Four studies ( N = 1643) assessed Black people’s perceptions of a White gay target calling for Black allyship or Black-gay solidarity in social media posts (Studies 1a–1b) and interactions with a Black colleague who discloses facing discrimination (Studies 2–3). Generally, Black-gay solidarity calls elicited perceptions of more disingenuous motives (Studies 1–3) compared to allyship calls. Novel to allyship perception research, Black people anticipated greater identity-credentialing from White gay targets who espoused solidarity compared to allyship calls, an expectation that gay targets would use their marginalized gay identity to buffer against claims of being racist (Studies 2–3). Further, calls for allyship and solidarity acknowledging interpersonal versus structural discrimination inconsistently impacted perceptions (Studies 1–2). White gay men were evaluated less favorably as allies than Black gay men, with no effects of target race on calls for solidarity versus allyship (Study 3).
The successful integration of ethnic minorities is largely contingent on establishing positive relations between minority and majority groups. Drawing on the common ingroup identity model, we argue that for minority youth, intergroup contact (e.g., friendship) with majority youth predicts more positive attitudes toward the majority group because it may foster a stronger common-ingroup identity. Using three-wave panel data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey in Four European Countries ( N = 5,447), we found support for our hypothesis: intergroup contact predicted more positive attitudes toward the majority groups over time, due to an increase in common-ingroup identification. Findings suggest that intergroup friendships may play a key role in immigrant youth integration, precisely through facilitating a sense of belonging to a shared identity with the majority group.
Across three studies, we investigated how honor norms are associated with leadership prototypes. An archival, national-level study and an individual-level correlational study both linked honor norms to tough, reputation-conscious leadership and preferences for male leaders. A pre-registered quasi-experiment refined our understanding of these associations. Participants “designed” an ideal leader in either the presence or absence of intergroup conflict and results again showed that honor endorsement predicted preferences for certain leader characteristics (e.g., tough, protective) and for male leaders. High intergroup conflict increased both preferences across all participants, regardless of their level of honor endorsement, and the main effects of both honor and conflict on male leader favorability ratings were partially mediated by preferences for honor-congruent leader characteristics. Together, these studies suggest that honor functions as a cultural logic that informs leadership prototypes, shaping collective perceptions of idealized power and influence.
Reading a positive story about an outgroup reduces prejudice, but can writing a story about the outgroup have similar effects? Three experiments examined whether and how writing a fictional story about an outgroup character can improve writers’ perceptions of the outgroup. Study 1 ( N = 727) showed that narrative writing increased warmth and competence perceptions of the character, regardless of whether writers described cooperating directly with the character, as characters themselves, to complete a positive task or wrote the story from the character’s perspective. Higher perceived warmth, but not competence, was associated with lower intergroup anxiety and stronger empathy toward the outgroup, which in turn predicted perceived dangerousness. Two follow-up experiments sought to replicate these findings using a different character (Study 2; N = 287) and a comparison with nonnarrative persuasive writing (Study 3; N = 343). The findings contribute to theories addressing the intersection of intergroup contact, creative writing, and narrative communication.
Mounting evidence shows that shared identity among people of color (PoC) heightens inter-minority solidarity, which yields downstream support for pro-Black (affirmative action), pro-Latino (undocumented immigration), and pro-Asian (high-skill immigration) policies. Previous research detects this mediation pattern in one-shot experiments. This paper evaluates solidarity’s downstream consequences in real-life politics by leveraging longitudinal data spanning the 2024 US presidential campaign. By reformulating solidarity as a developmental process, we reassess its influence in a unique three-wave panel of Asian, Black, Latino, and Multiracial adults ( N = 3,402). We found that across groups, shared PoC identity (Wave 1) significantly increased inter-minority solidarity (Wave 2), which then boosted support for pro-Black and pro-Latino policies—but not pro-Asian policy (Wave 3). This pathway is robust to controls for potential confounds. We also found support for our hypothesized causal direction from PoC identity to PoC solidarity to support for pro-PoC policies (versus a reverse pattern).
