Heterosexual women’s support for trans-inclusive bathroom legislation depends on the degree to which they perceive trans women as a threat

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 1094-1108 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Robert Outten ◽  
Timothy Lee ◽  
Marcella E. Lawrence
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity ◽  
Intergroup Threat ◽  
Negatively Associated ◽  
Gender Neutral ◽  
Trans Women ◽  
Public Women

Drawing on social identity perspectives and theories concerning intergroup threat, we examined if heterosexual women’s support for two types of trans-inclusive bathroom legislation depended on whether they perceived trans women as a threat to women as a whole. Participants read about a hypothetical trans-inclusive bathroom bill that was either described as increasing public gender-neutral bathrooms or allowing trans women to access public women-only bathrooms. Surprisingly, bill support did not significantly differ across conditions. Consistent with predictions, intergroup threat was negatively associated with bill support and moderated the effect of bathroom bill type on bill support. Highly threatened women were significantly more supportive when the legislation was described as increasing gender-neutral bathrooms versus allowing trans women to use women-only bathrooms. Conversely, women who were not particularly threatened were significantly more supportive of the hypothetical legislation when it was described as allowing trans women to use women-only bathrooms.

scholarly journals Intergroup Threat and Heterosexual Cisgender Women’s Support for Policies Regarding the Admittance of Trans Women at a Women’s College

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 208
Author(s):  
H. Outten ◽  
Marcella Lawrence
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity ◽  
College Admissions ◽  
Policy Support ◽  
Women's College ◽  
Intergroup Threat ◽  
Admissions Policy ◽  
Admissions Policies ◽  
Trans Women

Although spaces once reserved for cisgender women are becoming increasingly accessible to trans women, few studies have examined cisgender women’s responses to such changes. Informed by social identity perspectives, we examined if heterosexual cisgender women’s reactions to two types of women’s college admissions policies pertaining to trans women depended on their appraisals of intergroup threat—or the degree to which they perceived trans women as a threat to cisgender women. Four-hundred-and-forty heterosexual cisgender women completed a measure of intergroup threat and then read 1 of 2 articles about a women’s college’s admissions policy (accept trans women vs. reject trans women). Following the article, they indicated their support for the policy they read about. Overall, participants were significantly more supportive of the admissions policy when it was framed as being inclusive of trans women. The effect of policy type on policy support was moderated by intergroup threat. Specifically, women who were not particularly threatened by trans women expressed significantly more policy support when the policy was described as being inclusive of trans women, rather than as exclusionary. Alternatively, highly threatened women were significantly more likely to show support when the policy was described in terms of excluding trans women.

scholarly journals Introducing the Sociopolitical Motive × Intergroup Threat Model to Understand How Monoracial Perceivers’ Sociopolitical Motives Influence Their Categorization of Multiracial People

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 260-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnold K. Ho ◽  
Nour S. Kteily ◽  
Jacqueline M. Chen
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity ◽  
Social Dominance ◽  
Research Area ◽  
System Justification ◽  
Group Status ◽  
Intergroup Threat ◽  
Threat Model ◽  
Racial Categorization ◽  
Moderating Role

Researchers have used social dominance, system justification, authoritarianism, and social identity theories to understand how monoracial perceivers’ sociopolitical motives influence their categorization of multiracial people. The result has been a growing understanding of how particular sociopolitical motives and contexts affect categorization, without a unifying perspective to integrate these insights. We review evidence supporting each theory’s predictions concerning how monoracial perceivers categorize multiracial people who combine their ingroup with an outgroup, with attention to the moderating role of perceiver group status. We find most studies cannot arbitrate between theories of categorization and reveal additional gaps in the literature. To advance this research area, we introduce the sociopolitical motive × intergroup threat model of racial categorization that (a) clarifies which sociopolitical motives interact with which intergroup threats to predict categorization and (b) highlights the role of perceiver group status. Furthermore, we consider how our model can help understand phenomena beyond multiracial categorization.

scholarly journals National identity exploration attenuates the identification–prejudice link

2021 ◽  
pp. 136843022199009
Author(s):  
Olivia Spiegler ◽  
Oliver Christ ◽  
Maykel Verkuyten
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Social Identity ◽  
Group Membership ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Developmental Theory ◽  
Intergroup Threat ◽  
Identity Exploration ◽  
Positive Identification

Social identity exploration is a process whereby individuals actively seek information about their group membership and show efforts to understand its meaning. Developmental theory argues that exploration-based ingroup commitment is the basis for outgroup positivity. We tested this notion in relation to national identity and attitudes towards immigrants. The results of five experimental studies among German adolescents and early adults ( N = 1,146; 16–25 years) and one internal meta-analysis suggest that the positive identification–prejudice link is weaker when participants are instructed to explore the meaning of their identity (Study 1). This is not mediated via self-uncertainty (Study 2), but via a reduction in intergroup threat (Study 3) and an increase in deprovincialization (Study 4). In addition, identity exploration enabled strong identifiers to oppose descriptive ingroup norms (Study 5). We conclude that identity exploration can contribute to a further understanding of the identification–prejudice link.

