Celebrating organizational history triggers social identity threat among Black Americans

Many mainstream organizations celebrate their historical successes. In their history, however, they often marginalized racial minorities, women, and other underrepresented groups. We suggest that when organizations celebrate their histories, even without mentioning historical marginalization, they can undermine belonging and intentions to join the organization among historically marginalized groups. Four experiments demonstrate that Black participants who were exposed to an organization that celebrated their history versus the present showed reduced belonging and intentions to participate in the organization. These effects were mediated by expectations of biased treatment in the organization. Further, when organizations had a history of Black people in power, celebrating history was no longer threatening, highlighting that the negative effects of celebrating history are most likely when organizations are or are assumed to be majority-White and have treated Black Americans poorly. Taken together, these findings suggest that emphasizing organizational history can be a source of social identity threat among Black Americans.

All Stressors Are Not Equal: The Salience of Racial Discrimination and Appraisal for Blood Pressure in African American Women

OBJECTIVE

Psychosocial stress is a major predictor of chronic disease among African American (AA) women. Stress is a process involving exposure, appraisal of threat, coping, and psychobiologic adaptation. However, many studies focus on the frequency of stress events and/or coping; few explicitly study stress events and their appraisals; and AA women experience high levels of racial discrimination, a well-known form of social identity threat (i.e., negative experiences due to judgment based on identity). Stressors related to social identity threat may be differentially appraised and associated with divergent physiologic outcomes. This study examined the differences in the frequency and stressfulness associated with general stressors and racial discrimination in relation to blood pressure (BP) among AA women.

METHODS

Multivariable regression was used on cross-sectional data from 208 middle-aged AA women residing in the San Francisco Bay Area.

RESULTS

AA women reported less frequency of racial discrimination compared with general stressors, but were more likely to appraise racial discrimination events as stressful. Racial discrimination stressfulness was more strongly associated with systolic BP (SBP) than the number of racial discrimination events. There was a U-shaped association between racial discrimination stress and SBP, with those reporting "none" and "high/very high" distress having the highest SBP ( b = 12.2 [2.7 to 21.8] and b = 15.7 [1.5-29.8], respectively, versus moderate stress). Conversely, those reporting "very low" general stressfulness had the lowest SBP ( b = -7.9 [-15.8 to -0.1], versus moderate stress). Diastolic BP followed a similar pattern, although results were nonsignificant.

CONCLUSIONS

This study highlights the importance of stress appraisal measures and adds to the body of evidence documenting racial discrimination as a salient psychosocial stressor for AA women.

Too close for comfort: leveraging identity-based relevance through targeted health information backfires for Black Americans

Communicators frequently make adjustments to accommodate receivers' characteristics. One strategy for accommodation is to enhance the relevance of communication for receivers. The current work uses information targeting-a communication strategy where information is disseminated to audiences believed to experience heightened risk for a health condition-to test whether and why targeting health information based on marginalized racial identities backfires. Online experimental findings from Black and White adults recruited via MTurk (Study 1) and Prolific Academic (Study 2) showed that Black Americans who received targeted (vs. nontargeted) health messages about HIV or flu reported decreased attention to the message and reduced trust in the message provider. White Americans did not differentially respond to targeting. Findings also demonstrated that (a) these negative consequences emerged for Black Americans due to social identity threat, and (b) these consequences predicted downstream cognitive and behavioral responses. Study 2 showed that these consequences replicated when the targeting manipulation signaled relevance directly via marginalized racial identities. Collectively, findings demonstrate that race-based targeting may lead to overaccommodation, thus precluding the expected benefits of relevance.

Neighborhood ethnic composition and social identity threat: the mediating role of perceived discrimination

Ethnic proportions of neighborhoods are a "macro" measure of intergroup contact and can buffer or expose people of color to discrimination. Simultaneously, perceived discrimination can sensitize students of color to social identity threat in environments in which they are numerically underrepresented and negatively stereotyped. In the current research, we integrate these two lines of research to examine whether neighborhood ethnic composition - the percentage of Latinx residents in one's home community - predicts social identity threat for Latinx students attending college at a predominately White institution (PWI). In two studies, Latinx college students attending a PWI provided their 5-digit zip code and completed measures assessing their perceived discrimination and social identity threat. Across both studies, neighborhood ethnic composition (greater percentage of Latinx residents) was associated with greater social identity threat and this association was mediated by greater perceived discrimination. These studies advance research on neighborhood ethnic composition and social identity threat.

