Identity Threat Research Articles

Fear of Being Supplanted: Intergroup Competition Over Prototypicality and Identity Threats Within Social Movements

We investigated reactions to the emergence of supplanting subgroups among members of dominant subgroups of a social movement. Supplanting subgroups are ideologically and strategically distinct from dominant subgroups and attract social recognition from the general public; thus, they could be perceived as competitors for the status of the movement’s prototypical subgroup. Across three experimental studies, we investigated reactions to supplanting subgroups in comparison to allied subgroups within the movement and ideologically opposing groups to the movement. Supplanting subgroups triggered less negative reactions than ideologically opposing groups but more than allied subgroups. Moreover, they triggered similar levels of symbolic and realistic threat and as much (Study 3) or more (Study 2) competition over prototypicality than ideologically opposing groups. Symbolic threat and competition over prototypicality mediated some of the effects of the type of group on intergroup relations. These findings suggest that, along with symbolic threat, competition over prototypicality can play an important role in shaping conflicts within social movements.

Navigating the regulatory landscape: Ensuring data privacy and security in cloud adoption for financial institutions using AWS

Financial institutions adopting Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud solutions face critical considerations for navigating the complex regulatory landscape while implementing robust data privacy and security frameworks. The migration of sensitive data to cloud environments requires meticulous attention to compliance requirements across jurisdictions, including GLBA, GDPR, PCI DSS, and FFIEC guidelines. The AWS shared responsibility model plays a central role, clearly delineating security obligations between the cloud provider and financial institutions. Key AWS security services support effective implementation across identity management, data protection, threat detection, and compliance automation domains. Strategic implementation approaches for financial cloud architectures include security-by-design principles, comprehensive data governance frameworks, resilient disaster recovery planning, and robust third-party risk management practices. By addressing these elements and implementing appropriate controls, financial institutions can confidently leverage cloud capabilities while maintaining customer trust and satisfying regulatory obligations. Those that successfully navigate these challenges achieve substantial operational efficiencies and enhanced customer experiences that outperform their non-cloud counterparts, positioning them for continued innovation and competitive advantage in an increasingly digital financial landscape.

The impact of exposure to generative AI art on aesthetic appreciation, perceptions of AI mind, and evaluations of AI and of art careers

Visual art is increasingly created by generative artificial intelligence (generative AI). This study, conducted online with 470 US participants, investigated whether exposure to art attributed to AI may influence aesthetic appreciation, perceptions of AI mind, and evaluations of AI (acceptance of AI as an artist, evaluation of AI as an identity and realistic threat) and of art careers. Exposure to art introduced as generated by AI (vs a human artist) reduced appreciation. No significant impact was observed on the other dependent variables. For ostensibly AI-generated art, higher appreciation was associated with more acceptance toward AI as an artist and lower levels of AI realistic threat. This suggests that mere exposure to art attributed to AI may not be sufficient to induce a change in perceptions of AI mind, evaluations of AI and of art careers, but these effects might occur if AI-attributed art is appreciated aesthetically.

Safety at the boundaries of race: Black people derive identity safety from Black-White biracial people.

This research investigated whether Black people experience social identity threat when anticipating an interaction with a Black-White biracial person. In both studies, we led Black participants to believe that they would have a discussion with either a Black, Black-White biracial, or White interaction partner. Participants then reported the degree to which they considered their partner a racial ingroup member, their perceptions of their partner's prejudice, their perceived similarity to their partner, and measures of social identity threat that focused on how they expected to be perceived and treated during the interaction. Participants considered the Black and Black-White biracial partners as racial ingroup members and the White partner as a racial outgroup member. Participants perceived the Black and Black-White biracial partner as being less prejudiced than the White partner. In addition, participants expected to be perceived and treated more positively by both the Black and Black-White biracial partner than by the White partner. Notably, no significant differences existed between the Black and the Black-White biracial partner on any of these dependent variables. Mediational analyses revealed that participants' perceptions of their partner's prejudice and their perceived similarity to their partner independently mediate the effect of the race of the interaction partner on how they expected to be perceived and treated by their partner. These findings suggest that Black people consider Black-White biracial people to be racial ingroup members and therefore do not anticipate experiencing social identity threat when interacting with a Black-White biracial person. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Relational identity-safety cues for Black and Latinx Americans during interactions with White Americans

