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Charities often feature their recipients as protagonists in fundraising appeals (i.e., recipient-focused appeals), and considerable research has examined the best way to portray recipients to generate more donations. However, recipient-focused appeals have been accused of being uninclusive and manipulative, stereotyping or even exploiting groups they seek to help. Strategies like using an identified victim and highlighting their neediness may not always be efficacious or desirable (e.g., when donors experience emotional fatigue or when victims wish to remain anonymous), and some techniques that work for in-group members are less effective for out-group recipients. To offset in-group donation biases and promote equity, the present work proposes that charities use benefactor-focused appeals featuring people who carry out the charity's mission. Drawing on social identity and self-categorization theories, we generate hypotheses about how an in-group benefactor-focused appeal enhances donations for out-group members and equalizes charitable giving across in-group and out-group recipients. Four studies and a supplemental study involving both donation likelihood and actual donations find that the effect of charity appeal protagonist (recipient versus benefactor) is moderated by recipients' group membership and mediated by feelings of connectedness. Together, the results support an in-group favoritism account for both benefactor- and recipient-focused appeals on donation behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although intergroup contact is effective at reducing prejudice, avoidance of intergroup contact often creates a barrier to prejudice reduction. The present study aimed to reduce majority members' desire to avoid intergroup interactions by devising an intervention aimed at altering cognitive appraisals. Majority group participants (156 Anglo Australians) were assigned to either the intervention or one of two control conditions. The intervention educated majority members about evidence-based techniques to improve interactions with minority members. Participants were provided with two interaction scenarios, one involving an outgroup minority and one involving an ingroup majority member. As predicted, the intervention reduced threat appraisal for the scenario involving outgroup minority member, but not for one involving ingroup majority member. The intervention similarly reduced avoidance desire, but this reduction was not restricted to the minority partner scenario; it was independent of the partner group. The importance of cognitive appraisals in improving intergroup relations is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quindina Roewer, 1914 is a nomoclastid genus with 11 described species behaviourally characterised by its remarkable nest-building behaviour. In this paper we describe two new Colombian species of the genus from the western range of the Northern Andes, based on genital morphology and external characters. In addition, we explore their phylogenetic relationships using a phenotypic matrix with 96 characters, three newly proposed, and 55 terminals including all described species of Quindina and a wide outgroup sample across the suborder Laniatores. Quindina sanantoniosp. n. (type locality: Valle del Cauca, Santiago de Cali, San Antonio Forest) can be diagnosed by having two olive-green patches behind the ocularium and on the lateral portion of areas II and III, connected on the posterior margin of area III. Quindina horologiumsp. n. (type locality: Risaralda, Santuario, Planes de San Rafael) can be diagnosed by having an hourglass-shaped dorsal pattern, beginning as two emerald-green patches next to the ocularium and continuing to the posterior margin of area III. Both species build nests without walls on the underside of leaves (ie flattened nest type), a previously unknown nest architecture for the genus. The phylogenetic analysis confirmed the monophyly of Quindina. The two new species, herein described, were recovered as basally branching within the genus. The inferred ancestral state for the nest architecture was the flattened nest type. We provide an updated key for the Colombian species of the genus Quindina and an updated distribution map. . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition to immigration grievances, research shows that radical right voters grieve societal developments regarding gender equality and sexual freedom. Adding to research treating these grievances separately, this article advances a joint understanding of these grievances. I analyse interviews with voters of the German radical right Alternative für Deutschland for perceptions about discrimination and (dis)advantages of natives versus immigrants, men versus women and cis‐hetero versus LGBTQI+ people. I find similar argumentations about these social groups: Most interviewees do not perceive existing structural discrimination. They further perceive zero‐sum dynamics between advances for outgroups and losses for ingroups. In doing so, they consider different ingroup and outgroup characteristics, resulting in perceptions of different material and symbolic (dis)advantages for different groups and a hitherto under‐researched perception of legal (dis)advantages. Additionally, some interviewees jointly refer to various social groups in an expression of 'multidimensional' grievances, and some refer to the intersections between several ingroup and outgroup identities in determining a person's (dis)advantages. The parallels in argumentation and the perceptions of multidimensional and intersectional grievances highlight the importance of jointly studying different kinds of cultural grievances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: There is growing evidence of intergroup hostility between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, a process of polarization that threatens to derail population health efforts. This study explores the moral underpinnings of intergroup antipathy between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. Design: A cross‐sectional design was employed to investigate the associations between the view of vaccination as a social contract or individual choice, perceived vulnerability to disease, perceptions of outgroup morality, feelings of warmth, and experiences of schadenfreude. Methods: Data were extracted from an online, quantitative survey of 233 vaccinated and 237 unvaccinated participants collected between June and July 2022. Results: Results revealed that vaccinated people had stronger negative attitudes towards unvaccinated people than vice versa. In line with hypotheses, the extent to which vaccinated people saw vaccination as a social contract was significantly associated with perceiving unvaccinated people as immoral. For unvaccinated people, seeing vaccination as an individual choice (the opposite of a social contract) was significantly associated with perceiving vaccinated people as immoral. Among both groups, viewing the other as immoral was associated with feeling significantly less warmth towards the opposing vaccination group, and more schadenfreude in the face of an outgroup member's suffering. Participants' perceived vulnerability