Respect the technique: Status-based respect increases minority group social cohesion with majority groups, while also increasing minority collective action tendencies

ABSTRACT

The present work explores the implications of respect for social change. Social change can be achieved via improved attitudes between minority and majority groups (i.e., social cohesion) or via action taken by minority groups (i.e., collective action). Recent work suggests that the social cohesion route to social change, in particular an emphasis on commonality, may be incompatible with the collective action route to social change. We suggest that social-cohesion strategies rooted in status-based respect may allow for social cohesion and collective action. We experimentally investigated the relative effects of a majority group communicating status-based respect and commonality, as compared to a control, on minority group members’ social cohesion with the majority group and willingness to engage in collective action. Status-based respect increased positive attitudes toward a majority group, relative to commonality and control, but was also associated with increased collective action tendencies. Implications for social change are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Collective action
• commonality
• intergroup attitudes
• majority group
• minority group
• respect

Notes

1. Preliminary analyses testing for the effects of participant race/ethnicity revealed no significant effects.

2. This study included several other variables as a part of the larger test of hypotheses. However, for ease of clarity and presentation, we have omitted the reporting of these variables. We disclose this information in the interest of transparent scholarship, but deem the reporting of all of the variables, as well as the accompanying analyses, as beyond the scope of the present paper. Further details can be obtained from the first author.

3. To investigate the hypothesized mediating roles of group identification and preference for minority distinctiveness in explaining the relation between the experimental conditions (contrasting only status-based respect and commonality) and collective action tendencies, we conducted a dual mediator path analysis using a 5,000 re-sample bootstrapping procedure (Preacher & Hayes, 2004). There was support for partial mediation, the total effect of experimental condition on collective action was reduced (total effect = −1.26. p < .001; to direct effect = −1.05, p < .01) when group identification and preference for minority group distinctiveness were included as mediators. Both preference for minority distinctiveness, point estimate .09, with a 95% bias corrected/accelerated interval between .0131 and .2328, and group identification, –.37, with a 95% bias corrected/accelerated interval between –.5806 and –.2180, explained the relation between majority group emphasis condition and collective action tendencies, F(3, 109) = 37.42, p < .001, R² = .50.

4. Although the present work focused on status-based respect and commonality as independent constructs, we note that there may be fruitful avenues for future investigation involving the interrelation between commonality and respect. For example, across all conditions, there was a positive association between the commonality and status-based respect manipulation-check items (r = .372, p = < .001; n = 161), which stayed at comparable levels of association strength under the control (r = .354, p = .013; n = 48) and status-based respect (r = .351, p = .007; n = 58) conditions (collapsing across the control and respect conditions, r = 3.49, p <.001; n = 106). However, there was a marginally stronger positive association among the two manipulation-check items in the commonality condition (r = .578, p < .001; n = 55), as compared to the other two conditions (collapsed), Z = 1.735, p = .082. The manipulation-check findings by condition suggest that the effects of status-based respect on social cohesion, for example, may be especially effective under conditions of salient superordinate or dual identity. Indeed, it is often easier for individuals to respect those in which they share similarities or commonalities.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Demis E. Glasford

Demis E. Glasford, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at John Jay College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY).

Brian Johnston, PhD, received his PhD from the Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY). His research focuses on how intergroup relations are impacted by threat perceptions, contact, and emotions.