How feeling connected to one’s own community can increase support for addressing injustice impacting outgroup communities

Abstract

How can agents of social change increase public support for minority communities? In three studies, we demonstrate how heightened feelings of community connection can predict support for addressing injustice in minority communities. Community connection, when experimentally evoked (Study 1) or measured (Study 3), was associated with heightened support for the government addressing substandard conditions in an African American housing project (Studies 1 and 3) and Native American reservations (Study 1). Mediation analyses revealed that this effect emerges, at least in part, because of a heightened perceived value of all communities—not merely one’s own (Studies 1 and 3). One reason that stronger feelings of community connection lead to (Study 2) or are associated with (Study 3) greater valuing of communities is a strengthened superordinate community identity. We tested additional potential mediators of the community connection–support relationship; out-group identification mediated but outgroup attachment did not. Implications for social change are discussed.

Keywords

community connection impact validity intergroup relations social action

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. (2010). Apology for the Inuit High Arctic relocation. Retrieved from https://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100016115/1100100016116

Adelson

(2005). The embodiment of inequity: Health disparities in Aboriginal Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 96, S45–S61.

Aron

E. N.

Smollan

(1992). Inclusion of Other in the Self Scale and the structure of interpersonal closeness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 596–612. doi:10.1037//0022–3514.63.4.596

Baldassarri

Grossman

(2013). The effect of group attachment and social position on prosocial behavior: Evidence from lab-in-the-field experiments. PLoS ONE, 8, e58750. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0058750

Banfield

J. C.

Dovidio

J. F.

(2013). Whites’ perceptions of discrimination against Blacks: The influence of common identity. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 49, 833–841. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2013.04.008

Brewer

M. B.

(2001). Ingroup identification and intergroup conflict: When does ingroup love become outgroup hate? In Ashmore

R. D.

Jussim

Wilder

(Eds.), Social identity, intergroup conflict, and conflict reduction (pp. 17–41). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Bussidor

Bilgen-Reinart

(2000). Night spirits: The story of the relocation of the Sayisi Dene. Winnipeg, Canada: University of Manitoba Press.

Chavis

D. M.

Wandersman

(1990). Sense of community in the urban environment: A catalyst for participation and community development. American Journal of Community Psychology, 18, 55–81. doi:10.1007/BF00922689

Cicognani

Klimstra

Goossens

(2014). Sense of community, identity statuses, and loneliness in adolescence: A cross-national study on Italian and Belgian youth. Journal of Community Psychology, 42, 414–432. doi:10.1002/jcop.21618

10.

Clairmont

D. M.

Magill

D. W.

(1999). Africville: The life and death of a Canadian Black community (3rd ed.). Toronto, Canada: Canadian Scholars’ Press.

11.

Cohen

(1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

12.

Curran

P. J.

West

S. G.

Finch

J. F.

(1996). The robustness of test statistics to nonnormality and specification error in confirmatory factor analysis. Psychological Methods, 1, 16–29. doi:10.1.1.382.6856

13.

Davidson

W. B.

Cotter

P. R.

(1989). Sense of community and political participation. Journal of Community Psychology, 17, 119–125. doi:10.1002/1520–6629(198904)17:2<119::AID-JCOP2290170203>3.0.CO;2-C

14.

Davidson

W. B.

Cotter

P. R.

(1991). The relationship between sense of community and subjective well-being: A first look. Journal of Community Psychology, 19, 246–253. doi:10.1002/1520–6629(199107)19:3<246::AID-JCOP2290190308>3.0.CO;2-L

15.

Deaux

Reid

Martin

Bikmen

(2006). Ideologies of diversity and inequality: Predicting collective action in groups varying in ethnicity and immigrant status. Political Psychology, 27, 123–146. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9221.2006.00452.x

16.

Deutsch

Steil

J. M.

(1988). Awakening the sense of injustice. Social Justice Research, 2, 3–23. doi:10.1007/BF01052297

17.

Gaertner

S. L.

Dovidio

J. F.

(2000). Reducing intergroup bias: The common ingroup identity model. Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press.

18.

Gaucher

Kay

A. C.

Laurin

(2010). The power of the status quo: Consequences for maintaining and perpetuating inequality. In Bobocel

Kay

A. C.

Zanna

M. P.

Olson

J. M.

(Eds.), The psychology of justice and legitimacy: The Ontario Symposium (Vol. 11, pp. 109–118). Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press.

19.

Gouriluk

(2009). Correlates of four types of love: Unique behaviors and beliefs (Unpublished honors thesis). University of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

20.

Gunn

G. R.

Wilson

A. E.

(2011). Acknowledging the skeletons in our closet: The effect of group affirmation on collective guilt, collective shame, and reparatory attitudes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37, 1474–1487. doi:10.1177/0146167211413607

21.

Gusfield

J. R.

(1975). The community: A critical response. New York, NY: Harper Colophon.

22.

