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Sri Lankan Tamil refugees (SLTRs) have lived in the United Kingdom in substantial numbers for about three decades. However, they remain under-represented in academic and public discourse, and little is known about their migration experiences. This study examined first-hand accounts of such experiences, with special attention paid to identity and acculturation. Data were collected through four semi-structured interviews and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The results suggest that SLTRs' experience of conflict as an imposed life disruption continues to shape their adaptation, identity, and meaning-making ("Afflicted life"). Changing social identities mediate protection from, as well as risk of, trauma. SLTRs try to remedy the socio-economic and emotional losses suffered in the conflict, but achieve only a partial compensation. Consequently their repair efforts are a source not only of positive emotions but also of dissatisfaction ("Living past"). Finally, participants' sense of belonging and quest for home represent a challenging socio-emotional process in which they continue to engage even decades after migration ("Continuing quest for home"). This nuanced analysis of how the past continues to shape lived experience, contributes to the under-developed literature on qualitative psychological investigations of acculturation, research on forced migration, and the establishment of IPA in social psychology., (© 2024 The Authors. British Journal of Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society.)

While attention has been given to understanding support for the far‐right, there is a lack of focus on the way in which a threat of the far‐right can be used for political ends. This paper addresses this using the UK Brexit debate as an illustration. The question therefore is: What is talk about the far‐right used to do in discussions about Brexit? A discursive psychological approach addresses a sample of newspaper reports containing both 'Far‐Right' and 'Brexit', from the first quarter of 2019 (n = 45). The analysis identifies a range of uses of talk about the far‐right: (1) An opponent of Brexit is called a Nazi by pro‐Brexit protesters, who are labelled far‐right; (2) A lack of Brexit is presented as fuel for the far‐right; (3) Remain supporters reject the idea that a lack of Brexit fuels the far‐right; (4) A link with the far‐right is rejected by a prominent Brexit supporter; and (5) Support for Brexit is again linked with the far‐right. The far‐right can be used as a strategic tool by opposing sides of the Brexit debate and – significantly – the supposed threat of the far‐right can be used to placate far‐right ideas, rather than to genuinely challenge them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents two cross‐sectional survey studies, both conducted in Britain, which focus on how different cultural identities are managed in multicultural settings. Specifically, the studies explored the extent to which essentialism moderates the perceived compatibility of acculturation orientations, heritage culture maintenance and majority culture adoption. In study 1, participants (N = 198) were Somali minority members living in the UK. It was found when minority members essentialized Britishness themselves, and when they perceived that British people essentialized Britishness, they saw a desire to maintain the culture of origin and a desire adopt the majority culture as conflicting with each other. In study 2, participants (N = 200) were white British majority members living in the UK. Findings showed that when white British majority members essentialized Britishness, they too perceived the two acculturation preferences as being incompatible with each other. Taken together, these studies show that essentializing British identity can lead to a view that the majority and minority cultures are mutually exclusive. Implications for intergroup relations and integration into British society are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to contribute to the growing band of constructionist approaches within the field of identity studies (Wetherell & Moharty, 2010). First, it will review the developments that have taken place since the emergence of these approaches in the 1980s, identifying a state of fragmentation into local discursive, political-moral, and psychosocial levels of analysis. Second, and in order to challenge this fragmentation, it will present a rhetorical psychological (Billig, 1987, 1999a) analysis of the classic exchange of public letters between Israeli historian of Judaism Gershom Scholem and American political theorist Hannah Arendt in the wake of the latter's book Eichmann in Jerusalem (Arendt, 1994a). The analysis will proceed from local discursive action, through political-moral frameworks, to the nature of the writers' investment in these constructions. It will show that while the participants' implicitly occasioning of extreme identity categories (such as the 'Jewish anti-Semite' and the totalitarian-style religious Zionist ideologue) is a function of apparently incommensurable political-moral discourses, the nature of investment into such constructions may be understood in a mutual commitment to the absolute inalienability of Jewishness. Third, therefore, the paper will conclude that, rather than constituting separate 'levels', local discursive action, political-moral intelligibilities, and psychosocial qualities are mutually constitutive of each other. It is only through recognizing their inter-dependent nature that the complexity of identity may properly be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyse the conditions under which the COVID‐19 pandemic will lead either to social order (adherence to measures put in place by authorities to control the pandemic) or to social disorder (resistance to such measures and the emergence of open conflict). Using examples from different countries (principally the United Kingdom, the United States, and France), we first isolate three factors which determine whether people accept or reject control measures. These are the historical context of state‐public relations, the nature of leadership during the pandemic and procedural justice in the development and operation of these measures. Second, we analyse the way the crisis is policed and how forms of policing determine whether dissent will escalate into open conflict. We conclude by considering the prospects for order/disorder as the pandemic unfolds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper outlines a perspective on Milgram's obedience experiments informed by rhetorical psychology. This perspective is demonstrated through a qualitative analysis of audio recordings and transcripts from two of Milgram's experimental conditions: 'voice-feedback' and 'women as subjects'. Analysis draws attention to the way in which participants could draw the experimenter into a process of negotiation over the continuation of the experimental session, something which could lead to quite radical departures from the standardized experimental procedure, and points to the ineffectiveness of Milgram's fourth prod (You have no other choice, you must go on). These observations are discussed in terms of their implications for theory and research on dis/obedience, with a specific focus on the concepts of choice and agency and the nature and meaning of dis/obedience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the progress of