Perceived discrimination and women's psychological distress: The roles of collective and personal self-esteem.

In the spirit of counseling psychology's social justice mission (e.g., L. A. Goodman, B. Liang, J. E. Helms, R. E. Latta, E. Sparks, & S. R. Weintraub, 2004), the authors examined perceptions of discrimination against women as related to women's views of the group women, their views of themselves as individuals, and their psychological distress. Path analysis was used to test an extended chain of mediation from perceptions of discrimination to public collective self-esteem, private collective self-esteem, personal self-esteem, and finally to psychological distress. Data (N = 235) were consistent with hypotheses and indicated a good fit for the model. Results were in accord with feminist theorists' assertions of the harmful nature of sexist discrimination, as the model accounted for substantial proportions of variance in depression and anxiety. Furthermore, these findings on mechanisms by which harm may be induced offer important clues for prevention and intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lesbian and gay male group identity attitudes and self-esteem: Implications for counseling.

96 lesbians and gay men (aged 18–46 yrs) completed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and a modified version of J. E. Helms and T. A. Parham's (1985) Racial Identity Attitude Scale (RIAS). Based on W. E. Cross's (1971, 1978) model of African-American identity development, the RIAS assesses 4 distinct psychological stages (preencounter, encounter, immersion-emersion, and internalization), which are thought to correspond to a parallel process in the development of gay male and lesbian group identity attitudes. Consistent with findings among other minority groups, the results indicated a moderate inverse relationship between preencounter attitudes and self-esteem and a positive relationship between internalization attitudes and self-esteem. Encounter and immersion-emersion attitudes were (nonsignificantly) negatively correlated with self-esteem. Implications for counseling gay men and lesbians are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of individual and group identity salience in the global self-esteem of youth.

Combined 9 specific self-ratings into a scale that used various weightings in an attempt to maximize correlations with global self-esteem measured by 2 content-free scales and to determine whether the content-free scales would tap the same self-esteem dimensions as the summated 9-factor scale. Ss were 1,528 7th, 9th, and 11th graders. Results suggest that measures based on summations of a large number of specific self-ratings tap a somewhat different phenomenon than content-free global scales. The most effective weighting of specific dimensions for predicting global self-esteem depended on group-identity salience rather than individual-identity salience—group means of the importance of the separate self-evaluation dimensions rather than each S's self-rating of the importance of that dimension. This result held even when interactive models of weighting were used. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of social identity and threat on self-esteem and group attributions.

Two studies were conducted to examine reactions and coping responses to a threatened group identity. In both studies, participants were asked to read a (fictitious) report that varied whether their group received a good or bad evaluation. In Study 2, the report also gave an internal or external reason for the rating. Study 1 showed that participants made more positive affirmations about an important group membership when their group had been threatened. They also made an equal number of internal and external attributions when they identified strongly with their group. Study 2 showed that participants who were given a group-serving attribution when their group had been threatened had higher self-esteem than those not given a group-serving attribution, especially if they identified strongly with their group. These results are discussed in the context of social identity theory and biased information processing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Identity and the language of the classroom: Investigating the impact of heritage versus second language instruction on personal and collective self-esteem.

The connection between heritage language instruction and self-esteem was investigated. Participants were Inuit, White, and mixed-heritage (Inuit-White) children living in a subarctic community. Testing occurred before and after their 1st year in a heritage language or a 2nd language program. Children from all 3 groups who were educated in their heritage language showed a substantial increase in their personal self-esteem, whereas Inuit and mixed-heritage children educated in a 2nd language did not. Among the Inuit, Inuttitut instruction was associated with positive regard for the ingroup, whereas English or French instruction was associated with preference for the White outgroup. The present findings support claims that early heritage language education can have a positive effect on the personal and collective self-esteem of minority language students—a benefit not provided by 2nd language instruction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Lesbian and gay male group identity attitudes and self-esteem: Implications for counseling": Erratum.

Reports errors in the original article by K. L. Walters and J. M. Simoni (Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1993[Jan], Vol 40(1), 94–99). Two errors were made in Table 3. First, the reported statistics were not identified. For all but columns C and D, the statistics are standardized beta weights from multiple regression analyses. The statistics in columns C and D are simple correlations. Second, in column D, the respective values for the preencounter and immersion-emersion stages should be –.41* (not –.35*) and –.15 (not –.40). (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1993-13378-001.) 96 lesbians and gay men (aged 18–46 yrs) completed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and a modified version of J. E. Helms and T. A. Parham's (1985) Racial Identity Attitude Scale (RIAS). Based on W. E. Cross's (1971, 1978) model of African-American identity development, the RIAS assesses 4 distinct psychological stages (preencounter, encounter, immersion-emersion, and internalization), which are thought to correspond to a parallel process in the development of gay male and lesbian group identity attitudes.… (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-sacrificial leadership and follower self-esteem: When collective identification matters.

