The Neuroscience of Stigma and Stereotype Threat

This article reviews social neuroscience research on the experience of stigma from the target's perspective. More specifically, we discuss several research programs that employ electroencephalography, event-related potentials, or functional magnetic resonance imaging methods to examine neural correlates of stereotype and social identity threat. We present neuroimaging studies that show brain activation related to the experience of being stereotyped and ERP studies that shed light on the cognitive processes underlying social identity processes. Among these are two projects from our own lab. The first project reveals the important role of the neurocognitive conflict-detection system in stereotype threat effects, especially as it pertains to stereotype threat `spillover'. The second project examines the role of automatic ingroup evaluations as a neural mediator between social identity threats and compensatory ingroup bias. We conclude with a discussion of the benefits, limitations, and unique contributions of social neuroscience to our understanding of stigma and social identity threat

Stimulating interethnic contact in Kosovo: The role of social identity complexity and distinctiveness threat

The positive effects of intergroup contact on prejudice reduction have been widely validated by now. However, the potential of contact for intergroup relations is only available when there is readiness to have contact with outgroup members to begin with. In two correlational studies with the main ethnic groups in postconflict Kosovo, Albanian majority (Study 1, N = 221) and Serb minority (Study 2, N = 110), we examine how social identity complexity mechanism and distinctiveness threat contribute to predicting more readiness to have contact with outgroup members. As the establishment of a new national identity unfolds, we show that while there are different processes that work for each of the groups, distinctiveness threat is a central concern to both as it mediates the relationship between identity and intergroup outcomes. For the Albanian majority group, having more complex identities (or perceiving less identity overlap between national and ethnic identity) predicts more readiness to have contact and feeling more positively towards members of the outgroup via reduced distinctiveness threat. For the Serb minority, however, threat is predicted only by strength of ethnic identification, which in turn predicts negative feelings towards members of the ethnic outgroup and less readiness to contact them. We conclude by comparing results for the majority and the minority groups and discuss strategies needed to reduce threat and improve intergroup relations in this segregated context struggling for reconciliation

Асимметричное сжатие цилиндрических оболочек продуктами детонации

Представлены результаты численного моделирования несимметричного сжатия упругопластических оболочек под действием продуктов детонации. Показаны особенности влияния технологических погрешностей и физико-механических характеристик материала оболочек и взрывчатых веществ на процессы деформирования.Представлені результати чисельного моделювання несиметричного стиснення упругопластических оболонок під дією продуктів детонації. Показано особливості впливу технологічних похибок і фізико-механічних характеристик матеріалу оболонок і вибухових речовин на процеси деформування.Results of numerical modeling the asymmetric compression of elastoplastic shells induced by the detonation products are given. Particular effects o f the manufacturing errors and physicomechanical characteristics o f the shell and explosive material on the deformation processes are shown

Academics as Agentic Superheroes: Female academics’ lack of fit with the agentic stereotype of success limits their career advancement

Gender gaps in academia persist with women being less likely to attain leadership, earning lower salaries, and receiving less research funding and resources compared to their male peers. The current research demonstrates yet another, more intangible gender gap in academia called lack of fit, whereby compared to male academics, female academics perceive higher misfit between their professional self-concept and the agentic ‘superhero’ stereotype of the successful academic. The entire population of Dutch academics (i.e., assistant, associate, and full professors from 14 universities) was approached to participate in a nationwide survey. Results from this unique dataset (N = 3978) demonstrate that academics perceive agency (e.g., self-confident, self-focused, competitive) as more descriptive of the stereotypical successful academic than communality (e.g., team-oriented, good teacher, collegial). Importantly, early career female academics perceived highest lack of fit with this narrowly-defined agentic occupational stereotype, which was correlated with lower work engagement, professional identification and career efficacy, and higher work exhaustion and exit intentions. Thus, lack of fit seems yet another barrier contributing to pervasive gender gaps in academia. Implications for building more inclusive academic cultures, where not only agentic but also communal academic practice is recognized and rewarded are discussed

Lack of ambition or lack of support? Diverging career experiences of men and women explain the persistence of gender bias

In this study we explore possible causes for the differential career success of women in academia. We do this by testing the content of organizational narratives about plausible reasons why women are less likely than men to advance in their academic careers, against the self‐reported experiences and career choices of women and men in the organization. We compared content‐coded narratives (N = 84) with quantitative self‐report (N = 661) data. Both data sets were collected around the same time, taking care that different members of the organization contributed to each of these two data sources. First, we report the qualitative data (Study 1). These revealed the organizational narrative about gender differences in academic careers. On the one hand, people in the university acknowledged the sexist treatment of women, but on the other hand, they failed to note that this “chilly climate” might adversely impact the careers of women in the organization. We report the quantitative data in Study 2. This revealed no support for the validity of this narrative, which maintains the pervasive belief that women are less interested in, and prefer to “opt out” from, an academic career. Notably, we found no actual differences between female and male academics in their self‐reported motivations. However, women did report having made more difficult life choices and having received less support from the organization for their careers. Together, these findings reveal blind spots in organizational narratives and point to additional measures that can be taken to ensure equal career opportunities for all employee

Double Trouble: How Being Outnumbered and Negatively Stereotyped Threatens Career Outcomes of Women in STEM

