Zachary P. Hohman

Identity and Intergroup Leadership: Asymmetrical Political and National Identification in Response to Uncertainty

Based on research showing that feelings of self-uncertainty increase group identification, we explored the idea that leader-induced uncertainty might under some conditions also strengthen identification. Given that most leadership situations involve leading diverse subgroups, the effectiveness of leader-induced uncertainty to increase identification would likely be influenced by the extent to which members viewed the superordinate group as reflecting their own subgroups attributes, as well as the extent to which the superordinate group leader was considered prototypical of their subgroup. Students (N = 125) indicated their party affiliation (Democrat vs. Republican) and political ideology (liberal vs. conservative), and read a speech by the current US President, George W. Bush, in which they were instructed to focus on aspects of the speech that made them feel uncertain or feel certain. Dependent measures were strength of national (American) identification and strength of identification with their political party (Democratic or Republican). As predicted, we found that uncertainty strengthened party identification among all participants, and weakened national identification among Democrats. Uncertainty did not affect national identification among Republicans, quite probably because as a group they already identified very strongly with nation. Implications for the strategic use of uncertainty by intergroup leaders to strengthen identification and leader endorsement are discussed.

Groups can jeopardize your health: Identifying with unhealthy groups to reduce self-uncertainty

Adolescents often engage in behaviors posing significant risks to their health (e.g., substance abuse, sexual promiscuity). One explanation is that adolescence is a developmental phase characterized by impulsiveness and poor judgment of contingencies and risk. We present an alternative uncertainty-identity theory analysis that focuses on adolescence as a period of identity transition. Adolescents are confronted by significant uncertainty about who they are and how they should behave, and they largely turn to their peers to ground their sense of self. They engage in risky health practices because these behaviors define adolescent groups that provide a highly distinctive sense of self and identity that is validated and imbued with prestige by their peers. We asses empirical support for this analysis, and suggest factors that may protect adolescents from uncertainty-motivated identification with unhealthy groups.

Can you spare an organ?: exploring Hispanic Americans' willingness to discuss living organ donation with loved ones.

Living organ donation offers a means of overcoming the shortage of viable organs available for transplant: a shortage particularly problematic among Hispanics. One barrier standing between those in need of a kidney and a successful transplant operation is an inability, and often lack of desire, to talk to loved ones about the need for a living donation. With an eye on future intervention approaches, and guided in part by the theory of planned behavior, this research effort sought to explore the factors associated with a willingness to engage in a conversation about a living donation with loved ones. Study 1, a phone survey of Hispanic Americans drawn from a Hispanic surname list, reveals that while upward of 90% of respondents would be willing to offer a kidney to a family member in need, and a similar percentage would be willing to accept a living donation if offered, only about half of respondents would feel comfortable initiating a conversation with family members if the respondent was in need of a living donation. Study 2, a survey of Hispanic American patients currently in need of a living kidney donation, revealed that perceived behavioral control accounted for 60% of the variance in future intentions to initiate a conversation among those who have yet to speak to a family member about becoming a living donor. Moreover, perceived behavioral control mediated the relationship between perceived asking appropriateness and future intentions to initiate a conversation. Lastly, recipient outcome expectations, asking appropriateness, and subjective norms were revealed to be predictive of perceived behavioral control. Implications for future living donor interventions focusing on increasing recipient-initiated conversations are discussed.

Increasing Social Support for Depressed Individuals: A Cross-Cultural Assessment of an Affect-Expectancy Approach

Depression is a mental illness affecting 121 million people. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration recently launched a national, bilingual (English and Spanish) campaign to motivate young adults to support friends with mental illness. This article highlights and assesses the usefulness of two theoretically derived variables for increasing the social support received by all depressed individuals: (a) affect and (b) social support outcome expectations. In accord with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrations bilingual campaign, the authors conducted two studies using intercepts at 2 swap meets in the U.S. Southwest. One study sample consisted of Spanish-dominant Hispanics, the other non-Hispanics. For both samples, results indicate that affect, social support outcome expectations, and their interaction accounted for more than 50% of the variance of social support intentions (67% in the Hispanic sample when familism was considered). Affect is commonplace in the helping behavior literature; results indicate social support outcome expectations deserve equal consideration. Moreover, an unexpected finding emerged: Perceiving a lack of willpower, need for attention, and lack of moral character to be the cause of depression resulted in increased sympathy among the Hispanic sample but increased anger among non-Hispanics.

Differentiating Common Predictors and Outcomes of Marijuana Initiation: A Retrospective Longitudinal Analysis

This quasi-experimental secondary analysis, funded by NIDA, employed data from a national sample of 1,968 US adolescents, collected from 1999 to 2003, self-classified as resolutely anti-marijuana on the first two yearly assessments (T1 and 2). At T3, respondents remained resolute non-users, or had moved to vulnerable non-use or use. Analysis of variance indicated that users at T3 were significantly heavier users of tobacco and alcohol, and reported significantly less intense parental monitoring, than those who did not initiate marijuana use. Furthermore, categorizing non-users as either resolute or vulnerable revealed behavioral patterns that otherwise would have been unidentified. Implications for prevention are discussed.