to disease played a relatively small role in explaining polarization between vaccinated and unvaccinated people. Conclusions: This research builds on previous studies by identifying moral mechanisms associated with intergroup antipathy in the vaccine debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategies for favoring close others, such as friends and in-group members, benefit individuals and society. Although younger and older children apply these sharing strategies, how they integrate these relationships remain understudied. Friendship and group membership sometimes conflict (e.g. a friend from another, even a rival group), driving the question of how children behave in such situations. To address this question, this preregistered study recruited 121 4–6-year-olds and 94 9–12-year-olds from a middle-class community in China. A 2 (friend vs. stranger) by 2 (in vs. out-group) between-subjects design was applied per age group. Participants were asked to share seven objects with a recipient, who was either a stranger, or a previously nominated friend and from an in- or out-group (manipulated in the Minimal Group Paradigm). The results showed that children in both age groups shared more with friends than with strangers. However, only 4–6-year-olds shared more resources with in-group members than with out-group ones. Moreover, 4–6-year-olds did not distinguish between an out-group friend and an in-group stranger, while 9–12-year-olds shared more with an out-group friend relative to an ingroup stranger, indicating that friendship outweighs minimal group membership only among 9–12-year-olds. Furthermore, there was an interaction between age and minimal group membership, implying a decrease in the minimal group effect between 4–6-year-olds and 9–12-year-olds. Accordingly, the implications of friendship and minimal group effects, and their relative influence on sharing during childhood are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study intra- and intergroup cooperation in the production and distribution of a jointly created good. Over several periods, members of one group can choose whether or not to contribute to the good's production. Members of the other group vote to implement a fair or a discriminatory sharing policy for the good's proceeds. More cooperative behavior by members of an outgroup renders ingroup members more willing to cooperate in turn. Our experiment documents reciprocity in intergroup cooperation settings. This reciprocity at times leads to mutually beneficial cooperation but when one group defects, it may also lead to cooperation breaking down. Understanding how one group's cooperation influences another group's decisions can improve resource allocation as well as influence policy-makers' decisions towards fairer distribution strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The present research investigated whether a normative outgroup apology enhances conciliatory attitudes (i.e., willingness for intergroup contact and feelings of peace) and intergroup negotiations while reducing competitive victimhood. In three experiments (N = 855) conducted in the post‐conflict context of Kosovo, we manipulated the normative apology by informing participants that the majority of outgroup members (i.e., Serbs) apologized for the Kosovo war. We compared this normative apology condition with an institutional apology, in which a Serbian representative apologized for the Kosovo war on behalf of the Serbian government (in all experiments), and a control (i.e., baseline) condition in which no apology‐related information was presented (Experiments 1 and 2). Overall, the results showed that participants in the normative apology condition reported greater willingness for contact with outgroup members, increased feelings of peace, greater support for intergroup negotiations, and reduced competitive victimhood compared to participants in other conditions. In addition, Experiment 3 revealed that outgroup humanization mediated the effect of normative apology on conciliatory attitudes, intergroup negotiations and competitive victimhood. In sum, these findings showed that normative apologies play a critical role in improving intergroup relations and reducing conflict‐related tensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines aggression between rival football fans, focusing on the role of ethnicity and urban identity. It surveyed 302 fans from Rasht and Bandar Anzali in Guilan province, Iran. The findings revealed a statistically significant positive correlation between a favorable attitude toward aggression against rival fans and three key factors: ethnic/urban identity (correlation coefficient: 0.409), ingroup love (correlation coefficient: 0.355), and outgroup hatred (correlation coefficient: 0.407). The collective explanatory power of ethnic/urban identity, outgroup hatred, and ingroup love accounted for 39% of the variance in the favorable attitude towards aggression against rival fans. Ethnic/urban identity levels demonstrated predictive power, accounting for 15% of the variance in outgroup hatred and 13% in ingroup love. This research illuminates the intricate dynamics of fan aggression, highlighting the nuanced roles of identity and emotions within sports fandom. The findings contribute valuable insights that inform future studies and interventions to understand and mitigate aggression in sports-related contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Opportunities for contact reduce prejudice via positive contact and increase it via negative contact. However, the relative importance of these routes varies considerably, and it is unclear what processes are crucial in this respect. The analysis of a sample of Romanian students (N = 232) revealed that outgroup anger moderated both the paths from opportunities for contact to contact and from contact to positive outgroup attitudes: at low levels of anger, the positive route was dominant, whereas at higher levels of anger, the negative route reduced the positive effects. These results underline an important connection between the waning and waxing of intergroup conflict and intergroup contact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While intergroup contacts and social norms both have important roles in regulating intergroup relations, their effects on intergroup outcomes have mostly been examined independently from each other. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to explore the role of perceived ingroup norms about intergroup contact in the relationships between both direct and extended intergroup friendships and positive and negative outgroup orientations. To provide a more comprehensive normative perspective of intergroup contact, we tested for both cross-sectional and longitudinal, as well as moderation and mediation effects of perceived peer, parental, and school contact norms. The research was carried out in two waves on a sample of 1,128 majority and minority adolescents from four multiethnic communities in the Republic of Croatia. The results indicated that all three types of perceived ingroup contact norms exclusively mediate the cross-sectional, but not longitudinal, relationships between both forms of friendships and positive and negative outgroup orientations, highlighting the importance and consistency of perceived parental and school normative influences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is an introduction to the Special Issue 'Leadership and the Future of Humanity.' We appraise the concept of leadership in the context of several major world crises, including the rise of populism, an increased number of conflicts, and the climate crisis. In observing the current conflicts in Russia/Ukraine and Israel/Palestine, we define hopeless leadership as the leadership of those who exploit despair and uncertainty to manufacture fear in order to move their followers into action against particular outgroups. We also look at how hope is often born from despair. In adopting Freire's ontology of hope, we theorise hopeful leadership as the continuous belief in and search for possible and better futures, even if they are imperfect. In this sense, hopeful leadership has a strong element of stewardship towards the future of humanity. The Special Issue contains papers that tap into these themes, and develops them in their own way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This exploratory laboratory study analyzes emotional responses to two types of populist strategies on social media platforms. We focus on emotional responses to content expressing ordinariness (on Instagram) and victimhood (on TikTok), where the content creator is a right-wing populist leader who is unfavorably perceived by the respondents in the study. Thus, the study critically tests the effectiveness of de-demonization strategies used by populist leaders to diversify the electorate. The research employs a combination of facial expressions analysis and two self-report measures of emotions to investigate the emotional responses elicited by populist strategies in individuals belonging to an out-group. Additionally, we examine the interrelation between psychophysiological measures and self-reported emotions. In doing so, the study makes a methodological contribution by advancing our understanding of emotional response processes and the methodologies employed to measure emotional responses. The results reveal positive and negative emotional responses, challenging the prevailing emphasis on negative emotions in response to out-group communication. However, the facial expressions and the self-reported emotions do not correlate. Our interpretation underscores the role of cognitive reasoning processes in differentiating emotional responses to political out-group social media content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractStudies on face-to-face intergroup contact demonstrate varied effects for members of advantaged and disadvantaged groups on harmonious relations and collective action intentions. This study extends the literature by examining to what extent those effects exist when the contact is online and also by examining which recategorization strategy would be more effective in producing positive outcomes for those groups. For this aim, students of the two universities—CU and ATU (higher and lower status, respectively)—in Adana, Turkey were made to contact in small groups on a text-based online platform. Participants were distributed into four-people groups—either mixed of ATU and CU students or ATU students only. Either a common ingroup identity or dual identities were made salient in the mixed groups, whereas the individual identity was made salient in the groups consisting of ATU students only. Data were collected at three time periods: Two weeks before (368 participants), immediately after (159 participants), and one month after the contact (138 participants). Concerning outgroup attitudes, irrespective of salient identities, mixed groups improved attitudes, sustained in follow-up. Regarding collective action intentions, CU students’ intentions increased (T1 to T3), while for ATU students in all groups, intentions decreased-whether cross-group contact was experienced or not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life in society revolves around social norms. These norms play a crucial role in regulating and influencing individuals’ behavior, both at the societal and individual levels. They offer a psychological framework that reduces uncertainty, guides behavior, and aids people in adapting to their social surroundings. Moreover, by observing prevailing social norms, individuals gain insights into societal trends that preserve cherished values and traditions across generations, thus mapping the dynamics of social stability and change. Social change is closely tied to shifts in these norms, which can occur at varying speeds, influenced by factors at multiple levels of analysis, including societal, group, and individual levels. In this article, I analyze the various concepts of social norms found in the literature, with a particular focus on their role in psychology. I describe the main sources of normative influence and illustrate, with multiple examples, how they operate in different social contexts. In this way, I address how these norms guide and facilitate participation in collective actions, their intergenerational transmission, and their role in the emergence of radicalization in social protest contexts. Furthermore, I delve into how group norms are linked to intergroup contact experiences involving both advantaged and disadvantaged group members, as well as the expression of prejudice and affective polarization. I conclude by emphasizing the necessity of adopting a multilevel approach to comprehend the connection between norms and social change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractStudies have repeatedly demonstrated that parents’ and children’s ethnic prejudice are related to one another. However, little is known about the specific parental practices that facilitate the intergenerational transmission of prejudice. Using a novel measure, we examined how everyday parent-child conversations about the ambiguous behaviors of others (e.g. behaviors open to multiple interpretations) may contribute to children’s ethnic prejudice development. The sample consisted of 249 pairs of mothers and children (aged 6 to 10 years) from the Netherlands with ethnically diverse backgrounds. In line with previous developmental findings, our results reveal that older children exhibit lower ethnic prejudice. Noticeably, however, we find that higher mothers’ subtle negative messages about outgroup members’ behaviors are significantly related to children’s higher ethnic prejudice. These findings did not differ by ethnic background. These results highlight the importance of examining how seemingly innocuous conversations may contribute to children’s ethnic prejudice development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research hints both at more extreme judgements of ingroup deviants and at attributional biases in the case of Muslims, immigrants and refugees. We examined two recently observed patterns in the context of intergroup violence: harsher judgements on the individual level (black sheep effect) and milder judgements on the cultural level when a perpetrator stems from the ingroup. We further investigated whether these patterns were affected by (a) the outgroup being salient (Experiment 