What explains variation in Americans’ willingness to acknowledge racism? Across two studies, we examined how national and racial collective narcissism (CN), inflated concern with recognition of one’s ingroup, relates to reluctance to recognize racism among White and Black Americans. In Study 1, national CN predicted greater unawareness of racism, stronger beliefs that White Americans face more discrimination than Black Americans, and greater opposition to teaching about racism among White respondents, with similar patterns among non-White respondents. In Study 2, national CN predicted reduced willingness to acknowledge racism among both White and Black Americans. Racial CN, however, predicted unwillingness to acknowledge racism only among White Americans; among Black Americans, racial CN was unrelated or negatively associated with racism denial once national CN was considered. National and racial CN were also more strongly associated among Whites, clarifying why racial CN displaced national CN as the primary predictor in this group.
Latines have become one of the largest ethnic groups in the United States. Given the historical fluidity of whiteness in the US and the Latine group’s uniquely ambiguous racial status, it is unclear how this group will be hierarchically and politically positioned in the future. Across three studies (total N = 1,754 Latines), we investigated how exposure to information about the possible inclusion of Latine Americans in the White racial category changes Latines’ beliefs about their group’s future racial status and their subsequent sociopolitical attitudes. Participants who read about the Latine group’s likely inclusion in (vs. continued exclusion from) the White category more strongly believed Latines would soon be considered White (Studies 1–3) and reported increased symbolic racism and political conservatism (Studies 2 and 3). Our results demonstrate the malleability of Latines’ racial categorization beliefs and suggest that White racialization might lead Latines to adopt sociopolitical views typically associated with dominant groups.
This paper explores how Multiracial identity contestation may foster greater social conceptions of race through race concept reflection (i.e., thinking frequently about racial categories). Across two correlational studies, Multiracial participants (total N = 1,159) completed a cross-sectional survey measuring identity contestation, race concept reflection, social race conceptions, and flexible group categorization. Identity contestation was related to greater race concept reflection, which was associated with greater social race conceptions. Further, social race conceptions were related to higher flexible group categorization. In Study 3, participants ( n = 252) who recalled identity contestation engaged in greater race concept reflection than those in the control condition, which was associated with endorsing greater social race conceptions. In Study 4, participants ( n = 235) who reflected on race concepts after recalling identity contestation reported greater social race conceptions than those in the control condition. Identity contestation and race concept reflection may, in part, account for Multiracial people’s social race conceptions. These relationships held while controlling for related concepts such as racism reflection (Studies 1–3), general discrimination experiences (Studies 1–2), and negative affect (Studies 3–4).
A large body of research has documented links between religiosity and prejudice toward groups perceived as threatening to traditional religious values. In the present research, we aimed to identify and experimentally manipulate facets of religiosity that reduce such intergroup bias. Across Studies 1 ( N = 293) and 2 ( N = 795), we used a theory- and data-driven approach and identified representations of God and liberal–conservative religious ideology that are associated with lower discrimination between groups that align with, are neutral to, or threaten religious values. In Studies 3 ( N = 693) and 4 ( N = 564), we developed novel perspective-taking prompts and found that encouraging American Christians to reflect on either a benevolent God or a liberal religious perspective significantly reduced bias in donation recommendations between value-neutral and value-threatening groups, relative to a control condition. These findings extend prior correlational work by identifying specific religious perspectives that can be experimentally manipulated to reduce discrimination and promote more equitable intergroup behavior toward groups that are perceived to threaten traditional religious values.
In three preregistered, high-powered studies, we replicated and extended findings on dehumanization based on socioeconomic status (SES), where low-SES groups are denied Human Uniqueness (animalization), and high-SES groups are denied Human Nature (mechanization). Study 1 ( N = 296, representative sample, 3.25 times the original sample) replicated Sainz et al.’s first study, confirming the animalization of low-SES groups but not consistently supporting the mechanization of high-SES groups. Study 2 ( N = 536, representative sample) used adapted materials and successfully replicated both phenomena. Study 3 ( N = 103 students) extended the findings by shifting from judgments of social groups to judgments of individual targets. We subtly induced SES via facial characteristics and assessed dehumanization through perceived animal- or robot-likeness. Results were consistent with both forms of dehumanization. This research provides evidence of the robustness and generalizability of SES-based dehumanization, contributing to the understanding of social inequalities and the perceptions that justify them.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (hereafter, Dobbs ) overturning Roe v. Wade was a landmark decision. We focus on the influence of gender ideology, measured by separate spheres ideology (SSI), on public perceptions of this decision. In a three-wave survey-experiment panel study with a nationally diverse sample, participants reported their endorsement of SSI, gender system justification, abortion identity, and attitudes toward abortion. At Wave 2, participants were randomly assigned to one of two message-framing conditions that differed in the number of facts about Dobbs or a healthcare control. Wave 3 examined the persistence of experimental effects. Overall, SSI was the only consistent moderator of message-framing effects on all outcome measures, with persisting effects on support for restrictive abortion policies and endorsement of the gendered status quo. SSI’s predictive influence in electoral choice and nonelectoral but gendered policy contexts is discussed.
