Consequences of interminority ingroup rejection for group identification and well-being.

OBJECTIVES: The rejection-identification model (RIM; Branscombe et al. 1999) suggests group identification mitigates the negative effects of perceived discrimination on psychological well-being. The RIM has not been applied to instances of interminority ingroup rejection-discrimination by one's ingroup toward another of their ingroups (e.g., a gay Black American perceiving racial discrimination within his LGBTQ+ community). We address two questions: (a) do the predicted relationships between constructs in the RIM replicate for interminority ingroup rejection? (b) How does interminority ingroup rejection relate to identification with the discriminating ingroup? METHODS: We test these questions using structural equation modeling (SEM) on a secondary dataset including respondents (N = 3,300) who identify as members of both a racial and sexual minority. RESULTS: Our analysis produced two key findings. First, replicating past RIM research, we show that perceived discrimination-whether heterosexist or racist in nature-predicts worse well-being and higher identification with the target group. Furthermore, we demonstrate an indirect effect such that discrimination predicts higher group identification and this is positively related to well-being. Second, the interminority ingroup rejection-identification paths varied as a function of whether discrimination was heterosexist or racist. Greater heterosexism within one's racial community predicted greater racial ingroup identification; however, racism within one's sexual minority community was not a significant predictor of sexual minority group identification. CONCLUSIONS: We discuss implications of interminority ingroup rejection for people who belong to intersecting minority groups and make recommendations for extending research on this issue. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Immigrant to citizen: Identity concerns regarding immigrants' motivation to naturalize.

OBJECTIVES: The present research examines U.S. lawful permanent residents' (LPRs) motivations to apply for U.S. citizenship (i.e., naturalize). METHOD: Study 1 (N = 180; 61% male) LPRs have a mean age of M = 30.78, SD = 8.25. Participants completed a survey. Sixty-seven participants indicated their country of birth as a Central/South American or Caribbean country, 40 as a European country, 44 as an Asian country, 16 as a Southeast Asian or Middle Eastern country, and 13 as an African country. Study 2 (N = 218; 56% male) LPRs have a mean age of M = 30.33, SD = 8.37. Participants completed an experiment. Eighty-three participants indicated their country of birth as a Central/South American or Caribbean country, 55 as a European country, 37 as a Southeast Asian or Middle Eastern country, 31 as an Asian country, and 12 as an African country. RESULTS: Study 1 demonstrates that identity concerns, above and beyond perceived realistic concerns, are significantly related to motivation to naturalize. In particular, perception of belonging to the U.S. is positively related to a motivation to naturalize. Moreover, we test a theory-driven model such that higher perceptions of subgroup respect are positively related to a sense of U.S. belonging which, in turn, predicts a motivation to naturalize. Study 2 extends the previous study by manipulating subgroup respect and demonstrating that this affects a sense of belonging to the U.S. which, in turn, predicts a stronger motivation to naturalize. CONCLUSIONS: We discuss the implications of the present work for theory and the social issue of naturalization and citizenship. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Toward a Positive Psychology of Immigrants.

The vast majority of immigration-focused research in psychology is rooted in deficit models that center on negative health outcomes (e.g., depression, acculturative stress, anxiety, substance use), resulting in a widely held assumption that immigrants are at greater risk for pathology and poor well-being compared with native-born individuals. Moreover, current political discourse often portrays immigrants as more prone to crime compared with native-born individuals. From a positive-psychology perspective, we argue that, despite numerous migration-related challenges, many immigrant populations report positive patterns of psychological health. We also provide evidence that immigrants are, in fact, less prone to crime than their native-born counterparts. We conclude by discussing several contributing factors that account for positive immigrant well-being across the range of destination countries. Ultimately, the field should address questions regarding (a) immigrants' strategies for coping with the challenges involved in adapting to new homelands and (b) asset-based factors that help immigrants to thrive during difficult life challenges.

Out of sight, out of mind: racial retrieval cues increase the accessibility of social justice concepts.

