes. Empirical studies show that gender stereotypes affect the way people attend to, interpret, and remember information about themselves and others. Considering the cognitive and motivational functions of gender stereotypes helps us understand their impact on implicit beliefs and communications about men and women. Knowledge of the literature on this subject can benefit the fair judgment of individuals in situations where gender stereotypes are likely to play a role.

Perceived Insider Status and Feedback Reactions: A Dual Path of Feedback Motivation Attribution

Many studies have evaluated how the characteristics of feedback receiver, feedback deliverer and feedback information influence psychological feedback reactions of the feedback receiver while largely neglecting that feedback intervention is a kind of social interaction process. To address this issue, this study proposes that employees’ perceived insider status (PIS), as a kind of employee-organization relationship, could also influence employees’ reactions to supervisory feedback. In particular, this study investigates the influence of PIS focusing on affective and cognitive feedback reactions, namely feedback satisfaction and feedback utility. Surveys were conducted in a machinery manufacturing company in the Guangdong province of China. Samples were collected from 192 employees. Data analysis demonstrated that PIS and feedback utility possessed a U-shaped relationship, whereas PIS and feedback satisfaction exhibited positively linear relationships. The analysis identified two kinds of mediating mechanisms related to feedback satisfaction and feedback utility. Internal feedback motivation attribution partially mediated the relationship between PIS and feedback satisfaction but failed to do the same with respect to the relationship between PIS and feedback utility. In contrast, external feedback motivation attribution partially mediated the relationship between PIS and feedback utility while failing to mediate the relationship between PIS and feedback satisfaction. Theoretical contributions and practical implications of the findings are discussed at the end of the paper.

Is psychological membership in the classroom a function of standing out while fitting in? Implications for achievement motivation and emotions

Education researchers have consistently linked students' perceptions of "fitting in" at school with patterns of motivation and positive emotions. This study proposes that "standing out" is also helpful for producing these outcomes, and that standing out works in concert with perceptions of fitting in. In a sample of 702 high school students nested within 33 classrooms, principal components analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were each conducted on half of the sample. Results support the proposed structure of measures of standing out and fitting in. Multilevel latent profile analysis was then used to classify students into four profiles of standing out while fitting in (SOFI): Unfulfilled, Somewhat Fulfilled, Nearly Fulfilled, and Fulfilled. A multinomial logistic regression revealed that students of color and those on who paid free/reduced prices lunch were overrepresented in the Unfulfilled and Somewhat Fulfilled profiles. A multilevel path analysis was then performed to assess the direct and indirect associations of profile membership with measures of task value and achievement emotions. Relative to the other profiles, students in the Fulfilled SOFI Profile express greater psychological membership in their classrooms and, in turn, express higher valuing of academic material (i.e., intrinsic value, utility value, and attainment value) and more positive achievement emotions (i.e., more enjoyment and pride; less boredom, hopelessness, and shame). This investigation provides critical insights on the potential benefits of structuring academic learning environments to foster feelings of distinctiveness among adolescents; and has implications for cultivating identities and achievement motivation in academic settings.

Women (Do Not) Belong Here: Gender-Work Identity Conflict among Female Police Officers

The current paper examines antecedents and consequences of perceiving conflict between gender and work identities in male-dominated professions. In a study among 657 employees working in 85 teams in the police force, we investigated the effect of being different from team members in terms of gender on employees’ perception that their team members see their gender identity as conflicting with their work identity. As expected in the police force as a male-dominated field, the results showed that gender-dissimilarity in the team was related to perceived gender-work identity conflict for women, and not for men. In turn, perceiving gender-work identity conflict was related to lower team identification for men and women. Although lowering team identification might enable employees to cope with conflicting social identities and hence protect the self, this may also have its costs, as lower team identification predicted higher turnover intentions, more burn-out symptoms, less extra role behavior, lower job satisfaction, lower work motivation, and lower perceived performance. Additionally, for women, experiencing support from their team members and team leader showed a trend to mitigate the relationship between gender-dissimilarity and perceived gender-work identity conflict, and a positive diversity climate was marginally related to less perceived gender-work identity conflict. The results show the importance of the team context in shaping a climate of (in)compatible identities for numerically underrepresented and historically undervalued social group members in order to hinder or protect their work outcomes.

