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Abstract

When individuals are faced with a social identity threat, they typically take one of two routes: self-group distancing or collective action. In situations where discrimination poses a significant social threat, individuals may disengage from their ingroup in an attempt to preserve their social standing and reputation (van Veelen et al., 2020; Scheepers & Ellemers, 2019). Alternatively, individuals may cope with this social identity threat by combining efforts with their group to turn the hostile experience of discrimination into a positive outcome, creating mobilization and advocacy for their entire group (Scheepers & Ellemers, 2019). The extent to which an individual identifies with their racial group will determine which of these two routes they choose (Derks et al., 2015). Further, individuals may also respond to discrimination by altering their social group boundaries, either including or excluding others from their group. The primary objective of this study is to examine how Asian Americans respond to conditions of discrimination and what strategies they utilize when dealing with those conditions. Additionally, the study aims to analyze the impact of identity centrality and discrimination on an individual’s memory for ingroup vs. outgroup faces, specifically comparing White and Asian faces. The study found that low centrality participants had poorer memory for ingroup faces than high centrality participants when exposed to discrimination, suggesting low centrality individuals engage in self-group distancing. High centrality participants had better memory when exposed to discrimination, suggesting that they engage in collective action. The study also found that exposure to discrimination prompted high centrality participants to expand their social group boundaries, allowing for the inclusion of others into their ingroup.

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