Intergroup relations in action: questions asked about lesbian, gay and bisexual issues in diversity training

This paper focuses on the questions which heterosexual trainees ask about lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) experience within diversity training about LGB issues. Drawing on a data corpus of 162 questions asked by trainees in 13 tape-recorded training sessions, questions were coded into six categories: (1) general understanding questions; (2) questions about the trainer's life, experience and practices; (3) professional practice questions; (4) questions about lesbian and gay related legislation, policies and procedures; (5) questions about specific people and projects and (6) questions about the meanings, derivations and correct use of terms and symbols. Real questions are compared with the decontexualized questions (and answers to them) that are provided in training manuals and it is demonstrated that these questions differ markedly from how questions actually get asked and how they actually get answered. Recommendations are provided for improving training and the argument made for turning towards analyses of the real world in action, especially when considering intergroup relations. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Equivalence of physical and perceived speed in binocular rivalry

The relative dominance of gratings engaged in binocular rivalry can be influenced by their surroundings. One striking example occurs when surrounding motion is congruent with one but not the other grating (C. L. Paffen, S. F. te Pas, R. Kanai, M. J. van der Smagt, & F. A. Verstraten, 2004). However, such center-surround stimulus configurations can also modulate perceived speed, via a directionally tuned process (H. P. Norman, J. F. Norman, J. T. Todd, & D. T. Lindsey, 1996). We recorded rivalry for Gabor patches embedded in a drifting noise texture. Gratings whose directions opposed the background motion tended to dominate more, and vice versa, consistent with previous findings. Observers then matched the speed of a drifting noise-embedded Gabor to that of a Gabor surrounded by mean luminance. Surround motion produced substantial changes in perceived speed, by at least a factor of two for all observers. We then asked whether perceived speed could account for the contextual effects on dominance. We measured the effects of speed on rivalry dominance by changing the physical speeds of rivaling gratings, as determined by the matching data. We found the same pattern of dominance as for the context experiment, indicating that perceived and true speed influence rivalry in the same manner. We propose a Bayesian interpretation of the perceived speed illusion.

On the relation between dichoptic masking and binocular rivalry

When our two eyes view incompatible images, the brain invokes suppressive processes to inhibit one image, and favor the other. Two phenomena are typically observed: dichoptic masking (reduced sensitivity to one image) for brief presentations, and binocular rivalry (alternation between the two images), over longer exposures. However, it is not clear if these two phenomena arise from a common suppressive process. We investigated this by measuring both threshold elevation in simultaneous dichoptic masking and mean percept durations in rivalry, whilst varying relative stimulus orientation. Masking and rivalry showed significant correlations, such that strong masking was associated with long dominance durations. A second experiment suggested that individual differences across both measures are also correlated. These findings are consistent with varying the magnitude of interocular suppression in computational models of both rivalry and masking, and imply the existence of a common suppressive process. Since dichoptic masking has been localised to the monocular neurons of V1, this is a plausible first stage of binocular rivalry.

Natural images dominate in binocular rivalry

Ecological approaches to perception have demonstrated that information encoding by the visual system is informed by the natural environment, both in terms of simple image attributes like luminance and contrast, and more complex relationships corresponding to Gestalt principles of perceptual organization. Here, we ask if this optimization biases perception of visual inputs that are perceptually bistable. Using the binocular rivalry paradigm, we designed stimuli that varied in either their spatiotemporal amplitude spectra or their phase spectra. We found that noise stimuli with “natural” amplitude spectra (i.e., amplitude content proportional to 1/f, where f is spatial or temporal frequency) dominate over those with any other systematic spectral slope, along both spatial and temporal dimensions. This could not be explained by perceived contrast measurements, and occurred even though all stimuli had equal energy. Calculating the effective contrast following attenuation by a model contrast sensitivity function suggested that the strong contrast dependency of rivalry provides the mechanism by which binocular vision is optimized for viewing natural images. We also compared rivalry between natural and phase-scrambled images and found a strong preference for natural phase spectra that could not be accounted for by observer biases in a control task. We propose that this phase specificity relates to contour information, and arises either from the activity of V1 complex cells, or from later visual areas, consistent with recent neuroimaging and single-cell work. Our findings demonstrate that human vision integrates information across space, time, and phase to select the input most likely to hold behavioral relevance.

'They cooperate with us, so they are like me': perceived intergroup relationship moderates projection from self to outgroups

Whereas projection of self-attributes to ingroups is ubiquitous, projection of self-attributes to outgroups (outgroup projection) is an elusive phenomenon. Two experiments examined the moderating effect of perceived intergroup relationship on outgroup projection and explored underlying mechanisms. Perceived cooperation versus competition between ingroup and outgroup was manipulated using fictitious (Experiment 1) or natural groups (Experiment 2). In both experiments, participants judged the outgroup as more similar to the self in the cooperation condition than in the competition condition. This effect was independent of recategorization, perceived intergroup similarity, and ingroup-to-outgroup projection. These studies demonstrate the very existence of outgroup projection and extend previous work on moderators of projection from self to groups.