When and how groups utilize dissenting newcomer knowledge: Newcomers’ future prospects condition the effect of language-based identity strategies

Two experiments suggest that newcomers’ structural role (permanent vs. temporary appointment) in the groups they enter conditions the extent to which their use of language-based identity strategies (integrating vs. differentiating) influences groups’ willingness to accept them and utilize their dissenting task knowledge. For newcomers with permanent future prospects, the use of integrating pronouns leads to greater acceptance than the use of differentiating pronouns, and newcomer acceptance is in turn a key mediator of groups’ willingness to utilize their knowledge. For newcomers with temporary future prospects, however, the use of integrating pronouns (vs. differentiating pronouns) does not positively influence their acceptance, nor does newcomer acceptance determine the willingness of groups to utilize their knowledge. The theory supported by these studies advances group socialization literature by elucidating when and how groups are receptive to dissenting newcomers.

Once Dishonest, Always Dishonest? The Impact of Perceived Pervasiveness of Moral Evaluations of the Self on Motivation to Restore a Moral Reputation

Four studies specify how moral evaluations of the self regulate behavior aimed at restoring a moral reputation. We propose that people care about evaluations of themselves as moral or immoral because these are perceived as more consequential than other types of information. Therefore people are more inclined to restore their image after being negatively evaluated in terms of morality rather than competence. Studies 1 and 2 revealed that moral information was perceived as having a more enduring impact on one’s reputation, and was more strongly related to anticipate intra-group respect and self-views, than competence and sociability information. This perceived pervasiveness of moral (vs. competence) evaluations mediated intentions to justify and explain one’s behavior (Study 3). Study 4 finally showed that being seen as lacking in morality elicited threat and coping responses, which induced subsequent tendencies to repair one’s moral reputation.

Being different at work: How gender dissimilarity relates to social inclusion and absenteeism

We investigated how and when gender dissimilarity relates to two highly important individual work outcomes: social inclusion and absenteeism. We collected survey data among 397 employees from a university of applied sciences and combined these with data from the organization’s personnel administration. Our results indicate that dissimilarity was negatively related to perceived work group inclusion. In addition, this negative effect was stronger when the group was perceived to have a negative diversity climate. Finally, there was a conditional indirect effect of gender dissimilarity on absenteeism through inclusion. That is, being different from other group members in terms of gender was associated with higher absenteeism through lower levels of perceived inclusion, but only when the group was perceived to have a negative diversity climate. Together, the present research demonstrates that sometimes being different is associated with more absences and underlines the importance of establishing a positive climate for gender diversity.

A Place at the Window

Using Giddens’s Structuration Theory as a lens, this article theorizes an organizational change perspective that emphasizes the role of the marginalized. The context for this work is the current changes within the Roman Catholic Church, with respect to its teaching and norms around homosexuality. The change perspective proposes the emergence of “Legitimate Alternative Structural Configurations” (LASC) from which organizational actors find guidance for enacting behaviors that promote greater inclusion of the marginalized in a global organization. Six propositions are offered for considering the ways in which marginal actors facilitate the emergence of LASC. This conceptualization of change provides a useful lens for recognizing, understanding, and promoting the transformation of oppressive organizational structures (in this case, the Roman Catholic Church), while emphasizing the role of marginal actors in the process of change.

Children's and adolescents' snacking: interplay between the individual and the school class

Objective: In schools, perceived norms of classmates facilitate but can also inhibit unhealthy food intake in children and adolescents. However, the role of actual class behaviors and attitudes is less established. Thus, the present study examined classmates' actual eating behavior and food preferences in relation to actual food intake. In addition, it tested whether these normative effects are facilitated by corresponding individual and class food preferences or a positive social self-concept.

Methods: The food preferences, social self-concept, and unhealthy snacking frequency of 734 Finnish, 829 German, and 555 Romanian children and adolescents (aged 8–19) from 127 school-classes were assessed.