The antecedents and consequences of stereotype threat in Parkinson's disease

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to examine what factors make people with Parkinson's disease more susceptible to stereotype threat (i.e., the concern of being evaluated in line with negative group-based stereotypes) and the clinical consequences of this.

METHOD

Forty-nine people with Parkinson's disease completed a measure of stereotype threat, as well as measures that indexed potential antecedents and clinical consequences of stereotype threat.

RESULTS

Younger age and greater communication difficulties emerged as significant predictors of stereotype threat. Higher stereotype threat was also associated with increased emotional distress.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings are an important first step in understanding stereotype threat in Parkinson's disease and may help to guide the development of intervention and educational efforts aimed at countering its effects.

Subjective Identity Concealability and the Consequences of Fearing Identity-Based Judgment

In intergroup contexts, people may fear being judged negatively because of an identity they hold. For some, the prospect of concealment offers an opportunity to attenuate this fear. Therefore, believing an identity is concealable may minimize people’s fears of identity-based judgment. Here, we explore the construct of subjective identity concealability: the belief that an identity one holds is concealable from others. Across four pre-registered studies and a set of internal meta-analyses, we develop and validate a scale to measure individual differences in subjective identity concealability and provide evidence that it is associated with lower levels of the psychological costs of fearing judgment in intergroup contexts. Open materials, data, and code for all studies, pre-registrations for Studies 1–4, and online supplementary materials can be found at the following link: https://osf.io/pzcf9/.

A threat in the network: STEM women in less powerful network positions avoid integrating stereotypically feminine peers

Integrating social identity threat and structural hole theories, this work examines how social network positions affect group-based identity threats. For individuals less well positioned to bridge (or "broker") relations between unconnected friends, stigma-by-association concerns may constrain affiliation with stereotypic targets. Three experiments (Ns = 280, 232, 553) test whether women (vs. men) in male-dominated STEM (vs. female-dominated) majors avoid befriending a female target with feminine-stereotypic (vs. STEM-stereotypic) interests. Only STEM women with less brokerage (i.e., less ability to manage introductions to unconnected friends) in their existing friendship networks avoided befriending (pilot experiment) and socially integrating (Experiments 1 and 2) feminine- (vs. STEM-) stereotypic targets, despite standardized target similarity and competence. STEM women in particular anticipated steeper reputational penalties for befriending stereotypically feminine peers (Experiment 2). Social identity threat may lead women in STEM-especially those lacking brokerage-to exclude stereotypically feminine women from social networks, reinforcing stereotypes of women and STEM fields.

Coronavirus stigmatization and psychological distress among Asians in the United States

OBJECTIVES

Coronavirus stigmatization may be disproportionately impacting ethnoracial minority groups in the US. We test three hypotheses: [H1] Asians in the US are more likely to report experiencing coronavirus stigmatization than non-Hispanic Whites; [H2] Coronavirus stigmatization is associated with psychological distress; [H3] Magnitude of association between coronavirus stigmatization and psychological distress is more pronounced among US-born Asians, compared to non-Hispanic Whites.

DESIGN

We analyzed cross-sectional survey data from the 10-31 March 2020 wave of the Understanding America Survey, a nationally representative survey of adults in the US. Psychological distress was assessed with the PHQ-4. Measures of association were estimated using multiple logistic regression and survey sampling weights. Predicted probabilities were calculated using marginal standardization ( n = 6707).

