Megan E Birney
Biographic Data
| ID | 236733 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Megan E Birney |
| GIVEN NAMES | Megan E |
| FAMILY NAME | Birney |
| SIGNATURE | BIRNEY M E |
| AFFILIATIONS | University Centre Shrewsbury, Shrewsbury, UK |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6786-6322 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 9 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 40 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 9 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Weird but Also Inconsistent
1293). As expected, we found an over-reliance on Western perspectives: Participants from Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa made up 8.7% of samples combined. However, we also found substantial variation in whether and where participants' gender, race, SES indicators, and education were reported across different areas of Psychology, as well as different norms in the use of students and crowd-sourcing platforms. Given the ch…
Self-Reported Spite Predicts Spiteful Behavior in an Online Crowd-Sourced Sample
Spiteful behavior, where one is willing to harm oneself to harm another, is a common social behavior that is associated with social competition. However, there is currently only one well-used psychological measure that claims to measure spitefulness, the Spitefulness Scale (Marcus et al., Citation2014). At present, there is little research investigating whether spite, as measured by this scale, is associated with spiteful decision-making. To test…
Spite and Science‐Denial
Science denialism is at the heart of many conspiracy theory beliefs. We propose that such beliefs are manifestations of a distal social process: spite. In three pre‐registered studies, we test the hypothesis that established predictors of these beliefs (epistemic, existential, and social motives) are specific cues of competitive disadvantage that provoke a common facultative “spiteful” psychological response, making a person more open to believin…
What makes a 'good man'? A mixed-methods exploration of UK adolescent attitudes towards masculinity
Stereotypes of men (e.g., strong, domineering, assertive) can harm boys’ health and contribute to the normalization of sexual harassment. Yet research on how adolescents view masculinity is limited, particularly for those growing up during the #MeToo movement. Using a mixed-methods approach, we explore beliefs about masculinity in a sample of 16 to 19 year olds growing up in the UK (N = 129). Results from the quantitative analysis show that, comp…
Prologue
As immigration and mobility increases, so do interactions between people from different linguistic backgrounds. Yet while linguistic diversity offers many benefits, it also comes with a number of challenges. In seven empirical articles and one commentary, this Special Issue addresses some of the most significant language challenges facing researchers in the 21st century: the power language has to form and perpetuate stereotypes, the contribution …
Where Are You From? An Investigation Into the Intersectionality of Accent Strength and Nationality Status on Perceptions of Nonnative Speakers in Britain
We explore how interpersonal and intergroup perceptions are affected by a nonnative speaker's accent strength and the status of their home country. When nationality information was absent (Study 1), natives who heard a strong (vs. weak) accent rated the speaker as warmer but immigrants as a group as more threatening. This result was replicated when the speaker's nationality was familiar (Study 2) but in this study, country status further shaped a…
When Speaking English Is Not Enough
We explored the effects of language-based stigma on the relationship between native and nonnative speakers. In two studies, we found that stigmatized nonnative speakers experienced more negative interpersonal interactions, higher levels of intergroup threat, and reduced performance on an English test compared with nonnative speakers who did not experience stigma. These effects were mediated by anxiety and moderated by prevention-related goals. Fu…
Activating and Guiding the Engagement of Seniors With Online Social Networking
These findings suggest that Internet access and training can support the self and social connectedness of vulnerable older adults and contribute positively to well-being
Nothing by Mere Authority
Milgram's classic studies are widely understood to demonstrate people's natural inclination to obey the orders of those in authority. However, of the prods that Milgram's Experimenter employed to encourage participants to continue the one most resembling an order was least successful. This study examines the impact of prods more closely by manipulating them between‐participants within an analogue paradigm in which participants are instructed to u…
Nothing by Mere Authority
Milgram's classic studies are widely understood to demonstrate people's natural inclination to obey the orders of those in authority. However, of the prods that Milgram's Experimenter employed to encourage participants to continue the one most resembling an order was least successful. This study examines the impact of prods more closely by manipulating them between‐participants within an analogue paradigm in which participants are instructed to u…
Where Are You From? An Investigation Into the Intersectionality of Accent Strength and Nationality Status on Perceptions of Nonnative Speakers in Britain