1), (b) the comparison context (Experiments 2–3) and (c) participants perceiving the ingroup as high versus low in entitativity (Experiment 3). Experiments 1 (N = 437), 2 (N = 283) and 3 (N = 703) revealed the presence of robust effects on cultural level with participants treating the ingroup culture more leniently than the outgroup culture. Moreover, on the individual level, Experiments 2 and 3 found an overall black sheep effect that was especially prevalent in an intergroup context. Outgroup salience and ingroup entitativity did not affect participants’ judgements on individual and cultural levels. This protection of the ingroup both on an individual and on a cultural level may hint at a derogation of the outgroup. We discuss implications and insights for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through an investigation of representations of the Other and ancient Chinese collective identity in classical Chinese texts, this paper offers a new perspective to modern discourse surrounding the ‘distinctions between barbarians and Chinese’ (yixia zhi bian 夷夏之辨). Providing a historical analysis of terms and tropes related to the in-group Huaxia and out-group rongdi (barbarian Other) from the Shang to the Han dynasties, it is argued that increasingly abstracted representations of the Other functioned in promoting identification and solidarity with an increasingly unified Huaxia. Rather than reading depictions of the rongdi as merely a reflection of how the ancient Chinese perceived the out-group, terms that function as the ‘generalized barbarian’ are interpreted as recursive reflections of how the Huaxia in-group understood the Huaxia themselves, offering a glimpse into what was implicitly regarded as characteristic, distinctive, or even sacred to Huaxia collective identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Are candidates from underrepresented demographics in politics held to a higher standard in candidate selection processes? We explore whether women, youths, and immigrants are required to demonstrate a greater commitment to the party line to be deemed suitable for office. Our focus is specifically on loyalty to the party line, a key selection criterion in most political systems. We analyze data from an original conjoint experiment involving 1,300 party selectors from six major political parties in Sweden, along with validated roll-call voting records and renomination data for all Swedish MPs elected between 2002 and 2022. Our findings suggest that Swedish party selectors do not demand greater loyalty from candidates belonging to political outgroups. On the contrary, equally loyal outgroup candidates are at least as appealing to party selectors as their ingroup counterparts, if not more so. This result contributes to debates on political representation and party politics and may also be of interest to practitioners focused on minority empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the meaning that refugee solidarity activists supporting people on the move across the Western Balkans migratory route and at the Italian–French border attribute to the notion of 'care', which they use to define their solidarity practices, particularly in the aftermath of the global pandemic. By means of a content analysis of in-depth interviews with representatives of grassroots solidarity groups, the article demonstrates that 'care' is conceived of as having a political character, as it responds to both the crisis of health care and the restrictions on freedom of movement; a non-hierarchical connotation, which informs in- and out-group relationships; and a transformative orientation, as acts of care prefigure a society in which freedom of movement and health rights are granted to all, in contrast to the existing model of migration governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aims to explore the perceived discrimination among three women groups in Türkiye: Muslims, Muslim feminists, and feminists. Four hundred fifteen women aged 18- 76 (M = 40.6, SD = 16.5) participated in the study. The sample included 177 Muslim women, 92 Muslim feminists, and 146 feminist women. We found significant differences in perceived individual and group discrimination in three women groups. While at the individual level, all groups differed from each other, at the group level discrimination, self-labeling feminists did not differ, yet Muslim women perceived the lower levels of discrimination. Feminists indicated experiencing discrimination mostly from their close ones and outgroups/others. At the same time, Muslim women specified discrimination mostly from religious people, and Muslim feminist women indicated discrimination mostly from outgroups/others and school/work environments. The findings were discussed in terms of the literature on the subject. Future research is encouraged on the authentic identities of women in Türkiye and their discrimination experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work examines lay beliefs about the societal implications of different forms of ingroup identity. While secure ingroup identity reflects a genuine attachment to one's ingroup members, defensive forms of identity are aimed at satisfying individual enhancement motives through highlighting belongingness to an exceptional group. The latter can be exemplified by collective narcissism, a belief in ingroup greatness and entitlement to privileged treatment, which has been linked to undesirable intra- and intergroup outcomes. In three experiments (total N = 473), conducted in the context of national identities, we investigated how people perceive the manifestations of collective narcissism, contrasted with secure ingroup identity and low identity. Across all studies, participants expected the highest outgroup hostility and poorest intragroup relations from those high in collective narcissism. However, perceivers who were themselves high in collective narcissism were less likely to expect these undesirable manifestations, thus revealing a biased perception of similar others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contemporary media environment is often characterized as awash in uncivil and divisive messages. Central to this characterization, are social media, where partisans may engage in uncivil exchanges with outgroup members. The Internet has also become a key source of partisan news content, which is often filled with vitriol and "outrage" toward "the other side." Using panel survey data from a large and diverse general-population sample of the US, the current study considers the influence of exposure to incivility on social media and online news use on a particularly emotional form of division, affective polarization. Fixed effects regression analyses find no main effects, but significant interaction effects between exposure to incivility via social media and online news use (pro-attitudinal, counter-attitudinal, and nonpartisan online news use) on affective polarization. Exposure to incivility via social media as a form of personal contact, appears to supplement the effect of partisan online news (and vice versa), whether pro-attitudinal or counter-attitudinal, intensifying affective polarization. However, when combined with exposure to incivility on social