Photographs provide critical retrieval cues for personal remembering, but few studies have considered this phenomenon at the collective level. In this research, we examined the psychological consequences of visual attention to the presence (or absence) of racially charged retrieval cues within American racial segregation photographs. We hypothesised that attention to racial retrieval cues embedded in historical photographs would increase social justice concept accessibility. In Study 1, we recorded gaze patterns with an eye-tracker among participants viewing images that contained racial retrieval cues or were digitally manipulated to remove them. In Study 2, we manipulated participants' gaze behaviour by either directing visual attention toward racial retrieval cues, away from racial retrieval cues, or directing attention within photographs where racial retrieval cues were missing. Across Studies 1 and 2, visual attention to racial retrieval cues in photographs documenting historical segregation predicted social justice concept accessibility.

Museum spaces as psychological affordances: representations of immigration history and national identity.

The present research draws upon a cultural psychological perspective to consider how psychological phenomena are grounded in socio-cultural contexts. Specifically, we examine the association between representations of history at Ellis Island Immigration Museum and identity-relevant concerns. Pilot study participants (N = 13) took a total of 114 photographs of exhibits that they considered as most important in the museum. Results indicate that a majority of the photographs reflected neutral themes (n = 81), followed by nation-glorifying images (n = 24), and then critical themes that highlight injustices and barriers faced by immigrants (n = 9). Study 1 examines whether there is a preference for glorifying images, and if that preference is related to cultural-assimilationist conceptions of national identity (i.e., defining American identity in dominant group standards). We exposed a new sample of participants (N = 119) to photographs reflecting all three themes. Results indicate that participants expressed greater liking for glorifying images, followed by neutral images, and critical images. National identity moderated within-subject variation in liking scores. Study 2 included 35 visitors who completed a survey before engaging with the museum or after their visit. Results indicate that participants who had completed their visit, compared to participants who had not entered the museum, reported (i) higher endorsement of cultural-assimilationist identity, and (ii) increased support for exclusive immigration policies. Study 3 exposed participants (N = 257) to glorifying, critical, or neutral images. Results indicate that participants who were exposed to glorifying images, especially those endorsing cultural-assimilationist identity, demonstrate decreased perception of current-day racial injustice, and increased ethnocentric enforcement bias. We discuss how engagement with privileged narratives may serve dominant group ends and reproduce systems of privilege.

National and ethnic identity in the face of discrimination: ethnic minority and majority perspectives.

Does the United States afford people of different backgrounds a sense of equal identification with the nation? Past research has documented ethnic/racial group differences on levels of national identity but there has been little research examining what psychologically moderates these disparities. The present research investigates how perceived group discrimination is associated with national and ethnic identification among ethnic majority and minority groups. Study 1 examines whether perceived group discrimination moderates subgroup differences on national and ethnic identification. Study 2 makes salient group discrimination--via an item order manipulation--and examines the effects on national and ethnic identification. In general, the 2 studies demonstrate that for most ethnic minorities higher perceptions of group discrimination are related to lower levels of national identity and higher ethnic identity. Conversely, among majority group members, higher levels of perceived discrimination predict higher levels of national identity with little influence on ethnic identification.

"Reasonable suspicion" about tough immigration legislation: enforcing laws or ethnocentric exclusion?

We examined whether support for tough immigration legislation reflects identity-neutral enforcement of law or identity-relevant defense of privilege. Participants read a fabricated news story in which law-enforcement personnel detained a person due to "reasonable suspicion" that he was an undocumented immigrant. We manipulated descriptions of the detainee so that he was either (a) an undocumented immigrant (both studies), (b) a documented immigrant (Study 1), or (c) a U.S. citizen (Study 2) of either Mexican or Canadian origin. Participants in both studies endorsed tougher punishment of an undocumented detainee and rated tough treatment as more fair when the detainee was of Mexican than Canadian origin (regardless of documentation status). Across both studies, the patterns of ethnocentric exclusion-harsher treatment toward Mexican immigrants than Canadian immigrants-were particularly pronounced among participants who defined American identity in terms of assimilation to Anglocentric cultural values (e.g., being able to speak English). Overall, results suggest that people may support tough measures to restrict immigration to defend against symbolic threats-especially threats that cultural "others" pose to Anglocentric understandings of American identity.