discourse-analytic approaches in social psychology from the late 1980s to the present day, with a particular focus on the way conceptual and methodological contributions from within the Discourse and Rhetoric Group at Loughborough University have negotiated a positive role for innovative studies of language in the discipline of psychology. Social psychology has become a key site for the accumulation of a series of empirical studies that have seen the flourishing of a distinctive form of 'discursive social psychology' that has succeeded in moving from the margins of the discipline to a more accepted position. The paper traces this trajectory of discourse analysis from the limits to the centre of social psychology attending to five features that now characterise its contribution to psychology; an emphasis on everyday conversation, a concern with interpersonal interaction, explication of formal sequences; an insistence on empirical claims; and fidelity to the ethos of its host discipline. The paper concludes with some comments on the wider context of this new approach inside psychology today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses critical discursive psychology to examine expressions of dissatisfaction and complaint by people with learning disabilities. UK government policies stress that people with learning disabilities should have more control over their lives. Expressing dissatisfaction about services is an important aspect of this process. However, given that such individuals are often treated as incompetent, and given the delicate nature of complaining about services one might rely on for day-to-day support, this can be difficult to do. In building complaints, speakers drew on repertoires about competence and incompetence, the right to free choice as a principle, and tempered dissatisfaction to make contrasts between good and bad supporters and practice. While the complaints show many of the general features of complaints identified in previous work in the general population, they were crafted to the particular institutional context of social care, and attended both explicitly and implicitly to the particular issues of competence, power, and authority found in those services. Speakers positioned themselves as competent, and service workers as more or less competent in their roles. Issues of power in social care services were observed explicitly in the accounts, whereby people described staff as controlling and it being difficult to voice dissatisfaction. They were also implicit in the way speakers drew on the others with institutional authority for corroboration and comparison. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does money buy happiness? Or is happiness derived from looking outwards towards our social networks? Many researchers have answered these questions by exploring whether the best predictor of well-being is either economic or social (or some fixed combination of the two). This paper argues for a dynamic perspective on the capacity for economic and social factors to predict well-being. In two studies, we show that both money (individual income) and community (social capital) can be the basis for individual happiness. However, the relative influence of each factor depends on the context within which happiness is considered, and how this shapes the way people define the self. Study 1 primes either money or community in the laboratory and demonstrates that such priming shifts individual values (so that they are economic vs. communal) and determines the extent to which income is more (vs. less) predictive of life satisfaction than social relations. Study 2 looks at these same priming processes in the external world (with people travelling to vs. from work). Both studies show that while money can become the basis of happiness when the self is defined in economic terms, the role of community relations in predicting happiness is more stable across contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-categorization theory suggests that inter-group comparisons inform individual behaviour by affecting perceived in-group stereotypes that are internalized by group members. The present paper provides evidence for this chain of effects in the domain of environmental behaviour. In two studies, inter-group comparative context was manipulated. Study 1 found that the perceived in-group stereotype, self-stereotype (as represented by the reported value centrality), and behavioural intentions shifted away from a comparison out-group (irrespective of whether this was an upward or downward comparison). Study 1 also revealed that the effect of comparative context on individual environmental intentions was mediated by the perceived in-group stereotype and by changes in personal values. Study 2 extrapolated the observed effect on actual behavioural choices. The findings demonstrate the utility of a self-categorization approach to individual behaviour change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers one theme in the contemporary legacy of Potter and Wetherell's (1987) Discourse and Social Psychology. It overviews the context that led to that book and considers a series of critical responses from both experimental and critical/qualitative social psychologists. It refutes criticisms and corrects confusions. Focusing on contemporary discursive psychology, it highlights (a) its rigorous use of records of actual behaviour; (b) its systematic focus on normative practices. In methodological terms, it (a) highlights limitations in the use of open-ended interviews; (b) considers the way naturalistic materials provide access to participants' own orientations and displays; (c) builds a distinctive logic of sampling and generalization. In theoretical terms, it (a) highlights the way discourse work can identify foundational psychological matters; (b) offers a novel approach to emotion and embodiment; (c) starts to build a matrix of dimensions which are central to the constructing and recognizing of different kinds of social actions. It now offers a fully formed alternative social psychology which coordinates theory and method and a growing body of empirical work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on the concept of ideological dilemmas in order to explore how a sample of young people constructed potentially contrary themes of liberal citizenship in discussions of un/employment. The study took place in the context of recent policy developments in the UK which have sought to place a renewed emphasis upon notions of responsible citizenship in relation to both welfare and education policy. A total of 58 participants were interviewed in 24 semi-structured group interviews. In response to direct questions on un/employment, participants could resolve dilemmas concerning welfare rights and the responsibility to contribute to society by emphasizing a criterion of effortfulness, thereby adopting a primarily individualistic explanation of unemployment. In other contexts however, this could be replaced by an emphasis on social explanations of unemployment. In particular, participants could treat immigration as a cause of unemployment. These findings are interpreted in terms of people's capacity to construct rhetorical strategies based upon different ideological themes in particular contexts. They are discussed in relation to previous research on social policy discourse and recent debates regarding the appropriateness of seeking to identify ideological themes in discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers recent large-scale changes in British politics from the standpoint of a detailed examination of the practical dilemmas, concerning political identity, faced by local politicians in their talk about politics. It seeks to examine the social-psychological significance of a shift which has meant that politics, while continuing to be characterized by formal division, has begun to extensively reflect the influence of an ideology of anti-ideology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The moral foundations theory (MFT) is an influential multifactorial model that posits how decision-making in the moral context originates from a set of six intuitive moral foundations: care, fairness, authority, loyalty, purity, and liberty. The established measure of these foundations-the Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ)-has been used extensively in a range of empirical projects. However, recent analyses of its factor structure and the internal consistency of each of the foundation clusters have called its validity into question. In this paper, data from a large sample of British voters were used to re-examine the factor structure of the MFQ. As opposed to a 6-factor structure, only three meaningful clusters emerged in an exploratory principal factors analysis (Study 1; N = 428): traditionalism, compassion, and liberty. This structure was broadly confirmed in an independent sample (Study 2; N = 322). Concurrent validity was established via correlations with measures of 'social change' and 'systemic inequality' insecurities (Study 1) and voting behaviour and preferences (Study 2). Significant differences on each of the three factors of the revised MFQ (MFQ-r) were observed between the voters of different political parties (Study 1) and sides of the Brexit issue (Study 2). Implications for moral foundations theory and its measurement are discussed., (© 2021 The Authors. British Journal of Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society.)

Previous studies show that the effects of (non‐transparent) nudges can spill over to later similar decisions without nudges. In the current study, we aimed to determine whether such nudge temporal spillover effects are affected by making nudges transparent. The latter is recommended to (partly) mitigate ethical concerns surrounding the use of nudges. In two experiments, we nudged participants to complete a longer version of a survey. Participants were randomly assigned to either a control, a non‐disclosed nudge (using a default to promote taking the longer survey) condition or a disclosed nudge (in which the use of the default nudge was explained) condition. In both Study 1 (N = 1270) and Study 2 (N = 1258) we observed a temporal spillover effect of the disclosed nudge, suggesting that transparency does not negatively affect the temporal spillover effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholarly interest in the experience of dehumanization, the perception that one is being dehumanized, has increased significantly in recent years, yet the construct lacks a validated measurement. The purpose of this research is therefore to develop and validate a theoretically grounded experience of dehumanization measurement (EDHM) using item response theory. Evidence from five studies using data collected from participants in the United Kingdom (N = 2082) and Spain (N = 1427), shows that (a) a unidimensional structure replicates and fits well; (b) the measurement demonstrates high precision and reliability across a broad range of the latent trait; (c) the measurement demonstrates evidence for nomological and discriminant validity with constructs in the experience of dehumanization nomological network; (d) the measurement is invariant across gender and cultures; (e) the measurement demonstrates incremental validity in the prediction of important outcomes over and above conceptually overlapping constructs and prior measurements. Overall, our findings suggest the EDHM is a psychometrically sound measurement that can advance research relating to the experience of dehumanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Britain's unexpected vote to leave the European Union (Brexit) in June 2016 has proved divisive and damaging both within the United Kingdom 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, WD, and political correctness more generally., (© 2020 The Authors. British Journal of Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society.)

Political apologies have been theorized to play an important role in healing and reconciliation processes in post‐conflict settings. Whether they actually fulfil this function, however, remains unclear as the voices and perspectives of victim communities have largely been underrepresented in research. To address this, we examined the role of apologies that were offered for the El Mozote massacre (El Salvador), the Jeju 4.3 massacres (Republic of Korea) and Bloody Sunday (United Kingdom), according to members of these communities and the broader public. Although we anticipated that victim community members should find the apology more valuable and meaningful and should, therefore, be more positive about its role in healing and reconciliation processes, we found that this varies across countries. This variation could be explained by people's trust in the country's institutions. Across the samples, we found that the apology was seen as a relatively important gesture. For the apology to be perceived as impactful, however, it had to be seen as a meaningful (i.e. sincere) gesture. Our findings suggest that apologies have a role to play in the aftermath of human rights violations, but that it is essential to take the broader context into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loneliness is a rapidly growing problem globally and has attracted a great deal of attention in light of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Young adults, and in particular, those residing in deprived areas are currently the loneliest group in the United Kingdom. Utilizing a novel‐free association technique, young adults' experiences of loneliness were explored both prior to (n = 48) and during (n = 35) the COVID‐19 pandemic. Drawing on social representations theory, a thematic analysis revealed that many young adults associated the experience of loneliness with their homes. Therefore, this comparative study aims to investigate how the home features in young adults' representations of loneliness, prior to and during the COVID‐19 pandemic using a systematic qualitative methodology. Three salient themes emerged from the data in both periods: 'The Lonely Home,' 'The Socially Connected Home' and 'The Safe, Peaceful, Authentic Home'. 