Social Identities of Clients and Therapists During the Mental Health Intake Predict Diagnostic Accuracy

Across countries, common mental disorders are often more prevalent and/or more persistent among disadvantaged members (e.g., ethnic minorities) compared with advantaged group members. Although these disparities constitute a heavy challenge to national health organizations, there is little empirical evidence to help account for the mechanism underlying them. In this study, conducted in clinics across Israel, we investigated processes, rooted in the clinical encounter that may contribute to mental health disparities. We focused on the accuracy of diagnostic decisions, which are likely to substantially impact the client’s prognosis. Therapists’ diagnostic decisions following the initial intake with their client were compared with independent structured diagnostic interview of the client. Results revealed that therapists were twice as likely to misdiagnose mental illness when their client was a member of a disadvantaged (relative to advantaged) group. Implications for the quality of mental health services that members of disadvantaged groups receive are discussed

How does intergroup contact affect social change? Its impact on collective action and individual mobility intentions among members of a disadvantaged group

A current debate surrounds the issue of whether prejudice-reducing interventions such as intergroup contact may reduce resistance to unequal intergroup relations among disadvantaged groups. Addressing this question, the present research investigates how positive contact with members of the advantaged group shapes action strategies to cope with disadvantage. Using survey data from a sample of Latino-Americans (N =112), structural equation modelling revealed that friendship contact with Anglo-Whites was overall negatively associated with interest in collective action. This relation was due to both reduced identification with the disadvantaged group and positive attitudes toward the advantaged group, which predicted reduced anger about inequality. Contact was also positively associated with an individual mobility orientation, a relation which was explained through increased perceived permeability. Individual mobility orientation did not, however, predict reduced motivation for collective action. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings for societal change and novel directions for future research are discussed.PostprintPeer reviewe

Views of sexual assault following #MeToo: The role of gender and individual differences

One way social movements can achieve change is through impacting public opinion, yet research testing effects of real-world collective action is scarce. In this research, we investigated both short and long-term impact of #MeToo, a global social media movement. We tracked changes in dismissal of sexual assault with self-report surveys among US participants recruited online across four waves of measurement (initial N approximate to 500): twice before #MeToo movement, at the peak of the #MeToo, and six-months later. We investigated whose attitudes will be most or least affected by the movement by considering individual differences pertaining to gender, gender and feminist identification, and social dominance orientation (SDO). Overall, dismissal of sexual assault reduced following #MeToo among both men and women, and this change persisted six-months later. This effect was moderated by SDO such that low-SDO men and high-SDO women showed the most reduction in dismissal of sexual assault. We did not find a backlash effect as would be suggested by prior work, or by vocal criticism of #MeToo. Potential explanation for SDO's unique influence and implication for social change efforts are discussed

The effect of moral loss and gain mindset on confronting racism

In the present research, we tested whether the prospect of moral failure or moral gain can motivate (some) people to confront racism. We investigated the influence of moral loss and moral gain mindset on people's tendency to contest racism as a function of their moral commitment to non-prejudice.Drawing on research on regulatory focus, we predicted that a moral loss mindset (vs. control) would increase confronting tendencies among those who are morally committed to non-prejudice (to safeguard their moral self-concept). A moral gain mindset (vs. control) was expected to increase confronting among those who are less committed to non-prejudice (to enhance their moral self-concept). In Experiment 1, participants were presented with racist scenarios. We varied the framing of moral considerations involved (loss vs. gain vs. control) and assessed confronting intentions. In Experiment 2, participants went through a moral mindset intervention. After a few days, using a behavioral paradigm, we tested their actual confronting during a racist situation. We found partial evidence to our predictions. Those highly committed to non-prejudice (as indicated by a measure of moral conviction in Experiment 1, but by a measure of moral identity in Experiment 2) were significantly more prone to confront in the loss mindset condition than in the control. Confronting in the gain condition was not significantly different than in the control condition at any level of moral commitment to non-prejudice. These findings suggest that a moral loss mindset intervention may be effectively used in promoting (some) people's tendency to speak up against racism

Intergroup emotions and gateway groups:Introducing multiple social identities into the study of emotions in conflict

