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Crises spur reflection and re-evaluation of what matters and what is valued. The impacts of the 2008 global financial crisis, COVID-19 pandemic and climate emergency are reigniting debates about the nature of economic development approaches and what they aim to achieve in urban settings. Addressing a substantive gap in contemporary debates by helping to navigate a burgeoning and diverse field, this paper provides a critical and comparative assessment of five leading agendas that have been positioned as alternative and progressive policy responses to urban economic change: inclusive growth; the wellbeing economy; community wealth building; doughnut economics; and the foundational economy. Taking an international perspective, the paper provides a comparative review of their stated visions, mechanisms for change, and the spatial scales through which they are led and implemented. Our argument is that these alternative approaches to urban economic development are shaping creative, innovative and progressive responses to longstanding urban problems within policy and practice communities but require on-going scrutiny and evaluation to realise their potential to meaningfully achieve transformative change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intergroup contact is among the most effective ways to improve intergroup attitudes. Although it is now beyond any doubt that contact can reduce prejudice, in this article we provide evidence that its benefits can extend beyond intergroup relations—a process referred to as cognitive liberalization (Hodson, Crisp, Meleady, & Earle, 2018). We focus specifically on the impact of intergroup contact on environmentally relevant attitudes and behavior. Recent studies suggest that support for an inequality-based ideology (social dominance orientation [SDO]) can predict both intergroup attitudes and broader environmental conduct. Individuals higher in SDO are more willing to exploit the environment in unsustainable ways because doing so aids the production and maintenance of hierarchical social structures. In 4 studies conducted with British adults, we show that by promoting less hierarchical and more egalitarian viewpoints (reduced SDO), intergroup contact encourages more environmentally responsible attitudes and behavior. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal data support this model. Effects are more strongly explained by reductions in an antiegalitarian motive than a dominance motive. We discuss how these findings help define an expanded vision for intergroup contact theory that moves beyond traditional conflict-related outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contact hypothesis proposes that bringing groups together under favorable conditions can improve intergroup relations. It is now well established that intergroup contact can improve attitudes not only toward the out-group as a whole but also toward other, noncontacted groups (secondary transfer effect). We review evidence of a further, higher-order generalization effect whereby intergroup contact also impacts more general cognitive processes outside of the intergroup context (i.e., tertiary transfer effects). We present a taxonomy of transfer effects that explains these generalization effects as distinct outcomes of the contact process yet contingent on the same component process, specifically, the assessment of the semantic distance between the target (e.g., contacted individual) and the frame (e.g., group prototype). This conceptualization provides an explanatory framework for uniting the disparate forms of transfer effect in the contact literature, clarifying why primary and secondary transfer effects are facilitated by low semantic distance and why contact is more cognitively demanding under conditions of high semantic distance, but with greater potential for cognitive growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through photonic mechanisms based on near-field coupling, laser radiation can engage with resonant energy transfer in a variety of suitably designed materials and molecular structures. Energy that has been acquired, through the initial absorption of resonant laser light, undergoes transfer between chromophores only on the throughput of off-resonant light, the process known as laser-assisted resonance energy transfer. The comprehensive results that are presented here extend and generalize the theory for both single and dual beam configurations, producing results that are applicable to media of various types including doped crystals, heterogeneous multichromophore solids, and solutions. The detailed principles, here explained in terms of both energetics and optical selection rule criteria, are specifically illustrated for a variety of materials. It is shown how general application of the theory can facilitate the elucidation of experiments, by clearly interpreting the effects of laser polarization manipulation. On further analysis of the photophysical mechanisms it is also demonstrated that such effects represent an entirely practicable basis for optical switching and logic gate operation. The additional polarization selectivity afforded by a two-beam setup proves to allow the most complete system control. With such a configuration, there is considerable promise for the realization of new optically driven logic and molecular devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intergroup contact is widely recognized as one of the most validated methods of improving attitudes toward out-groups. Yet what is intergroup contact “good for” beyond this function? To answer this question we take a panoramic view of the literature, beginning with the recognition that contact is multifaceted in both form (e.g., face-to-face, indirect, simulated) and outcome (e.g., attitudes, cognition, behavior). Taking this highly inclusive view of what contact is and what contact does suggests that it plays a fundamental role in the shaping of human cognition. An increasingly diverse body of research demonstrates that contact exerts a generalizing reaction across target out-groups, making respondents less inward looking and more open to experiences. Contact shapes ideology regarding how