Social identity and the recognition of creativity in groups

Authors' draft; final version published in British Journal of Social Psychology, 45, 479-497This paper develops an analysis of creativity that is informed by the social identity approach. Two studies are reported that support this analysis. Study 1 (N=73) manipulated social identity salience and the content of group norms. The group norm was either conservative (i.e. promoted no change) or progressive (i.e. promoted change). When social identity was salient and the group norm was conservative, a non-novel proposal was perceived to be more creative. Study 2 (N=63) manipulated social norms and identity relevance. Results showed that while social norms influenced perceptions of creativity, identity relevance influenced positivity but not perceptions of creativity. These findings support the idea that perceptions of creativity are grounded in the normative content of group membership and self-categorization processes

TERROR MANAGEMENT THEORY: THE INFLUENCE OF SALIENT GROUP NORMS, ACTIVE SOCIAL IDENTITIES AND IN-GROUP IDENTIFICATION ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MORTALITY SALIENCE AND BIAS

Terror management research has shown that mortality salience leads to especially positive reactions towards similar others and to especially negative reactions towards different others. The present research consists of six studies that investigate the influence of salient group norms, salient identities and in-group identification on the effects of mortality salience. In-group norms of collectivism and individualism were manipulated in Study I, whereas in-group norms of fairness and discrimination were manipulated in Study 2. Study 3 manipulated out-group norms of fairness and discrimination. The results of these studies provided evidence thai the content of salient in-group and out-group norms moderates the effects of mortality salience on bias. A mortality salience induction led to greater inter-group bias when salient norms prescribed collectivism and discrimination, as opposed to individualism and fairness respectively. Support to the view that death reminders can increase adherence to group norms was also provided. Studies 4- 6 focused on the role of salient identities and group identification on the effects of mortality salience. Study 4 primed English and student identities in a cross-categorization setting, whereas Study 5 primed English and European identities in a re-categorization in setting. In Study 6, in-group identification was measured. It was demonstrated that salient social identities moderate the effects of mortality salience on bias, whereas in-group identification does not. In Study 4, English students for whom mortality was salient displayed more bias toward Scottish students when the active identity was English as opposed to students. Study 5 showed that English that were reminded of their mortality displayed more bias toward French people when the salient identity was English than when it was Europeans. In Study 6, mortality salience led to increased inter-group bias irrespectively of participants' level of in-group identification. Discussion focuses on potential explanations, implications and future directions

MOM TO MOM: ONLINE BREASTFEEDING ADVICE

Exploring online support groups has gained more and more popularity in the last decade. Investigating the type of support messages users send each other has broadened the already extensive social support framework built in the last forty years. Mothers utilize online support for various topics, and a very common topic is breastfeeding. The perception of breastfeeding has changed throughout history with shifting beliefs and societal norms coupled with solid facts about its importance in the sustaining of infants. Online breastfeeding support has been previously explored through the categorization of types of support and themes within the interactions. This study extended this by investigating deeper into the advice solicitation patterns and directness of advice patterns. Results indicated that informational support most commonly was responded to support seekers. Support seekers utilized the requesting an opinion or information solicitation type most often when posting to the discussion board. Mothers most commonly offered storytelling as responses to posts and embedded advice within the stories

The development of national prejudice, in-group favouritism and self-stereotypes in British children

This study explores the development of national prejudice, ingroup favouritism and self-stereotyping in a sample of 329 British children. The aim was to test the prediction, derived from self-categorization theory (Oakes, Haslam & Turner, 1994; Spears & Haslam, 1997) and in opposition to cognitive-developmental theory (Aboud, 1988), that the supposed limited cognitive ability of young children to engage in individuated perception will not necessarily result in intergroup discrimination and self-stereotyping. The children were presented with a photograph evaluation task and some open-ended questioning. It was found that national prejudice, ingroup favouritism or self-stereotyping developed only in children aged over ten years and was not evident in young children. These findings question the validity of the cognitive-developmental approach which contends that intergroup discrimination and stereotyping are a product of information processing biases in young children. The apparent contradiction between the findings of this study and previous research on ethnic prejudice development is discussed in terms of the potential importance of groups norms in determining the willingness of people to express national prejudice and ingroup favouritism

