Backlash Effect Research Articles

Reactions to China-linked Fake News: Experimental Evidence from Taiwan

AbstractChina is accused of conducting disinformation campaigns on Taiwan's social media. Existing studies on foreign interventions in democratic societies predict that such disinformation campaigns should lead to increasing partisan polarization within Taiwan. We argue that a backlash effect, making Taiwan's citizens more united against China, is equally plausible. We conduct a survey experiment exposing participants to a real-life rumour and rebuttal to test these competing hypotheses. We find, at best, mixed evidence for polarization. Although neither rumour nor rebuttal mention China, there is consistent evidence of backlash against China. Most notably, participants across the political spectrum are more inclined to support Taiwanese independence after viewing the rumour rebuttal. These findings indicate that citizens may put aside partisanship when confronted with false news that is plausibly linked to an external actor. We conclude by discussing the broader applicability of our theory and implications for cross-Strait relations.

A Vicious Cycle of Bias: Residents' Perceptions of Leadership in Health Care.

Despite growing interest in shared leadership models, autocratic physician leadership remains the norm in health care. Stereotype and bias limit leadership by members of other professions. Furthermore, traditional views of effective clinical leadership emphasize agentic behaviors associated with male gender. To shift the prototypical concept of a leader from a male physician to a more inclusive prototype, a better understanding of prototype formation is needed. This study examines leader prototypes and their development among resident physicians through the lens of leadership categorization theory. One researcher conducted semistructured interviews with anesthesia and internal medicine residents at a single institution, asking participants to describe their ideal team leader and comment on the video-recorded performance of either a male or female nurse practitioner (NP) leading a simulated resuscitation. Interview questions explored participants' perceptions of NPs as team leaders and how these perceptions developed. The researchers conducted deductive analysis to examine leadership prototypes and prototype formation, and inductive analysis to derive additional themes. The majority of residents described a male physician as the ideal resuscitation team leader. Exposure to male physician leaders, and lack of exposure to NP leaders, contributed to this prototype formation. Residents described a vicious cycle in which bias against female and NP leaders diminished acceptance of their leadership by team members, resulting in decreased confidence and performance, further aggravating bias. These results provide suggestions for interventions that can help shift the leadership prototype in health care and promote shared leadership models. These include increasing exposure to different professionals of either gender in leadership roles and increased representation in educational materials, education about effective leadership strategies to create awareness of the benefits of shared leadership, and reflection during team training to increase awareness of bias and the backlash effect faced by individuals whose behaviors counter established stereotypes.

Backlash Effect on Highly Skilled North African Males Seeking Professional Advancement in France

Abstract. This study was carried out within the context of an assessment for promotion to a high-status position. It aimed to determine the conditions in which the backlash effect occurs in a group characterized by negative stereotypes owing to their ethnicity: North African males in France. One hundred twenty-eight recruitment professionals assessed the probability of promoting one of eight fictitious male applicants with different causal attributions (internal or external) and levels of technical competence (high or average), and of different ethnicities (European or North African). Internal attribution, one of the dimensions of self-promotion, was regarded as a counterstereotypical behavior for a North African applicant compared with a European applicant. Backlash was only observed in a high-threat context.

Are guns the new dog whistle? Gun control, racial resentment, and vote choice*

AbstractTwo principal movers of American politics appear increasingly to be connected: racism and guns. The racial content underlying gun rights rhetoric, however, is rarely made explicit during political campaigns. As such, it is possible that espousing pro‐gun messages may be an effective way to surreptitiously court prejudiced voters without transgressing popular egalitarian norms. In other words, gun rights rhetoric may function as a racial dog whistle. In the present study, we test this theory using data from a survey experiment conducted with a national sample of registered voters. The findings from our experiment show that election candidates’ National Rifle Association (NRA)‐funding status and position on gun control impact voters’ evaluations, and racial resentment moderates these effects. Racially resentful voters are more likely than low‐resentment voters to say they would vote for a candidate when the candidate is funded by the NRA and does not support gun control. This is true among voters who own guns and among those who do not, and it is true regardless of the candidate's political party. The findings also show that there is a backlash effect among low‐resentment voters—such individuals are aversive to NRA‐funded candidates but strongly supportive of pro‐gun control candidates.