the world ought to operate (i.e., ideologies about social hierarchy or regulation); over time, it can promote new ways of problem-solving, enhance cognitive flexibility, and foster creativity. For these reasons, we believe that contact is a key liberalizing agent that shapes human cognition and experience; consequently, contact theory should now share the stage with other prominent theories (e.g., cognitive dissonance) that speak to a broader understanding of human nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combination of multiple categorization (i.e., the use of multiple criteria to define others) and human identity—the superordinate group of human beings—has recently been highlighted as a method to reduce implicit (i.e., attribution of secondary emotions) and explicit (i.e., attribution of human rights) dehumanization toward Blacks. In two studies aimed to replicate such evidence the mediating role of secondary emotions in explaining the impact of multiple and human categorization in reducing dehumanization was assessed. The role of implicit cognition, such as attribution of secondary emotions in leading people to attribute human rights to minorities, is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a critical analysis of the contemporary policy focus on promoting employability among young people in the UK. Drawing on analysis of UK policy approaches to tackling youth unemployment since the late 1970s, we suggest that existing critiques of employability as ‘supply-side orthodoxy’ fail to capture fully its evolving meaning and function. Under the UK Coalition Government, it became increasingly colonised as a targeted tool of urban governance to legitimise ever more punitive forms of conditional welfare. We argue that this colonisation undermines the value of the notion of employability as an academic tool for understanding the reasons why young people face difficulties in entering the labour market. The paper suggests that the notion of youth transitions offers more potential for understanding youth unemployment, and that more clearly linking this body of research to policy could provide a fruitful avenue for future research. Such a shift requires a longer term, spatially informed perspective as well as greater emphasis on the changing power relations that mediate young people’s experiences of wider social and economic transformations. The paper concludes that promoting employment among urban young people requires a marked shift to address the historically and geographically inadequate knowledge and assumptions on which policies are based. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health disparities between groups remain even after accounting for established causes such as structural and economic factors. The present research tested, for the first time, whether multiple social categorization processes can explain enhanced support for immigrant health (measured by respondents’ behavioral intention to support immigrants’ vaccination against A H1N1 disease by cutting regional public funds). Moreover, the mediating role of individualization and the moderating role of social identity complexity were tested. Findings showed that multiple versus single categorization of immigrants lead to support their right to health and confirmed the moderated mediation hypothesis. The potential in developing this sort of social cognitive intervention to address health disparities is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiences that compel people to challenge social stereotypes can promote enhanced cognitive flexibility on a range of judgmental domains. Women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields are chronically exposed to such experiences and may therefore also demonstrate these benefits. Two studies examined the differential effects of counterstereotypical experiences on women from STEM and non-STEM fields. Results showed that imagining or recollecting these experiences led women from STEM fields to exhibit a lesser reliance on heuristic thinking compared to women from non-STEM fields, and this difference was mediated by self-perceived resilience to the negative impact of gender stereotyping. Implications for psychologists’ and educators’ understanding of the relationship between counterstereotypical experiences and heuristic thinking are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades regeneration programmes in England targeted areas where spatial concentrations of poverty exist. These 'area-based initiatives' (ABIs) came under sustained attack, however, from the previous coalition government for being expensive and ineffective. This paper assesses this claim by re-evaluating past evidence on the impact of regeneration on poverty. It finds regeneration did relatively little to transform households' material circumstances but significantly ameliorated negative experiences of living in poverty in relation to housing, community safety and the physical environment. This partially undermines the rationale for the policy shift away from neighbourhood renewal interventions toward the current focus on 'local growth' as the sole remedy for spatial inequalities. It also suggests a need for more nuance in wider critical accounts of regeneration as a deepening form of neoliberalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imagined intergroup contact (Crisp & Turner, 2009) is a new cognitive intervention designed to improve intergroup relations. In two studies, we examined whether it could also facilitate intercultural communication among international students and host country natives engaged in a college exchange program. In Study 1, international students who had recently arrived in Italy and participated in an imagined contact session displayed increased self-disclosure toward, and improved evaluation of, host country natives. In Study 2, Italian students mentally simulated positive contact with an unknown native from the host country prior to leaving for the exchange. Results from an online questionnaire administered on their return (on average, more than 7 months after the imagery task) revealed that participants who imagined contact reported spending more time with natives during the stay and enhanced outgroup