media, nonpartisan news appears to have an attenuating effect on affective polarization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this note, we provide evidence that motivated reasoning can be a source of discriminatory beliefs. We employ a representative survey experiment in which we exogenously manipulate the presence of a need for justification of anti-social behavior towards an out-group. We find that survey participants devalue members of an out-group to justify taking away money from that group. Our results speak to a long-standing debate on the causes of racism and discrimination and suggest an important role of motivated cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyses show that: (a) majority members are particularly prejudiced toward the most culturally distant out-groups (i.e. Poles and Iraqis), (b) unpleasant contact experiences enhance the capacity of ethnic characteristics to generate prejudice toward Poles and Iraqis (rather than toward Norwegians), and (c) pleasant contact experiences weaken the capacity of ethnic characteristics to generate prejudice toward Poles and Iraqis. Analyses were performed on a tailor-made experimental survey manipulating ethnic characteristics, fielded in Denmark in 2021 (N = 1,882). Findings suggest that social identity theory must incorporate insights into how social interaction affects the interethnic differences–prejudice relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positive intergroup communication reduces outgroup prejudice. Attempting to decompose the effect of intergroup contact more precisely, we argue that engaging in different activities during intergroup communication influences prejudice through different pathways. We investigated whether exposure to interactive videos involving cognitive, affective, and behavioral activities reduces outgroup prejudice through relevant mediators (knowledge, empathy, and synchronization). We found support for the effect of dancing (behavioral activity) and language learning (cognitive activity) on outgroup prejudice through the relevant mediators: synchronization and knowledge, respectively. Also, we demonstrated a long-term effect of mediated intergroup contact: the mediation path from dance through synchronization lasted a week after the intervention. We discuss the importance of the content of intergroup communication and its implications for creating prejudice-reduction interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voice is crucial for workers as it enables them to better their organizations and exert some degree of control over managerial decision-making. Yet, as workers increasingly find jobs on digital platforms in the gig economy, traditional channels of voice are being replaced by digital voice channels, such as online communities. To add knowledge on how voice takes form on such channels, we collected conversation data from two online communities, which function as official (Upwork community) and unofficial (Reddit community) digital voice channels for gig workers who are active on Upwork. Based on a qualitative analysis of both communities, we discovered that when gig workers voice in digital channels, they tend to frame their voice, including signals of status and group membership. This voice framing creates different factions, which then engage in voice modulation, amplifying in-group members and muting outgroup members. Thereby, our study teases out how voice takes form in digital channels and how it differs from voice in traditional organizations. Our study contributes to the growing research at the intersection of voice and digital platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Societies are becoming more polarised, driven in part by misconceptions about out-groups' beliefs. To understand these effects, one must examine the cognitive processes underlying how people think about others. Here, we investigate whether people are less prone to theorise about the minds of out-groups, or less able to do so. Participants (Study 1: n = 128; Study 2: n = 128) made inferences about social and political beliefs held by real in-group and out-group members, and could choose to receive further information to improve these inferences. Results show: (1) participants sought equivalent or greater information about out-groups relative to in-groups; but despite this, (2) made significantly less accurate inferences for out-groups; and (3) were significantly less aware of their reduced ability. This shows that poorer mental state inference is not underpinned by a reduced propensity to consider out-group minds, but instead by a worse representation of the minds of out-groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In collective punishment, a group as a whole receives negative consequences because of the actions of a few. We argue that collective punishments lead to ingroup cohesiveness and adverse intergroup relations by instigating a punishment‐revenge cycle. In four experimental studies conducted in Turkey and Germany (N = 2059), we demonstrated that collective punishment increased ingroup homogeneity, negative outgroup attitudes, and counter‐collective action intention, while it decreased perceived outgroup fairness. However, the impact on perceived fairness and negative outgroup attitudes was consistent regardless of whether all group members or only perpetrators were punished. This reveals that punishment itself influences the perception towards the punishing outgroup, regardless of the legitimacy and the target of punishment. Overall, willingness for retaliation was boosted by collective punishment; therefore, collective punishment not only fails to silence conflicts but, on the contrary, exacerbates them by fueling the urge for revenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a number of species, including humans, perceived outgroup threat can promote ingroup cohesion. However, the distribution and selection history of this association across species with varied intergroup relations remains unclear. Using a sample of 8 captive groups (N = 43 individuals), we here tested whether bonobos, like chimpanzees, show more affiliative ingroup behaviour following perception of outgroup cues (unfamiliar male long-distance vocalisations). We used comparable methods to our previous study of captive chimpanzees, and found that, although weaker, there was an association for more frequent social grooming in response to the outgroup condition than the control condition, alongside more alert posture and increased self-directed behaviour. This provides preliminary evidence for an ancestral origin to the proximate association between outgroup cues and ingroup cohesion, at least prior to the Pan-Homo split, and suggests the presence of intergroup competition in our last common ancestor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we describe two basic motives for social identification: a drive for collective enhancement and a drive for epistemic fulfillment (uncertainty reduction). We posit that these two motives are critical for understanding one of the fundamental underlying mechanisms of social identity theory (SIT): positive distinctiveness, which is a desire to feel different from and better than relevant outgroups. Whereas "positive" was clearly outlined in the original social identity theory of intergroup relations, "distinctiveness" became a focal point of self-categorization theory. Most existing literature treats positive distinctiveness as a single construct; however, we argue that the "positive" and "distinctive" elements should be treated as separate but critically intertwined concepts. We suggest that "positive" is a direct feature of a desire for collective enhancement, and "distinctiveness" from a relevant outgroup is necessary for self-categorization that provides information to reduce self-uncertainty. Using the subjective group dynamics framework, which has historically emphasized the enhancement motive, we mathematically show that the motives act sequentially and differently to affect responses to deviance and change from it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By assuming that a group of nefarious actors collude to harm a perceiver's ingroup, conspiracy theories are an intergroup phenomenon. What are the group-oriented motivations underlying belief in conspiracy theories? This contribution proposes that conspiracy theories are associated with both symbolic, identity-based motivations and realistic, harm-based motivations. As symbolic motivations, conspiracy theories help people develop, maintain, and protect a positive social identity. Conspiracy theories can unite people through a shared belief system, provide a basis for favorable intergroup comparison, and enable perceivers to attribute ingroup status threats to external forces beyond their control. As realistic motivations, conspiracy theories prepare people for conflict with other groups. Conspiracy theories transform an abstract sense of distrust into concrete allegations of misconduct. This provides a signal that an outgroup is threatening, mobilizes the ingroup, and promotes a readiness to fight. I discuss the implications of these processes for theory and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The benefits of positive intergroup contact for intergroup attitudes are well‐established. Yet individual and group self‐segregation practices demonstrate that opportunities for intergroup contact are not sufficient for contact uptake; and persistent institutionalized segregation reinforces and compounds this problem. Hence, we need to understand what drives people towards and away from intergroup contact and what consequences the capacity to deliberately engage or avoid contact has for individuals, groups, and communities. This paper formally introduces the concept of intergroup contact volition: our perceived personal control over intergroup contact engagement and avoidance. We demonstrate this concept's theoretical, political, and practical significance by highlighting its embeddedness in both old and recent literature. We document debates around volition in early intergroup contact research and note a prolonged neglect since. After discussing reasons for that neglect, we present a detailed analysis of the concept, outlining how the idea of volition itself is contested and political, as well as the ways it intersects with broader societal power and status dynamics. We then outline pathways for future research, including investigations of when taking volition away (making contact mandated) might be helpful, intersections between psychological and human geography perspectives on volition, and connections between volition and system justification. We argue that contact volition is intimately and ultimately linked to issues of social change: support of, versus resistance to, policies promoting intergroup integration. As a result, an enhanced understanding of volition is critical to developing intergroup contact research and practice into outcomes that maximize social justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rules serve many important functions in society. One such function is to codify, and make public and enforceable, a society's desired prescriptions and proscriptions. This codification means that rules come with predefined punishments administered by third parties. We argue that when we look at how third parties punish rule violations, we see that rules and their punishments often serve dual functions. They support and help to maintain cooperation as it is usually theorized, but they also facilitate the domination of marginalized others. We begin by reviewing literature on rules and third‐party punishment, arguing that a great deal of punishment research has neglected to consider the unique power of codified rules. We also argue that by focusing on codified rules, it becomes clear that the enforcement of such rules via third‐party punishment is often used to exert control, punish retributively, and oppress outgroup members. By challenging idealized theory of rules as facilitators of social harmony, we highlight their role in satisfying personal punishment motives, and facilitating discrimination in a way that is uniquely justifiable to those who enforce them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A central question in social cognitive development concerns the degree to which children prefer social ingroup members relative to social outgroup members. Forced‐choice measures and continuous rating scales are often used to assess these preferences, but little work has examined the extent to which these two methods yield similar or divergent estimates. In Study 1, we used a within‐subjects design to assess gender‐, race‐, and accent‐based preferences in 5–6‐year‐old predominantly white children (N = 100) with both a forced‐choice and a rating measure (on a 1–6 scale); replicating prior work, children expressed ingroup preference along all three dimensions regardless of how they were assessed. In Study 2, we replicated the discrepancy between forced‐choice and rating in children's ingroup gender preferences in a more racially diverse sample (N = 55). In both studies, while responses on forced‐choice and rating measures were correlated, estimates of ingroup preference were stronger in each domain when assessed with a forced‐choice measure. We discuss the implications for researchers who wish to assess social group preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Negative emotions toward outgroup members are primary factors in maintaining and escalating inter-group conflicts. Building on studies showing that highly creative individuals exhibit fewer negative emotions toward outgroup members, we examined whether training creativity by means of divergent thinking tasks would reduce negative emotions toward outgroup members in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Experiment 1 examined the effectiveness of a 2-week creativity training program that entailed executing divergent thinking tasks. The results show that individuals trained to think creatively exhibited fewer negative emotions toward the outgroup compared to the control group. Experiment 2 examined the effects of a short creativity intervention and found that the intensity of negative emotions did not change immediately after carrying out divergent thinking tasks. These findings suggest that extended, but not short, creativity intervention may regulate negative emotions toward outgroup members, indicating