Although interracial interactions often elicit identity threat, cues within and surrounding the encounter can promote identity safety. Across three studies, Black and Latinx Americans ( N = 907) generated and evaluated relational identity-safety cues —words, body language, and behaviors during recalled and imagined interactions with White people that made them feel valued, respected, and less likely to be stereotyped. Participants generated distinct cues when imagining a race-relevant conversation with a White individual, including support (e.g., “expressing empathy”) and racism disapproval (e.g., “condemns racism”), compared to anticipating a non-race-relevant conversation, which elicited friendliness (e.g., “smiling”), comfort (e.g., “relaxed demeanor”), and similarity cues (e.g., “enjoy the same hobbies”). Corroborating these open-ended results with a preregistered experiment, participants anticipated experiencing more identity safety when imagining a White person exhibit support and racism disapproval cues during a discussion of racial injustice (vs. a non-race-relevant topic). This research highlights the subtle but powerful interpersonal signals from White Americans that foster racially minoritized people’s identity safety during general and race-relevant interactions.

Sexual health among university students: Insights from the Health Adversity Risk Model

This article outlines the Health Adversity Risk Model, which is an integrative social psychological model for predicting health outcomes. Focusing on sexual health in university students in the United Kingdom (UK), it is argued that experiencing identity threat may lead people to engage in coping strategies that can in turn affect health outcomes. Some coping strategies are adaptive and others maladaptive. People facing identity threat can be supported to elect adaptive coping strategies conducive to better health outcomes. Health psychologists may find tenets of the Health Adversity Risk Model useful for designing interventions for enhancing sexual health outcomes in university students.

Scientist versus nonscientist: identity, threat, derogation and agreement with the knowledge deficit hypothesis among STEM students in the US

ABSTRACT In essence, the knowledge deficit hypothesis (KDH) of science communication assumes perceived deficiencies in public attitudes toward science can be addressed through nonscientists receiving more scientific information from experts. Despite counterevidence, the KDH is a popular assumption among scientists in the US and shapes science communication efforts. This study explores the role of identity and intergroup threat in shaping this assumption by surveying a sample of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) college students in the US. Results suggest that identification as a scientist was associated with being White, studying natural sciences, and being a graduate rather than an undergraduate student. Results of a moderated-mediation process analysis revealed that ingroup identification was positively associated with agreement with the KDH and derogation of nonscientists as ignorant, uninformed and uneducated about STEM. An indirect association between ingroup identification and agreement with the KDH was detected via outgroup derogation. The association between identification and derogation, and the indirect association between identification and agreement with the KDH became stronger the more students perceived nonscientists to pose a threat to science but became insignificant where low or no threat was perceived. Results are discussed in relation to social identity theory and intergroup threat theory.

Unfulfilled Promises: The Complex Reasons Behind Dropout Open Online Distance Education in Türkiye

ABSTRACT Open online distance education (OODL) promises flexibility yet continues to grapple with persistently high attrition. Guided by the Kember – Tinto – Spady integration framework, this transcendental phenomenological study probed how and why learners decide to withdraw from a gigascale OODL programme. Semistructured interviews with fifteen exstudents (N = 15) were analyzed via horizonalisation and thematic clustering. Three macrothemes emerged: (1) academicdesign misalignment – chiefly assessment/content disconnects and static learning materials; (2) structural and institutional barriers – logistically taxing examcentre policies, dualprogramme bans and opaque fee structures; and (3) personal agency and life circumstances – resourcedrain conflicts, waning motivation, and pandemicinduced role overload. Emotion trajectories mapped onto these themes, revealing cycles of frustration leading to disappointment, stress giving way to relief, and guilt culminating in resignation, which collectively mediate the leap from struggle to withdrawal. The findings extend dropout scholarship by (a) linking barrier clusters to specific psychological mechanisms (selfefficacy erosion, autonomy frustration, identity threat) and (b) demonstrating how temporary policy shifts (emergency online exams) recalibrate student expectations. Future research should probe student resource use, chart dropout’s emotional fallout, and unpack cultural-socioeconomic drivers of attrition to guide globally relevant retention strategies. Collectively, the study reframes dropout not as isolated failure but as a rational response to compounded misalignments across design, structure, and life context.