evaluation, via reduced intergroup anxiety. Implications for enhancing the quality and effectiveness of college student exchange programs are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imagined intergroup contact (Crisp & Turner, 2009) is a new indirect contact strategy for promoting tolerance and more positive intergroup relations. Despite its relatively recent inception, there have now been over 70 studies showing that imagining a positive interaction with an outgroup member can reduce prejudice and encourage positive intergroup behavior. With this meta-analysis, we provide the first quantitative review of imagined contact effects on four key measures of intergroup bias: attitudes, emotions, intentions, and behavior. We also test for moderators arising from both group and study design characteristics. The analysis found that imagined contact resulted in significantly reduced intergroup bias across all four dependent variables (overall d+ = 0.35). The effect was significant for both published and unpublished studies, and emerged across a broad range of target outgroups and contexts. The effect was equally strong for explicit and implicit attitude measures, but was stronger on behavioral intentions than on attitudes, supporting the direct link between imagery and action proposedly underlying mental simulation effects. Most design characteristics had no significant impact, including valence of the imagined interaction, type of control condition, and time spent imagining contact. However, the more participants were instructed to elaborate on the context within which the imagined interaction took place, the stronger the effect. The imagined contact effect was also stronger for children than for adults, supporting the proposition that imagined contact is a potentially key component of educational strategies aiming to promote positive social change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has provided consistent support for imagined intergroup contact (Crisp & Turner, 2012), a new indirect contact strategy for reducing prejudice. In the present review, we focus on the affective consequences of imagined contact. In particular, we review studies showing that imagined contact has powerful effects on reduced intergroup and performance anxiety, as well as increased trust and empathy toward outgroup members. Moreover, these effects extend to the affective part of intergroup attitudes tapped at both an explicit and at an implicit level. We also present evidence that some of these variables mediate the effects of imagined contact on reduced prejudice. Finally, we discuss the double nature, cognitive and affective, of imagined contact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successive governments in the UK have claimed that strengthening social ties can revitalise the fortunes of disadvantaged areas. This claim has been critiqued extensively by urban scholars for failing to understand the nature of lived urban social relations. However, less attention has been given to mapping out the terrain of this criticism, despite the different positions adopted by scholars and, by extension, the divergent implications for public policy. With this paper I address this gap by identifying and reflecting on two of the most prominent frameworks of critique. I draw on empirical research of social ties in two deprived neighbourhoods in England to assess the validity of these frameworks and their applicability in different spatial contexts. I conclude that both provide useful insights into the dynamics of change and the limits of existing policy but, also, that the specificity of each account is perhaps overlooked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prototypicality is an important factor for judgments and evaluations of group members and leadership selection. We tested whether these prototypicality perceptions vary as a function of individual differences in cognitive processing preferences. Participants' need for a structured, stable environment was measured before we independently manipulated the group prototypicality of a leadership candidate. Results revealed that participants' preference for prototypical leaders, and dislike for nonprototypical leaders, was accentuated for those who preferred structured, stable environments. Participants tolerant of less cognitive structure did not show this bias for prototypical leaders and against nonprototypical leaders. These findings suggest that individual differences in cognitive processing tendencies may moderate how group prototypicality is perceived and used, and can consequently affect the type of leaders people prefer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prejudices towards different groups are interrelated, but research has yet to find a way to promote tolerance towards multiple outgroups. We devise, develop and implement a new cognitive intervention for achieving generalized tolerance based on scientific studies of social categorization. In five laboratory experiments and one field study the intervention led to a reduction of prejudice towards multiple outgroups (elderly, disabled, asylum seekers, HIV patients, gay men), and fostered generalized tolerance and egalitarian beliefs. Importantly, these effects persisted outside the laboratory in a context marked by a history of violent ethnic conflict, increasing trust and reconciliatory tendencies towards multiple ethnic groups in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. We discuss the implications of these findings for intervention strategies focused on reducing conflict and promoting peaceful intergroup relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reduce prejudice psychologists design interventions requiring people to think of counter-stereotypes (i.e., people who defy stereotypic expectations—a strong woman, a Black President). Grounded in the idea that stereotypes constrain the ability to think flexibly, we propose that thinking of counter-stereotypes can have benefits that extend beyond the goal of prejudice reduction—in particular to tasks measuring cognitive flexibility and creative performance. Findings supported this conjecture. In Experiment 1 priming a gender counter-stereotype enhanced cognitive