In the present research, we examine whether leader's self-sacrifice positively influences followers' self-esteem and whether followers' identification with the collective plays a role in this process. It was predicted that leader self-sacrifice would influence followers' self-esteem, but particularly so when followers exhibited strong (vs. weak) collective identification. Results from an organizational survey showed that leader self-sacrifice and collective identification interacted in predicting follower self-esteem, such that followers' self-esteem was higher when they identified strongly with the collective and when the leader was self-sacrificial (vs. self-benefiting). An experimental scenario study replicated this interactive effect between collective identification and leader's self-sacrifice on followers' self-esteem and also showed that this effect was (at least partly) mediated by followers' perceptions of whether the leader respected and valued the group. Implications with respect to the relationship between self-sacrifice and self-esteem are outlined, and possible integrations of leader self-sacrifice, identity, and empowerment are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Politicized collective identity: A social psychological analysis.

This article develops a social psychological model of politicized collective identity that revolves around 3 conceptual triads. The 1st triad consists of collective identity, the struggle between groups for power, and the wider societal context. It is proposed that people evince politicized collective identity to the extent that they engage as self-conscious group members in a power struggle on behalf of their group knowing that it is the more inclusive societal context in which this struggle has to be fought out. Next, 3 antecedent stages leading to politicized collective identity are distinguished: awareness of shared grievances, adversarial attributions, and involvement of society at large. This sequence culminates in the final triad because the intergroup power struggle is eventually triangulated by involving society at large or representatives thereof. Consequences of politicized collective identity are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

From I to we: Social identity and the collective self.

Social identity theory is a nonreductionist account of the relationship between collective self and social group. Cognitive-motivational processes affect, and are affected by, group, intergroup, and societal processes, to make people behave and think about themselves and others in ways that are generally characteristics of groups and specifically shaped by the social context. The development and current status of social identity theory is described historically, as part of the debate between collectivistic and individualistic perspectives on social psychology, the social group, and the selfconcept. The authors trace the debate from Wundt through Durkheim, LeBon, McDougall, Mead, and the "crisis in social psychology" and show how the development of European social psychology framed the development of social identity theory. The article concludes with a critical discussion of the collectivistic credentials of social identity theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intergroup discrimination and self-esteem in the minimal group paradigm.

Tested the hypothesis that intergroup discrimination (IGD) in the minimal group paradigm is related to self-esteem. According to social identity theory, IGD is a strategy for achieving self-esteem via social competition aimed at increasing the positive distinctiveness of one's own group. However, other elements of the procedure, such as categorization into groups or the opportunity to engage in a meaningful experimental task irrespective of its value for social competition, might also affect self-esteem. 135 undergraduates were randomly assigned to 8 concurrent experimental conditions. A 2-way MANOVA on the core design produced a significant interaction effect, whereby categorized Ss who had the opportunity to discriminate between groups and noncategorized Ss who did not discriminate showed higher self-esteem than did both categorized Ss who could not engage in discrimination and noncategorized Ss who could discriminate. Results support social identity theory and suggest that social categorization by itself may constitute a threat to self-esteem that can be resolved via social competition. Results from the supplementary conditions support the conclusion that it is IGD, and not merely the completion of an experimental task, that redeems self-esteem. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beyond self-esteem: Influence of multiple motives on identity construction.

Diverse theories suggest that people are motivated to maintain or enhance feelings of self-esteem, continuity, distinctiveness, belonging, efficacy, and meaning in their identities. Four studies tested the influence of these motives on identity construction, by using a multilevel regression design. Participants perceived as more central those identity elements that provided a greater sense of self-esteem, continuity, distinctiveness, and meaning; this was found for individual, relational, and group levels of identity, among various populations, and by using a prospective design. Motives for belonging and efficacy influenced identity definition indirectly through their direct influences on identity enactment and through their contributions to self-esteem. Participants were happiest about those identity elements that best satisfied motives for self-esteem and efficacy. These findings point to the need for an integrated theory of identity motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using the Implicit Association Test to measure self-esteem and self-concept.

Experiment 1 used the Implicit Association Test (IAT; A. G. Greenwald, D. E. McGhee, & J. L. K. Schwartz, 1998) to measure self-esteem by assessing automatic associations of self with positive or negative valence. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed that two IAT measures defined a factor that was distinct from, but weakly correlated with, a factor defined by standard explicit (self-report) measures of self-esteem. Experiment 2 tested known-groups validity of two IAT gender self-concept measures. Compared with well-established explicit measures, the IAT measures revealed triple the difference in measured masculinity–femininity between men and women. Again, CFA revealed construct divergence between implicit and explicit measures. Experiment 3 assessed the self-esteem IAT's validity in predicting cognitive reactions to success and failure. High implicit self-esteem was associated in the predicted fashion with buffering against adverse effects of failure on two of four measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Responding to membership in a disadvantaged group: From acceptance to collective protest.