RESULTS

[H1] The adjusted predicted probability of experiencing any coronavirus stigma among foreign-born Asians (11.2%, 95% CI: 5.5-17.0%; E-value = 4.52), US-born Asians (10.9%, 95% CI: 5.8-16.0%; E-value = 4.23), Blacks (8.0%, 95% CI: 5.3-10.7%; E-value = 2.92), and Hispanic Whites (7.3%, 95% CI: 4.6-9.9%; E-value = 2.58) was significantly greater than non-Hispanic Whites (4.5%, 95% CI: 3.7-5.4%). [H2] Individuals reporting any coronavirus stigma experience were significantly more likely to exhibit psychological distress (19.9%, 95% CI: 14.6-25.2% vs 10.6%, 9.6-11.6%; E-value = 3.16). [H3] The overall magnitude of association between experience of any coronavirus stigma and psychological distress was not significantly between US-born Asians and non-Hispanic Whites, though we found gender to mask this effect. US-born Asian females who experienced coronavirus stigmatization were more likely to exhibit psychological distress than non-Hispanic white females who experienced coronavirus stigmatization (relative risk (RR): 10.21, 95% CI: 2.69-38.74 vs 1.24, 95% CI: 0.76-2.01; p < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

Comprehensive measures around care seeking, public awareness, and disaggregated data collection are needed to address ethnoracial coronavirus stigmatization and its impact on psychological health and well-being.

Examining Christians' Reactions to Reminders of Religion-Science Conflict: Stereotype Threat versus Disengagement

Stereotypes of religion (particularly Christianity) as incompatible with science are widespread, and prior findings show that Christians perform worse than non-Christians on scientific reasoning tasks following reminders of such stereotypes. The present studies (N = 1,456) examine whether these reminders elicit stereotype threat (i.e., fear of confirming negative societal stereotypes about one's group), disengagement (i.e., distancing oneself from a domain perceived as incongruent with the values of one's group), or both. In Studies 1 and 2, Christians demonstrated lower task performance and greater subjective feelings of stereotype threat (but did not spend less time on the task) relative to non-Christians when beliefs about Christianity-science incompatibility were chronic or made salient. Furthermore, the effects of incompatibility stereotypes on performance were most pronounced among Christians who identified strongly with science and hence worried most about confirming negative stereotypes (Studies 3-4). Implications for Christians' responses to religion-science conflict narratives and participation in science are discussed.

Daily Coping With Social Identity Threat in Outgroup-Dominated Contexts: Self-Group Distancing Among Female Soldiers

We examine the degree to which women in a male-dominated field cope with daily experiences of social identity threat by distancing themselves from other women. A daily experience-sampling study among female soldiers (N = 345 data points nested in 61 participants) showed women to self-group distance more on days in which they experienced more identity threat. This was mediated by daily concerns about belonging but not achievement in the military, supporting the explanation that women distance from other women as a way to fit in a masculine domain. However, on a daily basis, self-group distancing did not appear to protect women's outcomes as it was related to lower daily well-being and motivation. The findings indicate that targets are not passive recipients of identity threat but active agents coping daily with the challenges they face, but that regulation strategies may also incur costs. Implications for theories on coping with stigma and costs are discussed.

Double Trouble: How Being Outnumbered and Negatively Stereotyped Threatens Career Outcomes of Women in STEM

Masculine work contexts form an important source of social identity threat for working women. But what aspect of masculine work contexts is most threatening to women’s gender identity at work: A numerical majority of male colleagues (i.e., numerical male dominance), working in a profession in which women are negatively stereotyped (i.e., normative male dominance), or the combination? The current study aimed to disentangle these two aspects of masculine work contexts by testing its combined impact on the experience of gender identity threat among women and men who work in the STEM sector (i.e., Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). A field study was conducted among women (N = 177) and men (N = 630) graduates holding an academic degree in a STEM educational program. Respondents either worked in- or outside the STEM sector (i.e., stronger vs. weaker gender stereotype) and estimated the ratio of men to women in their direct work environment. Results from a Structural Equation Model demonstrated that women in STEM face double trouble: The combination of working almost solely with male colleagues (being outnumbered) and working in the technical sector (where women are negatively stereotyped) predicted the highest levels of experienced gender identity threat, particularly among women who highly identified with their gender group. Gender identity threat, in turn, negatively predicted women’s work engagement and career confidence. Men did not face double trouble: Their experience of gender identity threat was not related to working in a masculine STEM sector. Importantly, considering that the women in this sample already hold a degree in STEM, and have proven their competence in STEM and resilience to gender stereotypes, this research reveals how in naturalistic work settings, prevailing social identity threats continue to affect women’s professional careers.