Adaptive control and disturbance compensation for gear transmission servo systems with large-range inertia variation

In gear transmission servo systems, backlash effect and inertia variation often generate low precision, oscillations or even affect the stability. Focusing on this issue, an adaptive terminal integral sliding mode control (ATISMC) strategy and a discrete linear extended state observer (DLESO) are proposed in this article. First, different from using traditional dynamic model, a characteristic model is established with online parameter identification to describe inertia variation. Then, a DLESO is proposed to observe and compensate the modeling error caused by parameter identification and backlash effect. An ATISMC is newly designed based on the characteristic model to suppress the uncertainties and stabilize the whole closed-loop system. Both the uniform ultimate boundedness of observation error and the practical finite-time stability of the system is proved. Finally, simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed strategy can adapt to large-range inertia variation and suppress the backlash effect.

Getting credit for proactivity? The effects of gender

AbstractWith our research, we contribute to the research on proactive work behavior in two ways. First, we examine a person's gender as a boundary condition for proactive behavior at work. Based on social role theory, we argue that women are less likely to receive credit for showing personal initiative (PI) than men. Second, we examine agency and communion as underlying mechanisms that translate PI into a person's evaluation and drive backlash effects. The hypotheses were tested in two complementary experimental studies (Study 1; N = 114, Study 2: N = 163) using simulated job interviews. Our results show that PI relates to better evaluations (likeability, perceived competence, performance evaluations, expected success and hireability) of the job applicant and that these effects are mediated by agency and communion. Further, we find backlash effects for women high in agency and men high in communion on likeability (Study 2). The implications of these results for organizations and future research are discussed.

The Cross-National Relationship Between Women’s Autonomy and Long-Term Homicide Trends

Some researchers argue that growing women’s autonomy has worsened homicide victimization rates, attributed to a backlash effect. Others argue that increased women’s autonomy has an ameliorative effect, lessening homicide rates. To address this ambiguity, this article puts forward both methodological and theoretical modifications. First, data (from the UNODC Global Study on Homicide) is analyzed longitudinally rather than cross-sectionally. This analytical focus on changing trends is more appropriate to test existing theories. Second, we use measures of women’s autonomy across a number of social institutions, estimating and comparing effects in terms of women’s gains in political office, the labor market, and for adolescent fertility. Women’s gains in political office have no relationship with homicide rates. Integration of women in the labor market shows a curvilinear relationship, demonstrating a backlash affect until women are about 40% of the labor market, when homicide rates start declining. However, for low-income countries the labor market integration shows a linear, positive effect on homicide rates. Adolescent fertility has a strong, positive association with homicide trends—in fact, among the strongest of all predictors. Finally, gains in women’s autonomy are similarly consequential for the homicide against males and females. Overall, findings show that different measures of autonomy have distinct effects, and that gains amongst a restricted political elite do not necessarily spill over to other social institutions, such as the private sphere of families, which can be more impactful for changes in homicide rates.

Does Immigration Produce a Public Backlash or Public Acceptance? Time-Series, Cross-Sectional Evidence from Thirty European Democracies

After decades of relatively high inflows of foreign nationals, immigration is now at the center of substantial political divisions in most European countries and has been implicated in one of the most vexing developments in European politics, the rise of the xenophobic right. However, it is not clear whether high levels of immigration actually do cause a public backlash, or whether publics become habituated to, and supportive of, immigration. This study tests these backlash and habituation theories using novel measures of immigration mood and immigration concern produced by combining over 4,000 opinion datapoints across twenty-nine years and thirty countries. The authors find evidence of a public backlash in the short to medium run, where mood turns negative and concern about immigration rises. Yet the study also finds evidence of a longer-run process of habituation that cancels out the backlash effect within one (concern) to three (mood) decades.

