I feel better naked: Communal naked activity increases body appreciation by reducing social physique anxiety.

Positive body image predicts several measures of happiness, well-being, and sexual functioning. Prior research has suggested a link between communal naked activity and positive body image, but has thus far not clarified either the direction or mechanisms of this relationship. This was the first randomised controlled trail of the effects of nakedness on body image. Two potential explanatory mediators of this effect were also investigated. Fifty-one participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups in which they interacted with other people either naked (naked condition) or clothed (control condition). All participants completed measures of body appreciation before and after the intervention, as well as measures of the relative perceived attractiveness of others and social physique anxiety immediately after the intervention. Perceived attractiveness of others was neither affected by the manipulation nor corelated with body appreciation. However, as expected, participants in the naked condition reported more body appreciation, an effect that was mediated by reductions in social physique anxiety. This research provides initial evidence that naked activity can lead to improvements in body image and evidence of a specific explanatory mechanism. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed

A nudity-based intervention to improve body image, self-esteem, and life satisfaction

An individual’s body image has profound implications for their self-esteem and overall life-satisfaction, and is a significant predictor of the onset of eating disorders. Recent research suggested that nude activities improved body image, self-esteem, and life-satisfaction among participants who were predisposed to take part in such activities. This current research investigated whether a nudity-based intervention can have similar positive effects among non-nudist participants with low levels of positive body-image, and whether those effects endure. Fifteen participants completed measures of body-image, self-esteem, and life-satisfaction before, immediately after, and one month after participating in a 4-day, nudity-based intervention. Participants reported substantial improvements in all three outcomes that remained one month after the intervention’s completion. Results suggest that nudity-based interventions can meaningfully and enduringly improve body image and related outcomes, even among non-nudists

Prejudiced and unaware of it: Evidence for the Dunning-Kruger model in the domains of racism and sexism

Prior research, and high-prolife contemporary examples, show that individuals tend to underestimate their own levels of bias. This underestimation is partially explained by motivational factors. However, (meta-) cognitive factors may also be involved. Conceptualising contemporary egalitarianism as type of skill or competence, this research proposed that egalitarianism should conform to the Dunning-Kruger model. That is, individuals should overestimate their own ability, and this overestimation should be strongest in the least competent individuals. Furthermore, training should improve metacognition and reduce this overestimation. Two studies on racism (N = 148), and sexism (N = 159) partially supported these hypotheses. In line with the Dunning-Kruger model, participants overestimated their levels of racial and gender-based egalitarianism, and this pattern was strongest among the most prejudiced participants. However, diversity training did not affect participants’ overestimation of their egalitarianism. Implications for contemporary prejudice, and prejudice-reducing strategies are discussed

Gendered Perceptions of Sexual Abuse: Investigating the Effect of Offender, Victim and Observer Gender on the Perceived Seriousness of Child Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse of children is a pervasive, global issue. Perpetrators of this kind of abuse are often stereotyped as male, meaning that research comparing perceptions of abuse by male versus female offenders is limited. This is an important omission as recent evidence attests to the unexpectedly high frequency of sexual crimes perpetrated by women. The gender of child sex abuse victims and observers of abuse have also been shown to impact perceptions of the offense. Thus, the present study aimed to explore the effect of offender, victim and observer gender on the perceived seriousness of an act of child sex abuse. To do this, we used a 2 (offender gender: male vs female) × 2 (victim gender: male vs female) × 2 (observer gender: male vs female) between-participants experimental design. We presented members of the British public (N = 213) with a vignette describing a hypothetical interaction between an offender and victim and asked them how serious they thought the offense was. They then reported their own gender. We found that abuse was considered more serious when the offender was male, or the observer was female. We also found a novel three-way interaction. Implications and future research directions are discussed

Open to Contact? Increased State Openness Can Lead to Greater Interest in Contact With Diverse Groups