Identity Safety in Cancer Screening: Building a Basic Research‐to‐Clinic Translation of Social Identity Theory

ABSTRACTEnvironmental cues can signal identity threat (e.g., potential discrimination) or identity safety (e.g., belonging) to socially marginalized people. However, scant research has examined safety and threat cues in healthcare. In our T1‐T2 concurrent triangulation mixed‐methods study, participants (age 35–60; ∼25% each cisgender Black women, Black men, Latina, Latino) completed quantitative (n = 288) and qualitative (n = 80) surveys. Participants rated their past healthcare experiences and future cancer screening intentions, analyzed via multiple regression. Participants responded to short‐answer questions about their healthcare experiences to identify cues to identity threat and/or identity safety, analyzed via grounded theory. Identity safety related to prostate, breast, and colorectal cancer screening intentions, controlling for mistrust and past discrimination. Qualitative results concurred, indicating that interpersonal cues and environmental features cue safety or threat. Our findings support that Black and Latine people value identity safety in cancer screening, and future interventions could test promoting safety cues to promote cancer screening.

The cyclical nature of Indigenous identity threat

ABSTRACT Indigenous identity threats are fostered and reified through a cyclical process wherein sources of threat for Indigenous people are simultaneously strategies non-Indigenous people employ to manage threat. One contemporary threat for Indigenous people is the omission of their existence and experiences from the public consciousness. Omission threatens Indigenous identity by undermining well-being and fostering intergroup biases. Indigenous people respond by engaging in collective action to address such pernicious representations. As historical and contemporary wrongdoings impacting Indigenous people become visible, non-Indigenous people are confronted with the reality that their group is responsible for and/or benefits from Indigenous oppression. An unintended consequence of Indigenous collective action is that it may further threaten non-Indigenous people’s identity. To mitigate this threat, non-Indigenous people omit Indigenous people’s existence, which recreates threats for Indigenous people. Interrupting this cycle requires that we actively change the processes embedded in our social institutions and practices that reify Indigenous omission.

A Social Identity Threat Perspective on Conspiracy Theory Mentality

ABSTRACT Social media organizations need to filter content, but this can cause perceptions of bias among users who believe their opinions are suppressed. This may cause individuals to retreat from some social media forums and into others that are friendly to their opinions, forming “media bubbles” in which conspiracy theory ideation can lead to harmful behaviors. Conspiracy Theory Mentality poses societal risks and is associated with polarization over social media, yet the current state of research on conspiracy theorists is limited regarding how it arises and why it develops. Framed in social identity theory and the identity threat framework, this article considers conspiracy theory ideation from the perspective of conspiracy theorists. Survey data from 227 adults with an interest in news about vaccines in the US indicates Perceived Bias and Disrespect may cause Social Identity Threat, which in turn causes Derogation of social media, Positive Distinctiveness and Conspiracy Theory Mentality.

Human–machine collaboration: exploring professional identity threat within the records and information management community

Purpose This study explores how records and information management (RIM) practitioners perceive threats from artificial intelligence (AI) to their professional identity, and how these perceptions impact their willingness to collaborate with AI-based systems.Design/methodology/approach The research utilized the “AI identity threat framework” to analyse quantitative data from 404 respondents and qualitative data from 21 participants in six Eastern and Southern African countries. Data were analysed using the Structural Equation Modelling technique on IMB-SPSS-AMOS software.Findings AI identity, loss of skills/expertise, changes of work and loss of autonomy significantly predicted professional identity threat (PIT). PIT was found to negatively and significantly predict the intention to use AI-based systems. The proposed moderating variables had no interaction effect. Interviewees affirmed AI as a collaborator, temporal distance, fear of job loss, need for upskilling, shifting roles as predictors of use intention and PIT.Research limitations/implications This study successfully affirmed the existing AI identity threat framework by demonstrating its effectiveness in RIM, identifying new threats and highlighting the varying impact of AI threats across contexts.Originality/value The study findings contribute to the understudied area of AI behavioural use intention within the RIM field and African context.

