The social cure: Why groups make us healthier and how policymakers can capitalise on these curing properties

Social networks have been shown to help protect mental and physical health. But how can we develop and sustain policy to socially engage communities to reap such health benefits. First, the value of social groups needs to be incorporated into cost–benefit analyses that are used to make decisions about resource allocation. Moreover, by thinking of social identity resources as real tangible resources, social identity policy has the potential to become a forethought rather than an afterthought, writes Jolanda Jetten

Individual, group, and temporal perspectives on the link between wealth and realistic threat

Peer reviewe

\u27They\u27re discriminated against, but so are we’: White Australian-born perceptions of ingroup and immigrant discrimination over time are not zero sum

We examined whether zero‐sum thinking explains White Australian‐born people\u27s majority‐culture perceptions of discrimination towards their ingroup and an outgroup (immigrants), and the relationships among perceived discrimination and support for multiculturalism and immigration. Two correlational cross‐sectional studies were conducted among self‐identified White Australians (Study 1, N = 517), and White Americans (Study 2, N = 273), as well as an experiment among White Australians (Study 3, N = 121) in which we manipulated discrimination towards immigrants over time. Our findings did not support a zero‐sum account but revealed that perceptions of group discrimination were positively correlated: a case of ‘they\u27re discriminated against, but so are we’ rather than ‘if they gain, we lose’. Moreover, concerns about future discrimination of the ingroup were most predictive of opposition to multicultural policy and immigration. We argue our findings are more consistent with a competitive victimhood account of intergroup relations than a zero‐sum thinking account

Relative Deprivation and Relative Wealth Enhances Anti-Immigrant Sentiments:The V-Curve Re-Examined

Previous research has shown that negative attitudes towards immigrants and support for anti-immigrant parties are observed both among those experiencing relative deprivation and those experiencing relative gratification (so called v-curve). Whereas the effect of relative deprivation is intuitive, the effect of relative gratification is more difficult to explain. Why would economic prosperity provoke negative attitudes towards immigrants? We first present correlational (Study 1) and experimental (Study 2) support for the v-curve. In Study 1, in a national Swiss referendum, a higher percentage anti-immigrant voting was found in cantons with relatively lower and relatively higher relative disposable income. In Study 2, in a hypothetical society, more opposition to 'newcomers' joining society was found among poor or above average wealth group members than among those in a moderate wealth group condition. In Study 3, we replicate this finding and also show that opposition to immigration is higher for all wealth groups when societal inequality is growing rather than declining. In a final study, we examine different forms of relative gratification and mediators of the relationship between relative gratification and opposition to immigration (i.e., identification, collective self-definition as competent and cold, and fear about future wealth). Only fear about future wealth mediates this relationship. We conclude that, paradoxically, relative gratification effects are partly due to the fear of future deprivation

Personal autonomy in group-based interventions

Marginalized individuals are often caught in a vicious cycle of economic or health problems, a lack of social connection and disempowerment. The present research examines interventions that provide opportunities for social inclusion to break this cycle. Specifically, in two longitudinal field studies, we examined the effect of social inclusion on self-efficacy and hope in two vulnerable groups, namely, 68 residents in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre (Study 1) and 48 marginalized adults taking part in activities organized by a community organization (Study 2). Although somewhat counterintuitive, we hypothesized that social inclusion would affect self-efficacy by fostering feelings of personal autonomy. The hypothesis was supported by results from both studies revealing an indirect effect from social inclusion via personal autonomy on self-efficacy and hope. The findings are discussed in relation to how group inclusion may stimulate the development of personal autonomy in disadvantaged adults, an important factor in their recovery and mental health.</p

The role of relative deprivation in majority-culture support for multiculturalism

In this paper, we investigate majority-culture attitudes to multicultural policy in Australia. Drawing on relative deprivation (RD) theory, we explore whether resistance to multicultural policies and initiatives is related to individual and/or group-based grievance claims of discrimination. To assess RD, we asked 517 Australian-born people who identified as White Australians to rate (a) levels of discrimination toward their own group, toward themselves personally as a consequence of their group membership, and toward immigrants to Australia, and (b) feelings of injustice and anger associated with such discrimination. Our findings show that, while perceptions of discrimination toward majority-culture Australians are commonplace, perceptions of discrimination toward immigrants are more so. We also found that higher ratings of group-based RD of Australians relative to immigrants, but not individual deprivation relative to immigrants, predicted opposition to multicultural policies and initiatives. Moreover, perceived group-based RD mediated the link between national identification and opposition to multicultural policies. The findings highlight, for the first time, the importance of group-based grievance claims by majority-culture members in opposing or supporting multicultural policy. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

(Not so) powerful allies? Decision makers’ reactions to advantaged group allies in collective action

Do allies in collective action have a positive impact on political efficacy? Theoretical considerations and common sense might lead us to expect that advantaged group allies will be beneficial to the success of social movements. However, across five experimental studies, with samples from the United States and Germany (three pre-registered, total N = 696, 48% women, Mage = 38), we find that such involvement does not significantly affect authorities’ reactions to the demands of disadvantaged groups. Decision makers were given information about proposals supported either by only disadvantaged group members or by disadvantaged group members and advantaged group allies. Their support, budget allocations, voting intentions and perceptions of movements and proposals did not differ as a function of this information. However, collective actions including allies did reduce perceptions of intergroup conflict. These results were replicated across different contexts with student and local politicians and with participants acting as parliamentarians in fictional scenarios

Belief in School Meritocracy and the Legitimization of Social and Income Inequality

Educational institutions are imbued with an institutional meritocratic discourse: only merit counts for academic success. In this article, we study whether this institutional belief has an impact beyond its primary function of encouraging students to study. We propose that belief in school meritocracy has broader societal impact by legitimizing the social class hierarchy it produces and encouraging the maintenance of inequalities. The results of four studies (one correlational study, Ntotal = 198; one experiment, Ntotal = 198; and two international data surveys, Ntotal = 88,421 in 40+countries) indicate that belief in school meritocracy reduces the perceived unfairness of social class inequality in society, support for affirmative action policies at university and support for policies aimed at reducing income inequality. Together, these studies show that the belief that schools are meritocratic carries consequences beyond the school context as it is associated with attitudes that maintain social class and economic inequality