This mixed-methods study examines the emotional and professional experiences of faculty in culturally diverse higher education institutions in Israel after the outbreak of the 2023 Israel-Hamas War. It explores how, amid heightened societal tensions and intergroup conflicts, emotional labor (EL) and intercultural sensitivity (IS) interacted regarding faculty’s abilities to navigate the emotional challenges of teaching outgroup students. Quantitative analyses revealed that EL, mainly deep acting, was positively associated with participants’ positive emotions and negatively correlated with negative emotions. IS negatively correlated with retrospective negative emotions. Regression analysis revealed that IS was positively associated with deep acting EL above and beyond other factors. Qualitative findings highlighted faculty’s apprehension about classroom dynamics, efforts to manage sensitive interactions as part of their EL, and strategies to foster inclusive learning environments in challenging times. Findings underscore the complexity of teaching diverse students in polarized settings and the critical role of deep acting EL and IS.
Even decades after historical traumas, their scarcity shapes victimhood perceptions and beliefs about outgroups. In one correlational ( N = 369) and one experimental ( N = 510) study, we examined how exclusive versus inclusive victim beliefs predict outgroup, World War II-related, and generic conspiracy beliefs. We also tested the mediating role of three victimogenic cognitive biases: hostile intentions attribution, negative interpretation, and memory bias. Unlike prior work focusing mainly on exclusive victimhood, our studies provide the first direct comparison of both victimhood forms, revealing their distinct and sometimes opposing effects on conspiracy thinking. Correlational results showed that exclusive victim beliefs heightened conspiracy beliefs, with different biases mediating different conspiracy types. Experimental results showed that exclusive victim beliefs increased outgroup and generic conspiracy beliefs through negative interpretation bias, whereas inclusive victim beliefs reduced WWII and generic conspiracies by weakening hostile attribution bias. We discuss the implications of the findings for intergroup relations and post-conflict beliefs.
Individuals vary in how they approach diversity; some emphasize relationship-building across groups ( bridging ), while others favor driving systemic change ( dismantling ). White participants ( N = 1224) evaluated an employee who embraced or forewent these approaches. Participants low in social dominance orientation (SDO)—those less supportive of hierarchy—evaluated targets who endorsed bridging (Study 1a) and dismantling (Study 1b) approaches more positively (i.e., warmer, more competent, preferred for leadership) than targets who opposed either of these approaches. However, when directly comparing targets who strongly endorsed both approaches, participants high in SDO distinguished between targets, preferring the target who endorsed bridging over the target who endorsed dismantling approaches (Study 2). This effect was mediated by anticipated discomfort. While both bridging and dismantling can promote equality, these studies uncover a subtle way structural change may be curtailed, even when not outright dismissed, thus limiting the full potential of diversity approaches.
The aim of this research was to examine the interrelationships between regional, national, and European identities in the Basque Country (Study 1) and Catalonia (Study 2) using the Social Identity Complexity model. Across two studies (total N = 1200), we found that the greater the perceived similarity and overlap between regional and national identification, the stronger the identification with Europe. A more detailed analysis showed that this relationship was positively mediated by national identification. A parallel negative mediation via both regional identification and glorifying regional identification was weaker and less consistent. Moreover, greater perceived similarity to Spain, together with higher levels of identity overlap, was associated with more harmonious attitudes toward other autonomous communities and European nations. In Study 2, these findings were further interpreted through the lens of the Ingroup Projection Model, indicating that for Catalans, Europe—rather than Spain—functions as the primary point of reference.