'The Lonely Home' and 'The Socially Connected Home' emerged as a dialogical antimony. Representations of home were similar across the two periods; however, there were some notable differences. In particular, the themes 'The Socially Connected Home' and 'The Safe, Peaceful, Authentic Home' were less frequently mentioned by the during‐COVID‐19 sample where the 'The Lonely Home' was more frequently mentioned by the during‐COVID‐19 sample. Overall, discussion of the home was more negatively valenced in the during‐COVID‐19 sample compared to the pre‐COVID‐19 sample. This comparative, exploratory study alerts us to the nature of the role that home plays in exacerbating or ameliorating loneliness both prior to and during the COVID‐19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People across the world have responded to the pandemic by mobilizing and organizing to support their communities, setting up mutual aid groups to provide practical, financial, and social support. Mutual aid means short‐term 'crisis response' for some, while for other groups, it is a chance to radically restructure society, and what it means to be a member of that society. Drawing on social representations theory and previous work on citizenship in social and political psychology, we examined the ways in which mutual aid was understood and performed by members of UK Covid‐19 mutual aid groups. We conducted 29 interviews with members of these groups in May/June 2020. A reflexive thematic analysis showed that mutual aid groups were characterized as complex, efficient, and non‐hierarchical units, operating on the principles of solidarity, kindness, and trust. Two tensions were evident in the data, specifically between (1) collaboration with existing organizations and structures (e.g., local government and the police), and resistance to it and (2) maximizing group inclusivity and sustaining political critique. Findings are discussed in relation to existing theoretical and empirical work on citizenship and mutual aid groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the possession of instrumentality (i.e., partner B being useful to partner A's goal pursuit) can facilitate relationship satisfaction, taking an instrumental approach (i.e., A focusing on B's usefulness and seeing B as a tool to facilitate personal goal attainment) is (often) considered as a callous and depersonalized approach to forming relationships. The current research examined whether adopting an exchange orientation amplifies the tendency for people to take an instrumental approach via the motive to maximize self‐gain. Four studies (N = 1446) utilizing samples across different countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States and China, supported this hypothesis. Specifically, during relationship initiation, an exchange (vs. non‐exchange) orientation made participants place higher importance on instrumentality rather than traits facilitating intimacy and bonding (Study 1). For established relationships, participants who chronically adopted an exchange orientation (Study 2) and who were temporarily induced to do so (vs. control; Study 3) were more likely to view their significant other as a tool. The final quasi‐experiment (Study 4) showed that requiring or being required to offer a bride price – an embodiment of exchange orientation – predicted instrumentality in marriage and subsequently impaired relationship satisfaction. Implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across two studies, we investigated gender stereotype knowledge and endorsement in UK schoolchildren, and their impact on academic subject choice. In Study 1, children aged 9–11 (N = 68) and 13–15 (N = 61) completed a newly developed Gender Attribute scale assessing their knowledge and endorsement of gender stereotypes relating to academic subjects and occupations. Participants demonstrated gender stereotype knowledge and endorsement, although significantly higher knowledge than endorsement scores indicated a level of stereotype rejection. Stereotype knowledge was greater in the older age group, and older girls showed significantly higher levels of stereotype rejection than all other groups. In Study 2, children aged 13–15 (N = 165) completed the Gender Attribute scale and provided information on their school subject choices. Patterns of stereotype knowledge and endorsement followed those of Study 1. Subject choice information showed that boys selected significantly more masculine than feminine subjects, while girls chose a similar proportion of each. Further, boys' level of gender stereotype endorsement predicted their subject choices, while girls' did not. We suggest that in contemporary UK some progress is being made in relation to girls challenging stereotypes that work against them but that more work is needed to encourage boys into female‐dominated disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to explore everyday thinking about the UK electricity network, in light of government policy to increase the generation of electricity from renewable energy sources. Existing literature on public perceptions of electricity network technologies was broadened by adopting a more socially embedded conception of the construction of knowledge using the theory of social representations (SRT) to explore symbolic associations with network technologies. Drawing and association tasks were administered within nine discussion groups held in two places: a Scottish town where significant upgrades to the local transmission network were planned and an English city with no such plans. Our results illustrate the ways in which network technologies, such as high voltage (HV) pylons, are objectified in talk and drawings. These invoked positive as well as negative symbolic and affective associations, both at the level of specific pylons, and the `National Grid' as a whole and are anchored in understanding of other networks such as mobile telecommunications. We conclude that visual methods are especially useful for exploring beliefs about technologies that are widespread, proximal to our everyday experience but nevertheless unfamiliar topics of everyday conversation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much research in intergroup relations concerns the potential for interventions (e.g. intergroup contact) to reduce majorities' discrimination against minorities. In this paper we focus on how minority group members construe such interventions, especially as they affect their abilities to act in terms of their collective identity to realize social change. In addressing this issue, we focus on a minority's beliefs and theories concerning the intergroup dynamics lying behind their marginalization. Our data are qualitative and concern British Muslims' analyses of the dynamics of Islamophobia. Specifically, we explore two theorizations of Muslims' marginalization. Both share a concern with improving Muslims' collective position in Britain. However, they construe the dynamics to Islamophobia in very different ways, and this shapes their approach to intergroup contact and dialogue. Our analysis is informed by, and seeks to complement, social psychological theorizing on social change and intergroup contact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical Race Theory (CRT) suggests psychology's contribution to racism takes various forms. Abstractly, racism is promoted through psychology's flawed theoretical conceptualization as an individualized, inevitable occurrence. Concretely, it occurs because psychology is one of the most popular reasons students come to university and Black Asian and Minoritized Ethnic (BAME) students report racist harassment and less access to formal support whilst there. This racism and student‐proposed anti‐racist recommendations are often ignored. Concretely assessing what racism students face, assessing how students understand racism, and demonstrating student support for anti‐racist recommendations, are CRT‐informed methods of challenging university racism. White (n = 213) and BAME (n = 182) UK students were asked about their estimation of racism, any positive action and discrimination experienced, and their access to university support. Participants were also randomized into multiple conditions where five anti‐racist recommendations were