Is it always good to feel valued? The psychological benefits and costs of higher perceived status in ones ethnic minority group

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from SAGE Publications via the DOI in this record.Two studies (N = 1,048) examined how Blacks’, Asians’, and Latinos’ perceived value within their own ethnic group (ethnic intragroup status) shapes mental health (depression, anxiety, psychological distress). The proposed intragroup status and health (ISAH) model predicts that feeling valued among ethnic ingroup members has benefits for health, but also indirect costs. Costs arise because individuals who feel highly valued in their ethnic group see their ethnicity as more central to their self-concept; with stronger identity-centrality, individuals more frequently view daily social interactions through the “lens” of their ethnicity and ultimately perceive/experience more discrimination. Discrimination, in turn, adversely shapes mental health. Results of structural equation modeling supported these predictions across all groups in both studies. Thus, feeling valued in one’s minority group may be a double-edged sword for mental health. Overall, the ISAH model reveals how intragroup processes, when considered from an intergroup perspective, advance our understanding of minority mental health

Gender discrimination in the veterinary profession: A brief report of the BVA Employers’ Study 2018

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the BVA via the link in this recordDo women in the veterinary profession still face discrimination? Yes – and ironically, it’s those who think women don’t face discrimination that are most likely to discriminate.British Veterniary Associatio

When identity hurts: how positive intragroup experiences yield negative mental health implications for ethnic and sexual minorities

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Two studies (longitudinal, N=510; cross-sectional; N=249) explain how feeling valued in one’s ethnic/sexual minority group has benefits for mental health but also certain costs through the way it shapes minorities’ identity. Drawing from the intragroup status and health model (ISAH) we posit that when individuals feel valued in their minority group it bolsters group identification; with greater identity-centrality individuals tend to view daily social interactions through the ‘lens’ of their minority group and ultimately perceive more discrimination. Discrimination, in turn, negatively shapes health. Thus, feeling valued in one’s minority group has benefits for health but also indirect costs, perhaps counterintuitively by strengthening minority group identity. Both studies supported these predictions. Study 2 also supported an adapted ISAH model, for use in the context of concealable stigmatized identities (sexual minorities). Overall, the ISAH model explains why feeling valued and having strong social identities are not always beneficial, yielding certain costs for stigmatized individuals’ health

The mental health pros and cons of minority spaces in the workplace

This is the final version. Available on open access from The Conversation Trust (UK) via the link in this recordStrategies to support a diverse workforce can be beneficial – but may have unintended consequences

The Impact of Hidden Bias in Job Adverts on Female Applicants

This is the final version. Available from Openreach via the link in this recordOpenreac

To alleviate group members’ physiological stress, supervisors need to be more than polite and professional

This is the final version. Available on open access from SAGE Publications via the DOI in this recordAlthough stressors are common in group life, people cope better when group authorities treat them with care/concern. However, it remains unclear whether such treatment affects individuals’ physiological stress. In this experiment, individuals engaged in an interview known to increase cortisol (stress biomarker). Surrounding the interview, an ingroup supervisor treated them with standard professionalism (politeness; control), explicit care/concern (high-quality treatment), or disregard (poor-quality treatment). While those in the control condition experienced a spike in cortisol, individuals in the high-quality treatment condition did not experience this physiological stress (cortisol). Those shown poor-quality treatment also did not exhibit stress, suggesting the explicit disregard for them may have undermined the interview’s legitimacy, thereby removing social evaluative threat. Paralleling past research, self-reported stress did not reflect individuals’ physiological stress (cortisol). Overall, results suggest that to alleviate members’ physiological stress, supervisors need to be more than polite and professional – also demonstrating care/concern for them as individuals

Support (and rejection) of meritocracy as a self‐enhancement identity strategy: A qualitative study of university students’ perceptions about meritocracy in higher education

This is the final version. Available from Wiley via the DOI in this record. The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author [DPF].Access to Higher Education (HE) is based on the idea that all students should have the same opportunities, and that merit and hard work, regardless of students’ backgrounds, will lead to success. However, inequalities remain despite efforts to provide equal access to HE, raising questions about the validity of such a meritocratic approach. Using qualitative analysis, we interviewed UK university students to understand students’ perceptions of meritocracy in HE, and if and how students associated these perceptions with their gender and subjective socioeconomic status identity experiences. Students’ perceptions could be described in two main ideas: (a) the perceived commitment of their universities to meritocracy, and (b) their endorsement and rejection of meritocracy as an identity enhancement strategy. Hence, both support and lack of support for meritocracy are strategies used by disadvantaged groups to navigate and cope with the lack of opportunities and socioeconomic disadvantages in HE.European Union's Horizon 2020National Agency for Research and Development (ANID