scholarly journals Intergroup threat and affective polarization in a multi-party system

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 553-576
Author(s):  
Emma A. Renström ◽  
Hanna Bäck ◽  
Royce Carroll
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity ◽  
Social Identity Theory ◽  
Party System ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Political Conflict ◽  
Political Polarization ◽  
Intergroup Threat ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Trait Attribution ◽  
Negative Trait

What explains affective polarization among voters and societal groups? Much of the existing literature focusing on mass political polarization in modern democracies originates in the US, where studies have shown that, while ideological separation has grown, political conflict increasingly reflects social identity divisions rather than policy disagreements, resulting in affective polarization. We focus on explaining such polarization in a multi-party context. Drawing on social identity theory and intergroup threat theory, we hypothesize that individuals who perceive an intergroup threat show stronger intergroup differentiation and increased affective polarization. We analyze the influence of perceived threat on affective polarization drawing on two large-scale representative surveys in Sweden (N = 1429 and 1343). We show that individual-level affective polarization is related to perceived intergroup threats among the voters in both studies, measuring affective polarization using social distance, negative trait attribution, and party like-dislike ratings.

scholarly journals The psychology and neuroscience of partisanship

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Ann Harris ◽  
Philip Pärnamets ◽  
Anni Sternisko ◽  
Claire Robertson ◽  
Jay Joseph Van Bavel
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Media Exposure ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
Intergroup Threat ◽  
Political Preferences ◽  
Contemporary Politics ◽  
Policy Content

Why have citizens become increasingly polarized? The answer is that there is increasing identification with political parties —a process known as partisanship (Mason, 2018). This chapter will focus on the role that social identity plays in contemporary politics (Greene, 2002). These party identities influence political preferences, such that partisans are more likely to agree with policies that were endorsed by their political party, regardless of the policy content, and, in some cases, their own ideological beliefs (Cohen, 2003; Samuels & Zucco Jr, 2014). There are many social and structural factors that are related to partisanship, including polarization (Lupu, 2015), intergroup threat (e.g., Craig & Richeson, 2014), and media exposure (Tucker et al., 2018; Barberá, 2015). Our chapter will focus on the psychology and neuroscience of partisanship within these broader socio-political contexts. This will help reveal the roots of partisanship across political contexts.

scholarly journals The effect of intergroup threat and social identity salience on the belief in conspiracy theories over terrorism in indonesia: collective angst as a mediator

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Mashuri ◽  
Esti Zaduqisti
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity ◽  
Mediation Effect ◽  
Muslim Identity ◽  
Identity Salience ◽  
Intergroup Threat ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Muslim Students ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Practical Implications

The present study tested how intergroup threat (high versus low) and social identity as a Muslim (salient versus non-salient) affected belief in conspiracy theories. Data among Indonesian Muslim students (N = 139) from this study demonstrated that intergroup threat and social identity salience interacted to influence belief in conspiracy theories. High intergroup threat triggered greater belief in conspiracy theories than low intergroup threat, more prominently in the condition in which participants’ Muslim identity was made salient. Collective angst also proved to mediate the effect of intergroup threat on the belief. However, in line with the prediction, evidence of this mediation effect of collective angst was only on the salient social identity condition. Discussions on these research findings build on both theoretical and practical implications.

scholarly journals Introducing the Sociopolitical Motive x Intergroup Threat Model to Understand How Monoracial Perceivers’ Sociopolitical Motives Influence their Categorization of Multiracial People

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnold Ho ◽  
Nour Kteily ◽  
Jacqueline Chen
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity ◽  
Social Dominance ◽  
Research Area ◽  
System Justification ◽  
Group Status ◽  
Intergroup Threat ◽  
Threat Model ◽  
Racial Categorization ◽  
Moderating Role

Researchers have used social dominance, system justification, authoritarianism, and social identity theories, to understand how monoracial perceivers’ sociopolitical motives influence their categorization of multiracial people. The result has been a growing understanding of how particular sociopolitical motives and contexts impact categorization, without a unifying perspective to integrate these insights. We review evidence supporting each theory’s predictions concerning how monoracial perceivers categorize multiracial people that combine their ingroup with an outgroup, with attention to the moderating role of perceiver group status. We find most studies cannot arbitrate between theories of categorization and reveal additional gaps in the literature. To advance this research area, we introduce the Sociopolitical Motive x Intergroup Threat Model of Racial Categorization that 1) clarifies which sociopolitical motives interact with which intergroup threats to predict categorization and 2) highlights the role of perceiver group status. Furthermore, we consider how our model can help understand phenomena beyond multiracial categorization.

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