Masculine work contexts form an important source of social identity threat for working women. But what aspect of masculine work contexts is most threatening to women’s gender identity at work: A numerical majority of male colleagues (i.e., numerical male dominance), working in a profession in which women are negatively stereotyped (i.e., normative male dominance), or the combination? The current study aimed to disentangle these two aspects of masculine work contexts by testing its combined impact on the experience of gender identity threat among women and men who work in the STEM sector (i.e., Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). A field study was conducted among women (N = 177) and men (N = 630) graduates holding an academic degree in a STEM educational program. Respondents either worked in- or outside the STEM sector (i.e., stronger vs. weaker gender stereotype) and estimated the ratio of men to women in their direct work environment. Results from a Structural Equation Model demonstrated that women in STEM face double trouble: The combination of working almost solely with male colleagues (being outnumbered) and working in the technical sector (where women are negatively stereotyped) predicted the highest levels of experienced gender identity threat, particularly among women who highly identified with their gender group. Gender identity threat, in turn, negatively predicted women’s work engagement and career confidence. Men did not face double trouble: Their experience of gender identity threat was not related to working in a masculine STEM sector. Importantly, considering that the women in this sample already hold a degree in STEM, and have proven their competence in STEM and resilience to gender stereotypes, this research reveals how in naturalistic work settings, prevailing social identity threats continue to affect women’s professional careers

It’s a man’s world; right? How women’s opinions about gender inequality affect physiological responses in men

In two experiments, we examined how men respond to women who either challenge or legitimize societal gender inequality, and how gender identification moderates these responses. We hypothesized that men feel less threatened by women who legitimize (vs. challenge) the gender hierarchy, and evaluate these women more positively. To investigate these expectations, we assessed self-reports (Studies 1 and 2) and cardiovascular threat/challenge responses (Study 2). Both studies showed that men experience less negative emotions when presented with a woman who legitimized (vs. challenged) the gender hierarchy. Moreover, among men with a relatively high gender identification, a woman who challenged the gender hierarchy elicited a physiological response pattern indicative of threat, whereas a woman who legitimized the gender hierarchy elicited a pattern indicative of challenge. Results are discussed in terms of social identity theory, status threat, and self-distancing behavior

All is nice and well unless she outshines him: Higher social status benefits women's well‐being and relationship quality but not if they surpass their male partner

In two studies, we find that climbing the societal ladder has positive associations with women's well-being and relationship outcomes but can also have negative consequences when women surpass their male partners in status. In Study 1 (N = 314), we found that women who reported having higher personal status also reported several positive relationship outcomes (e.g., higher relationship quality than women with lower personal status). However, these associations reversed for women who surpassed their partners in social status. In Study 2, a diary study (N = 112), we show how women's implicit endorsement of gender stereotypes qualifies the negative associations of surpassing one's partner in status. Among women with higher status than their partner, traditional women intend to adjust their behavior to fit the gender norm (e.g., thinking about reducing work hours in favor of their time at home), whereas egalitarian women did not, but felt guilty toward their partner. We show how the relationship dynamics of women who have surpassed their partners in social status should be considered when attempting to tackle structural discrimination and advance women's careers

When work-family guilt becomes a women's issue: Internalized gender stereotypes predict high guilt in working mothers but low guilt in working fathers

Gender stereotypes prescribe mothers, but not fathers, to prioritize their family over their work. Therefore, internalization of gender stereotypes may predict higher guilt among mothers than fathers in situations in which they prioritize their work over their family. Study 1 (135 mothers and 116 fathers) indeed revealed that the stronger fathers' implicit gender stereotypes (measured with a gender-career implicit association task) the less guilt fathers reported in a fictitious work-interfering-with-family situation. Although mothers on average reported higher guilt than fathers, this effect was not moderated by their implicit gender stereotypes. Study 2 (daily diary study among 105 mothers), however, did reveal evidence for the moderating effect of implicit gender stereotypes on working mothers' guilt. The stronger mothers' implicit gender stereotypes the more work-family conflict and guilt they reported on days that they worked long hours. These results show that implicit gender stereotypes shape how parents feel about their work-family choices

How Do Children Learn Social Categorization and Intergroup Attitudes When They Grow Up in Divided Contexts?

This paper explores how group preferences develop among children living in the post-conflict context of Kosovo and how this development shapes children’s willingness to be close to their outgroup peers among the segregated majority (ethnic Albanian) and minority (ethnic Serb) members. The study was conducted in four ethnically divided primary schools, with 220 participants aged 6–10. Children played a series of games and tasks which measured ethnic ingroup preference, preference for the Kosovar flag, and willingness to be close to ethnic outgroup children. Children in this context where a new national Kosovar identity is developing following independence display very high ethnic ingroup preferences. Kosovar Serb children showed low willingness to engage with outgroup members and remained constant with age, while Kosovar Albanian children’s willingness to engage with the outgroup was present among younger children but diminished with age. Results add to the literature on the underlying process by which identity develops among segregated majority and minority who have little or no opportunities to interact. Lack of intergroup contact hinders the development of more positive intergroup relations. To build a peaceful coexistence, programs which connect the segregated schools and facilitate intergroup contact, especially among the younger age groups, are recommended