proposed (by Professors N. Patel, R. Smith, or no one). Participant consensus was found in high racism estimations, in benefiting from similar positive actions and in accessing four types of university support. However, White students underestimated racism more so, received less discrimination, and reported more access to three university support types. Almost all participants supported the recommendations regardless of proposer. These results suggest the implementation of anti‐racist recommendations converges with university's interests as student stakeholder support them. Psychologists in universities can advocate for these recommendations and take other anti‐racist actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of shared identity in predicting both ingroup helping behaviour and adherence to protective norms during COVID‐19 has been extensively theorized, but remains largely under‐investigated. We build upon previous Social Identity research into community resilience by testing the role of pre‐existing local community (or 'neighbourhood') identity as a predictor of these outcomes, via the mediator of perceived social support. Community residents in the UK completed a longitudinal online survey four months before lockdown (T1; N = 253), one month before lockdown (T2; N = 217), and two months into lockdown (T3; N = 149). The cross‐lagged panel analysis shows that T1 community identification predicts T3 giving and receiving of pandemic‐related support, and that these effects occur via the perception of community support at the second time point (while the alternative pathway from T1 support via T2 identification is non‐significant). Moreover, we show that T1 community identification also directly predicts lockdown adherence at T3. Our findings point to the pivotal role played by community identity in effective behavioural responses to the pandemic, and the need to support and foster community development to facilitate local community resilience as the crisis continues to unfold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Levels of loneliness across the world have reached epidemic proportions, and their impact upon population health is increasingly apparent. In response, policies and initiatives have attempted to reduce loneliness by targeting social isolation among residents of local communities. Yet, little is known about the social psychological processes underpinning the relationships between community belonging, loneliness, and well‐being. We report three studies which apply the Social Identity Approach to Health to examine the mechanisms underpinning the relationships between community identity, health, and loneliness. Hypotheses were tested through secondary analyses of the 2014–2015 UK Community Life Survey (N = 4,314) as well as bespoke household surveys in a more (N = 408) and less (N = 143) affluent community at high risk of loneliness. Studies 1 and 2a demonstrated that the relationship between community identification and well‐being was mediated by increased social support and reduced loneliness. In Study 2b, community identification predicted well‐being through reduced loneliness, but not through social support. Our results are the first to evidence these relationships and suggest that community‐level interventions that enhance community identification and peer support can promote a potential Social Cure for loneliness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been shown that disadvantaged groups who endorse system‐justifying beliefs tend to internalize their state of inferiority by expressing ingroup derogation and opposing collective action for change. In the present research, we recruited women – as disadvantaged group – from different countries (the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy) and examined whether their moral conviction against gender inequality, as an absolute stance that does not tolerate any violation, may interact with and overpower system‐justifying beliefs. Results from three studies provided support for our hypotheses. First, when women held strong moral conviction, they expressed higher identification with their disadvantaged ingroup and, in turn, higher collective action intentions, independent of system‐justifying beliefs. Second, when women held weak moral conviction, higher system‐justifying beliefs reduced women's ingroup identification and, in turn, undermined their collective action intentions. This support is found across different contexts of gender inequality (the gender leadership gap, the gender pay gap, and the gender power imbalance), using different methodological approaches (online survey, online experiment, laboratory experiment). Implications, limits, and future directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social support and an emerging sense of community are common in flooding, but postflood group dynamics have not been fully addressed. In the context of a flooded community, we explore how social identification with one's community emerges and affects well‐being, collective efficacy, and social support. Results from a quantitative survey show that social identification was positively associated with common fate, collective efficacy, and well‐being through residents' expectations of support and shared goals. Importantly, social identification and disaster exposure interacted: For flooded residents, observing support was associated with providing support regardless of levels of social identification. For unaffected residents there was no association between observed and provided support, regardless of levels of social identification. However, for indirectly affected residents observing support was associated to providing support but only when they highly identified with the community. We argue that structural factors should also be considered when exploring the effects of group membership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evidence that social relationships are associated with well‐being is so strong that it is taken as a 'fact' (Kushlev et al., 2018, Journal of Research in Personality, 74, 124). The bulk of the existing evidence derives from research examining social relationships with close others, such as family, romantic partners, and friends (Dolan et al., 2008, Journal Economic Psychology, 29, 94; Li & Kanazawa, 2016, British Journal of Psychology, 107, 675). However, less is known about how connecting with strangers is associated with well‐being, how such connections are represented by people, and what motivates people's desire to connect with strangers. This study aims to examine representations and motivations for social connectedness with strangers in contemporary British cities. To do this, an interview study of 52 city‐dwellers living in Britain's two largest cities, London and Birmingham, was conducted. The Grid Elaboration Method (GEM) (Joffe & Elsey, 2014, Reviewof General Psychology, 18, 173), a free association and interview technique, was applied. Thematic analysis revealed that representations of strangers vacillate between 'good' and 'bad', are built upon the 'self/other' thema, are shaped by the contextual factors place, time, and technology, and are motivated by a desire to 'matter'. This work makes a key contribution to the study of social connectedness in cities and can inform effective urban policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women's concerns about work–life balance are cited as a key factor underlying their continued underrepresentation in particular