flexibility. This effect could not be attributed to changes in mood. In Experiment 2, using a gender-independent manipulation, priming various social counter-stereotypes brought a boost to creative performance. We discuss implications of these extended benefits of counter-stereotypic thinking for developing future prejudice-reduction interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the ways in which therapists treat anxiety disorders is to expose patients to a fear-evoking stimulus within a safe environment before encouraging more positive stimulus-related thoughts. In the study reported here, we adapted these psychotherapeutic principles of exposure therapy to test the hypothesis that imagining a positive encounter with a member of a stigmatized group would be more likely to promote positive perceptions when it was preceded by an imagined negative encounter. The results of three experiments targeting a range of stigmatized groups (adults with schizophrenia, gay men, and British Muslims) supported this hypothesis. Compared with purely positive interventions, interventions in which a single negative encounter was imagined just prior to imagining a positive encounter resulted in significantly reduced prejudice. Furthermore, reduced anxiety uniquely derived from the mixed-valence imagery task statistically explained enhanced intentions to engage positively with the previously stigmatized group in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Imagined intergroup contact (Crisp & Turner, 2009) is a new indirect contact strategy for promoting tolerance and more positive intergroup attitudes. We asked whether the positive effects of imagined contact are contingent upon characteristics that define the experience of intergroup relations. Specifically, we tested whether precontact intergroup anxiety makes imagining contact more cognitively effortful, and if it does, whether this detracts from its effectiveness. In two studies participants were asked to either imagine contact with an outgroup member or a control scene. We found that imagining contact counteracted the negative impact of intergroup anxiety on outgroup communicative behavior. Furthermore, performance on an ostensibly unrelated Stroop task revealed that this compensatory benefit requires cognitive resources proportional to the level of precontact anxiety. We conclude that the detrimental impacts of intergroup anxiety can be assuaged by imagining contact, but that doing so requires the allocation of attentional resources proportional to the positivity of preintervention contact experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Policy-makers have shown considerable enthusiasm for devolving responsibility for tackling worklessness to the local level. This approach has been critiqued by scholars who conceptualise targeted spatial interventions as ‘flanking strategies’ that co-opt individuals or neighbourhood-based organisations in the service of neoliberal goals. This paper draws on the national evaluation of the New Deal for Communities Programme to argue that such accounts neglect the voice of local actors. Empirical analysis shows that the programme is, in many ways, a classic flanking strategy but one which commands significant support among staff and participants. The paper concludes that this enthusiasm cannot easily be dismissed as co-option. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Intergroup contact improves intergroup relations. In some cases, however, actual contact is impractical and here imagining intergroup contact (Crisp & Turner, 2009) may represent a viable alternative. While initial findings have been promising, imag- ined contact research has yet to confirm whether it enables a critical process involved in successful intergroup contact: member-to-group generalization. We tested the hypothesis that imagined contact, and specific enhancements to the technique, are enabling in the form of generalized contact self-efficacy. In Experiment I participants who imagined a positively toned encounter with a single outgroup member subsequently felt more confident about future interactions with the outgroup in general. Furthermore, imagining contact was maximally effective at achieving generalization when group versus individuating information was salient (Experiment 2) and when the imagined interaction involved an outgrouper who was typical versus atypical (Experiment 3). These findings contribute to growing support for the notion that imagined contact represents a flexible, effective tool for improving intergroup relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Could simply imagining positive interactions promote tolerance between different social groups? This imagined contact hypothesis (Crisp & Turner , 2009) is just one example of a range of psychological interventions that capitalize on people's capacity for mental simulation. The approach is controversial, perhaps because imagery appears somewhat insubstantial when set against the visceral realities of war , deep-rooted prejudices, or extreme acts of genocide. We counter that mental simulation is an essential element of the human experience and, as such, a correspondingly critical component of behavioral change strategies. This argument is supported by considering imagery's central role in advances spanning the breadth of psychological science--from studies of the biological correlates of motor control, mimicry, and theory of mind to the cognitions and emotions that characterize reasoning, self-regulation, planning, and goal pursuit. Mental simulation is not merely a proxy for real experience: It is a critical cognition that precedes and precipitates the full spectrum of human behavior . Thus, while imagery techniques may appear trivial next to pervasive problems like prejudice, this should not distract us from the power and potential they offer as tools for transforming social policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diversity is a defining characteristic of modern society, yet there remains considerable debate over the benefits that it brings. The authors argue that positive psychological and behavioral outcomes will be observed only when social and cultural diversity is experienced in a way that