Perceptual harmony in judgments of group prototypicality and intragroup respect

We test common sense psychology of intragroup relations whereby people assume that intragroup respect and ingroup prototypicality are positively related. In Study 1a, participants rated a group member as more prototypical if they learned that group member was highly respected rather than disrespected. In Study 1b, participants rated a group member as more respected by other group members if they learned that group member was prototypical rather than unprototypical. As a commonsense psychology of groups, we reasoned that the perceived relationship between prototypicality and intragroup respect would be stronger for cohesive groups compared to incohesive groups. The effect of intragroup respect on perceptions of prototypicality (Study 2a & 2c) and the effect of prototypicality on perceptions of intragroup respect (Study 2b) were generally stronger for participants considering cohesive groups relative to incohesive groups. However, the interaction effect of prototypicality and group cohesion on intragroup respect did fail to replicate in Study 2d. In Studies 3, 4a, and 4b we manipulated the relationship between prototypicality and intragroup respect and found that when these variables were in perceptual harmony participants perceived groups as more cohesive. The results of eight out of nine studies conducted are consistent with the prediction that people make inferences about intragroup respect, prototypicality, and group cohesion in a manner that maintains perceptual harmony

Some dare call it conspiracy:Labeling something a conspiracy theory does not reduce belief in it.

“Conspiracy theory” is widely acknowledged to be a loaded term. Politicians use it to mock and dismiss allegations against them, while philosophers and political scientists warn that it could be used as a rhetorical weapon to pathologize dissent. In two empirical studies conducted on Amazon Mechanical Turk, I present an initial examination of whether this concern is justified. In Experiment 1, 150 participants judged a list of historical and speculative theories to be no less likely when they were labeled “conspiracy theories” than when they were labeled “ideas.” In Experiment 2 (N5802), participants who read a news article about fictitious “corruption allegations” endorsed those allegations no more than participants who saw them labeled “conspiracy theories.” The lack of an effect of the conspiracy-theory label in both experiments was unexpected and may be due to a romanticized image of conspiracy theories in popular media or a dilution of the term to include mundane speculation regarding corruption and political intrigue

Correction: Having a Lot of a Good Thing: Multiple Important Group Memberships as a Source of Self-Esteem

This is the final version of the article. Available from Public Library of Science via the DOI in this record.This is the correction to Jetten J, Branscombe NR, Haslam SA, Haslam C, Cruwys T, Jones JM, et al. (2015) Having a Lot of a Good Thing: Multiple Important Group Memberships as a Source of Self-Esteem. PLoS ONE 10(5): e0124609. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0124609The original article for which this is the correction is in ORE at http://hdl.handle.net/10871/26622

Intergroup helping in response to separatism

Despite its prevalence and widespread media coverage, separatism as a phenomenon is barely covered in psychological investigations, and the majority's response to separatism has been completely ignored. We present two studies in which we investigated the notion that separatist movements threaten the continuation of the national identity, as well as the nation's economic position. Moreover, we hypothesized and found that members of the majority group respond to continuation threat by supporting government measures to help the separatist group. Javanese students who were induced to believe that existing separatist movements in West Papua (Study 1, N = 322) or Aceh (Study 2, N = 180) were currently increasing their efforts to gain independence were more willing to support these groups than participants who believed these movements were dormant. Moreover, this effect was mediated by continuation threat but not economic threat. These results demonstrate the possibility of a peaceful response to separatism threat. © 2013 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc

Cryptic bacterial pathogens of diatoms peak during senescence of a winter diatom bloom.

This is the final version. Available from Wiley via the DOI in this record.Data availability: Sequence data of bacterial strains isolated during this study are deposited in NCBI GenBank with accession nos.: OR776937– OR776933.Diatoms are globally abundant microalgae that form extensive blooms in aquatic ecosystems. Certain bacteria behave antagonistically towards diatoms, killing or inhibiting their growth. Despite their crucial implications to diatom bloom and population health, knowledge of diatom antagonists in the environment is fundamentally lacking. We report systematic characterisation of the diversity and seasonal dynamics of bacterial antagonists of diatoms via plaque assay sampling in the Western English Channel, where diatoms frequently bloom. Unexpectedly, peaks in detection did not occur during characteristic spring diatom blooms, but coincided with a winter bloom of Coscinodiscus, suggesting that these bacteria likely influence distinct diatom host populations. We isolated multiple bacterial antagonists, spanning 4 classes and 10 bacterial orders. Notably, a diatom attaching Roseobacter Ponticoccus alexandrii was isolated multiple times, indicative of a persistent environmental presence. Moreover, many isolates had no prior reports of antagonistic activity towards diatoms. We verified diatom growth inhibitory effects of eight isolates. In all cases tested, these effects were activated by pre-exposure to diatom organic matter. Discovery of widespread 'cryptic' antagonistic activity indicates that bacterial pathogenicity towards diatoms is more prevalent than previously recognised. Finally, examination of the global biogeography of WEC antagonists revealed co-occurrence patterns with diatom host populations in marine waters globally.Natural Environment Research CouncilNatural Environment Research CouncilNatural Environment Research Counci

Will opposites attract? Similarities and differences in students' perceptions of the stereotype profiles of other health and social care professional groups