that emotional change in the context of conflicts is possible only after repeated creativity training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We are witnessing increasing partisan polarization across the world. It is often argued that partisan "echo chambers" are one of the drivers of both policy and affective polarization. In this article, we develop and test the argument that the political homogeneity of people's social environment shapes polarization. Using an innovative, large-scale pre-registered "lab-in-the-field" experiment in the United Kingdom, we examine how polarization is influenced by partisan group homogeneity. We recruit nationally representative partisans and assign them to discuss a salient policy issue, either with like-minded partisans (an echo chamber) or in a mixed-partisan group. This allows us to examine how group composition affects polarization. In line with our expectations, we find that partisan echo chambers increase both policy and affective polarization compared to mixed discussion groups. This has important implications for our understanding of the drivers of polarization and for how out-group animosity might be ameliorated in the mass public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent work suggests that solidarity between people of color (PoC) is triggered when a minoritized ingroup believes they are discriminated similarly to another outgroup based on their alleged foreignness or inferiority. Heightened solidarity then boosts support for policies that benefit minoritized outgroups who are not one's own. Available experiments on this pathway vary by participants (e.g., Asian, Black, Middle Eastern, and Latino adults), manipulations (similar discrimination as foreign vs. inferior), and pro-outgroup outcomes (support for undocumented immigrants, Black Lives Matter). We report a pre-registered mini meta-analysis of this solidarity mechanism. Across five experiments (N  = 3,252), similar discrimination as foreign or inferior reliably triggers solidarity between PoC, which then substantially increases support for pro-outgroup policies. This mediated pathway is robust to possible confounding and emerges across studies and planned contrasts of them. We discuss what the viability of this mechanism implies for further theoretic and empirical innovations in a racially diversifying polity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can nativist attitudes condition support for LGBT+ rights? The sustained advance in pro-LGBT+ attitudes in the West often contrasts with the greening of anti-immigrant sentiment propagated by nativist supply-side actors. We argue that these parallel trends are causally connected, theorizing that exposure to sexually conservative ethnic out-groups can provoke an instrumental increase in LGBT+ inclusion, particularly among those hostile toward immigration. Leveraging experiments in Britain and Spain, we provide causal evidence that citizens strategically liberalize their levels of support for LGBT+ rights when opponents of these measures are from the ethnic out-group. In a context where sexuality-based liberalism is nationalized, increasing tolerance toward LGBT+ citizens is driven by a desire among nativist citizens to socially disidentify from those out-groups perceived as inimical to these nationalized norms. Our analyses provide a critical interpretation of positive trends in LGBT+ tolerance with instrumental liberalism masking lower rates of genuine shifts in LGBT+ inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to intergroup threats, group members typically exhibit aggressive behaviors. These aggressive behaviors include malevolent creativity (MC), which refers to the application of novel ideas to intentionally harm others. However, whether and how intergroup threats affect MC remains unclear. This study comprehensively examines the impact of intergroup threats on MC, along with its underlying mechanisms, across three experiments. Study 1 investigated the effects of intergroup threats on MC performance. The results revealed that while intergroup threat improved MC originality, it had no significant impact on general creativity, which indicates that intergroup threat enables individuals to invest more resources in generating original malevolent ideas. Building on these findings, Study 2 focused on how the target directivity of MC influences the relationship between intergroup threat and MC performance. The results demonstrated that MC originality was higher when the MC target was directed at threatening outgroup members rather than at irrelevant persons. These findings imply that threatened individuals tend to retaliate vicariously against out-group members using original malevolent methods. Study 3 explored whether realistic and symbolic threats exerted distinct effects on MC performance. Their results showed that only symbolic threats promoted originality and fluency in MC. This indicates that only symbolic threats compelled the incentives to promote the generation of malevolent ideas. In conclusion, these findings suggested that intergroup threats significantly amplify MC, particularly when directed at perceived threatening outgroup members, while symbolic threats appear more conducive to fostering the generation of malevolent ideas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examines how distant outgroups are portrayed in humanitarian appeals on a popular social media platform, YouTube. Social media is a growing platform for humanitarian organisations to spread messages about crises, as they can reach a wide audience in a quick and costless manner. Drawing from theories of visual framing and intergroup relations, this study analyses how organisations frame the outgroup beneficiaries in their online donation appeals. A quantitative content analysis was conducted to explore online humanitarian donation appeals, with a focus on the visual content used to portray outgroup beneficiaries. The study sampled 187 videos from 10 prominent humanitarian organisations' YouTube channels. Findings indicate that while humanitarian organisations have largely moved away from an explicit rhetoric of frail, dying, and suffering subjects, subtle notions of helplessness are still prevalent. The narrative that outgroup beneficiaries are passive sufferers can hence be detrimental to intergroup relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research demonstrates that individuals make moral judgments based on ideological inferences from facial cues. Using racially homogeneous male faces, four studies showed that individuals infer ideological beliefs—and thus group membership (in- versus out-group)—from a novel face and that the fit between the inferred social identity and the perceiver's own social identity leads to judgments of moral superiority. Further evidence shows that a salient social identity moderates moral evaluation. These results reflect the automaticity of social categorization, which contributes to moral judgments of a person. