Perceived Procedural Justice, Group Identification, and Support for Economic Equality : A Test of the Group Engagement Model

This research explores the relationship between perceived procedural justice, group identification and support for economic equality at the national (Italian) and supranational (European and global) levels. The aim is to test the assumptions of the Group Engagement Model (GEM), stating that procedural justice encourages group identification, which in turn increases pro-group behaviour towards reaching shared goals. In addition, we also aim to challenge GEM with research on system-justification that shows how perceived justice is intertwined with the higher need to secure boundaries of group membership limiting expectations of extended social solidarity. The data represents a sample (N = 222) of Italian adults obtained via social medias using a self-report questionnaire. Perceived procedural justice accounted for higher group identification and support for inequality at all three levels, suggesting the occurrence of system-justifying dynamics. Namely, subjects who perceived higher levels of procedural justice in the Italian national, European and global contexts supported less economic equality for members of these three communities respectively. However, this relationship was not mediated by their group identification. The results are discussed from a global perspective towards the reduction of economic inequality.Peer reviewe

Perceived procedural justice, group identification, and support for economic equality: a test of the Group Engagement Model

This research explores the relationship between perceived procedural justice, group identification and support for economic equality at the national (Italian) and supranational (European and global) levels. The aim is to test the assumptions of the Group Engagement Model (GEM), stating that procedural justice encourages group identification, which in turn increases pro-group behaviour towards reaching shared goals. In addition, we also aim to challenge GEM with research on system-justification that shows how perceived justice is intertwined with the higher need to secure boundaries of group membership limiting expectations of extended social solidarity. The data represents a sample (N = 222) of Italian adults obtained via social medias using a self-report questionnaire. Perceived procedural justice accounted for higher group identification and support for inequality at all three levels, suggesting the occurrence of system-justifying dynamics. Namely, subjects who perceived higher levels of procedural justice in the Italian national, European and global contexts supported less economic equality for members of these three communities respectively. However, this relationship was not mediated by their group identification. The results are discussed from a global perspective towards the reduction of economic inequality

Psychological Acculturation and Adaptation among Russian-Speaking Immigrant Adolescents in Finland