Regional social context and FDI. An empirical investigation on Chinese acquisitions in Europe

European regions are characterized by different economic, technical and social conditions. Such differences might also explain the different strength of European regions in attracting foreign direct investments (FDI). Following recent strands of literature, in this paper we try to identify whether the presence of regional differences in the social context, once considering a set of regional characteristics related to the economic structure and innovative endowments, affects the location of multinational enteprises. To do so, we develop an empirical model using data on Chinese brownfield investments towards European regions. Our results confirm that social context overall matters in location choices, even if heterogeneous effects arise when taking into account technological differences in target sectors. Our evidence is useful in increasing the awareness of policy-makers and of the academic debate on the necessity to consider possible spillover and backlash effects both of social policies and of FDI attraction initiatives.

Backlash against affirmative action: Evidence from the South Tyrolean package

We examine whether affirmative action produces backlash effects for the most privileged ethnic group by exploiting a unique historical setting originating from a forced assimilation program, the Italianization of South Tyrol. The program, implemented by the fascist regime, imposed entry barriers for non-Italian speakers in the public administration sector of the labor market. The specialization of Italians persisted until hard quotas were announced in 1966. We document that the announcement induced a marked increase in the support for a nationalist and openly anti-German party in municipalities where such specialization was more pronounced. A text analysis of the speeches of 196 members of the Italian parliament (MPs) recorded in 3,820 verbatim reports further shows that, during the announcement period, MPs of the nationalist party reinforced Germans’ negative traits that characterized the historical tensions between the two groups (“Nazis” or “terrorists”). Our results suggest that the expectation of affirmative action can rapidly activate the salience of ethnic boundaries and, in turn, promote ethnic hatred.

Are Political Attacks a Laughing Matter? Three Experiments on Political Humor and the Effectiveness of Negative Campaigning

Research on the effectiveness of negative campaigning offers mixed results. Negative messages can sometimes work to depress candidate evaluations, but they can also backfire against the attacker. In this article, we examine how humor can help mitigate the unintended effects of negative campaigning using data from three experimental studies in the United States and the Netherlands. Our results show that (1) political attacks combined with “other-deprecatory humor” (i.e., jokes against the opponents) are less likely to backfire against the attacker and can even increase positive evaluations of this latter—especially when the attack is perceived as amusing. At the same time and contrary to what we expected, (2) humor does not blunt the attack: humorous attacks are not less effective against the target than serious attacks. All in all, these results suggest that humor can be a good strategy for political attacks: jokes reduce harmful backlash effects against the attacker, and humoros attacks remain just as effective as humorless ones. When in doubt, be funny. All data and materials are openly available for replication.

Rhetoric and hate crimes: examining the public response to the Trump narrative

ABSTRACT The former Trump Administration introduced policies focused on tightening national borders and limiting migration. These policies were often prefaced with strong rhetoric designed to disparage or derogate international racial, ethnic, and spiritual communities seeking entrance to the United States. In response, the media and members of the general public suggested that Trump’s words and actions resulted in a backlash effect by significantly influencing domestic hate crimes; however, these sources are missing the empirical evidence to support such a claim. Using the UCR and multiple analytical techniques, this study aims to explore this relationship further by examining the influence of the former Trump Administration’s rhetoric on hate crimes in the United States. Results indicate that, in support of public assumptions, Trump’s narrative may promote violence targeting select communities.

Sustaining the integrity of the threatened self: A cluster-randomised trial among social assistance applicants in the Netherlands.