challenges stereotypical expectations and that when this precondition is met, the experience has cognitive consequences that resonate across multiple domains. A model, rooted in social categorization theory and research, outlines the preconditions and processes through which people cognitively adapt to the experience of social and cultural diversity and the resulting cross-domain benefits that this brings. Evidence is drawn from a range of literatures to support this model, including work on biculturalism, minority influence, cognitive development, stereotype threat, work group productivity, creativity, and political ideology. The authors bring together a range of differing diversity experiences and explicitly draw parallels between programs of research that have focused on both perceiving others who are multicultural and being multicultural oneself. The findings from this integrative review suggest that experiencing diversity that challenges expectations may not only encourage greater tolerance but also have benefits beyond intergroup relations to varied aspects of psychological functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has demonstrated that mentally simulating positive intergroup encounters can promote tolerance and more positive intergroup attitudes. We explored the attributional processes underlying these effects. In our study participants who imagined intergroup contact subsequently reported greater intentions to engage in future contact, a relationship that was mediated by participants’ attribution, to themselves, of a more positive attitudinal orientation towards outgroup contact. Consistent with this attributional account, the perspective taken when imagining the encounter qualified this effect. Participants who imagined the encounter from a third-person perspective reported heightened intentions to engage in future contact relative to control participants, while this was not the case when the encounter was imagined from a first-person perspective. These findings suggest that attributional processes are key to observing the benefits that accrue from imagining intergroup contact. We speculate that these attributions may distinguish the approach from extended and actual forms of contact and help researchers to further capitalize on the benefits of mental imagery for improving intergroup relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Recent studies have shown that imagining intergroup contact can improve attitudes held toward a range of social groups. We extended research on imagined contact by testing an elaborated task variant designed specifically to enhance future contact intentions. In three experiments imagined contact heightened intentions, elaborated imagery enhanced this effect, and these enhancements were attributable to both reduced intergroup anxiety and an increase in the reported vividness of the imagined scenario. Furthermore, prior contact enhanced the vividness with which imagined scenarios were envisaged, with concurrent benefits for future contact intentions. Results also supported the notion that elaboration creates a more accessible contact script upon which to base future judgments of intention. We discuss the implications of these findings for a developing model of imagined contact effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on an integration of research on ingroup projection, self-anchoring and social identification, three experiments investigated whether projection of ingroup characteristics to a superordinate category would be moderated by both the perceived complexity (number of defining prototypes) and coherence (structural clarity, organization) of the superordinate category. We predicted that ingroup projection would be prevented by the presence of either a complex or coherent superordinate representation. However, we also predicted that complexity would reduce ingroup projection at the expense of superordinate category identification, while coherence would not. We observed the predicted interaction between superordinate category complexity and coherence in three studies: a complex or coherent superordinate category led to lower levels of projection. However, only complexity of the superordinate category reduced superordinate group identification. These findings clarify and refine our understanding of the conditions under which ingroup projection can be discouraged, and the cognitive mechanisms involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has demonstrated that imagining intergroup contact can be sufficient to reduce explicit prejudice directed towards out-groups. In this research, we examined the impact of contact-related mental imagery on implicit prejudice as measured by the implicit association test. We found that, relative to a control condition, young participants who imagined talking to an elderly stranger subsequently showed more positive implicit attitudes towards elderly people in general. In a second study, we demonstrated that, relative to a control condition, non-Muslim participants who imagined talking to a Muslim stranger subsequently showed more positive implicit attitudes towards Muslims in general. We discuss the implications of these findings for furthering the application of indirect contact strategies aimed at improving intergroup relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We tested the hypothesis that evaluative bias in common ingroup contexts versus crossed categorization contexts can be associated with two distinct underlying processes. We reasoned that in common ingroup contexts, self-categorization, but not perceived complexity, would be positively related to intergroup bias. In contrast, in crossed categorization contexts, perceived complexity, but not self-categorization, would be negatively related to intergroup bias. In two studies, and in line with predictions, we found that while self-categorization and intergroup bias were related in common ingroup contexts, this was not the case in crossed categorization contexts. Moreover, we found that perceived category complexity, and not self-categorization, predicted bias in crossed categorization contexts. We discuss the implications of these findings for models of social categorization and