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Reininger KM, Koulen H, Biel HM, Hennig T, Pietras L, Kokot MR, Löwe B, Briken P, Moritz S. A Pilot Study of Metacognitive Training in U.S. Republican Leaners: Reducing Polarization Toward LGBTIQ+ Persons. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2024; 53:1609-1620. [PMID: 38647830 PMCID: PMC11106205 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-024-02856-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2023] [Revised: 03/07/2024] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Negative attitudes and stigmatization toward sexual minorities is a cause of minority stress of non-heterosexual persons on an individual level and has a negative impact on democratic coexistence in postmodern, plural society on a societal level. Derived from clinical research, we developed a short metacognitive training (MCT) intended to induce doubt toward inaccurate beliefs about LGBTIQ+ persons. We expected this MCT to reduce homonegativity, threat perceptions of LGBTIQ+ persons, and to foster extended outgroup tolerance compared to an education and a no-treatment control condition. We tested this hypothesis in U.S. Republican leaners who represent a social group that is likely to hold homonegative attitudes. We randomly assigned 490 U.S. Republican leaners to an MCT condition comprising 16 questions and respective answers (n = 166) vs. an education control condition (n = 164) vs. a no-treatment control condition (n = 160). We found that Republican leaners after receiving MCT (1) had a significant reduction of homonegativity (ds ≥ 0.28), (2) significantly perceived LGBTIQ+ persons as less threatening (ds ≥ 0.30), and (3) were significantly more tolerant of various outgroups such as LGBTIQ+ persons, feminists, liberals, and climate activists (ds ≥ 0.23) relative to both control conditions. The small effects of this short intervention and the possibility of systematically applying MCT in social discourse to reduce homonegativity with its potential significance for LGBTIQ+ individuals' mental health are discussed. Furthermore, we highlight this pilot study's significance toward intervention possibilities regarding political division and polarization in postmodern, democratic societies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klaus Michael Reininger
- Department for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University-Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
- Institute of Psychotherapy, University-Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Helena Koulen
- Department for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University-Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany
- Institute of Psychotherapy, University-Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Hannah Marie Biel
- Department for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University-Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany
- Institute of Psychotherapy, University-Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Timo Hennig
- Faculty of Human Sciences, Department of Inclusive Education, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Laura Pietras
- Department for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University-Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany
- Institute for Sex Research Sexual Medicine and Forensic Psychiatry, University-Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Martin Rochus Kokot
- Department for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University-Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany
- Institute of Psychotherapy, University-Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Bernd Löwe
- Department for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University-Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany
- Institute of Psychotherapy, University-Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Peer Briken
- Institute of Psychotherapy, University-Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
- Institute for Sex Research Sexual Medicine and Forensic Psychiatry, University-Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Steffen Moritz
- Department for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University-Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
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Reininger KM, Biel HM, Hennig T, Zitzmann S, Weigel A, Spitzer C, Toussaint A, Löwe B. Beliefs about emotions predict psychological stress related to somatic symptoms. BRITISH JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY 2023; 62:699-716. [PMID: 37706588 DOI: 10.1111/bjc.12438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Previous research has shown that the more people believe their emotions are controllable and useful (BECU), the less they generally report psychological distress. Psychological distress, in turn, impacts health outcomes, and is among the most frequently reported complaints in psychotherapeutic and psychosomatic practice. OBJECTIVE We aimed to examine how BECU predicts psychological distress related to somatic symptoms in a prospective sample from the general population and to replicate this association in two cross-sectional samples of psychosomatic patients. METHODS We applied a panel design with an interval of 2 weeks between T1 and T2 in general-population panel-participants (N = 310), assessing BECU and psychological distress related to somatic symptoms via validated self-report measures. Moreover, we cross-sectionally replicated the relationship between BECU and psychological distress in a clinical sample of psychosomatic outpatients diagnosed with somatoform disorders (n = 101) or without somatoform disorders (n = 628). RESULTS BECU predicted over and above the lagged criterion panel-participants' psychological distress related to somatic symptoms, β = -.18, p < .001. BECU was also cross-sectionally related to psychological distress in our clinical replication-sample of psychosomatic outpatients diagnosed with somatoform disorders, rS (87) = -.33, p = .002 and in those without, rS (557) = -.21, p < .001. CONCLUSIONS BECU as a malleable way of thinking about emotions predicted psychological distress related to somatic symptoms in general-population panel-participants and correlated with the same in two clinical replication samples. BECU thus becomes a promising treatment target in psychotherapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klaus Michael Reininger
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
- Institute of Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Hannah Marie Biel
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
- Institute of Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Timo Hennig
- Faculty of Human Sciences, Department of Inclusive Education, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Steffen Zitzmann
- Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology, Eberhard-Karls-University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Angelika Weigel
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Carsten Spitzer
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Rostock, Rostock, Germany
| | - Anne Toussaint
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Bernd Löwe
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
- Institute of Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
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Zitzmann S, Loreth L, Reininger KM, Simon B. Does Respect Foster Tolerance? (Re)analyzing and Synthesizing Data From a Large Research Project Using Meta-Analytic Techniques. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN 2021; 48:823-843. [PMID: 34148460 PMCID: PMC9121536 DOI: 10.1177/01461672211024422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Our own prior research has demonstrated that respect for disapproved others predicts and might foster tolerance toward them. This means that without giving up their disapproval of others' way of life, people can tolerate others when they respect them as equals (outgroup respect-tolerance hypothesis). Still, there was considerable variation in the study features. Moreover, the studies are part of a larger research project that affords many additional tests of our hypothesis. To achieve integration along with a more robust understanding of the relation between respect and tolerance, we (re)analyzed all existing data from this project, and we synthesized the results with the help of meta-analytic techniques. The average standardized regression coefficient, which describes the relationship between respect and tolerance, was 0.25 (95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.16, 0.34]). In addition to this overall confirmation of our hypothesis, the size of this coefficient varied with a number of variables. It was larger for numerical majorities than for minorities, smaller for high-status than for low-status groups, and larger for religious than for life-style groups. These findings should inspire further theory development and spur growth in the social-psychological literature on tolerance.
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Reininger KM, Krott NR, Hoenisch M, Scheunemann J, Moritz S. Targeting our blind spot: A metacognitive intervention ameliorates negative feelings, evaluations, and stereotypes towards conservatives in a liberal sample. JOURNAL OF SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.5964/jspp.v8i2.1227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Political polarization between conservatives and liberals threatens democratic societies. Ameliorating liberal research participants’ negative feelings, evaluations, and stereotypes towards conservatives might be one step into the direction of a political depolarization. In a sample of U.S.-American liberal research participants recruited via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (N = 271), we randomly assigned participants in a pre-post-design either to a clinical-psychological, metacognitive-intervention (MCT), an educational, or a no-treatment-no-pre-measurement-control-condition. In the MCT-condition, participants were first asked seemingly simple questions that frequently elicited incorrect responses, followed by corrective information. In the educational condition, information was conveyed in a simple narrative form. MCT was significantly more effective in ameliorating liberal participants’ negative feelings, evaluations, and stereotypes towards conservatives compared to the other two control-conditions. Further, MCT-participants significantly reduced their negative feelings, negative evaluations, and perceptions of threat from pre- to post-measurement, significantly more than participants in the educational condition. The results of our preliminary study and its implications are discussed, and recommendations for further research are made.
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