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research shows that people do not spontaneously show empathy toward stigmatized outgroups, and especially not toward groups lacking both competence and warmth as described in the Stereotype Content Model. However, people do prove capable of empathizing with such targets when required. We hypothesized that this discrepancy is due to a lower motivation to empathize with such stigmatized targets, reflected by people perceiving higher cognitive costs when doing so. In a series of four preregistered studies (Ntotal = 719), we tested this hypothesis by contrasting low competence/low warmth stigmatized groups with other groups in an Empathy Selection Task and measuring participants' perceived cognitive costs of empathizing. Results replicate previous findings that people prefer to avoid empathy due to its perceived cognitive costs. However, targets' group membership unexpectedly did not moderate effects. We propose a series of potential explanations for the absence of group membership moderating effects and suggest avenues for future work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The clade Syndermata includes the endoparasitic Acanthocephala, the epibiotic Seisonidea, and the free-living Bdelloidea and Monogononta. The phylogeny of Syndermata is highly debated, hindering the understanding of the evolution of morphological features, reproductive modes, and lifestyles within the group. Here, we use publicly available whole-genome data to re-evaluate syndermatan phylogeny and assess the credibility of alternative hypotheses, using a new combination of phylogenomic methods. We found that the Hemirotifera and Pararotatoria hypotheses were recovered under combinations of datasets and methods with reduced possibility of systematic error in concatenation-based analyses. In contrast, the Seisonidea-sister and Lemniscea hypotheses were recovered under dataset combinations with increased possibility of systematic error. Hemirotifera was further supported by whole-genome microsynteny analyses and species-tree methods that use multi-copy orthogroups after removing distantly related outgroups. Pararotatoria was only partially supported by microsynteny-based phylogenomic reconstructions. Hence, Hemirotifera and partially Pararotatoria were supported by independent phylogenetic methods and data-evaluation approaches. These two hypotheses have important implications for the evolution of syndermatan morphological features, such as the gradual reduction of locomotory ciliation from the common ancestor of Syndermata in the stem lineage of Pararotatoria. Our study illustrates the importance of combining various types of evidence to resolve difficult phylogenetic questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We seek to offer a threefold contribution to extant knowledge regarding the effect of public service motivation on the actual behavior of individual citizens. First, theoretically, we examine the role of public service motivation as a potential antecedent of in-group favoritism and out-group discrimination in an inter-country context through a configurational lens. Second, empirically, we contribute to the state of the art by conducting an incentivized donation study in which Chinese participants have to decide about giving away real money to poor students in the Chinese province Yunnan and/or neighboring country Myanmar. Third, methodologically, we analyze the impact of bundles of potential conditions promoting donation by applying fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, next to classic probabilistic regression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractWhite nationalists represent a growing security threat worldwide. Of concern are their narratives and conspiracy theories that position immigrants of diverse color and religion as the feared “other”—outgroups that are perceived to threaten the values, resources and safety of White people. We use survey data from 570 White Australians to better understand how and why such perceived “outgroup threats” elicit prejudice toward non-White immigrants. We find that perceived outgroup threats are strongly associated with greater prejudice. Importantly, we find that belief in The Great Replacement conspiracy theory explains the outgroup threat/prejudice relationship, while heightened feelings of uncertainty strengthen the relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aims to examine the influence of group membership and cultural conceptions on the regulation of interpersonal distance (IPD) among Chinese and Italian adolescents. Two‐hundred forty participants completed an online computerized version of the Interpersonal Visual Analogue Scale to assess their preferred IPD. A greater distance was found in Chinese than Italian participants. Chinese participants also chose a larger distance from outgroup than ingroup members, whereas no such tendencies were found among Italian participants. Moreover, in the Chinese group, a larger distance from the male target was chosen by females compared to male participants. Finally, all participants maintained greater distance when outgroup members approached from the back than from the front. These findings not only provide evidence that nationality and group membership impact on how individuals regulate spatial boundaries, but also offer a new lens to understand intergroup dynamics shaping social interactions among individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reports the results of an experiment (N = 502) investigating how speakers are socially categorized based on accent (Standard American English [SAE] or Nigerian) and race (White or Black) separately and concurrently, as well as the intergroup outcomes of such categorizations as mediated by language attitudes (status, solidary, and dynamism). Findings revealed that SAE-accented speakers were evaluated more favorably than Nigerian-accented speakers on status. Status also mediated the relationship between accent and (a) symbolic threat and (b) social distance. Additionally, Black males were rated higher on solidarity and dynamism than White males. Finally, status mediated the combined effect of the speaker's race and accent on symbolic threat, intergroup anxiety, and social distance. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brands are increasingly engaging in social marketing campaigns that take stances on important social issues. Such campaigns can garner considerable awareness and effectively encourage consumers to purchase the focal brand. However, they can also outrage other consumer segments who disapprove of the brand's social stance. While social campaigns that outrage consumer groups would normally be undesirable, our research investigates how they can alternatively have a positive impact for brands that support the attacked value. This prediction is based on the premise that outrage expressed towards a social campaign threatens the value involved, causing consumers who want to defend that value to engage in symbolic protective responses by strengthening self‐brand connections and increasing purchase intentions. Five experiments validate this theorizing, and further show that these social threat effects are moderated by the type of outgroup that expressed the outrage and the level of viral support the expressed outrage received. Implications for the social marketing and brand relationship literatures are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]