domains and roles. This gendered pattern is often attributed to factors in the home, such as women's disproportionate share of domestic work and childcare responsibilities. We offer an additional explanation that focuses on workplace identities. Across four studies, we demonstrate that perceptions of work–life balance are not only a matter of balancing time, but also a matter of balancing identity, and that the availability of attainable leaders plays a key role in determining these processes. More specifically, a survey study (Study 1, N = 1223) among participants working in a historically male‐dominated profession shows that gender differences in work–life balance perceptions are, in part, explained by women's perceived lack of fit with leaders and, in turn, their perceptions of incompatibility between who they are at home and who they are at work. In Studies 2 (N = 207), 3a (N = 209), and 3b (N = 191), we demonstrate that gender differences in anticipated work–life balance can be ameliorated through exposure to attainable female leaders. These findings have implications for organizations that seek to recruit and retain women and demonstrate that issues of identity are crucial for facilitating work–life balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political campaign slogans, such as 'Take back control of our country' (United Kingdom Independence Party) and 'The Netherlands ours again' (Dutch Party for Freedom), indicate that right‐wing populism appeals to the belief that the country is 'ours', and therefore, 'we' have the exclusive right to determine what happens. We examined this sense of ownership of the country (i.e. collective psychological ownership [CPO]) with the related determination right in relation to exclusionary attitudes and voting behaviour. Among Dutch (Study 1, N = 572) and British (Study 2, N = 495) participants, we found that CPO explained anti‐immigrant and anti‐EU attitudes, and these attitudes in turn accounted for voting 'leave' in the 2016 Brexit referendum in the British sample (Study 2). Additionally, CPO was more strongly related to negative immigrant attitudes among right‐wing Dutch participants, whereas it was more strongly related to negative EU attitudes and voting 'leave' among left‐wing British participants. CPO contributes to the understanding of critical contemporary social attitudes and political behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While extended intergroup contact has been commonly studied in the context of prejudice reduction, less is known about its implications for processes related to the ingroup. Through three correlational and one experimental studies (total N = 897) conducted in two different intergroup contexts (Turkey and United Kingdom), we investigated whether extended intergroup contact relates to social distance and attitudes towards ingroup members as a function of outgroup attitudes. We also investigated ingroup identification and perceived ingroup morality as potential mediators in these associations. Correlational studies demonstrated that especially when outgroup attitudes were more negative, participants' positive (but not negative) extended contact was related to a more negative evaluation of the ingroup; whereas when outgroup attitudes were more positive, extended contact was associated with positive attitudes towards the ingroup. We found experimental evidence for the suggested relationships in relation to ingroup social distance. Findings are discussed in the light of vicarious dissonance theory and deprovincialization hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Partisan patterns of compliance with public health measures are a feature of early COVID‐19 responses. In many cases, these differences in behaviour relate to pre‐existing group identities. However, in times of rapid societal change, novel opinion‐based groups can emerge and provide a new basis for partisan identification and divergent collective behaviour. Here, we use network methods to map the emergence of opposing opinion‐based groups and assess their implications for public health behaviour. In a longitudinal study, we tracked public health attitudes and self‐reported behaviour in a sample of UK participants over four time points. Network visualisation reveal a rift in attitudinal alignment over time and the genesis of two distinct groups characterised by trust, or distrust, in science (Study 1a; N = 253). These groups also diverge in public health behaviour. In a brief follow‐up study (N = 206), we find that this opinion polarization partially reflects underlying societal divides. We discuss implications for opinion‐based group research and public health campaigns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the interplay of anti-immigrant prejudice and intergroup contact experience on voting intentions within Britain's 2016 referendum on its membership in the European Union. In the days before the referendum, we asked more than 400 British people how they planned to vote. We measured a number of demographic factors expected to predict voting intentions as well as individuals' prejudice towards and intergroup contact experience (positive and negative) with EU immigrants. Anti-immigrant prejudice was a strong correlate of support for Brexit. Negative intergroup contact experience was associated with higher anti-immigrant prejudice and, in turn, increased support for 'Leave'. Positive intergroup contact, on the other hand, seemed to play a reparative role, predicting lower prejudice and increasing support for ' Remain'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five hundred and seventy-three Scottish high school students were surveyed in the 2 months following the 2014 referendum on Scotland's independence. We used the Social Identity, Relative Deprivation, collective Efficacy (SIRDE) model of social change to examine the social psychological factors that should have influenced the voting choices of these teenagers. Structural equation modelling indicated that the SIRDE model fit the data and largely supported four sets of hypotheses derived from the model. Specifically, (1) those with a stronger Scottish identity, (2) those who felt frustrated and angry that Scottish people are discriminated against in British society, and (3) those who believed that Scottish people are not able to improve their relatively poor social conditions within the United Kingdom (a lack of collective efficacy) were more likely to hold separatist beliefs. Further, the relationships between identity, relative deprivation, and collective efficacy, on the one hand, and voting for Scotland's independence, on the other, were fully mediated by separatist social change beliefs. Consistent with the specificity of the model, neither political engagement nor personal relative deprivation were associated with voting choice, whereas the latter was associated with lower life satisfaction. The implications and limitations of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do individuals deal with group disadvantage when their fellow in-group members conceive it as legitimate? Integrating research on the normative conflict model (Packer, 2008, Pers. Soc. Psychol. Rev., 12, 50) and collective action, we expect high identifiers to reject the in-group norm of legitimacy that justifies the inequality, and to assert that the group is actually able and willing to contest the disadvantage by collective means. In Study 1 and Study 2, we tested this hypothesis in different intergroup