Subgroup respect, social engagement, and well-being: A field study of an ethnically diverse high school.

Recent research points toward the utility of the pluralist (multicultural) model as a viable alternative to the traditional assimilation model of cultural integration. In this study, we extend this work by evaluating when and to what extent feelings that members of a common group respect and value one's ethnic group membership (subgroup respect) shape social engagement and well-being. We do so in the context of a survey of students at a diverse, public high school. Subgroup respect was linked to more positive evaluations of both school authorities and students from ethnic outgroups as well as to lower levels of school disengagement. Consistent with past research, these relationships held only among ethnic minority groups (African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinos) but not among Whites. Findings about the relationship between subgroup respect and indicators of well-being were more mixed, with the relationship most evident among Asians Americans and Latinos and especially on indicators of physical health. Implications for understanding the consequences of pluralism are discussed in light of the observed ethnic group differences.

Prejudice at the nexus of race and gender: an outgroup male target hypothesis.

Adopting an evolutionary approach to the psychology of race bias, we posit that intergroup conflict perpetrated by male aggressors throughout human evolutionary history has shaped the psychology of modern forms of intergroup bias and that this psychology reflects the unique adaptive problems that differ between men and women in coping with male aggressors from groups other than one's own. Here we report results across 4 studies consistent with this perspective, showing that race bias is moderated by gender differences in traits relevant to threat responses that differ in their adaptive utility between the sexes-namely, aggression and dominance motives for men and fear of sexual coercion for women. These results are consistent with the notion that the psychology of intergroup bias is generated by different psychological systems for men and women, and the results underscore the importance of considering the gender of the outgroup target as well as the gender of the agent in psychological studies on prejudice and discrimination.

Testing an integrative model of respect: implications for social engagement and well-being.

Prior research demonstrates that feelings of respect affect important aspects of group functioning and members' psychological well-being. One limitation is that respect has been variously defined as reflecting individuals' status in the group, degree to which they are liked by the group, and how fairly they are treated in interactions with group members. These different conceptions are integrated in the dual pathway model of respect. The authors tested the model's prediction that fair treatment from group members shapes attitudes toward the group and self via two distinct pathways: status and inclusion. Findings from a field study supported the model and yielded new insights: Whereas perceptions of status predicted social engagement, liking was more important in predicting well-being (especially among dominant subgroups). Discussion focuses on the utility of the dual pathway model for understanding how respect perceptions are formed and how they affect the welfare of groups and individuals.

Exemplary efforts in psychology to recruit and retain graduate students of color.

Many psychology departments are striving for a greater representation of students of color within their graduate preparation programs with the aim of producing a more diverse pool of psychological service providers, scientists, and educators. To help improve the minority pipeline in psychology, the authors identify and describe recruitment and retention strategies used at 11 departments and programs considered to be making exemplary efforts to attract and retain minority students of color. The strategies most consistently used included engaging current minority faculty and students in recruitment activities, offering attractive financial aid packages, having faculty members make personal contacts with prospective students, creating linkages with historical institutions of color, having (or approached having) a critical mass of faculty and students of color, offering a diversity issues course, and engaging students in diversity issues research. Despite the similarities, the programs and departments were each distinctive and innovative in their overall approaches to student recruitment and retention. Highlighting the strategies used at successful institutions may help others develop plans for improving the minority pipeline within their own departments and programs.

Personal reflections: barriers and strategies in increasing diversity in psychology.

In this article, six faculty and students of color who participated in a panel discussion at a symposium during the National Multicultural Conference and Summit of 2003 talk about the barriers they encountered and continue to encounter in their graduate training and places of employment. They also discuss strategies they found to be effective, enhancing, and positive and suggest other possibilities. The contributors describe their relationships with dominant-group and minority peers and talk about how issues of social class, disability, and sexual orientation as well as color have been part of their experience.