Overestimating women’s representation in medicine: a survey of medical professionals’ estimates and their(un)willingness to support gender equality initiatives

This is the final version. Available on open access from BMJ Publishing Group via the DOI in this recordData availability statement: Data are available in a public, open access repository. All data underlying the findings described in this article are available at the Center for Open Science (https://osf.io/hrm63/).Objective Amidst growing numbers of women in certain areas of medicine (eg, general practice/primary care), yet their continued under-representation in others (eg, surgical specialties), this study examines (1) whether medical professionals mistakenly infer that women are now broadly well represented, overestimating women’s true representation in several different areas and roles; and (2) whether this overestimation of women’s representation predicts decreased support for gender equality initiatives in the field, in conjunction with one’s own gender. Design Cross-sectional survey. Setting UK-based medical field. Participants 425 UK medical consultants/general practitioners and trainees (ST/CT1+/SHO/Registrar); 47% were female. Main outcome measures Estimates of women’s representation in different areas/roles within medicine, examined as a composite estimate and individually; and a multi-item measure of support for gender-based initiatives in medicine. Results Medical professionals tended to overestimate women’s true representation in several different areas of medicine (general practice, medical specialties, surgical specialties) and in various roles (consultants/general practitioners, trainees, medical school graduates). Moreover, these erroneous estimates predicted a decreased willingness to support gender-based initiatives, particularly among men in the field: composite overestimation*respondent gender interaction, B=−0.04, 95% CI −0.07 to −0.01, p=0.01. Specifically, while female respondents’ (over)estimates were unrelated to their level of support (B=0.00, 95% CI −0.02 to 0.02, p=0.92), male respondents’ tendency to overestimate the proportion of women in medicine predicted lower support for gender-based initiatives (B=−0.04, 95% CI −0.06 to −0.02, p<0.001). Conclusions While some progress has been made in gender representation in the medical field, this research illustrates that there are still barriers to gender equality efforts and identifies who within the field is focally maintaining these barriers. It is those individuals (particularly men) who overestimate the true progress that has been made in women’s representation who are at highest risk of undermining it.European Research Council (ERC)Medical Research Council (MRC

Dietary behaviour as a form of collective action: A social identity model of vegan activism

This is the author accepted manuscript. the final version is available on open access from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordAvailability of data and materials: The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.Adopting plant-based, or vegan, diets can have a number of benefits, including mitigating climate change, promoting animal welfare, or improving public health. In the current research, we use social psychological theory to better understand what motivates vegans to engage in collective action on behalf of this social group - that is, what motivates individuals to promote, or encourage others to adopt, a vegan lifestyle. We develop and test a Social Identity Model of Vegan Activism, which highlights the roles of individuals' social identities, sense of efficacy, emotions and moral convictions in fostering collective action. In two pre-registered studies, the first with self-identified vegans from Australia and the UK (N = 351), and the second with self-identified vegans recruited via Prolific (N = 340), we found that individuals more frequently engaged in vegan activism (i.e., actions to promote vegan lifestyles) when they had stronger moral convictions (i.e., deontological or consequentialist), greater collective efficacy (i.e., beliefs that vegans can make a positive difference), anger (i.e., when thinking about the reasons why they are vegan), and identification (both with vegans, and with animals). Deontological and consequentialist moral convictions had significant indirect effects on vegan activism via different mediators. We conclude by discussing the implications and importance of studying dietary behavior from a social identity perspective, including its ability to help explain how and why individuals become motivated to not only adopt a certain (e.g., vegan) lifestyle themselves, but to also ‘act collectively’ on behalf of that shared group membership (e.g., promote vegan-friendly behaviors). We also highlight some key insights for policy makers and campaigners aiming to promote plant-based diets.Animal Charity Evaluator

A leadership looking glass: How reflected appraisals of leadership shape individuals’ own perceived prototypicality and group identification

This is the final version. Available on open access from Routledge via the DOI in this recordData availability: Data reported in this article are available upon request from the corresponding author.Research on social identity and leadership rarely examines leadership processes from the perspective of leaders themselves. Three studies (experimental, longitudinal, cross-sectional) help fill this gap. Integrating social identity principles with a reflected appraisals perspective, we demonstrate that as individuals come to see themselves as (informal) leaders in a group, it positively affects their own sense of fit to the group prototype. Their own perceived prototypicality, in turn, yields a strengthened attachment to the group (identification). Importantly, we demonstrate this in racial and ethnic minority groups – an understudied context, yet where individuals develop meaningful conceptions of leadership and identification, with implications for their health and commitment to collective action. Altogether, this provides insights on social identity processes, and minority group leadership.University of California, Los AngelesEuropean Research Council (ERC