Laboratory for the Study of Intergroup Relations

Dr. Jared B. Kenworthy, Assistant Professor of Psychology
Graduate Student Colleagues: Melisa Holovics, Jenny Jones, Theresa Moerhle, Jason Popan

Group memberships constitute vital, central aspects of our self-concepts and personal identities. On one hand, social groups contribute to our well-being, and they influence many of our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in positive and socially beneficial ways. On the other hand, group memberships form the basis of some negative social behaviors as well. Group identity contributes to various forms of intergroup bias, including prejudices such as racism, sexism, and religious bigotry and intolerance. Our research seeks to understand the cognitive and affective processes underlying both the positive and negative consequences of membership in important social groups. One important goal of such research is to contribute to the development of scientifically-based social interventions that improve intergroup relations.

Visit the following (off-site) links for websites devoted to related topics:

http://tolerance.org/
http://www.understandingprejudice.org/
http://www.socialpsychology.org/

Some Relevant Publications

Kenworthy, J.B., & Miller, N. (2001). Perceptual asymmetry in consensus estimates of majority and minority members. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80, 597-612.

Kenworthy, J.B., & Miller, N. (2002). Attributional biases about the origins of attitudes: Externality, emotionality, and rationality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 693-707.

Kenworthy, J.B. (2003). Explaining the belief in God for self, in-group, and out-group targets. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 42, 137-146.

Kenworthy, J.B., Canales, C.J., Weaver, K.D., & Miller, N. (2003). Negative incidental affect and mood congruency in crossed categorization. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 39, 195-219.

Ensari, N., Kenworthy, J.B., Urban, L.M., Canales, C.J., Vasquez, E., Kim, D., & Miller, N. (2004). Negative affect and political sensitivity in crossed categorization: Self-reports versus EMG. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 7, 55-75.

Tam, T., Hewstone, M., Harwood, J., Voci, A., & Kenworthy, J.B. (in press). Intergroup Contact and Grandparent-Grandchild Communication: Do Self-Disclosure, Empathy, and Reduced Anxiety Improve Implicit and Explicit Attitudes Toward Older People? Group processes and intergroup relations.

Cairns, E., Kenworthy, J.B., Campbell, A., & Hewstone, M. (in press). The Role of In-group Identification, Religious Group Membership, and Intergroup Conflict in Moderating In-group and Out-group Affect. British Journal of Social Psychology.

Tam, T., Hewstone, M., Kenworthy, J.B., Cairns, E., Marinetti, C., Geddes, L., & Demoulin, S. (in press). Contemporary Research on Sectarianism in Northern Ireland: Intergroup Forgiveness, Trust, and Implicit Bias. Journal of Social Issues.

Tausch, N., Hewstone, M., Kenworthy, J.B., Cairns, E., & Christ, O. (in press). Cross-community contact, perceived status differences and intergroup attitudes in Northern Ireland: The mediating roles of individual-level vs. group-level threats and the moderating role of social identification. Political Psychology.

Hewstone, M., Cairns, E., Kenworthy, J.B., Hughes, J., Tausch, N., Voci, A., von Hecker, U., Tam, T., & Pinder, C. (in press). Stepping stones to reconciliation in Northern Ireland: Intergroup contact, forgiveness and trust. In J.D. Fisher et al. (Eds.), The social psychology of inter-group reconciliation. Oxford, U.K. & New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Kenworthy, J.B., Turner, R.N., Hewstone, M., & Voci, A. (2005). Intergroup contact: When does it work, and why? In J. Dovidio, P. Glick, and L. Rudman (Eds.), Reflecting on the Nature of Prejudice (pp. 278-292). Malden, MA: Blackwell.

Miller, N., Kenworthy, J.B., Canales, C.J., & Stenstrom, D.M. (in press). Explaining the effects of crossed categorization on ethnocentric bias. To appear in R.J. Crisp and M. Hewstone (Eds.), Multiple social categorization: Processes, models, and applications. Hove, E. Sussex: Psychology Press (Taylor & Francis).

Hewstone, M., Turner, R., Kenworthy, J.B., & Crisp, R. (in press). Multiple social categorization: Integrative themes and future research priorities. To appear in R.J. Crisp and M. Hewstone (Eds.), Multiple social categorization: Processes, models, and applications. Hove, E. Sussex: Psychology Press (Taylor & Francis).

Tausch, N., Kenworthy, J.B., & Hewstone, M. (2005). Conflict resolution and prevention: The role of intergroup contact. In M. Fitzduff and C.E. Stout (Eds.), Psychological approaches to conflict and war. Praeger.