This study draws from the literature in group processes and intergroup relations, metacognition, motivational processes, and criminology to identify risk factors for joining an extremist group, classifies individuals into risk profiles, and examines how the risk profiles moderate efforts at recruitment into such groups. The results of a latent profile analysis ( N = 721) demonstrated the existence of three risk profiles (i.e., low, moderate, and high), and an experiment demonstrated that those in the low- and moderate-risk profile were significantly less likely to identify with a violent online political group compared to non-violent online political groups whereas those in the high-risk group were equally likely to identify with a violent or non-violent political online group. By taking a broader perspective, this study provides a more comprehensive understanding of individual susceptibility to being drawn into a violent online extremist group and has important implications for those seeking to combat online radicalization.
This study explores whether exposure to positive (vs. basic) interactions with a migrant through an immersive 360 degrees video with partial embodiment-where participants viewed the scene from a first-person perspective and observed only their virtual hands-can reduce implicit prejudice, attitudes, and emotions toward migrants. A total of 207 Italian participants were involved in the study. Approximately two weeks before the immersive video session, participants completed a questionnaire with scales measuring attitudes and emotions toward migrants and the Racial Implicit Association Test (IAT). In the laboratory, they were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: observing a migrant in the 360 degrees video scenario engaging in either prosocial or basic behavior, while embodying virtual hands with either a White or Black skin tone. Results showed a reduction in implicit racial prejudice across both conditions (positive and basic contact), regardless of hand color. In addition, we observed a significant reduction of negative emotions and negative behavioral intentions toward migrants only in the positive condition. These findings highlight the potential of brief virtual intergroup contact that shows positive behaviors of outgroup members to reduce both implicit and explicit negative attitudes, adding evidence that even short immersive interventions can shape intergroup perceptions.
Intergroup contact is known to predict advantaged group members' solidarity with minority outgroups, which is crucial given persisting racial inequalities. To identify whether exposure to a conceptualization of racism can affect the contact-action relationship, two studies were conducted with White participants randomly allocated to a systemic racism, individual racism, or baseline condition, and their intergroup contact quality with racial minorities measured as a predictor of solidarity. Study 1 (N = 311) showed that higher contact quality generally predicted greater intergroup solidarity, particularly when exposed to individual racism. Study 2 (N = 322) clarified that individual racism exposure not only strengthened the positive contact-action relationship, but, relative to systemic racism exposure, could also minimize the negative contact-action relationship for lower quality contact. These findings highlight that individual racism exposure and positive contact experiences may together be conducive to promoting solidarity, offering practical considerations for future contact interventions.
Social change can take different forms, including incremental reforms within the existing system and radical transformations that dismantle and rebuild institutions. This research examined how historical trajectory narratives, specifically the progress narrative, and the longstanding injustice narrative, shape support for different types of social change. Across one experimental and two correlational studies (ntotal = 2,520) with a diverse sample of Americans from different racial groups, we found that the progress narrative was associated with greater support for incremental change and for maintaining the status quo, but lower support for radical change. In contrast, the longstanding injustice narrative was linked to greater support for both radical and incremental change, and lower support for maintaining the status quo. Additionally, longstanding injustice increased attributions of racial disparities to racism and moral outrage (Study 2), and perceived moral failure of the country (Study 3), which in turn were associated with higher support for radical social change.
Social mindfulness (SoMi), defined as demonstrating goodwill with minimal resources, is a central component of prosociality. Although sport participation has been associated with changes in prosocial behavior, its influence on intergroup bias in SoMi remains unclear. This research used four studies (N = 463) with adapted SoMi and minimal group paradigms to explore this issue in adolescents. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that sport participation significantly reduced intergroup bias, particularly by increasing SoMi behaviors toward outgroup members, with variations across different sport contexts. In Study 3, the roles of cooperation and competition within sport participation were examined separately, revealing that cooperation heightened ingroup favoritism while competition increased outgroup derogation. Study 4 examined these effects in non-sport contexts, revealing that competition fostered both ingroup favoritism and outgroup derogation, whereas cooperation did not significantly affect overall bias but alleviated outgroup derogation. These findings suggest that sport participation can substantially influence intergroup bias in SoMi through sport-specific mechanisms of cooperation and competition.