Contact is a reliable method of prejudice reduction. However, individuals higher in prejudice are less interested in contact with diverse groups. This research investigates a novel method of encouraging interest in contact, particularly for those lower in the personality trait of Openness/Intellect, who tend to be higher in prejudice. Although long-term traits are relatively stable, momentary personality states show considerable within-person variation, and can be manipulated. In two experimental studies (total N = 687), we tested whether inducing higher state Openness would affect interest in contact. In Study 1, those lower in trait Openness/Intellect showed a positive indirect effect of condition on two outcome measures, via greater state Openness. In a larger sample with lower trait Openness/Intellect (Study 2), the indirect effect on the first outcome was replicated, regardless of disposition. The findings suggest that experiencing open states more frequently could encourage contact and lead to eventual reductions in prejudice

Brexit: The influence of motivation to respond without prejudice, willingness to disagree, and attitudes to immigration

Britain’s unexpected vote to leave the European Union (Brexit) in June 2016 has proved divisive and damaging both within the UK and internationally. Across two correlational studies the current research proposed a model to explain the Brexit vote, with attitudes to immigration and Willingness to Disagree (WD) as direct predictors of the referendum result, and internal (IMS) and external (EMS) motivation to respond without prejudice as indirect predictors. Study 1 (N = 353) and Study 2 (N = 363) both showed good fit with the model and respectively explained 48% and 46% of the referendum result. More positive attitudes to immigration predicted a vote to remain. Higher IMS and lower EMS predicted a vote to remain, fully mediated by attitudes to immigration. In Study 1, lower WD also predicted a vote to remain, both directly and indirectly via attitudes to immigration, although this was not replicated in Study 2. These results are discussed both in relation to the Brexit result, and the implications for motivation to respond without prejudice, willingness to disagree and political correctness more generally

Physical Activity Message Framing and Ethnicity Before and During COVID-19

People of Black ethnicities are well known to be disproportionately burdened by coronavirus and have poorer health outcomes. Public health messages encouraged physical activity during the pandemic as it is evidenced to positively affect the immune system, however people of Black ethnicities are often reported as failing to achieve the recommended daily amount. Health message framing during COVID-19 specifically in relation to ethnicity and physical activity motivation has yet to be investigated. Two studies examined message frame effect on physical activity motivation prior to and at the onset of the pandemic and how this differed by ethnicity. Gain framed messages were found to positively affect physical activity motivation pre-COVID-19 and during the pandemic fear framed messages were found to positively affect physical activity motivation. Neither of these effects differed by ethnicity. Implications for future physical activity health message framing are discussed

Does Contact Matter?: The Relative Importance of Contact in Predicting Anti-Gay Prejudice in Jamaica

Jamaica is seen as one the world’s most anti-gay countries. However, little empirical research has investigated methods of reducing this prejudice. Intergroup contact - (positive) interaction with someone from a different social group - is one of the most widely tested and strongly favoured methods of reducing prejudice. However, the role of contact in this specific context is not clear, particularly the relative importance of contact compared to other variables that predict (less) prejudice. This current cross-sectional research investigated that question using a large, representative sample of Jamaican participants (N = 942). As in prior research, contact predicted less anti-gay prejudice and the (negative) relationship between contact and anti-gay behaviours was mediated by intergroup anxiety and attitudes, even when other important predictors were taken into account. However, contact was a less important predictor than gender, education or religiosity. Implications for intergroup contact and prejudice-reduction strategies in Jamaica are discussed

Testing hypersensitive responses: Ethnic minorities are not more sensitive to microaggressions, they just experience them more frequently

Racial microaggressions have attracted significant empirical attention and have been associated with profound negative effects. However, some argue against the importance of microaggressions arguing that (some) responses to microaggressions merely reflect “hypersensitivity” to trivial events among certain ethnic minority individuals. Three studies tested this hypersensitivity hypothesis. In two cross-sectional studies with dissimilar samples (N1 = 130, N2 = 264), ethnic minorities reported experiencing more microaggressions than ethnic majorities did, and microaggressions predicted less life satisfaction. However, contrary to the hypersensitivity hypothesis, minority identity did not moderate this relationship. In a randomized, controlled experiment (N3 = 114), White and ethnic minority participants reported their positive and negative affect before and after recalling either a microaggression or a control event. Recalling microaggressions reduced positive affect and increased negative affect, but this was also not moderated by minority identity. Implications for the hypersensitivity hypothesis, and microaggressions research, are discussed