Membership in a valued group can provide an individual with a variety of benefits. As a result, people should be motivated to avoid being misidentified as a member of an outgroup, particularly a stigmatized outgroup. We argue that when group membership is not readily identifiable, concern over potentially being mistaken for a member of the outgroup (i.e., social contagion concerns) can be potent and can lead to avoidance of the outgroup. The current work shows that after controlling for negative attitudes toward homosexuality, social contagion concerns independently predict anxiety and avoidance in response to imagined, anticipated, and actual contact with a lesbian or gay individual. Results from these studies suggest that concern over misclassification of sexual orientation is an important and unique predictor of responses to contact with lesbian and gay people. Implications for intergroup contact and responses to other stigmatized groups are discussed.

Importance Germline variants in the MC1R gene are common and confer moderate melanoma risk in those with varied skin types. Approaches to precision skin cancer prevention that include genetic information may promote risk awareness and risk reduction in the general population, including Hispanics. Objective To examine prevalence of interest in and uptake of MC1R testing in the general population and examine patterns across demographic and skin cancer risk factors. Design A randomized controlled trial examined interest in and uptake of MC1R testing. Study participants were randomized to either a usual care condition (NCI skin cancer pamphlet for diverse skin types) or an MC1R test offer. Setting University of New Mexico General Internal Medicine clinics. Participants Participants were registered clinic patients (≥ 6 months) and English or Spanish fluent. Of the N=600 recruited to the overall trial, the current study included those 499 participants randomized to the MC1R test offer (44% non-Hispanic white, 49% Hispanic, 79% female; mean age=54). Intervention Participants were presented with the option to log onto the study website to read three educational modules presenting the rationale, benefits and drawbacks of MC1R testing. Main Outcomes and Measures Main outcomes include website logon (yes vs. no), saliva test kit request (yes vs. no), and saliva test kit return for MC1R testing (yes vs. no). Demographic and skin cancer risk factors were examined as potential predictors of test interest and uptake. Results About half of participants (46%, n=232) elected to learn about MC1R testing by logging onto the website; most that logged on decided to request testing (88%, n=204); and most who requested testing returned the kit (82%, n=167). The strongest predictors of website logon were race/ethnicity and education (non-Hispanic whites and more highly educated were more likely to log on); the strongest predictor of ordering the test was sunburn history. Conclusion and Relevance There were moderately high levels of MC1R test interest and uptake in this diverse sample. Addressing potential barriers to testing may be warranted as genomic information becomes integrated into general population approaches to the precision prevention of skin cancer.

Over 10 years of research has illustrated the benefits of internal motivation to respond without prejudice (IMS) for prejudice regulation and high-quality intergroup contact (see Plant & Devine, 1998). Yet, it is unclear how this motivation develops. The current work tested one route through which feelings of acceptance from outgroup members facilitate the development of IMS. Longitudinally, feeling accepted by outgroup members predicted increases in IMS across a 15-week period (Study 1). Experimental manipulations of outgroup acceptance also increased IMS toward racial outgroups (Studies 2 and 3). Furthermore, IMS mediated the relationship between outgroup acceptance and participants' increased willingness to pay money to increase opportunities for interracial contact (Study 2). Tests of mediation also demonstrated that feelings of acceptance mediated the effect of outgroup acceptance on internal motivation (Study 3). In addition, this pattern of responses held for members of both high- and low-status racial groups. This research demonstrates one pathway through which the fulfillment of fundamental needs influences motivated intergroup processes.

Recent research has demonstrated that concerns about being misidentified as gay or lesbian lead to the avoidance of gay men and lesbians. Because being misidentified as gay/lesbian can result in the loss of heterosexual people's mating opportunities, we predicted that the activation of mating motives would heighten concerns among some heterosexuals about being misidentified as gay/lesbian. To combat such misidentification, we argued that heterosexuals would express antipathy toward and avoid contact with gay/lesbian people. Consistent with predictions, the activation of mating motives led heterosexuals who were generally concerned about misclassification as gay/lesbian to denigrate (Study 1) and avoid (Study 2) gay/lesbian people. Activating mating motives increased heterosexual participants' concerns about being misclassified, which in turn heightened interest in avoiding gay/lesbian people (Study 3). These findings indicate that, although the motivation to find a romantic partner can have positive implications, it can contribute to negative responses to gay/lesbian people.

White police officers and undergraduate students mistakenly shoot unarmed Black suspects more than White suspects on computerized shoot/don't shoot tasks. This bias is typically attributed to cultural stereotypes of Black men. Yet, previous research has not examined whether such biases emerge even in the absence of cultural stereotypes. The current research investigates whether individual differences in chronic beliefs about interpersonal threat interact with target group membership to elicit shooter biases, even when group membership is unrelated to race or cultural stereotypes about danger. Across two studies, participants with strong beliefs about interpersonal threats were more likely to mistakenly shoot outgroup members than ingroup members; this was observed for unfamiliar, arbitrarily formed groups using a minimal group paradigm (Study 1) and racial groups not culturally stereotyped as dangerous (Asians; Study 2). Implications for the roles of both group membership and cultural stereotypes in shaping decisions to shoot are discussed.