contexts. The results confirmed our predictions and also showed one boundary condition for high identifiers, namely that the content of the social identity supports resistance. In Study 3, we found support for our hypothesis using artificial groups and manipulating identification experimentally. These results show that even when a disadvantaged group appears to accept its situation, high identified in-group members will still contest this and, moreover, expect other in-group members to support them in this endeavour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article sets out to establish the naturalistic study of online social communication as a substantive topic in social psychology and to discuss the challenges of developing methods for a formal analysis of the structural and interactional features of message threads on discussion forums. I begin by outlining the essential features of online communication and specifically discussion forum data, and the important ways in which they depart from spoken conversation. I describe the handful of attempts to devise systematic analytic techniques for adapting methods such as conversation and discourse analysis to the study of online discussion. I then present a case study of a thread from the popular UK parenting forum Mumsnet which presents a number of challenges for existing methods, and examine some of the interactive phenomena typical of forums. Finally, I consider ways in which membership categorization analysis and social identity theory can complement one another in the exploration of both group processes and the rhetorical deployment of identities as dynamic phenomena in online discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present research, we examine the ways in which exposure to hostile sexism influences women's competitive collective action intentions. Prior to testing our main model, our first study experimentally induced high versus low levels of security-comfort with the aim of providing experimental evidence for the proposed causal link between these emotions and intentions to engage in social competition. Results showed that lower levels of security-comfort reduced women's readiness to compete socially with men. Experiment 2 investigated the effect of hostile sexism on women's emotional reactions and readiness to engage in social competition. Consistent with the proposed model, results showed that exposure to hostile beliefs about women (1) increased anger-frustration and (2) decreased security-comfort. More specifically, exposure to hostile sexism had a positive indirect effect on social competition intentions through anger-frustration, and a negative indirect effect through security-comfort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is twofold: (1) to achieve a better understanding of the psychological determinants of the demand for luxury brand counterfeit products ( LBCP) through exploring the effects of social power; (2) to extend power literature by identifying boundary conditions of the relationship between social power and compensatory consumption identified by Rucker and Galinsky (, J. Consum. Res., 35, 257-267) and Rucker and Galinsky (, J. Exp. Soc. Psychol., 45, 549-555). Findings from three experiments demonstrate that social power holds key insights into understanding consumers' purchase propensity for LBCP; product conspicuousness moderates the effects of social power on purchase propensity for status products; these moderation effects are only observed when the status products are LBCP but not genuine products. This article, therefore, contributes to the literature regarding the demand for counterfeits as well as the social power and compensatory consumption literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In situations of violent group conflict, group members often argue about how to deal with the outgroup. While some argue for aggression, force, and separation, others argue for negotiation and cooperation. Each side attempts to persuade the group that their own position is normative and is most in line with the interests and essence of the group. These arguments often involve denunciations of opponents as disloyal or deviant. In such situations, definitions of group identities and norms, and what counts as loyalty and deviance, are therefore disputed. This article analyses how a UK-based Al- Qaeda-supporting organization denounces 'moderate' Muslims in the United Kingdom who engage with secular institutions and who ally themselves with non- Muslims in political disputes. Drawing on theological, historical, and political arguments, a prescriptive norm is constructed whereby the correct behaviour of Muslims in the West is to avoid participation in secular political systems and to avoid political cooperation with non- Muslims. Muslims who are seen as breaking these norms are denounced and denigrated in a variety of ways by assigning them a range of deviant identity positions. Denunciations involve explanatory accounts which construct opponents as unworthy representatives of the group based on their deviation from Islam, or from ignorance, cowardice, mental weakness, or self-interest. This article illustrates that the practice of denunciation is an important aspect of the organization of group conflict. Finally, it argues that it is dangerous for social psychologists to treat group norms and prototypes as consensual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humans inhabit environments that are both social and physical, and in this article we investigate if and how social identity processes shape the experience and negotiation of physically demanding environmental conditions. Specifically, we consider how severe cold can be interpreted and experienced in relation to group members' social identity. Our data comprise ethnographic observation and semi-structured interviews with pilgrims attending a month-long winter Hindu religious festival that is characterized by near-freezing conditions. The analysis explores (1) how pilgrims appraised the cold and how these appraisals were shaped by their identity as pilgrims; (2) how shared identity with other pilgrims led to forms of mutual support that made it easier to cope with the cold. Our findings therefore extend theorizing on social identity processes to highlight their relevance to physical as well as social conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research explores how justifications for indulgence influence the translation of 'good' intentions into action. Three studies investigated the nature of such justifications and their relation to indulgence. Study 1 identified six ways that people justify indulgence to themselves - that they are deserving or curious, that the indulgence is an exception to the norm or can be compensated for later, or that the tempting food is available or irresistible. Study 2 showed that the use of justifications undermined participants' strong (but not weak) intentions to halve their consumption of a nominated high-fat food. Study 3 found that priming the use of justifications increased the amount of chocolate that participants consumed in a subsequent, ostensibly unrelated, taste test. Again, justification use had a greater effect on participants with strong intentions to limit indulgence. Taken together, the studies suggest a new approach to understanding intention-behaviour discrepancies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with the topic of social psychological research methods in practice, by