Hafer

C. L.

Bégue

(2005). Experimental research on just-world theory: Problems, developments, and future challenges. Psychological Bulletin, 131, 128–167. doi:10.1037/0033–2909.131.1.128

23.

Hayes

A. F.

(2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

24.

Hwang

J. Y.

Plante

Lackey

(2008). The development of the Santa Clara Brief Compassion Scale: An abbreviation of Sprecher and Fehr’s Compassionate Love Scale. Pastoral Psychology, 56, 421–428. doi:10.1007/s11089–008–0117–2

25.

Iyer

Ryan

M. K.

(2009). Why do men and women challenge gender discrimination in the workplace? The role of group status and in-group identification in predicting pathways to collective action. Journal of Social Issues, 65, 791–814. doi:10.1111/j.1540–4560.2009.01625.x

26.

Jost

J. T.

Banaji

M. R.

(1994). The role of stereotyping in system-justification and the production of false consciousness. British Journal of Social Psychology, 33, 1–27. doi:10.1111/j.2044–8309.1994.tb01008.x

27.

Jost

J. T.

Gaucher

Stern

(2015). “The world isn’t fair”: A system justification perspective on social stratification and inequality. In Dovidio

Simpson

(Eds.), APA handbook of personality and social psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 317–340). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

28.

Kay

(2011, November 30). Jonathan Kay on the destitution of Attawapiskat: Close the place down. National Post. Retrieved from http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/jonathan-kay-on-the-destitution-of-attawapiskat-close-the-place-down

29.

Kay

A. C.

Friesen

(2011). On social change and social stability: Understanding when system justification does and does not occur. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20, 360–364. doi:10.1177/0963721411422059

30.

Kitchen

Williams

Chowhan

(2012). Sense of community belonging and health in Canada: A regional analysis. Social Indicators Research, 107, 103–126. doi:10.1007/s11205-011-9830-9

31.

Klandermans

(1997). The social psychology of protest. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.

32.

Leach

C. W.

van Zomeren

Zebel

Vliek

M. L. W.

Pennekamp

S. F.

Doosje

. . .Spears

(2008). Group-level self-definition and self-investment: A hierarchical (multicomponent) model of in-group identification. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 144–165. doi:10.1037/0022–3514.95.1.144

33.

Lerner

(1980). The belief in a just world. New York, NY: Plenum Press.

34.

Loomis

Dockett

K. H.

Brodsky

A. E.

(2004). Change in sense of community: An empirical finding. Journal of Community Psychology, 32, 1–8. doi:10.1002/jcop.10081

35.

Marcus

B. J.

Omoto

A. M.

Winter

P. L.

(2011). Environmentalism and community: Connections and implications for social action. Ecopsychology, 3, 11–24. doi:10.1089/eco.2010.0069

36.

Massey

S. G.

Barreras

R. E.

(2013). Introducing “impact validity.” Journal of Social Issues, 69, 615–632. doi:10.1111/josi.12032

37.

McMillan

D. W.

Chavis

D. M.

(1986). Sense of community: A definition and theory. Journal of Community Psychology, 14, 6–23. doi:10.1002/1520–6629(198601)14:1<6::AID-JCOP2290140103>3.0.CO;2-I

38.

McNamara

Stevenson

Muldoon

O. T.

(2013). Community identity as resource and context: A mixed method investigation of coping and collective action in a disadvantaged community. European Journal of Social Psychology, 3, 398–403. doi:10.1002/ejsp.1953

39.

McNicoll

Tester

Kulchyski

(1999). Arctic abstersion: The book of wisdom for Eskimo, modernism and Inuit assimilation. Inuit Studies, 23, 199–220. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/42870951

40.

McParland

(2011, December 1). The answer to Attawapiskat is . . . Well, we’ll get back to you. National Post. Retrieved from http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/the-answer-to-attawapiskat-is-well-well-get-back-to-you

41.

Muthén

L. K.

Muthén

B. O.

(2010). Mplus user’s guide (6th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.

42.

Napier

J. L.

Mandisodza

A. N.

Andersen

S. M.

Jost

J. T.

(2006). System justification in responding to the poor and displaced in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy (ASAP), 6, 57–73. doi:10.1111/j.1530–2415.2006.00102.x

43.

Neff

L. A.

Karney

B. R.

(2005). To know you is to love you: The implication of global adoration and specific accuracy for marital relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 480–497. doi:10.1037/0022–3514.88.3.480

44.

Neufeld

K. H.

Starzyk

K. B.

Gaucher

Boese

G. D.

(2012). Framing First Nations water supply issues as a “third world” problem: The effects on support for government action (Unpublished honors thesis). University of Manitoba, Manitoba, Canada.

45.

Nier

J. A.

Gaertner

S. L.

Dovidio

J. F.

Banker

B. S.

Ward

C. M.

Rust

M. C.

(2001). Changing interracial evaluations and behavior: The effects of a common group identity. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 4, 299–316. doi:10.1177/1368430201004004001

46.