The extent to which health and social care (HSC) students hold stereotypical views of other HSC professional groups is of great potential importance to team working in health care. This paper explores students' perceptions of different HSC professional groups at the beginning of their university programmes. Findings are presented from an analysis of baseline data collected as part of the New Generation Project longitudinal cohort study which is assessing the impact of interprofessional education over time on a range of variables including stereotyping. Questionnaires were administered to a cohort of over 1200 students from 10 different HSC professional groups entering their first year of university. Stereotypes were measured using a tool adapted from Barnes et al. (2000) designed to elicit stereotype ratings on a range of nine characteristics. The findings confirm that students arrive at university with an established and consistent set of stereotypes about other health and social care professional groups. Stereotypical profiles were compiled for each professional group indicating the distinctive characteristics of the groups as well as the similarities and differences between groups. Midwives, social workers and nurses were rated most highly on interpersonal skills and on being a team player whilst doctors were rated most highly on academic ability. Doctors, midwives and social workers were perceived as having the strongest leadership role, whilst doctors were also rated most highly on decision making. All professions were rated highly on confidence and professional competence and, with the exception of social workers, on practical skills. A comparison of profiles for each professional group reveals that, for example, pharmacists and doctors were perceived as having very similar characteristics as were social workers, midwives and nurses. However, the profiles of nurses and doctors were perceived to be very different. The implications of these similarities and differences are discussed in terms of their potential impact on interprofessional interactions, role boundaries and team working

Identity threat and identity multiplicity among minority youth: Longitudinal relations of perceived discrimination with ethnic, religious, and national identification in Germany

The notion that ethnic and religious minority identities are inherently incompatible with the national identities of European immigrant‐receiving societies is popular in public discourse. Although findings documenting such negative associations seemingly support this claim, other research shows that the intergroup context matters for the extent to which minorities’ ethnic and religious identities are conflicting (i.e., negatively associated) or compatible (i.e., positively associated) with European national identities. However, previous research relied on cross‐sectional data and therefore could not capture the dynamic process through which minority youth come to develop compatible or conflicting identification patterns. We extend this work with a longitudinal approach by capturing developmental trajectories of identity multiplicity among ethnic minority early adolescents in Germany over three waves with 9‐month intervals. At each measurement point, participants reported their ethnic, religious, and (German) national identification and their experiences with discriminatory treatment. We estimate a cross‐lagged panel model to study how identification relates to perceived discrimination and how this affects (changes in) associations between ethnic, religious, and national identification of minority youth. Our results show prevalent positive associations between ethnic, religious, and national identification across minority youth in the sample. Those who report more frequent discrimination, however, lower their (German) national identification over time, which in turn predicts increased minority identification. We conclude that identity threat indeed triggers a development of more conflicting identification patterns

Cryptic bacterial pathogens of diatoms peak during senescence of a winter diatom bloom

Summary Diatoms are globally abundant microalgae that form extensive blooms in aquatic ecosys-tems. Certain bacteria behave antagonistically towards diatoms, killing or inhibiting theirgrowth. Despite their crucial implications to diatom bloom and population health, knowledgeof diatom antagonists in the environment is fundamentally lacking. We report systematic characterisation of the diversity and seasonal dynamics of bacterialantagonists of diatoms via plaque assay sampling in the Western English Channel, where dia-toms frequently bloom. Unexpectedly, peaks in detection did not occur during characteristicspring diatom blooms, but coincided with a winter bloom ofCoscinodiscus, suggesting thatthese bacteria likely influence distinct diatom host populations. We isolated multiple bacterial antagonists, spanning 4 classes and 10 bacterial orders. Nota-bly, a diatom attaching RoseobacterPonticoccus alexandriiwas isolated multiple times, indi-cative of a persistent environmental presence. Moreover, many isolates had no prior reportsof antagonistic activity towards diatoms. We verified diatom growth inhibitory effects of eightisolates. In all cases tested, these effects were activated by pre-exposure to diatom organicmatter. Discovery of widespread ‘cryptic’ antagonistic activity indicates that bacterial patho-genicity towards diatoms is more prevalent than previously recognised. Finally, examination of the global biogeography of WEC antagonists revealed co-occurrence patterns with diatom host populations in marine waters globally

Cryptic bacterial pathogens of diatoms peak during senescence of a winter diatom bloom

Diatoms are globally abundant microalgae that form extensive blooms in aquatic ecosystems. Certain bacteria behave antagonistically towards diatoms, killing or inhibiting their growth. Despite their crucial implications to diatom bloom and population health, knowledge of diatom antagonists in the environment is fundamentally lacking. We report systematic characterisation of the diversity and seasonal dynamics of bacterial antagonists of diatoms via plaque assay sampling in the Western English Channel, where diatoms frequently bloom. Unexpectedly, peaks in detection did not occur during characteristic spring diatom blooms, but coincided with a winter bloom of Coscinodiscus, suggesting that these bacteria likely influence distinct diatom host populations. We isolated multiple bacterial antagonists, spanning 4 classes and 10 bacterial orders. Notably, a diatom attaching Roseobacter Ponticoccus alexandrii was isolated multiple times, indicative of a persistent environmental presence. Moreover, many isolates had no prior reports of antagonistic activity towards diatoms. We verified diatom growth inhibitory effects of eight isolates. In all cases tested, these effects were activated by pre-exposure to diatom organic matter. Discovery of widespread ‘cryptic’ antagonistic activity indicates that bacterial pathogenicity towards diatoms is more prevalent than previously recognised. Finally, examination of the global biogeography of WEC antagonists revealed co-occurrence patterns with diatom host populations in marine waters globally