Results: Multilevel analysis at individual and class level showed that classmates shared similar snacking habits (14.7% variance). Moreover, the unhealthy food preference of a school-class was associated with its collective snacking [χ(1)2=54.67, p < 0.001, PRV = 0.32). This effect was facilitated by individual, unhealthy food preferences [χ(1)2=16.72, p < 0.001, PRV = 0.57] and a positive social self-concept [χ(1)2=5.91, p = 0.015, PRV = 0.12].

Conclusions: Actual class norms are related to children's and adolescents' eating, but their impact depends on individual differences in preferences and social self-concept.

When votes depend on who's listening: Voters' intragroup status and voting procedure predict representative endorsement in intergroup contexts

Three experiments investigated whether the selection of a representative in intergroup interdependence settings can reflect group members' strategic behaviour. We tested the impact of an individual's intragroup status (normative vs. pro-out-group deviant, Experiments 1-3) and of voting procedure (Experiments 2 and 3) on the choice of an in-group representative. Experiment 1 shows that normative members prefer normative representatives, whereas pro-out-group deviant members equally like normative and pro-out-group deviant representatives. Experiment 2 extends these results and shows that voting procedure (private vs. in-group audience) moderates this effect. Pro-out-group deviant members' preferences and behaviours appear more strategic and context-sensitive than normative ones. Specifically, pro-out-group deviants vote more for normative representatives than for pro-out-group deviants when facing an in-group audience, whereas the reverse pattern emerges in private. Experiment 3 shows that this moderation effect is specific to in-group audiences compared to out-group ones, reinforcing the idea that normative members 'stick to their guns'. Implications of these findings for leader endorsement and intergroup relations are discussed.

The dark side of inclusion: Undesired acceptance increases aggression

It is generally assumed that being accepted by others should have universally positive effects. The present research questions this assumption and shows that acceptance can sometimes arouse aggressive thoughts and feelings when people have a low desire to belong to the accepting group. In Study 1 ( N = 61), international students who had low, compared to high, desire for inclusion in a host society behaved more aggressively when informed that the host society accepted them. Study 2 ( N = 57) replicated this finding on attributions of aggression to members of the host society. In Study 3 ( N = 76) individuals accepted into a workgroup showed more implicit aggressive cognitions when they did not desire inclusion compared to individuals who desired inclusion. The findings reveal a potential limit to the positive effects of acceptance and highlight the importance of considering group members’ motives for inclusion when investigating the effects of group acceptance.

For Members Only

Although group membership has many privileges, members are expected to reciprocate those privileges. We tested whether in-group members would be punished more harshly than out-group members for marginal fairness norm violations within ultimatum game bargaining interactions. Participants considered monetary splits (of US$20) from in-group and out-group proposers, which ranged in proportion. Accepting an offer yielded the proposed payout; rejecting it caused each player to earn nothing—a punishment of the proposer at a personal cost. Participants exacted stricter costly punishment on racial in-group than out-group members for marginally unfair offers (Study 1), an effect that was replicated with college group membership and magnified among strong in-group identifiers (Study 2). Importantly, ultimatum game decisions were driven by fairness perceptions rather than proposer evaluations (Study 3), suggesting our effects reflected norm enforcement and not esteem preservation. These findings illuminate a previously unexplored process for maintaining group-based norms that may promote in-group favoritism.

The more prototypical the better? The allure of being seen as one sees oneself

Whereas past research has emphasized people’s desire to be a prototypical group member within valued groups, this research explores people’s competing desire to be seen as prototypical as they see themselves. Results of three studies show that evaluations that verified participants’ self-perceived prototypicality were seen as especially credible and were accepted without evoking compensatory activity. We found evidence for compensatory activity whereby participants labeled as underprototypical were most likely to express similarity to other ingroup members and a desire to engage in behaviors designed to promote the ingroup. Those labeled as overprototypical were less likely to express similarity to other ingroup members and a desire to engage in progroup behaviors. A similar pattern was found on a behavioral measure whereby participants were asked to choose a majority or a minority pen. Contrary to the assumption that people are primarily motivated by a desire for self-enhancement, these findings emerged independent of perceived group desirability. These findings indicate the importance of the alignment between self-perceptions and ingroup perceptions when examining responses to intragroup position. Findings are discussed in relation to theoretical predictions derived from self-verification, self-categorization, and optimal distinctiveness theorizing.