The question addressed is, when do disadvantaged-group members accept their situation, take individual action, or attempt to instigate collective action? Ss attempted to move from a low-status group into an advantaged, high-status group and were asked to respond to their subsequent rejection. Ss who believed that the high-status group was open to members of their group endorsed acceptance and individual actions. When access to the high-status group was restricted, even to the point of being almost closed (tokenism), Ss still preferred individual action. Disruptive forms of collective action were only favored by Ss who were told that the high-status group was completely closed to members of their group. Ss who believed they were near to gaining entry into the high-status group favored individual protest, while Ss distant from entry were more likely to accept their position. The theoretical and societal implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology in an age of ecological crisis: From personal angst to collective action.

Recent technological, geophysical, and societal forces have fundamentally altered the structure and functioning of human environments. Prominent among these forces are the rise of the Internet; rapid rates of global environmental change; and widening rifts among different socioeconomic, racial, religious, and ethnic groups. The present article traces the influence of these conditions on individuals' cognition, behavior, and well-being. New theoretical questions are raised and conceptual frameworks proposed to understand how global conditions are restructuring people's relationships with their everyday environments. New directions for psychological research and practice aimed at reducing global threats to personal and societal well-being are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Linking technology and structure to enhance group performance.

We examined linkages between technology and structure at the group level of analysis as predictors of group performance. The general hypothesis is that group technology/structural fit is a better predictor of work group performance than either technology or structure alone. Related hypotheses match three technology variables (task predictability, problem analyzability, and interdependence) with three group structural variables (horizontal differentiation, vertical differentiation, and connectedness) to predict group performance. Technology/structural fit variables in this study are significant predictors of group performance, as are group structural properties alone. Technology variables are very poor predictors alone. The fit variables add significant explained variance over and above the technology and structural variables as universalistic predictors. Predictions about which technology and structural variables to match for higher group performance are generally supported. These results could allow future contingency research to make greater contributions to theory building about group performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Asian Indians' responses to discrimination: A mixed-method examination of identity, coping, and self-esteem.

The focus on racial injustice in ethnic minority psychology recognizes a need to understand the effects of racism experienced by Asian Indians in the U.S. Utilizing a mixed-method approach with 102 first and second generation Asian Indians, we examined (a) when and why race and ethnicity are salient for Asian Indians, (b) the mediating roles of racial identity and ethnic identity, and (c) the moderating roles of generational status and racial socialization on the relationship between racism related stress, self-esteem and coping. Qualitative analyses revealed distinct and overlapping themes related to race and ethnicity highlighting the relevance of both constructs to participants. Quantitative analyses revealed racial identity to be a significant mediator in the relationship between racism related stress, self-esteem, and coping. Neither generational status nor racial socialization experiences moderated this relationship. Implications of these findings for research and clinical intervention with Asian Indians are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stressing the group: Social identity and the unfolding dynamics of responses to stress.

Participants in the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) prison study were randomly assigned to high-status (guard) and low-status (prisoner) groups. Structural interventions increased the prisoners' sense of shared group identity and their willingness to challenge the power of the guards. Psychometric, physiological, behavioral, and observational data support the hypothesis that identity-based processes also affected participants' experience of stress. As prisoners' sense of shared identity increased, they provided each other with more social support and effectively resisted the adverse effects of situational stressors. As guards' sense of shared identity declined, they provided each other with less support and succumbed to stressors. Findings support an integrated social identity model of stress that addresses intragroup and intergroup dynamics of the stress process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparative processes in personal and group judgments: Resolving the discrepancy.

The judgment mechanisms underlying personal- and group-level ratings of discrimination and privilege were investigated in high- and low-status groups. A consistent personal–group discrepancy is found for discrimination and privilege but is not due to personal differentiation from the group. Instead, personal and group ratings are based on different comparison standards and levels of self (personal vs. social identity); personal motives influence personal ratings, and social motivations influence group ratings. This analysis is supported by contrasting the traditional discrepancy score with a direct comparison measure (Study 2) and by showing the sensitivity of group ratings (but not personal ratings) to group audience and degree of group identification (Studies 3 and 4). Studying the different meanings communicated with personal and group ratings provides more insight into the dimensions of deprivation than do analyses of discrepancy scores. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attractiveness of group as function of self-esteem and acceptance by group.

"Persons made to feel well accepted in a group found the group more attractive than did those made to feel poorly accepted. But this difference was significantly greater among persons with low self-esteem… low self-esteem being taken as an indication of strong need for acceptance. Some support was given to the additional predictions that attractiveness of membership in a group varies directly with need for acceptance when a group is accepting and inversely when a group is non-accepting." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)