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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
"Use It Or Lose It": How Online Activism Moderates The Protective Properties Of Gender Identity For Well-Being, Mindi D. Foster
"Use It Or Lose It": How Online Activism Moderates The Protective Properties Of Gender Identity For Well-Being, Mindi D. Foster
Psychology Faculty Publications
Regardless of criticisms that online activism does nothing but increase positive feelings, there is merit to understanding the role of online activism for well-being. This research sought to integrate two separate but complimentary lines of research (the well-being effects of activism and social identity) by suggesting that online activism may enhance the ability of social identity to protect against the negative well-being consequences of pervasive discrimination. Three studies, each with different operational definitions of online activism, showed a similar pattern: online activism enhanced the relationship between gender identity and well-being. Consistent with theory on activism’s role as a dynamic predictor …
Tweeting About Sexism: The Well-Being Benefits Of A Social Media Collective Action., Mindi D. Foster
Tweeting About Sexism: The Well-Being Benefits Of A Social Media Collective Action., Mindi D. Foster
Psychology Faculty Publications
Although collective action has psychological benefits in non-gendered contexts (e.g., Drury et al., 2005), the benefits for women taking action against gender discrimination are unclear. This study examined how a popular, yet unexplored potential form of collective action, namely tweeting about sexism, affects women’s well-being. Women read about sexism and were randomly assigned to tweet, or to one of three control groups. Content analyses showed tweets exhibited collective intent and action. Analyses of linguistic markers suggested public tweeters used more cognitive complexity in their language than private tweeters. Profile analyses showed that compared to controls, only public tweeters showed decreasing …
The Relationship Between Collective Action And Well-Being And Its Moderators: Pervasiveness Of Discrimination And Dimensions Of Action, Mindi D. Foster
The Relationship Between Collective Action And Well-Being And Its Moderators: Pervasiveness Of Discrimination And Dimensions Of Action, Mindi D. Foster
Psychology Faculty Publications
Given the negative impact of perceiving gender discrimination on health (e.g., Pascoe & Smart Richman, 2009), there is a need to develop interventions to attenuate this effect; collective action may be one such intervention. Study 1 (N = 185) used an experimental paradigm to investigate whether undergraduate women in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada perceived pervasiveness of discrimination would interact with their collective action-taking to predict negative mood and well-being. Results showed that among those perceiving pervasive gender discrimination, informing friends/family and informing the media led to greater well-being than doing nothing, whereas among those perceiving gender discrimination as isolated, doing nothing …
Everyday Confrontation Of Discrimination: The Well-Being Costs And Benefits To Women Over Time., Mindi D. Foster
Everyday Confrontation Of Discrimination: The Well-Being Costs And Benefits To Women Over Time., Mindi D. Foster
Psychology Faculty Publications
Taking action against discrimination has positive consequences for well-being (e.g., Cocking & Drury, 2004) but most of this research has focused on collective actions and has used methodologies assessing one point in time. This study therefore used a diary methodology to examine how women’s everyday confrontations of discrimination would affect measures of subjective and psychological well-being, and how these relationships would change over time. In a 28-day online diary study, women indicated their daily experience of discrimination, described their response, and completed measures of well-being. Results showed that at the beginning of the study, using indirect confrontation predicted greater well-being …
The Effects Of Meritocracy Beliefs On Women’S Well-Being After First-Time Gender Discrimination, Mindi D. Foster, E. Micha Tsarfati
The Effects Of Meritocracy Beliefs On Women’S Well-Being After First-Time Gender Discrimination, Mindi D. Foster, E. Micha Tsarfati
Psychology Faculty Publications
This study examined how meritocracy beliefs may buffer women from the negative psychological effects of an acute situation of gender discrimination. Although some research indirectly suggests that believing the meritocracy exists may increase well-being, group consciousness theories (e.g., Bartky, 1977) suggest that disbelieving the meritocracy exists will enhance psychological adjustment to gender discrimination. Women who reported little past experience with discrimination, and either believed or disbelieved the meritocracy exists were exposed to either a laboratory situation of discrimination or a non-discrimination failure (control) condition. Consistent with group consciousness theories, women experiencing discrimination reported greater well-being if they disbelieved the meritocracy …