examining how informed consent is gained from research participants. In most research, the consent-gaining process is hidden from analytic scrutiny and is dealt with before data collection has begun. In contrast, conversation analytic research, which records interactional encounters from beginning to end, enables examination of this methodological 'black box'. We explored how 'requests' to consent in research played out across different institutional settings. We found that participants had to 'opt-out' of a research process that was already underway. Consent-gaining sequences constrained opting out in two ways: (1) because research activity was already underway, it must be stopped affirmatively by participants; (2) consent-gaining turns were tilted in favour of continued participation, making opting out a dispreferred response. We also found a mismatch between what ethics guidelines specify about consent-gaining 'in theory' and what actually happens 'in practice'. Finally, we make suggestions about interventions in and recommendations for existing practice to best achieve informed consent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immanent justice reasoning involves causally attributing a negative event to someone's prior moral failings, even when such a causal connection is physically implausible. This study examined the degree to which immanent justice represents a form of motivated reasoning in the service of satisfying the need to believe in a just world. Drawing on a manipulation that has been shown to activate justice motivation , participants causally attributed a freak accident to a man's prior immoral (vs. moral) behaviour to a greater extent when they first focused on their long-term (vs. short-term) goals. These findings highlight the important function believing in a just world plays in self-regulatory processes by implicating the self in immanent justice reasoning about fluke events in the lives of others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiences of shame are often difficult to manage, not least because of their interpersonal implications. However, limited research attention has been paid to the management and repair of shame, and in particular to the role that social factors may play in this. We aimed to explore these issues by obtaining 50 written first-person accounts of experiences of managing difficult episodes of shame from a cross section of students and employees at a British university. These participant-generated narrative accounts were supplemented by written answers to open-ended questions. Via a contextual constructionist thematic analysis, three overarching themes were identified: The centrality of others' evaluations of the self; Repositioning the self vis-à-vis others, and Being disabled by shame. Discussion focuses on the first two of these themes which together suggest that because the participants saw their shame as produced in interaction with others, effective management and repair of shame depended not just on a changed view of the self but on a repositioning of the self in relation to others. This analysis therefore suggests that repair of shame may often need to be mutually negotiated and as such provides support for theoretical approaches to shame which emphasize the centrality of others' actual or perceived judgements of the self. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumer culture is characterized by two prominent ideals: the 'body perfect' and the material 'good life'. Although the impact of these ideals has been investigated in separate research literatures, no previous research has examined whether materialism is linked to women's responses to thin-ideal media. Data from several studies confirm that the internalization of materialistic and body-ideal values is positively linked in women. After developing a prime for materialism ( N= 50), we present an experimental examination ( N= 155) of the effects of priming materialism on women's responses to thin-ideal media, using multiple outcome measures of state body dissatisfaction. Priming materialism affects women's body dissatisfaction after exposure to thin media models, but differently depending on the dimension of body image measured. The two main novel findings are that (1) priming materialism heightens the centrality of appearance to women's self-concept and (2) priming materialism influences the activation of body-related self-discrepancies (BRSDs), particularly for highly materialistic women. Exposure to materialistic media has a clear influence on women's body image, with trait materialism a further vulnerability factor for negative exposure effects in response to idealized, thin media models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Not all types of praise may be equally stimulating. Instead, positive feedback carries different meaning depending on the source that delivers it and the attributions for success that it contains. In the present study, source (in-group vs. out-group) of praise and its content (attributing success to internal vs. external causes) were experimentally manipulated. The results revealed that there was a significant interaction between source and content of praise on performance in a praise-related task. As predicted, participants exposed to out-group praise were motivated by external attributions for success rather than by internal attributions. Conversely, when praise originated from an in-group source, the attributional content of praise did not affect performance. This effect of source and content of praise on relevant behaviour was mediated by willingness to protect group image. Thus, responses to praise are contingent on what it implies about group success - corresponding to patterns demonstrated in previous work on group-directed criticism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research shows that attachment security is linked to low prejudice (Hofstra, Van Oudenhoven & Bunnk, 2005; Mikulincer & Shaver, 2001). We extend this research by examining the role of attachment security in discriminatory choices and discriminatory behaviour. The current study examines the influence of primed attachment security (vs. neutral prime) on self-reported discrimination and actual discriminatory behaviour towards Muslims. Results illustrate that primed attachment security (vs. a neutral prime) significantly predicts both the choice to discriminate against Muslims and subsequent behavioural discrimination towards a Muslim. Implications for increasing attachment security as a means of reducing prejudice and discrimination are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We advance a new account of why people endorse conspiracy theories, arguing that individuals use the social-cognitive tool of projection when making social judgements about others. In two studies, we found that individuals were more likely to endorse conspiracy theories if they thought they would be willing, personally, to participate in the alleged conspiracies. Study 1 established an association between conspiracy beliefs and personal willingness to conspire, which fully mediated a relationship between Machiavellianism and conspiracy beliefs. In Study 2, participants primed with their own morality were less inclined than controls to endorse conspiracy theories - a finding fully mediated by personal willingness to conspire. These results suggest that some people think 'they conspired' because they think 'I would conspire'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]