The Role of Indian Caste Identity and Caste Inconsistent Norms on Status Representation

The Indian caste system is a complex social structure wherein social roles like one’s profession became ‘hereditary,’ resulting in restricted social mobility and fixed status hierarchies. Furthermore, we argue that the inherent property of caste heightens group identification with one’s caste. Highly identified group members would protect the identity of the group in situations when group norms are violated. In this paper, we were interested in examining the consequence of caste norm violation and how an individual’s status is mentally represented. High caste norms are associated with moral values while the lower caste norms are associated with immorality. We predicted a ‘black sheep effect,’ that is, when high caste individuals’ group identity (caste norm violation condition) is threatened their salient high caste identity would increase, thereby resulting in devaluing the status of their fellow in-group member if the latter is perceived as perpetrator. We presented participants with a social conflict situation of a victim and a perpetrator that is ‘Caste norm consistent’ (Lower caste individual as a perpetrator and higher caste individual as a victim) and vice versa ‘Caste norm inconsistent’ condition (higher caste individual as perpetrator and lower caste individual as a victim). Then, participants had to choose from nine pictorial depictions representing the protagonists in the story on a vertical line, with varying degrees of status distance. Results showed evidence for the black sheep effect and, furthermore, revealed that no other identity (religious, national, and regional) resulted in devaluing the status of fellow in-group member. These results help us understand the ‘black sheep’ effect in the context of moral norms and status representation and are discussed in the framework of the Indian society.

Unpacking the psychological weight of weight stigma: A rejection-expectation pathway

The present research tested the hypothesis that the negative effects of weight stigma among higher body-weight individuals are mediated by expectations of social rejection. Women and men who varied in objective body-weight (body mass index; BMI) gave a speech describing why they would make a good date. Half believed that a potential dating partner would see a videotape of their speech (weight seen) and half believed that a potential dating partner would listen to an audiotape of their speech (weight unseen). Among women, but not men, higher body-weight predicted increased expectations of social rejection, decreased executive control resources, decreased self-esteem, increased self-conscious emotions and behavioral displays of self-consciousness when weight was seen but not when weight was unseen. As predicted, higher body-weight women reported increased expectations of social rejection when weight was seen (versus unseen), which in turn predicted decreased self-esteem, increased self-conscious emotions, and increased stress. In contrast, lower body-weight women reported decreased expectations of social rejection when weight was seen (versus unseen), which in turn predicted increased self-esteem, decreased self-conscious emotions, and decreased stress. Men's responses were largely unaffected by body-weight or visibility, suggesting that a dating context may not be identity threatening for higher body-weight men. Overall, the present research illuminates a rejection-expectation pathway by which weight stigma undermines higher body-weight women's health.

Social identity modifies face perception: an ERP study of social categorization

Two studies examined whether social identity processes, i.e. group identification and social identity threat, amplify the degree to which people attend to social category information in early perception [assessed with event-related brain potentials (ERPs)]. Participants were presented with faces of Muslims and non-Muslims in an evaluative priming task while ERPs were measured and implicit evaluative bias was assessed. Study 1 revealed that non-Muslims showed stronger differentiation between ingroup and outgroup faces in both early (N200) and later processing stages (implicit evaluations) when they identified more strongly with their ethnic group. Moreover, identification effects on implicit bias were mediated by intergroup differentiation in the N200. In Study 2, social identity threat (vs control) was manipulated among Muslims. Results revealed that high social identity threat resulted in stronger differentiation of Muslims from non-Muslims in early (N200) and late (implicit evaluations) processing stages, with N200 effects again predicting implicit bias. Combined, these studies reveal how seemingly bottom-up early social categorization processes are affected by individual and contextual variables that affect the meaning of social identity. Implications of these results for the social identity perspective as well as social cognitive theories of person perception are discussed.