Boundary spanners' identification, intergroup contact and effective intergroup relations

We examined the relationship between group boundary spanners’ work group identification and effective (i.e., harmonious and productive) intergroup relations in 53 work groups in five health care organizations. The data suggest this relationship was moderated by boundary spanners’ levels of organizational identification, thus supporting a dual identity model. Limited support was found for the moderating effect of intergroup contact. Finally, if boundary spanners displayed frequent intergroup contact and identified highly with their organization, group identification was most strongly related to effective intergroup relations.

Intergroup conflict and intergroup effectiveness in organizations:theory and scale development

Many see the absence of conflict between groups as indicative of effective intergroup relations. Others consider its management a suitable effectiveness criterion. In this article we demarcate a different approach and propose that these views are deficient in describing effective intergroup relations. The article theorizes alternative criteria of intergroup effectiveness rooted in team representatives' subjective value judgements and assesses the psychometric characteristics of a short measure based on these criteria. Results on empirical validity suggest the measure to be a potential alternative outcome of organizational conflict. Implications for both the study of intergroup relations and conflict theory are discussed. © 2005 Psychology Press Ltd.

Visual consciousness: the binocular rivalry explosion

A new behavioural technique solves a long-standing puzzle of binocular suppression, demonstrating that adapting reciprocal inhibition governs visual sensitivity, and raising key questions about visual awareness.

Intergroup conflict in organisations:predictors and relationships with team working effectiveness

This thesis begins with a review of the conflict literature. It continues with an illustration of the nature of intergroup conflict between British health care teams, by presenting results from an interview study using the critical incident technique. Within the theory testing part, drawing upon a sample of 53 British health care teams from five organisations, an empirical test of both intergroup contact and social identity theory is provided. In a next step, a measure of intergroup effectiveness, the effectiveness with which dyads of groups perform on collaborative tasks, is developed. Finally, the moderating role of both resource interdependence and group boundary spanners’ negotiation style for the relationship between intergroup competition and longitudinal change in group and intergroup effectiveness is examined.

The relationship between intergroup competition and longitudinal change in group effectiveness

Presentation of an abstract

Intergroup leadership in organizations:leading across group and organizational boundaries

Intergroup leadership-leadership of collaborative performance of different organizational groups or organizations-is associated with unique intergroup challenges that are not addressed by traditional leadership theories. To address this lacuna, we describe a theory of intergroup leadership. Firmly grounded in research on social identity and intergroup relations, the theory proposes that effective intergroup performance rests on the leader's ability to construct an intergroup relational identity. We describe key leadership actions to establish such an identity. © 2012 Academy of Management Review.

The effects of birth order on personality traits and feelings of academic sibling rivalry

The influence of birth order on personality and sibling rivalry is controversial; little research has been conducted into academic sibling rivalry, and none into the connection with personality traits. This study considers the interaction of all three factors. Firstborns (N=22) and lastborns (N=24) completed online personality tests and an Academic Sibling Rivalry Questionnaire. Lastborns were found to experience more academic sibling rivalry: t=2.33, DF=44; p less than 0.05, whereas firstborns are more likely to be conscientious: F(1,44)=3.58; p less than 0.05, and dutiful: F(1,44)=5.39; p less than 0.05. This raises possible implications in domains including education, health and psychotherapy. Further research could be conducted to expand these findings in terms of variables and geographical location. (Contains 2 figures.)

Counter-stereotypes reduce emotional intergroup bias by eliciting surprise in the face of unexpected category combinations

In three experiments we investigated the impact that exposure to counter-stereotypes has on emotional reactions to outgroups. In Experiment 1, thinking about gender counter-stereotypes attenuated stereotyped emotions toward females and males. In Experiment 2, an immigrant counterstereotype attenuated stereotyped emotions toward this outgroup and reduced dehumanization tendencies. Experiment 3 replicated these results using an alternative measure of humanization. In both Experiments 2 and 3 sequential meditational analysis revealed that counter-stereotypes produced feelings of surprise which, in turn, elicited a cognitive process of expectancy violation which resulted in attenuated stereotyped emotions and an enhanced use of uniquely human characteristics to describe the outgroup. The findings extend research supporting the usefulness of counter-stereotype exposure for reducing prejudice and highlight its positive impact on intergroup emotions.

Comparing direct and imagined intergroup contact among children:effects on outgroup stereotypes and helping intentions

We conducted an experimental intervention aimed at comparing the effectiveness of direct and imagined intergroup contact. Italian elementary school children took part in a three-week intervention with dependent variables assessed one week after the last intervention session. Results revealed that direct and imagined intergroup contact, compared to control conditions of direct and imagined intragroup contact, had an additive impact when it came to reducing negative stereotypes of immigrants and fostering future helping intentions toward this group. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Imagined intergroup contact and common ingroup identity:an integrative approach

We conducted two studies involving two different age groups (elementary school children and adults) aimed at integrating imagined contact and common ingroup identity models. In the first study, Italian elementary school children were asked to imagine interacting with an unknown immigrant peer as members of a common group. Results revealed that common ingroup imagined contact, relative to a control condition, improved outgroup helping intentions assessed 1 week and 2 weeks after the intervention. In the second study, common ingroup imagined contact led Italian university students to display higher intentions to have contact with immigrants compared to control conditions. In conclusion, results from both studies demonstrate that imagining an intergroup interaction as members of the same group strengthens the effects of imagined contact. These findings point to the importance of combining the common ingroup identity model and the imagined contact theory in order to increase the potentiality of prejudice reduction interventions.