intergroup bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We tested the hypothesis that regulation of discrepancies between perceived actual and ideal differentiation between the ingroup and outgroup could help to explain the relationship between ingroup identification and intergroup bias when participants are recategorized into a superordinate group. Replicating previous findings, we found that following recategorization, identification was positively related to intergroup bias. No such differences emerged in a control condition. However, we also, in the recategorization condition only, observed a positive association between ingroup identification and the perceived discrepancy between actual and ideal degree of differentiation from the outgroup: at higher levels of identification, participants increasingly perceived the ingroup to be less differentiated from the outgroup than they would ideally like. This tendency mediated the relationship between identification and bias. We discuss the theoretical, methodological and practical implications of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intergroup Contact Theory maintains that the most effective way to reduce prejudice and discrimination is through contact between groups. However, where actual contact is impractical, or unlikely, imagined intergroup contact (Crisp & Turner, 2009) may represent a viable alternative. This study tested imagined contact in a context defined by extremely low levels of contact, the inter-ethnically divided island of Cyprus. Turkish Cypriot participants who repeatedly imagined positive contact with Greek Cypriots subsequently reported greater intentions to engage in future contact. This article discusses the benefits of applying this new technique to contexts that, like Cyprus, historically have very low levels of actual contact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovative attempts to involve citizens in policy making have been one of the defining features of the New Labour government in the UK. In this article, we examine the nature and impact of community engagement mechanisms within the flagship regeneration programme—the New Deal for Communities. Through interviews with practitioners, analysis of survey data and participant observation of governance boards we examine the methods and impact of initiatives to engage residents in policy making. While it is apparent that innovative strategies have been put in place to engage and empower communities in local policy making, this has not always been matched by the development of tools for measuring the impact of involvement or for scrutinizing the policy development and decision-making process. More people may have got involved, but little is known about precisely what effect their involvement has had upon policies at the local level. Consultation, or just publicizing what is happening and community involvement in decision-making are often conflated, and there is only a limited attempt to delineate and quantify the impact of each. It is also evident that information gathered as a result of some community engagement initiatives is not easily linked to policy development and is not always utilized in the policy process. For community involvement to become a meaningful and sustainable aspect of local policy making, an appropriate infrastructure needs to be developed to ensure that the decision-making process is transparent and accountable, and that the input from citizens genuinely informs decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In three experiments we investigated the dynamics of impression formation when perceivers encounter unsurprising (e.g. male mechanic) versus surprising (e.g. female mechanic) social category conjunctions. In Experiment 1, participants took longer to form an impression of targets described using a surprising versus an unsurprising conjunction of categorizations. In Experiment 2, we investigated the stages during which impressions of category conjunctions are formed. While unsurprising category combinations were characterized with reference to 'constituent' stereotypic traits, surprising combinations were characterized initially by stereotypic traits but later by 'emergent' impressions. In Experiment 3, we investigated motivational states that drive the dynamics of category conjunction. We found that higher Personal Need for Structure (PNS) predicted the use of more emergent and fewer constituent attributes in the impressions formed of surprising combinations. Across all three experiments, more 'causal attributes' were used in descriptions of the surprising combination. We discuss the implications of these findings for developing a model of the dynamics and composition of social category conjunctions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: According to contemporary models of accountability [Lerner, J.S., & Tetlock, P.E. (1999). Accounting for the effects of accountability. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 255–275], when individuals are warned that they will be held accountable for their decisions, both information processing and judgment vigilance increase. We used an established generalization paradigm [Garcia-Marques, L., & Mackie, D.M. (1999). The impact of stereotype incongruent information on perceived group variability and stereotype change. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 979–990] to extend the application of these principles to the process of member-to-group generalization in stereotype change. As predicted, across the three studies (Ns=60, 78, and 101), accountability was found to amplify generalization under control conditions, both when the member information was stereotypical (Experiment 1) and counterstereotypical (Experiments 2 and 3). Accountability was found to attenuate generalization (Experiments 2 and 3) when a meta-judgmental cue discredited the validity of the member information for the group judgment. Ancillary evidence from Experiments 2 and 3 suggests a mediational role for the cognitive fencing-off of the member information from the group schema. The implications of the observed interplay between stereotyping and meta-cognitions for theory and policy are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The contact hypothesis states that, under the right conditions, contact between members of different groups leads to more positive intergroup relations. The authors track recent trends in contact theory to the emergence of extended, or indirect, forms of contact. These advances lead to an intriguing proposition: that simply imagining intergroup interactions can produce more positive perceptions of outgroups. The authors discuss empirical research supporting the imagined contact proposition and find it to be an approach that is at once deceptively simple and remarkably effective. Encouraging people to mentally simulate a positive intergroup encounter leads to improved outgroup attitudes and reduced stereotyping. It curtails intergroup anxiety and extends the attribution of perceivers' positive traits to others. The authors describe the advantages and disadvantages of imagined contact compared to conventional strategies, outline an agenda for future research, and discuss applications for policymakers and educators in their efforts to encourage more positive intergroup relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In two experiments we tested the hypothesis that repeated exposure to out-group-relevant attitude objects would lead to less liking following a threat to identity. In Experiment 1 exposure to abstract artwork ostensibly created by a member of an out-group university led to more liking under baseline conditions, but not following a manipulation of threat. In Experiment 2 we observed a negative relationship between exposure and liking following threat: liking reversed the typical mere exposure effect. Reported emotion mediated the interactive effect of threat and exposure on liking. These findings illustrate how social identity threat can be experienced incrementally as a function of exposure. We discuss the findings in the context of an integration of research on exposure, identity, attitudes, and contact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We propose a model documenting the relationship between interpersonal attachment style and identification with groups. We hypothesized that following threat to a romantic interpersonal relationship higher attachment anxiety would be associated with lowered tendencies to identify with groups. In two studies using varied social groups we observed support for this hypothesis. In Experiment 1 we found that participants higher in attachment anxiety identified less with a salient ingroup after imagining a distressing argument with their romantic partner. In Experiment 2 we replicated these findings using an implicit measure of social identification and additionally observed a moderating role for attachment avoidance. We discuss the implications of these findings for theoretical models of interpersonal attachment and social identification. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The authors hypothesized that experienced and imagined intergenerational contact should improve older people's math test performance under stereotype threat. In Experiment 1 (N = 51, mean age = 69 years), positive prior contact with grandchildren eliminated stereotype threat, which was mediated partially by reduced test-related anxiety. In Experiment 2 (N = 84, mean age 72 years), the effect of threat on performance was significantly improved when participants merely imagined intergenerational contact, a situation again mediated by reduced anxiety. Previous research established that intergroup contact improves intergroup attitudes. The findings show that intergroup (intergenerational) contact also provides a defense against stereotype threat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Three studies investigated the conditions under which imagining intergroup contact would lead to greater projection of positive traits to outgroups. In Experiment 1 (Mexico) imagined contact predicted greater self-outgroup positive trait overlap for majority but not minority ethnic groups. In Experiment 2 (UK) imagined contact led to greater projection of positive traits to the outgroup for lower compared to higher identifiers. In Experiment 3 (UK) imagined contact led to greater projection of positive traits to the outgroup when the self was salient compared to when the outgroup was salient. These findings suggest that the social cognitive consequences of imagined contact are most favorable for intergroup relations when the personal self, but not social self, is salient. We discuss the implications of these findings for a developing model of imagined contact effects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In a previous study (R. R. C. Hutter & R. J. Crisp, 2005), the authors suggested that one way in which perceivers resolve the dilemma of shared membership of incongruent category combinations is by generating emergent attributes. However, the authors also found evidence that a corresponding process of reduced constituent facilitation occurs. In the present research, the authors aimed to isolate this phenomenon using a response-time methodology. Participants were exposed to subliminal unsurprising or surprising gender—occupation category-combination primes. The authors observed facilitation in overall response times on a subsequent lexical decision task to constituent attributes when the combination primed was unsurprising compared with surprising, but only for female and not for male combinations. The authors suggest that perceivers reduce their application of constituent attributes when processing surprising versus unsurprising combinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This research examined the conditions under which behavioral contrast would be observed in relation to ingroup and outgroup primes. The authors tested the hypothesis that differing levels of commitment to the ingroup would predict diverging behavioral responses to outgroup but not ingroup primes. Across two studies, featuring both age and gender groups, we found that ingroup identification predicted responses to outgroup primes with higher identifiers showing an increased tendency to contrast, that is, behave less like the outgroup, and more like the ingroup. Ingroup identification did not predict responses to ingroup