Sharedthinking: a social identity approach to critical thinking

Could a group‐level approach to critical thinking offer advantages over individual‐level strategies? To explore such an idea, this paper offers a social‐psychological perspective on critical thinking. This is extended to provide guidelines towards the design of an ‘identity‐mediated practice.’ A case study from a School of Education is provided to show these ideas implemented in the group-relevant context of student‐teacher placements. Finally, an emergent identity‐mediated practice called SharedThinking is presented. This work was initially developed from doctoral research at the University of Glasgow and supported by the Kelvin‐Smith Scholarship Fund (Bowskill et al., 2010, Bowskill, 2009, Bowskill, 2013)

Gangs, displaced, and group-based aggression

Many urban areas experienced an alarming growth of gang activity and violence during the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st centuries. Gang members, motivated by various factors, commit a variety of different types of violent acts towards rivals and other targets. Our focus involves instances of displaced aggression, which generally refers to situations in which aggression is targeted towards individuals who have either not themselves committed an offense against the aggressor (s), or who provide an offense that is too mild to justify the aggression levels that are expressed towards them. We discuss how social–psychological mechanisms and models of two types of displaced aggression might help explain some aspects of the retaliatory behavior that is expressed by members of street gangs. We also propose general techniques that have the potential to reduce such aggressive behavior

The role of group values in the relationship between group faultlines and performance

This study explores the moderating effects of group values on the relationship between group faultlines and performance. Faultlines occur when group members align along two or more different demographic characteristics causing a group to split into homogeneous subgroups (adapted from Lau and Murnighan, 1998). We theorize and empirically examine three group values variables: career-, change-, and task-specificity. Analyses are performed on 81 work groups from a Fortune 500 information processing firm. Two levels of performance are considered in connection with group faultlines: individual performance (performance ratings) and group performance (bonuses and stock options). Our results provide support for our model of group values, faultiness and performance

The Other Pathway To The Boardroom: Interpersonal Influence Behavior As A Substitute For Elite Credentials And Majority Status In Obtaining Board Appointments

Using survey data on interpersonal influence behavior from a large sample of managers and chief executive officers (CEOs) at Forbes 500 companies, we examine how ingratiatory behavior directed at individuals who control access to board positions can provide an alternative pathway to the boardroom for managers who lack the social and educational credentials associated with the power elite. Findings show that top managers who engage in ingratiatory behavior toward their CEO, with ingratiation comprising flattery, opinion conformity, and favor-rendering, will be more likely to receive board appointments at other firms where their CEO serves as director and at boards to which the CEO is indirectly connected in the board interlock network. Further results suggest that interpersonal influence behavior substitutes to some degree for the advantages of an elite background or demographic majority status. Our findings help explain why norms of director deference to CEOs have persisted despite increased diversity in the corporate elite and have implications for research on corporate governance, social networks in the corporate elite, and for the sociological question of whether demographic minorities and individuals who lack privileged backgrounds have equal access to positions of leadership in large U.S. companies. Our study ultimately suggests that such individuals face a rather subtle and perhaps unexpected form of social discrimination, in that they must engage in a higher level of interpersonal influence behavior in order to have the same chance of obtaining a board appointment.Managemen

False Binaries: Recentering South Asian Identity for Healing

Many thoughts emerge attempting to define South Asian, Asian, Desi, or Indian. One approach refers to a country, the other cultural norms, and yet another, a racial and ethnic category far too vast. For the sake of this article, South Asian and Desi refer to the composition of individuals with ancestry in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and India. Indian refers to individuals with ancestry solely in India. Asian is the larger United States racial construct for all individuals from the continent of Asia, more specifically South and East Asia such as Japanese, Thai, or Indian. South Asians have a broad definition in terms of racial and ethnic categorization and are one of the fastest-growing minorities in the U.S. (Census, 2012). South Asians, as a racial group, experience a great deal of complexity regarding racial and ethnic constructs in the U.S. These include processes of assimilation, meaning making within the Black and White racial binary, and confronting the stereotypical ‘model minority myth’ as unwavering truth. Because South Asians exist in a racial gray space, they are stereotyped in a contradictory manner as both “model minority” and “dangerous.” Wingfield (2016) describes model minority as “a group whose hard work, initiative, personal responsibility, and success offer proof that American meritocracy works as intended” (para. 1). These challenges positively and negatively affect their narrative. South Asians have started to take political office, to change the societal climate, and to affect the future of the United States. This shift of South Asians being visible in the U.S. is dramatically different from the historic conflict of whether or not South Asians identified as Black or White in their first days of settlement in America. South Asians still face many challenges that immigrants face in the U.S., but these challenges are not necessarily uniquely associated to South Asian identity. The dynamic of living on the margins and responding to systemic oppression and racial categorization demands greater attention to understand South Asian identity as in-between.Educatio