Okun

M. A.

Michel

(2006). Sense of community and being a volunteer among the young-old. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 25, 173–188. doi:10.1177/0733464806286710

47.

Omoto

A. M.

Snyder

(2002). Considerations of community: The context and process of volunteerism. American Behavioral Scientist, 45, 846–867. doi:10.1177/0002764202045005007

48.

Peterson

N. A.

Speer

P. W.

McMillan

D. W.

(2008). Validation of a Brief Sense of Community Scale: Confirmation of the principal theory of sense of community. Journal of Community Psychology, 36, 61–73. doi:10.1002/jcop.20217

49.

Pretty

G. M. H.

Conroy

Dugay

Fowler

Williams

(1996). Sense of community and its relevance to adolescents of all ages. Journal of Community Psychology, 24, 365–379. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1520–6629(199610)24:4<365::AID-JCOP6>3.0.CO;2-T

50.

Samson

(2003). A way of life that does not exist: Canada and the extinguishment of the Innu. New York, NY: Verso.

51.

Sarason

S. B.

(1974). The psychological sense of community: Prospects for a community psychology. Oxford, UK: Jossey-Bass.

52.

Schwartz

C. E.

Quaranto

B. R.

Bode

Finkelstein

J. A.

Glazer

P. A.

Sprangers

M. A. G.

(2012). Doing good, feeling good, and having more: Resources mediate the health benefits of altruism differently for males and females with lumbar spine disorders. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 7, 263–279. doi:10.1007/s11482–012–9165-y

53.

Shkilnyk

(1985). A poison stronger than love: The destruction of an Ojibwa community. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

54.

Sinclair

Fehr

Wang

Regehr

(2016). The relation between compassionate love and prejudice: The mediating role of inclusion of out-group members in the self. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 7, 176–183. doi:10.1177/1948550615609736

55.

Smith

E. R.

Murphy

Coats

(1999). Attachment to groups: Theory and management. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 94–110. doi:10.1037/0022–3514.77.1.94

56.

Sprecher

Fehr

(2005). Compassionate love for close others and humanity. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 22, 629–651. doi:10.1177/0265407505056439

57.

Starzyk

K. B.

Blatz

C. W.

Ross

(2009). Addressing and acknowledging historical injustices. In Jost

J. T.

Kay

A. C.

Thorisdottir

(Eds.), Social and psychological bases of ideology and system justification (pp. 463–479). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

58.

Starzyk

K. B.

Gaucher

Boese

G. D. B.

Neufeld

K. H.

(2014). Framing reparation claims for crimes against humanity: A social-psychological perspective. In. Wemmers

(Ed.), Reparations for victims of crimes against humanity: The healing role of reparation (pp. 113–125). New York, NY: Routledge.

59.

Starzyk

K. B.

Neufeld

K. H. S.

El-Gabalawy

Boese

G. D. B.

(2018). The case for and causes of intraminority solidarity in support for reparations: Evidence from community and student samples in Canada. Manuscript in preparation.

60.

Starzyk

K. B.

Ross

(2008). A tarnished silver lining: Victim suffering and support for reparations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 366–380. doi:10.1177/0146167207311280

61.

Tajfel

Turner

(1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In Austin

Worchel

(Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33–47). Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.

62.

Talò

Mannarini

Rochira

(2014). Sense of community and community participation: A meta-analytic review. Social Indicators Research, 117, 1–28. doi:10.1007/s11205-013-0347-2

63.

Tester

F. J.

Kulchyski

(1994). Tammarniit (mistakes): Inuit relocation in the Eastern Arctic, 1939–1963. Vancouver, Canada: University of British Columbia Press.

64.

Tropp

L. R.

Wright

S. C.

(1999). Ingroup identification and relative deprivation: An examination across multiple social comparisons. European Journal of Social Psychology, 29, 707–724. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-0992(199908/09)29:5/6<707::AID-EJSP968>3.0.CO;2-Y

65.

Welker

K. M.

Slatcher

R. B.

Baker

Aron

(2014). Creating positive out-group attitudes through intergroup couple friendships and implications for compassionate love. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 31, 706–725. doi:10.1177/0265407514522369

66.

Wenner

J. R.

Randall

B. A.

(2016). Predictors of prosocial behavior: Differences in middle aged and older adults. Personality and Individual Differences, 101, 322–326. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2016.05.367

67.

Wright

S. C.

Baray

(2012). Models of social change in social psychology: Collective action or prejudice reduction, conflict or harmony. In Dixon

Levine

(Eds.), Beyond prejudice: Extending the social psychology of intergroup conflict, inequality and social change (pp. 225–247). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

68.

Zeldin

Topitzes

(2002). Neighborhood experiences, community connection and positive beliefs about adolescents among urban adults and youth. Journal of Community Psychology, 30, 647–669. doi:10.1002/jcop.10025

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.26 MB