Cloud Automation in Finance: Enhancing Security and Performance

Cloud automation has emerged as a transformative force in the financial services industry, enabling institutions to address the complex challenges of security, compliance, and performance at scale. Financial organizations have embraced automation technologies to enforce policies, detect threats, optimize resources, and maintain operational resilience in increasingly demanding environments. This article explores how Infrastructure as Code, Policy as Code, and GitOps workflows are revolutionizing cloud operations in finance. It examines automated security controls across identity management and threat detection domains while highlighting performance optimization techniques that enhance workload placement, predictive scaling, and continuous tuning. The practical applications of these technologies are demonstrated across trading platforms, fraud detection systems, and customer-facing applications, illustrating how cloud automation enables financial institutions to innovate responsibly while maintaining the stringent security and performance requirements of the industry.

Understanding consumer behavior: How the perceived threat of unsustainability influences sustainable behaviors

The aim of our study was to fill a gap in the environmental sustainability literature regarding consumers' perception of identity threats to sustainability. We examined how the perceived identity threat posed by strangers' unsustainable behaviors affects the sustainable behaviors of consumers, with motivation types as a moderator. Respondents were 940 Chinese undergraduate business students, and we randomly assigned them to scenarios depicting either unsustainable behaviors or neutral behaviors. We measured their intention to engage in sustainable behaviors and their motivation type using questionnaires, then conducted structural equation modeling to test the proposed hypotheses. The results revealed that consumers' perception of the identity threats posed by strangers' unsustainable behaviors led them to exhibit a stronger intention to practice environmentally sustainable behaviors. Approach motivation positively moderated this relationship, while avoidance motivation had no significant effect. We discuss the managerial implications and limitations of our research, as well as opportunities for further research.

Reconfigured reality in scenarios of transformed identity, invasion and environmental threat: The diachronic exploration of recognition scenes in anglophone print and film narratives

The paper presents key results in the diachronic analysis of recognition (Aristotle’s concept of anagnorisis ) in works of Anglophone narrative fiction and film. Its focus is on the developing cognitive diversity in the representation of character responses during the cognitive-emotional crux which occurs at the heart of the recognition scene. The three forms covered are the recognition of close relationships (generally of kinship), recognition of hostile invaders, and recognition of the human threat to the environment. In contrast to previous research, the examples are taken from a wide range of realist and non-realist genres. The analysis of invasion narratives involves the recognition of enmity; this is mentioned by Aristotle but has received far less attention; the recognition of anthropogenic environmental threat, and its telling absence in some human responses – dysanagnorisis –, is largely a more recent form. The overall timespan of the examples ranges from the Renaissance to contemporary film. Notably, the recognition of enmity and of threat become a more common form in narratives of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with new examples in particular occurring in 1950s narratives. In the examples from the invasion narrative, key transformations in the representation of recognition in print versus film media, and in print-to-film adaptations, constitute an additional innovative focus of the paper. Overall, the representations of recognition studied are cognitively and emotionally diverse, with a marked growth in their ontological, emotional and cognitive complexity.

AIs Impact on Future Generation

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the way we live and work, affecting a wide range of industries and job markets. In this research paper, the focus will be on exploring the potential impact of AI on the future of work and the labor market. This study will examine the current state of AI adoption in various industries, the expected growth of AI usage, and the potential consequences of this growth for the job market, including the displacement of certain jobs, the creation of new jobs, and changes in the skill requirements for workers. Additionally, the paper will examine the ethical considerations surrounding AI and its impact on the workforce, including issues such as job loss, income inequality, and the responsibilities of businesses and governments in managing the transition to an AI-powered workforce. The impact of the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) on workers’ experiences remains under examined. Although AI-enhanced processes can benefit workers (e.g., by assisting with exhausting or dangerous tasks), they can also elicit psychological harm (e.g., by causing job loss or degrading work quality). Given AI’s uniqueness among other technologies, resulting from its expanding capabilities and capacity for autonomous learning, we propose a functional identity framework to examine AI’s effects on people’s work-related selfunderstandings and the social environment at work. We argue that the conditions for AI to either enhance or threaten a worker's sense of identity derived from their work depends on how the technology is functionally deployed (by complementing tasks, replacing tasks, and/or generating new tasks) and how it affects the social fabric of work. Also, how AI is implemented and the broader social validation context play a role. We conclude by outlining future research directions and potential application of the proposed framework to organizational practice. Keywords: Artificial intelligence, complementing tasks, generating tasks, identity threat, meaning of work, replacing tasks, technological change

Effects of Self-Affirmation and Self-Efficacy Cues on Responses to PFAS Risk Information

ABSTRACT The widespread and persistent nature of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) presents a serious health threat. However, public understanding and awareness around this environmental health risk is still low. In this study, we examined how self-affirmation and self-efficacy cues influenced defensive responses to a risk message. We also examined downstream effects on risk perception, self-efficacy beliefs, and behavioral intent to limit PFAS exposure. Our findings reiterate the importance of self-efficacy cues in health messaging, both as a way to reduce defensiveness to a threat message and to motivate preventative health behaviors. Moreover, we identify a potential boundary condition for self-affirmation as a persuasion strategy, whereby the involuntary nature of the risk behavior (i.e. PFAS exposure) might reduce identity threat and hence the utility of this approach.