Only abstract. Paper copies of master’s theses are listed in the Helka database (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Electronic copies of master’s theses are either available as open access or only on thesis terminals in the Helsinki University Library.Vain tiivistelmä. Sidottujen gradujen saatavuuden voit tarkistaa Helka-tietokannasta (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Digitaaliset gradut voivat olla luettavissa avoimesti verkossa tai rajoitetusti kirjaston opinnäytekioskeilla.Endast sammandrag. Inbundna avhandlingar kan sökas i Helka-databasen (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Elektroniska kopior av avhandlingar finns antingen öppet på nätet eller endast tillgängliga i bibliotekets avhandlingsterminaler.This study examined both state and process facets of psychological acculturation among Russian-speaking immigrant adolescents (N = 170) in Finland. The phenomenon of acculturation was considered with special reference to ethnic identity, changes over time, the actual degree of acculturation, and predictors of successful adaptation during the process. Particular emphasis was placed on specific features of the acculturation of immigrants with a returnee background. Measures (self-rating questionnaires) were either specifically developed or taken directly or with modification from existing scales for the purpose of a larger ICSEY (International Comparative Study of Ethnocultural Youth) project. The Russian-speaking adolescents studied were compared with their native Finnish peers (N = 190) and with immigrant adolescents from other cultural backgrounds (i.e., Somalian, Vietnamese and Turkish) in Finland (N = 418). The relationships found in this study showed the complexity and dynamic nature of the acculturation process among young Russian-speaking immigrants in Finland. In particular, the results showed the psychological importance of cultural contact orientation, and language- and family-related variables, in multiple ethnic identity. Immigrant adolescents were also shown to continually work at the meanings they give to their own ethnic belonging. In addition, the study demonstrated the importance of identifying and analysing separately the distinctive components of the acculturation process for an accurate understanding of the actual degree of immigrant acculturation. It also provided an empirical model of factors threatening or promoting psychological adjustment in terms of acculturative stress. The benefits of using multiple measures of psychological well-being (i.e., acculturative stress, self-esteem, sense of mastery, behavioural problems and life satisfaction) when studying the outcomes of acculturation among young immigrants were apparent. These outcomes could not be understood without close scrutiny of experiences of parental support and degree of adherence to traditional family-related values. Furthermore, a comparison of different immigrant groups in the study on psychological well-being pointed towards some group-specific variations which needed culture-sensitive and contextual explanations. The theoretical and practical relevance of the findings for the further development of acculturation research, as well as for educational and social workers and others responsible for immigrant integration, was evaluated in the discussion.Tässä tutkimuksessa käsiteltiin venäjänkielisten maahanmuuttajanuorten (N = 170) psykologisen akkulturaation tilaa ja prosessia Suomessa. Aluksi esiteltiin akkulturaatiotutkimuksen teoreettinen viitekehys: määritelmät, mittausmenetelmät sekä aiemmat empiiriset tulokset. Akkulturaatiota käsiteltiin erityisesti etnisen identiteetin, sen muutosprosessin, todellisen akkulturaatioasteen ja onnistuneen sopeutumisen näkökulmasta. Huomiota kiinnitettiin myös paluumuuttajataustan omaavien maahanmuuttajien akkulturaation erityispiirteisiin. Tutkimuksessa käytettiin ICSEY (International Comparative Study of Ethnocultural Youth) -projektia varten kehitettyä kyselylomaketta, joka koostui joko projektin tarpeisiin kehitetyistä tai jo olemassaolevista ja/tai muokatuista mittareista. Tutkimukseen osallistuneita venäjänkielisiä nuoria verrattiin sekä Suomessa syntyneisiin suomalaisiin ikätovereihin (N = 190) että muista kulttuureista (Somalia, Vietnam ja Turkki) Suomeen tulleisiin maahanmuuttajanuoriin (N = 418). Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittivat akkulturaatioprosessin monimuotoisuuden ja dynaamisen luonteen. Tulokset osoittivat mm. kulttuurisen suuntautumisen, kielellisten ja perheeseen liittyvien tekijöiden psykologisen merkityksen maahanmuuttajanuorten etnisen identiteetille. Tutkimustulosten mukaan maahanmuuttajanuorten omalle etnisyydelleen antamansa merkitykset myös muuttuvat ajan myötä. Tämän lisäksi tutkimus osoitti, että maahanmuuttajanuorten todellisen akkulturaatioasteen ymmärtämisen kannalta on tärkeää tunnistaa akkulturaatioprosessin erilaisia komponentteja ja analysoida niitä erikseen. Tutkimus tarjosi myös empiirisen mallin akkulturaatiostressinä ilmenevään psykologiseen sopeutumiseen vaikuttavista tekijöistä. Mitä tulee maahanmuuttajanuorten sopeutumisen tasoon, tutkimustulokset osoittivat, että on tärkeää mitata erilaisia psykologisen hyvinvoinnin osa-alueita (akkulturaatiostressi, itsetunto, pystyvyyden tunne, käyttäytymisongelmat sekä tyytyväisyys elämään). Tulosten mukaan nuorten kokemukset vanhempien tuesta sekä perinteisiin perhearvoihin sitoutumisen aste auttavat ymmärtämään paremmin heidän eri tavoin ilmenevää hyvinvointia. Tämän lisäksi erilaisiin maahanmuuttajaryhmiin kuuluvien nuorten psykologisen hyvinvoinnin vertailu toi esille joitakin spesifejä ryhmienvälisiä eroja, joiden tulkintaan tarvittiin kulttuurisesti ja sosiaalisesti sensitiivejä lähestymistapoja. Tutkimuksen diskussio-osassa arvioitiin tulosten teoreettista ja käytännöllistä merkitystä sekä akkulturaatiotutkimuksen jatkokehityksen että kasvatus-, sosiaali- ja muiden alojen maahanmuuttajien integraatiosta vastaavien viranomaisten kannalta

