Activities per year
Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of intergroup threat on attitudes towards gender equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives, including conspiracy theories about them.
EDI initiatives face backlash, which can be adopted into the “culture wars” narrative. This can include circulation of conspiracy theories about these initiatives – for example, the allegation that feminists use EDI to hinder men’s career progression. In a pilot study (N=303), realistic threat and gender identification emerged as predictors of gender EDI conspiracy beliefs, as measured by a new scale. This study will provide an experimental test of this relationship.
Approximately 350 men working in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) will be recruited via Prolific. Participants will be randomly allocated to read an article about STEM workplaces, ostensibly from an online news publication, designed to induce realistic threat, symbolic threat or negative affect. Participants will then complete measures of general attitudes and conspiracy beliefs regarding gender EDI initiatives, gender identification, male collective narcissism and zero-sum beliefs about gender equality. The latter three variables will be investigated as moderators. Measures and analyses will be pre-registered on OSF. Data analysis will be completed by January 2022.
These findings will elaborate the role of intergroup threat in conspiracy beliefs. Furthermore, conspiracy beliefs have been shown to influence behaviour. As such, these findings may provide a framework to inform interventions addressing both negative and conspiratorial beliefs about EDI initiatives, thereby improving engagement with them.
EDI initiatives face backlash, which can be adopted into the “culture wars” narrative. This can include circulation of conspiracy theories about these initiatives – for example, the allegation that feminists use EDI to hinder men’s career progression. In a pilot study (N=303), realistic threat and gender identification emerged as predictors of gender EDI conspiracy beliefs, as measured by a new scale. This study will provide an experimental test of this relationship.
Approximately 350 men working in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) will be recruited via Prolific. Participants will be randomly allocated to read an article about STEM workplaces, ostensibly from an online news publication, designed to induce realistic threat, symbolic threat or negative affect. Participants will then complete measures of general attitudes and conspiracy beliefs regarding gender EDI initiatives, gender identification, male collective narcissism and zero-sum beliefs about gender equality. The latter three variables will be investigated as moderators. Measures and analyses will be pre-registered on OSF. Data analysis will be completed by January 2022.
These findings will elaborate the role of intergroup threat in conspiracy beliefs. Furthermore, conspiracy beliefs have been shown to influence behaviour. As such, these findings may provide a framework to inform interventions addressing both negative and conspiratorial beliefs about EDI initiatives, thereby improving engagement with them.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 15 Jul 2022 |
| Event | 45th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology (ISPP): ‘Democracy as an achievement: recognizing Tensions, Challenges, and Aspirations through Political Psychology - Greece, Athens, Greece Duration: 14 Jul 2022 → 17 Jul 2022 Conference number: 45 https://ispp.eventsair.com/ispp-2022-annual-scientific-meeting/ https://ispp.org/meetings/ |
Conference
| Conference | 45th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology (ISPP) |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Greece |
| City | Athens |
| Period | 14/07/2022 → 17/07/2022 |
| Internet address |
Keywords
- Conspiracy theories
- Intergroup threat
- Equality, diversity and inclusion
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology
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Intergroup threat and conspiracy theory beliefs about gender equality initiatives in male-dominated domains
Iley, B. (Speaker)
29 Sept 2023Activity: Talk or presentation types › Oral presentation
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Integrating intergroup threat and attitude inoculation theories to protect against misinformation about gender equality
Iley, B. (Invited speaker)
27 Feb 2023Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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