Reactions to Intragroup Deviance: Does Disidentification Have a Role?

In this study, we address previous evidence about the interchangeable use of derogation and disidentification in protecting the self from intragroup deviance. We argue that when the in-group stands for a valued social identity, members may disidentify from the group, but only if the immediate context provides no opportunity to derogate. In the present experiments (n = 80 and n = 79), we provided or did not provide participants with the opportunity to recommend a punishment for an in-group or an out-group deviant. We also measured in-group identification before and after exposure to deviant behavior and after judgment. The results show that participants first disidentified from the in-group but, when presented with an opportunity to judge the deviant, also derogated. Importantly, participants who could judge the deviant also recovered their initial in-group identification level. Participants’ reactions to the out-group deviant suggest they used an intergroup rather than intragroup strategy.     

Emotional Rescue: How Affect Helps Partisans Overcome Collective Action Problems

Why does party identification motivate citizens to participate in politics? From a theoretical standpoint, it is in a partisan's self‐interest to free ride on the efforts of others. Yet, mere identification with a party is enough to motivate many people to overcome this structural hurdle. We theorize that, by virtue of aligning one's self with a party, individuals become more likely to react to their political environment with anger and enthusiasm rather than fear. Anger and enthusiasm are associated with approach and continuation of current behavior, while fear triggers behavior reconsideration. In short, party identification stimulates participation via anger and enthusiasm. On the other hand, fear produces thought but not much action. We find support for our model using data from the American National Election Studies (ANES) and an original laboratory experiment.     

Dis-Identity: New Forms of Identity and Psychopathology—Socioanthropological Changes and Self-Development

The passage from modernity to postmodernity deeply upset the group dimension, and, consequently, personal identity itself. Transformations involving the entire planet, socioanthropological changes our society had to cope with, are producing a change in the dynamics of identity formation and the appearance of new psychopathological figures. The loss of cohesion of the sense of belonging and the weak internalization process of the elements that form the individual identity (cultural, linguistic, religious traditions, etc.) draw an essentially uncertain and temporary existence. Drawing on some themes of subjectual group analysis theory of personality, the article proposes the concept of dis-identity as key to read ongoing psychic changes.     

Narrative identity: writing the self in career learning

We propose that writing can be employed to foster the kind of career learning required in the twenty-first century. The article offers insights into how writing exercises and approaches can be applied to help students construct their career stories in a way that allows them to engage in a dialogical learning process and work in a self-directed way. Creative, expressive and reflective writing practices are described and parallels are drawn between these and existing practices and theories in narrative career counselling. Key exercises in graduate courses for writing for personal development are discussed and a theoretical explanation is given as to why a particular order of approaches and exercises works best to promote career learning.     

The Gender Identity Reflection and Rumination Scale: Development and Psychometric Evaluation

The authors describe the development of the Gender Identity Reflection and Rumination Scale (GRRS), which measures rumination in the context of gender identity among transgender persons. GRRS items were formulated taking into account previous research on rumination, stigma stress, and identity processing. Two national U.S. samples were collected to investigate the psychometric properties of the GRRS, resulting in 3 factors of gender identity rumination: Reflection, Rumination, and Preoccupation With Others’ Perceptions.     

Emotions and White Racial Identity Status Attitudes

Relationships between emotional states and White racial identity status attitudes (Helms, 1984 , 1990) were tested on a sample of 286 White students. The stimulus was a vignette in which one condition involved explicit racial information and one did not. Participants rated baseline and posttest emotions and completed the White Racial Identity Attitude Scale (Helms & Carter, 1990 ). In the race condition, levels of posttest fear decreased as levels of autonomy status attitudes increased. Se realizó un test sobre las relaciones entre los estados emocionales y las actitudes de estado de identidad racial blanca (Helms, 1984 , 1990) en una muestra de 286 estudiantes blancos. El estímulo fue una viñeta en la cual una de las condiciones incluía información racial explícita y otra no. Los participantes evaluaron las emociones de referencia y con posterioridad al test, y completaron la Escala de Actitudes de Identidad Racial Blanca (Helms & Carter, 1990 ). En la condición de raza explícita, los niveles de miedo con posterioridad al test disminuyeron, mientras que los niveles de actitudes de estado de autonomía aumentaron.     

To switch or not to switch: Inviting bilingual clients to switch languages in psychotherapy

In the present study, we used an audio-analog design to test whether exposing bilingual participants to a therapist who invited a bilingual client to switch languages in a psychotherapy session would have a positive effect on participants’ perceptions of the therapist. We also explored whether participants’ sense of belonging to their ethnic group and to the larger US culture would enhance or attenuate this effect. Sixty-three bilingual Latino/a university students listened to one of two recordings of a simulated psychotherapy session with a bilingual Latina therapist and client. In one recording, the therapist invited the client to switch from English to Spanish when the client had trouble expressing complicated feelings; in the other, the therapist did not invite the client to switch. When listening, participants were asked to imagine themselves in the role of client and to rate the credibility and multicultural competence of the therapist, and the emotional bond they would anticipate with her. Contrary to expectation, only participants who expressed a greater sense of belonging to US culture rated the therapist who invited the client to switch as being more multiculturally competent. We discuss how these findings contribute to the literature on language switching and bilingualism in psychotherapy.     

Is Gayness a Test from Allah? Typologies in Muslim Stances on Homosexuality

The article presents a spectrum of views within Muslim discourse on questions such as: “Is non-hetero predilection congenital and as such created by God?,” “Are non-hetero feelings/actions sinful as such?,” “Should the authorities in Muslim states punish homosexual acts?,” “Should lesbian and gay Muslims marry partners of the opposite gender?” The stances presented are based on texts by Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Heba Gamal Kotb, Abdelwahab Bouhdiba, Amreen Jamal and Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle. Stances presented by various Muslim internet sites are also considered. The review is grouped into a four-way typology: strongly traditional; moderately traditional; moderately progressive; and strongly progressive. The second part of the article reflects on how non-hetero Muslims cope theoretically and practically with their religious and sexual identity. The various stances and practices are grouped into six types based on the correlation/tension between “right” (divinely revealed) and “good” (in a human sense): (i) rejecting all kinds of non-hetero identities, feelings and practices; (ii) accepting feelings and identity, but rejecting practice; (iii) unsuccessful efforts to reject practice; (iv) accepting one's identity and practice due to interpretations of the Qur'an and theological reflection; (v) accepting non-hetero practices without regard to religious rules pertaining to this issue; (vi) accepting non-hetero identity and practices combined with (secretly) rejecting Islam due to the question of homosexuality.