Ramifications of positive and negative contact experiences among remigrants from Russia to Finland

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Investigating the Influence of Intergroup Contact in Virtual Reality on Empathy : An Exploratory Study Using AltspaceVR

Virtual Reality (VR) has often been referred to as an “empathy machine.” This is mostly because it can induce empathy through embodiment experiences in outgroup membership. However, the potential of intergroup contact with an outgroup avatar in VR to increase empathy is less studied. Even though intergroup contact literature suggests that less threatening and more prosocial emotions are the key to understanding why intergroup contact is a powerful mean to decrease prejudice, few studies have investigated the effect of intergroup contact on empathy in VR. In this study, we developed a between-participants design to investigate how VR can be used to create a positive intergroup contact with a member of a stigmatized outgroup (ethnic minority) and present the results of the effect of intergroup contact in VR on empathy. Sixty four participants experienced either positive contact (i.e., equal intergroup status, collaborative) with a black (experimenter-controlled) avatar (experimental condition) or no intergroup contact (i.e., ingroup contact with a white avatar; control condition), with situational empathy (personal distress and empathic interest) being measured through a self-report questionnaire up to a week before and right after the VR contact experience. The experiment showed that satisfying degrees of body ownership of participants’ own avatar and co-presence with the contacted avatar can be achieved in simple and universally accessible virtual environments such as AltspaceVR. The results indicated that while VR intergroup contact had no significant direct effect on empathy, exploratory analyses indicated that post-intervention empathic interest increased with stronger feelings of co-presence in the intergroup contact condition.Peer reviewe

“We’re Finns here, and Russians there”: A longitudinal study on ethnic identity constructions in the context of ethnic migration

In this article, we examine how ethnic Finnish migrants construct their ethnic identities before and after migrating from Russia to Finland. We use a discursive psychological (DP) approach to analyse our longitudinal focus group data. In the analysis, we focus on the ways in which the participants use category labels, rhetorical devices, interpretative repertoires and other discursive resources in accounting for their identities. We also consider the social functions these identity constructions have over the course of migration. In the pre-migration data, participants mostly presented themselves as Finns. In the post-migration data, a larger variety of self-labels was used and the Finnish identity was explicitly problematized. The three main interpretative repertoires used when constructing identities both in Russia and in Finland were the biological repertoire, the repertoire of socialization and the repertoire of intergroup relations.Peer reviewe

Identity and attitudinal reactions to perceptions of intergroup interactions among ethnic migrants: A longitudinal study

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The dynamics of ethnic discrimination, identities, and outgroup attitudes: A pre-post longitudinal study of ethnic remigrants.

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Vähemmistöjen väliset suhteet: Tutkimustuloksia ja toimintaehdotuksia

Raportti on systemaattinen katsaus etnisten ja uskonnollisten vähemmistöjen välisiä suhteita koskevaan tutkimukseen. Raportissa korostetaan, että ryhmien välisiä konflikteja ei tule ymmärtää pelkästään etnisyydestä tai uskonnosta johtuvina, vaan ryhmien välisten suhteiden muotoutumiseen vaikuttaa useat sosiaalisiin identiteetteihin kiinnittyvät tekijät. Lisäksi etnisyyden ja uskonnollisuuden kytkökset saattavat muuttua ajan myötä ja niihin vaikuttavat myös maahanmuuttajayhteisöjen ylirajaiset kontaktit. Raportissa käsitellään mm. yhteisen jaetun identiteetin, kulttuurisen etäisyyden, sosiaalisen hierarkian, välittömän ja välillisen kontaktin ja koetun tasa-arvon merkitystä ryhmien välisten suhteiden muotoutumiseen ja niissä tapahtuviin muutoksii

Perceived ethnic superiority and immigrants' attitudes towards multiculturalism and the national majority

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