Stereotypes and stigma associated with living on welfare or a low income can be a psychological threat that hampers performance and undermines aspirations. Our paper explores the potential of a novel self-affirmation intervention to mitigate such adverse impacts. The intervention comprises a verbal self-affirmation exercise for applicants during their first meeting with a caseworker. We conduct a cluster-randomised trial among a sample of 174 applicants for social assistance benefits in a Social Services office in Maastricht, the Netherlands. We measure outcomes on feelings of self-worth, stress, societal belonging, job search behaviour self-efficacy and cognitive performance immediately after the meeting. In our full sample, the intervention has a negative impact on feelings of societal belonging, but no effect on other outcomes. Effects, however, vary by subgroups. Our treatment increases negative feelings of self-worth and negatively affects societal belonging, but also improves cognitive performance among the group that had paid work in the previous two years. By contrast, self-affirmation positively impacts job search behaviour self-efficacy and cognitive performance for individuals who face increased challenges to (re)integrate into the labour market, proxied by lower levels of education or social assistance receipt in the previous two years. Since our intervention gives rise to testing more than one null hypothesis, we control the false discovery rate using the Benjamini-Hochberg approach. Our findings are sobering. Effects only remain significant for negative feelings of self-worth and improved cognitive performance for one particular subgroup: individuals with paid work in the past two years. This suggests self-affirmation may have reminded them of the time they still had a job, hence creating a backlash effect on feelings of self-worth. At the same time, they may have felt a need to distinguish themselves from others on social assistance benefits resulting in better cognitive performance. These interpretations are consistent with theory and empirical evidence on social identity and self-categorisation. We discuss the implications of our results and outline avenues for future work.

Women Shelters: The Last Resort Option to Escape From Violence

This study aims to analyze the effect of shelters on domestic violence against women and their mental health status by using the variation from the EU-supported project of women shelters to fight domestic violence started in 2012 and implemented in 26 pilot provinces in Turkey. The study uses 2008-2014 data from national research on domestic violence against women. The estimation results show that the project reduced the probability of physical domestic violence against women whose education level is less than college by 2-2.5 percentage points in the treated region. The reduction in the intensity of physical domestic violence is more substantial, around 30 percentage points. Further estimations are conducted to find out the heterogeneous effect on subgroups, the results of which show that the mothers with two and three children benefit most from the project. The effects are even higher for non-working mothers. In addition to the success in physical domestic violence, there are significant reductions in sexual and psychological violence against mothers with 2 or 3 children and non-working mothers. As a result of the reductions in domestic violence, the mental health status of women increased by 2.5 percentage points in the region. The improvements in mental health are greater for mothers and non-working mothers, against whom the reductions in domestic violence are also high. The results show that the shelters did not trigger a male backlash effect in a country where patriarchal attitudes and norms are strong.

Europe's migration crisis: Local contact and out‐group hostility

AbstractDoes a large influx of asylum seekers in the local community lead to a backlash in public opinion towards foreign populations? We assess the effects of asylum seeker presence using original survey and macro‐level municipality data from Austria, exploiting exogenous elements of the placement of asylum seekers on the municipality level. Methodologically, we draw on entropy balancing for causal identification. Our findings are threefold. First, respondents in municipalities receiving asylum seekers report substantially higher exposure on average, but largely without the stronger contact that would allow for meaningful interaction. Second, hostility towards asylum seekers on average increased in areas that housed them. Third, this backlash spilt over: general attitudes towards Muslims and immigrants are less favourable in contexts with local asylum seeker presence, while vote intention for the main anti‐immigration party is higher. Our findings go beyond existing work by examining contact directly as a mechanism, by showing a backlash effect in the medium term, and by focusing on a broad set of attitudinal and behavioural measures. Our results point to a need to design policy interventions that minimise citizen backlash against rapid migration inflows.

Positive Spillovers from Negative Campaigning.

