The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in abrupt transitions to online learning, introducing challenges for faculty across the globe, including maintaining student engagement despite unprecedented stress. In an effort to engage students in a psychology and the law course during this transition, a voluntary jury voir dire simulation activity was developed utilizing YouTube, asynchronous discussion boards, and journals. The current study evaluated the efficacy of the activity for facilitating student engagement, learning, and critical thinking. Seventy-nine students across two sections of the course worked in teams (defense or prosecution) via asynchronous discussion boards to eliminate potential jurors perceived as biased against their side of a case, and to write about what they did (did not) learn from participating. A mixed-methods approach was utilized to examine primary hypotheses: students will participate at rates higher than typical for voluntary bonus assignments (Hypothesis 1); spontaneous expressions of engagement and interest in the activity will emerge in journals (Hypothesis 2); group decisions regarding juror eliminations will demonstrate content knowledge and critical thinking (Hypotheses 3 and 4). Supporting hypotheses: Participation (65%; 45 women and 6 men) was greater than both prior participation rates in bonus activities in the course (31%), and those established in the literature (37.8%); the majority of students (58%) spontaneously indicated that the activity was interesting/engaging; and group decisions revealed good content knowledge and critical thinking (H3 and H4). Overall, results indicate that the jury voir dire simulation activity is a useful tool to promote student engagement and critical thinking in an asynchronous online format.

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Perceived controllability of health conditions influences stigma; yet, limited research has examined stigma associated with COVID-19. Across two samples (N = 1,457), participants read about an individual who complied with COVID-19 health protocols (vs. not) and contracted COVID-19 (vs. not). Participants indicated their attitudes toward the target, willingness to help the target, blame/responsibility toward the target, and willingness to interact with the target. Results demonstrated that participants disliked individuals who did not comply with health protocols regardless of COVID-19 status. Participants felt the target was more to blame, were less willing to interact with the target, and were less willing to help the target that did not comply with health protocols and contracted COVID-19 relative to the target with COVID-19 who complied with protocols. Some individuals exhibit lasting effects of COVID-19 and may require long-term help; these results suggest stigma related to not following safety precautions may present a barrier for these individuals.

People with concealable stigmatized identities (CSIs)—when one possesses an identity that is devalued but can be hidden—report having high rates of poor health outcomes. Limited research examines how severity of a CSI (e.g., how much distress the CSI causes the person), or spontaneous self-affirmation (e.g., when one reaffirms themselves after a threatening experience) may be related to health among people with CSIs. Students from a large Midwestern University (N = 294) answered questions about their CSI (i.e., centrality, severity, active concealment), coping mechanisms (i.e., social support, spontaneous self-affirmation), and health (i.e., psychological and physical quality of life (QOL), life satisfaction). Using structural equation modeling, we found that severity was indirectly associated with lower life satisfaction through higher active concealment, lower social support, and lower psychological quality of life. Severity did not directly impact psychological quality of life. Spontaneous self-affirmation was indirectly associated with greater life satisfaction through greater psychological quality of life. This model illustrates how amplifiers (i.e., severity, centrality, active concealment) and potential coping mechanisms (i.e., social support, spontaneous self-affirmation) impact health downstream in individuals with CSIs.

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