The Relationship Between Stigma-Induced Social Identity Threat and Loneliness: An Investigation Among Unemployed People in Germany.

Experiences of stigma-induced social identity threat can frustrate one's need for belonging. No research to date has examined whether stigmatized people experience loneliness as a result. Therefore, we conducted two studies with unemployed people in Germany to test the hypothesis that social identity threat increases feelings of loneliness. In Study 1 (N = 445), we employed a two-wave longitudinal study and found that Time 1 social identity threat positively predicted Time 2 loneliness. Study 2 (N = 329) provided experimental evidence of this link by manipulating exposure to social identity threat cues through mental imagery. Mediation analysis indicated that this is due to amplified feelings of anger and shame as well as a reduced sense of social belonging. These research findings suggest the importance of interventions to foster a sense of social belonging in marginalized groups.

Cutting-Edge AI Techniques for Securing Healthcare IAM: A Novel Approach to SAML and OAuth Security

Purpose: This study addresses the increasing limitations of traditional Identity and Access Management (IAM) systems based on OAuth and SAML protocols, which are vulnerable to evolving cyber threats such as token hijacking, phishing, replay attacks, and consent fraud. The purpose is to introduce an AI-driven threat detection framework that enhances identity security beyond conventional rule-based mechanisms. Methodology: The proposed framework integrates machine learning (ML), anomaly detection algorithms, and behavioral analytics to monitor and secure OAuth and SAML authentication workflows. Risk-based adaptive authentication (RBA) is utilized to assess contextual risk, while natural language processing (NLP) techniques are applied to validate OAuth consent flows. The effectiveness of the framework is evaluated through experimental simulations comparing AI-enhanced models with traditional IAM approaches. Findings: Experimental results demonstrate that the AI-based model improves detection of SAML assertion forgery by over 90% and reduces OAuth token misuse by 80%. These findings underscore the capability of AI to dynamically identify and mitigate identity-based threats in real time, significantly outperforming static rule-based systems. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: This research offers a practical AI-enhanced framework for securing IAM systems, enabling organizations to implement real-time threat detection, reduce identity fraud, and automate risk-based authentication and consent validation. By introducing NLP-driven consent verification and behavioral analytics, the framework enhances decision-making and user access governance across enterprise systems. From a policy standpoint, the study supports the evolution of cybersecurity and compliance models by demonstrating how AI can be systematically embedded into IAM infrastructures. It reinforces alignment with regulatory standards such as HIPAA and GDPR, encouraging the development of AI-inclusive policies for identity security, threat mitigation, and digital trust frameworks.

Who do you tell about your hearing loss? A stigma-induced identity-threat model for adults with hearing loss

Objective This paper collates findings from six studies in the special issue and maps them onto the Major and O’Brien (2005) model for a holistic representation of how adults with hearing loss (HL) experience stigma-induced identity threat, how they respond, and the association with hearing aid (HA) use. Design Findings were obtained using a range of methods: qualitative interviews, Ecological Momentary Assessment, and Conversation Analysis in phase 1; and online self-report surveys in phase 2. Data from phase 1 informed the survey used in phase 2. Study sample Phase 1 included 20 adults with HL and their significant others (SOs). Phase 2 included 331 adults with HL and 313 SOs. Results Findings support the view of stigma being context and relationship specific as suggested by the Major and O’Brien (2005) model. ‘Not telling’ was found to be a key way that the stigma of HL is responded to in everyday life. HL disclosure, in addition to attitudes towards HAs, stereotypical beliefs, and personal characteristics, were associated with HA use. Conclusions Clinical implications are discussed, including how hearing care professionals might support adults with HL and their SOs who experience stigma related to HL and/or HAs.