Negative advertising is frequent in electoral campaigns, despite its ambiguous effectiveness: Negativity may reduce voters' evaluation of the targeted politician but may have a backlash effect for the attacker. We study the effect of negative advertising in electoral races with more than two candidates with a large-scale field experiment during an electoral campaign for mayor in Italy and a survey experiment in a fictitious mayoral campaign. In our field experiment, we find a strong, positive spillover effect on the third main candidate (neither the target nor the attacker). This effect is confirmed in our survey experiment, which creates a controlled environment with no ideological components or strategic voting. The negative ad has no impact on the targeted incumbent, has a sizable backlash effect on the attacker, and largely benefits the idle candidate. The attacker is perceived as less cooperative, less likely to lead a successful government, and more ideologicallyextreme.

Backlash in performance feedback: Deepening the understanding of the role of gender in performance appraisal

AbstractWe explore one possible factor contributing to the proverbial glass ceiling for women—manifestation of the backlash effect, defined as social repercussions received by women who violate the female gender‐role norm, in performance feedback. Feedback phrasing may have consequences for employee commitment to the organization and intention to leave. The results of study 1, a mixed qualitative and quantitative analysis of a sample of 400 written performance evaluations from two organizations, provide evidence of the backlash effect in the feedback language used in women's performance appraisals at all levels of the organizational hierarchy, not just for women in leadership roles as expected. The results of a self‐report survey of 271 working adults (study 2) suggest differing sensitivity to the use of backlash‐related words according to gender, unexpectedly pointing to lower sensitivity for women and evidence of shaping behaviors toward one's gender‐role norm through positive feedback. Implications are discussed.

The Gender Backlash in the Vote for Brexit

Despite a relationship between gender and support for populist causes in cross-national research, including in the 2016 US Presidential election, the role of gender has been missing in analysis of support for Brexit, most likely because women and men showed no average aggregate-level differences in voting Leave or Remain. This misses an important explanation for Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. We demonstrate how gender-based resentment motivated Leave votes in the EU referendum through perceptions of discrimination against men, among men. Using novel survey measures, we demonstrate (i) the distinct nature of perceptions of discrimination towards men in comparison with discrimination towards women; (ii) the sociological sources of perceptions that men are discriminated against; and (iii) the role of these perceptions in Brexit support. Our findings reveal that the Brexit referendum provided an opportunity to express broader social grievances than have, to date, been identified as relevant. The paper therefore offers a novel contribution to understanding the cultural backlash behind Britain’s vote to leave the EU, and by so doing, insight into the potential for gender-based backlash effects in elections where gender isn’t significantly primed, unlike the 2016 US presidential election where gender was a major political focus.

Taxing Dissent: The Impact of a Social Media Tax in Uganda

We examine the impact of a new tool for digital repression—a daily tax on social media use in Uganda. Using a synthetic control framework and exploiting the exogenous timing of the tax induced by the legislative calendar, we estimate that the tax reduced the number of georeferenced Twitter users by 14 percent. The effects are larger for poorer and less frequent users. Despite the overall decline in Twitter use, tweets referencing collective action and observed protests both increased around the onset of the tax relative to the synthetic control. The high salience of the tax as digital repression and its impact on the composition of users are two potential mechanisms for this backlash effect.

Migrant-Family Separation and the Diverging Normative Force of International Law and Constitutional Law

A growing experimental literature suggests that international law appears to have a larger impact on public opinion than constitutional law. We develop a theory to explain these seemingly counter-intuitive results. First, in studies that explore the impact of constitutional law, respondents may be “unsuccessfully treated.” Second, constitutional law treatments can trigger a backlash effect through defensive processing of information on constitutionality. To test our theory, we simultaneously test the normative effect of international law and law in relation to the policy of separating migrant families at the U.S. border. We fielded nationwide survey experiments in July 2018 and November 2020, asking respondents whether they supported the policy. Consistent with our theory, we find that telling people that the policy is unconstitutional increases support for the policy, but only when the issue was receiving heavy media coverage, and that international law has no comparable effect on public opinion.