Psychology Program Presents

Is It Legitimate to be in the Middle? One Reason People Dismiss Intermediate Identities

Although race and sexual orientation are markedly different types of identities, biracial and bisexual people share an attribute: each is perceived to share defining characteristics with two other groups. Both also face dismissive reactions from others, perhaps reflecting a tendency to view “intermediate” identities as illegitimate.This talk will discuss a series of experiments where participants provided separate evaluations of an intermediate group and two comparison groups. Whether real or fictional, intermediate groups were consistently rated as less conceptually legitimate (e.g., less sincere in their identities, not a “real” group) than other groups. Intermediate groups may threaten the distinctiveness of valued ingroups, leading people to dismiss and denigrate them, a ramification which this talk will explore.

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For more information, call 845-758-6822, or e-mail jdainerbest@bard.edu.

Time: 4:00 pm EST/GMT-5

Location: Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium

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