primes. The implications of these findings for social comparison and social identity theories are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We investigated whether simply imagining contact with outgroup members can improve intergroup attitudes. In Experiment 1, young participants who imagined talking to an elderly person subsequently showed lower levels of intergroup bias than participants who imagined an outdoor scene. In Experiment 2, young participants who imagined talking to an elderly person subsequently showed lower levels of intergroup bias than participants who simply thought about elderly people, ruling out a priming explanation for our findings. In Experiment 3, heterosexual men who imagined talking to a homosexual man subsequently evaluated homosexual men more positively, perceived there to be greater variability among them, and experienced less intergroup anxiety compared to a control group. The effect of imagined contact on outgroup evaluations was mediated by reduced intergroup anxiety. These findings suggest that imagining intergroup contact could represent a viable alternative for reducing prejudice where actual contact between groups is impractical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the combined effects of subgroup and superordinate group identification on intergroup evaluations within common ingroup identity contexts. In Studies 1 and 2 we observed a positive correlation between subgroup identification and intergroup bias, and a negative correlation between superordinate identification and bias. In Study 3 we replicated these effects using alternative measures and observed a common path underlying these relationships: the perceived psychological distance between the self and outgroup. In Studies 4 and 5 we replicated this path model and found that the relationship between superordinate identification and intergroup bias was contingent upon making the superordinate identity salient, but this was not the case for subgroup identification. We discuss the findings in the context of theoretical and applied development of the Common Ingroup Identity Model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aimed to establish if the presentation of two positive stereotypes would result in choking under pressure for identified male mathematics students. Seventy-five 16 year old men, who had just commenced their AS-level study, were either made aware of their gender group membership (single positive stereotype), their school group membership (single positive stereotype) or both group memberships (dual stereotype) before being given a maths test. Analysis revealed that male students who studied maths (identified) underperformed in the dual stereotype condition, compared to both single stereotyped conditions, in line with the choking under pressure hypothesis. In comparison, no such effect was found for male non-maths students (disidentified), suggesting that choking under pressure only occurs for individuals for whom the group membership is important to their self-perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiments presented here extend previous research on reducing stereotype threat, along with examining the mediating role of performance expectancies. Women who generated shared academic characteristics between men and women predicted higher scores for themselves on a math test compared to the baseline and those who generated shared non-academic characteristics or shared physical characteristics. No effects were found for male participants' performance expectancies on an English test. Extending the relevance of these findings for stereotype threat research, women completing a math test, who first completed the shared academic characteristics task, both expressed higher performance expectancies and greater accuracy in math performance than participants in all other conditions. A partially mediating role of performance expectancies in relation to task and math performance was also found. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we examined how social identity threat, contextualized as soccer fans' reactions to their team's success or failure, can lead to differentiated emotional expression as a function of ingroup identification. We predicted that negative responses to threat (a team losing a match) would be qualitatively differentiated for lower and higher ingroup identifiers in terms of both emotions and action tendencies. English male soccer fans were tested in three sessions (following matches resulting in two losses and one win). The findings supported the hypotheses: following match losses lower identifiers felt sad but not angry, whereas higher identifiers felt angry but not sad. These qualitatively different negative emotional reactions to match loss mediated reported action tendencies. We discuss how these findings support intergroup emotions theory and the predictive utility of social identification in discerning differentiated emotional and behavioral reactions to intergroup threat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We tested Kanter's (1977a, 1977b) theory concerning the effects of group proportions (sex ratios) on visibility, polarization and assimilation, using natural groups of women and men in academia. Study 1 compared male-skewed and male-tilted settings and found evidence of greater polarization by minority women than majority men. The only effect of group proportions occurred for perceived dispersion as a measure of assimilation; replicating Brown and Smith (1989), men showed an out-group (OH), and women an in-group (IH), homogeneity effect, and both effects were accentuated in the skewed setting. Study 2 extended the research to include male-skewed, male-tilted, balanced and female-tilted sex ratios. Men's OH effect declined as relative out-group size increased, and women's IH effect declined as relative in-group size increased. There was also a linear decrease in relative perceived in-group impact and status as actual relative in-group size declined. We discuss our findings with respect to the validity of Kanter's theory, gender and group size as moderators of perceived variability, and methodological issues in studying diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]