Anna Rabinovich

Time perspective and attitude‐behaviour consistency in future‐oriented behaviours

The authors propose that the salience of a distant-future time perspective, compared to a near-future time perspective, should increase attitude-behaviour and attitude-intention consistency for future-oriented behaviours. To test this prediction, time perspective was experimentally manipulated in three studies. Across studies, participants in the distant-future time perspective condition demonstrated a strong positive relationship between attitudes towards future-oriented behaviours (saving and environmental protection) and corresponding intentions, as well as between attitudes and behaviour. In the near-future time perspective condition, the relationship between attitudes and intentions and attitudes and behaviour was significantly weaker than in the distant-future time perspective condition. The theoretical implications of these results and suggestions for future research are discussed.

‘Just because you can get a wheelchair in the building doesn't necessarily mean that you can still participate’: barriers to the career advancement of disabled professionals

Despite governmental efforts and organizational initiatives, the number of disabled professionals in full‐time employment is small, and the number of those occupying leadership positions remains even smaller. Past research into disability and employment has outlined a range of barriers that disabled people face in seeking and maintaining employment. Yet, not enough is known about the challenges they encounter in top ranking appointments. This article extends Ryans and Haslams notion of the glass cliff to help explain the precariousness experienced by a group of disabled employees in leadership positions – focusing on the nature of the positions they hold and the difficulties they encounter as they attempt to advance their careers. Using qualitative interview data the analysis draws attention to problems associated with lack of opportunity, lack of resources and lack of support. It also point to ways of making workplace cultures and organizational practices more supportive of diversity.

Unquestioned Answers or Unanswered Questions: Beliefs About Science Guide Responses to Uncertainty in Climate Change Risk Communication

In two experimental studies we investigated the effect of beliefs about the nature and purpose of science (classical vs. Kuhnian models of science) on responses to uncertainty in scientific messages about climate change risk. The results revealed a significant interaction between both measured (Study 1) and manipulated (Study 2) beliefs about science and the level of communicated uncertainty on willingness to act in line with the message. Specifically, messages that communicated high uncertainty were more persuasive for participants who shared an understanding of science as debate than for those who believed that science is a search for absolute truth. In addition, participants who had a concept of science as debate were more motivated by higher (rather than lower) uncertainty in climate change messages. The results suggest that achieving alignment between the general publics beliefs about science and the style of the scientific messages is crucial for successful risk communication in science. Accordingly, rather than uncertainty always undermining the effectiveness of science communication, uncertainty can enhance message effects when it fits the audiences understanding of what science is.

Collective self and individual choice : The effects of inter-group comparative context on environmental values and behaviour

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.

Who Says We Are Bad People? The Impact of Criticism Source and Attributional Content on Responses to Group-Based Criticism

We investigated the interplay between the source of criticism and the attributional content of their message on behavioral responses to group-based criticism. Studies 1 and 2 revealed that outgroup critics were more effective when their criticism included internal attributions (to the ingroup’s character) rather than external attributions (the ingroup’s circumstances), whereas there was no effect of attributional content for ingroup critics (a significant Source × Content interaction). Study 3 explored the role of audiences in responses to outgroup criticism. The results indicated that the positive effects of internal versus external attributions were only evident when an outgroup audience was witness to participants’ responses. Furthermore, these effects were mediated through concerns about the ingroup’s image. Together, these patterns suggest that responses to criticism depend not just on the identity of the critic but also on what the critic says and who is watching. People may be surprisingly responsive to outgroup criticism—particularly when inaction might lead others to perceive them as “bad people.”

Unpacking the hedonic paradox: A dynamic analysis of the relationships between financial capital, social capital and life satisfaction

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.

Who we were and who we will be: The temporal context of women's in‐group stereotype content

Research has elaborated considerably on the dimensions of out-group stereotype content and on the origins and functions of different content combinations. Less attention has been given to the origins and functions of in-group stereotype content. We argue that in-group stereotypes are likely to serve different social identity functions, and thus attract different content, dependent on individual differences in in-group identification and on the temporal perspective of the perceiver. Two studies (Ns = 43 and 93) found that womens in-group stereotype content varied as a function of gender group identification and temporal perspective. When the past was primed, highly identified women generated stereotypes that emphasized the warmth (but not competence) of their group. When the future was primed, highly identified women generated stereotypes that emphasized the competence (as well as warmth) of their group. These results are discussed in terms of the use of stereotypes for social creativity versus social change.

Let another praise you? The effects of source and attributional content on responses to group-directed praise

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.

Subgroup identities as a key to cooperation within large social groups

We experimentally investigated the effect of superordinate (i.e. British) versus subordinate (i.e. English) identity salience on willingness to contribute to a resource shared at the superordinate level (the British coast). Contrary to what would be expected from straightforward application of self-categorization theory, two studies demonstrated that willingness to contribute to this shared resource was higher when subordinate (rather than superordinate) identity was activated. To explain this effect, we suggest that subordinate identities sometimes provide a more meaningful basis for self-definition and, when this is the case, activating subordinate level of identity might lay the foundation for enhanced cooperation within higher-order identities. Indeed, consistent with this argument, Study 2 showed that increased meaningfulness and coherence of the self-concept mediated the effect of subordinate identity salience on contributions to the shared (superordinate) resource. The results are discussed with respect to the role of meaning in determining categorization effects.

The password is praise: Content of feedback affects categorization of feedback sources

In three experimental studies, we investigated the effect of the content of group-directed feedback on categorization of the feedback source as an ingroup or an outgroup member. In all studies, feedback valence (criticism vs. praise) and the attributional content of feedback (attributing outcomes to internal properties of the group vs. external circumstances) were experimentally manipulated. The results demonstrated that anonymous (Study 1) and ambiguous (Studies 2 and 3) sources of feedback are more likely to be seen as (typical) ingroup members when they provide praise rather than criticism. In addition, in all studies there was a significant interaction between valence and the attributional content of feedback, such that sources of praise were more likely to be seen as ingroup members when they attributed the groups success to internal (rather than external) causes, while the opposite was observed for critics. These effects were mediated by perceived group image threat. Implications for research on group-based feedback and social categorization are discussed.