Meta-stereotypes, social image and help seeking: dependency-related meta-stereotypes reduce help-seeking behaviour

TY - JOUR

T1 - Meta-stereotypes, social image and help seeking

T2 - dependency-related meta-stereotypes reduce help-seeking behaviour

AU - Wakefield, Juliet R.H.

AU - Hopkins, Nick

AU - Greenwood, Ronni Michelle

N1 - Copyright 2012 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2012

Y1 - 2012

N2 - People who need help can be reluctant to seek it. This can be due to social image concerns. Here, we investigate if these concerns may be prompted by a salient negative meta-stereotype: the belief that one's group is judged negatively by another group. Specifically, we researched group members' help-seeking behaviour in the context of a dependency-related meta-stereotype. In a two-condition study (N=45), we manipulated participants' belief that their national group was judged dependent by a significant out-group. We then examined their subsequent help-seeking behaviour on a real-world task. Participants whose social identity as a group member was salient showed greater reluctance to seek help when the meta-stereotype was made prominent compared with when it was not. This suggests that, in a context where social image and social identity concerns are relevant, group members are willing to sacrifice the possibility of accessing needed help in order to avoid confirming a negative stereotype of their group. The implications of these results for helping transactions and community development are discussed.

AB - People who need help can be reluctant to seek it. This can be due to social image concerns. Here, we investigate if these concerns may be prompted by a salient negative meta-stereotype: the belief that one's group is judged negatively by another group. Specifically, we researched group members' help-seeking behaviour in the context of a dependency-related meta-stereotype. In a two-condition study (N=45), we manipulated participants' belief that their national group was judged dependent by a significant out-group. We then examined their subsequent help-seeking behaviour on a real-world task. Participants whose social identity as a group member was salient showed greater reluctance to seek help when the meta-stereotype was made prominent compared with when it was not. This suggests that, in a context where social image and social identity concerns are relevant, group members are willing to sacrifice the possibility of accessing needed help in order to avoid confirming a negative stereotype of their group. The implications of these results for helping transactions and community development are discussed.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/84882833184

U2 - 10.1002/casp.2126

DO - 10.1002/casp.2126

M3 - Article

SN - 1052-9284

VL - 23

SP - 363

EP - 372

JO - Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology

JF - Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology

IS - 5

ER -