Attitude ambivalence, social norms, and behavioral intentions: Developing effective antitobacco persuasive communications.

This study assessed the moderating effects of attitude ambivalence on the relationship between social norms, attitudes, and behavioral intentions to use tobacco. It was predicted that people would use social norms to reduce attitude ambivalence, and that reduced ambivalence would lead to changes in attitudes and behavioral intentions. To test this hypothesis, participants (N = 152) were exposed to persuasive communications designed to influence attitude ambivalence and perceived social norms regarding tobacco use. Analysis indicated that providing a social norm antagonistic to tobacco use significantly reduced ambivalence among participants reading the ambivalence message (p < .001). Examining changes in tobacco attitudes from pre- to postpersuasive communications demonstrated a significant decrease in tobacco attitudes only for participants reading the ambivalence message who were provided with the antitobacco use norm (p < .001). Ambivalent message participants also expressed significantly lower intentions to use tobacco when provided with social norms indicating antitobacco sentiments (p < .02), and this significant decrease in intentions was associated with changes in attitudes toward tobacco. These results point to the important role of social norms in mediating the effects of attitude ambivalence on subsequent behavior in preventative programs targeting tobacco use.

A Biopsychological Model of Anti-drug PSA Processing: Developing Effective Persuasive Messages

For the current study, we developed and tested a biopsychological model to combine research on psychological tension, the Limited Capacity Model of Motivated Mediated Message Processing, and the endocrine system to predict and understand how people process anti-drug PSAs. We predicted that co-presentation of pleasant and unpleasant information, vs. solely pleasant or unpleasant, will trigger evaluative tension about the target behavior in persuasive messages and result in a biological response (increase in cortisol, alpha amylase, and heart rate). In experiment 1, we assessed the impact of co-presentation of pleasant and unpleasant information in persuasive messages on evaluative tension (conceptualized as attitude ambivalence), in experiment 2, we explored the impact of co-presentation on endocrine system responses (salivary cortisol and alpha amylase), and in experiment 3, we assessed the impact of co-presentation on heart rate. Across all experiments, we demonstrated that co-presentation of pleasant and unpleasant information, vs. solely pleasant or unpleasant, in persuasive communications leads to increases in attitude ambivalence, salivary cortisol, salivary alpha amylase, and heart rate. Taken together, the results support the initial paths of our biopsychological model of persuasive message processing and indicate that including both pleasant and unpleasant information in a message impacts the viewer. We predict that increases in evaluative tension and biological responses will aid in memory and cognitive processing of the message. However, future research is needed to test that hypothesis.

Retaliation against the outgroup: The role of self-uncertainty:

Outgroups who threaten the core aspects of one’s identity, such as one’s social group and its values, may make group members feel self-uncertain. Because past research associates uncertainty with defensive behavior, we propose that self-uncertainty will drive aggressive retaliation against a threatening outgroup. Two experiments tested the role of self-uncertainty in retaliation motivation. In Experiment 1, university students were threatened by their school rival and then reported self-uncertainty and willingness to retaliate. The threat evoked anger and caused male group members to feel significantly more self-uncertain, which was associated with significantly greater retaliation motivation. In Experiment 2, we manipulated Americans’ feelings of self-uncertainty and threat from a terrorist group, ISIS. Uncertain males were significantly more willing to retaliate against ISIS after threats that caused anger and fear. For male group members, outgroup threat increases self-uncertainty, which then motivates them to be more willing to violently retaliate.

Entitativity and social identity complexity: The relationship between group characteristics and personal characteristics on group identification

Abstract The current study extends previous works on group identification by focusing on how social identity complexity and entitativity interact to impact group identification. The purpose of the current study is to test the hypothesis that people with a simple social identity identify more strongly with a highly entitative group and people with complex social identity identify more strongly with a group low in entitativity. Participants’ social identity complexity and entitativity about a group were manipulated, and with that group was measured. Results demonstrated that participants primed with a simple social identity identified more strongly with a more highly entitative group, whereas identification with the high and low entitativity groups did not differ for participants primed with a complex social identity.

When i’m right you’re wrong: attitude correctness facilitates anger and approach motivation toward opposing individuals

ABSTRACT Attitude correctness and attitude clarity define the broader concept, attitude certainty. Repeating one’s attitude to oneself causes attitude clarity, while learning that the majority of others agree with you causes attitude correctness. The current research tests how attitude correctness influences emotions and behavioral intentions toward individuals with opposing attitudes. We predicted that compared to clarity, those high in attitude correctness would feel more anger toward an opposing individual and a stronger desire to confront, oppose, and argue with them. Results across two studies supported predictions; believing that you hold the same attitude as the majority sparks feelings of anger toward individuals with differing viewpoints. The current work contributes to our understanding of heated debates and ugly confrontations.