After 2 decades of extensive empirical studies on affective intergroup processes, it is now clear that emotional processes play a critical role in the dynamics of intergroup conflict. However, it seems that much of the research in this domain views intergroup relations in a dichotomous manner of pure in‐groups and out‐groups despite the developments in the realm of social identity that suggest otherwise. We here suggest that the incorporation of more complex social identity models into the study of affective social science can not only help to better understand intergroup conflict dynamics but can also offer new possible venues for conflict resolution. Specifically, we claim that the presence of groups with multiple identities, which include both the in‐group's and the out‐group's identity (e.g., biracial groups that encompass both a White and a Black social identity) can impact intergroup emotional processes between the different groups comprising those multiple identities (e.g., between Whites and Blacks). Accordingly, we review recent developments in the literatures of emotion in intergroup conflict and multiple social identity and offer a conceptual integration of the two. Thus, we attempt to enrich the theory in both fields, better explain intergroup conflict, and possibly pave the way for the development of novel conflict resolution methods. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved

Research on gender bias receives less attention than research on other types of bias

Bias against women in academia is well-documented. Not only are female scientists underrepresented in academic institutions, particularly in higher ranks, but there are also certain studies that include only male participants, thereby producing biased knowledge. Magdalena Formanowicz, Aleksandra Cislak and Tamar Saguy have studied another form of gender bias among scientists: bias against research on gender bias. Research on gender bias is found to be funded less often and more likely to be published in journals widely considered to be less prestigious

Protest movements involving limited violence can sometimes be effective:Evidence from the 2020 BlackLivesMatter protests

SignificanceThe effects of recent protests for racial equality, particularly when they included violence, are currently of public and academic interest. To better understand these effects, we combine a dataset of all 2020 BlackLivesMatter protests with survey data containing measures of prejudice and support for police reform. Protests were not associated with reductions in prejudice, but were associated with increases in support for police reform. Specifically, a mix of nonviolent and violent protests was associated with an increase in police-reform support among conservatives living in liberal areas. This study highlights the importance of considering multiple measures of protest effectiveness and suggests that mass protest (including when it mixes nonviolence and violence) can be effective at advancing the movement's goals

Does crossing a moral line justify collective means? Explaining how a perceived moral violation triggers normative and nonnormative forms of collective action

In three studies conducted in the United States, we examined whether a perceived moral violation motivates willingness to engage in normative and more radical collective action. Using value-protection and identity-formation models, we explored whether increased endorsement of moral convictions and relevant opinion-based group identification could explain such effects. Study 1, using the “travel ban” for Muslims as the focal issue, experimentally found that a strong violation, compared to a weak violation, increased normative and nonnormative collective action, moral convictions and opinion-based group identification. Study 2 replicated these results in a longitudinal design and supported a mediating effect of increased endorsement of moral convictions and opinion-based group identity. Study 3 used a real-world violation (the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris climate agreements) to replicate the findings cross-sectionally. We conclude that a perceived moral violation motivates normative and nonnormative collective action because the violation makes one's moral conviction and opinion-based group identification more salient

When a Sense of "We" Is Lost:Investigating the Consequences of a Lost Common Identity Among Druze in Israel

Research shows that inclusive identities are effective for improving intergroup relations. Little work, however, asked what happens once a sense of common identity is formed, but then lost. Given increasing diversity and integration attempts that might fail, this question is realistic and timely. We studied a religious minority in Israel, Arab-Druze (N = 178), constituting 1.6% of the population. Druze have always had strong common ties with the Jewish majority, particularly younger Druze who serve in the Israeli army. We surveyed Druze in the aftermath of the nationality bill, which was considered by many to be highly exclusionary toward non-Jews. Drawing on research on minority exclusion, we expected that for younger Druze, a sense of common identity loss will predict radical forms of action. This was supported by our cross-sectional data and remained stable after controlling for more classic predictors of violent and nonviolent action

With or without you:The paradoxical role of identification in predicting joint and ingroup collective action in intergroup conflict

While we have a rich understanding of the motivations of disadvantaged group members to act collectively with their group, especially the important role played by identification, we know less about the disadvantaged's motivations to engage in joint action with the advantaged. This research examines the role of identification in predicting joint and ingroup collective action in intergroup conflicts. Since joint action inherently diffuses the perception of "us versus them", we propose that identification predicts ingroup action, but not joint action. We also examine conflict intensity as a moderator, and examine how changing identification is linked to change in support for joint action. We test these hypotheses in a three-wave longitudinal study in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Results support our hypotheses, demonstrating that identification positively predicts ingroup action but not necessarily joint action, and that when conflict intensifies, changes in identification are negatively related to joint action with outgroup members