We explore how interpersonal and intergroup perceptions are affected by a nonnative speaker's accent strength and the status of their home country. When nationality information was absent (Study 1), natives who heard a strong (vs. weak) accent rated the speaker as warmer but immigrants as a group as more threatening. This result was replicated when the speaker's nationality was familiar (Study 2) but in this study, country status further shaped a…
When Speaking English Is Not Enough
We explored the effects of language-based stigma on the relationship between native and nonnative speakers. In two studies, we found that stigmatized nonnative speakers experienced more negative interpersonal interactions, higher levels of intergroup threat, and reduced performance on an English test compared with nonnative speakers who did not experience stigma. These effects were mediated by anxiety and moderated by prevention-related goals. Fu…
Prologue
As immigration and mobility increases, so do interactions between people from different linguistic backgrounds. Yet while linguistic diversity offers many benefits, it also comes with a number of challenges. In seven empirical articles and one commentary, this Special Issue addresses some of the most significant language challenges facing researchers in the 21st century: the power language has to form and perpetuate stereotypes, the contribution …
Spite and Science‐Denial
Science denialism is at the heart of many conspiracy theory beliefs. We propose that such beliefs are manifestations of a distal social process: spite. In three pre‐registered studies, we test the hypothesis that established predictors of these beliefs (epistemic, existential, and social motives) are specific cues of competitive disadvantage that provoke a common facultative “spiteful” psychological response, making a person more open to believin…
Nothing by Mere Authority
Milgram's classic studies are widely understood to demonstrate people's natural inclination to obey the orders of those in authority. However, of the prods that Milgram's Experimenter employed to encourage participants to continue the one most resembling an order was least successful. This study examines the impact of prods more closely by manipulating them between‐participants within an analogue paradigm in which participants are instructed to u…
Activating and Guiding the Engagement of Seniors With Online Social Networking
These findings suggest that Internet access and training can support the self and social connectedness of vulnerable older adults and contribute positively to well-being
Prologue
As immigration and mobility increases, so do interactions between people from different linguistic backgrounds. Yet while linguistic diversity offers many benefits, it also comes with a number of challenges. In seven empirical articles and one commentary, this Special Issue addresses some of the most significant language challenges facing researchers in the 21st century: the power language has to form and perpetuate stereotypes, the contribution …
Where Are You From? An Investigation Into the Intersectionality of Accent Strength and Nationality Status on Perceptions of Nonnative Speakers in Britain
We explore how interpersonal and intergroup perceptions are affected by a nonnative speaker's accent strength and the status of their home country. When nationality information was absent (Study 1), natives who heard a strong (vs. weak) accent rated the speaker as warmer but immigrants as a group as more threatening. This result was replicated when the speaker's nationality was familiar (Study 2) but in this study, country status further shaped a…
When Speaking English Is Not Enough
We explored the effects of language-based stigma on the relationship between native and nonnative speakers. In two studies, we found that stigmatized nonnative speakers experienced more negative interpersonal interactions, higher levels of intergroup threat, and reduced performance on an English test compared with nonnative speakers who did not experience stigma. These effects were mediated by anxiety and moderated by prevention-related goals. Fu…
What makes a 'good man'? A mixed-methods exploration of UK adolescent attitudes towards masculinity
Stereotypes of men (e.g., strong, domineering, assertive) can harm boys’ health and contribute to the normalization of sexual harassment. Yet research on how adolescents view masculinity is limited, particularly for those growing up during the #MeToo movement. Using a mixed-methods approach, we explore beliefs about masculinity in a sample of 16 to 19 year olds growing up in the UK (N = 129). Results from the quantitative analysis show that, comp…
Self-Reported Spite Predicts Spiteful Behavior in an Online Crowd-Sourced Sample
Spiteful behavior, where one is willing to harm oneself to harm another, is a common social behavior that is associated with social competition. However, there is currently only one well-used psychological measure that claims to measure spitefulness, the Spitefulness Scale (Marcus et al., Citation2014). At present, there is little research investigating whether spite, as measured by this scale, is associated with spiteful decision-making. To test…
Spite and Science‐Denial
Science denialism is at the heart of many conspiracy theory beliefs. We propose that such beliefs are manifestations of a distal social process: spite. In three pre‐registered studies, we test the hypothesis that established predictors of these beliefs (epistemic, existential, and social motives) are specific cues of competitive disadvantage that provoke a common facultative “spiteful” psychological response, making a person more open to believin…
Weird but Also Inconsistent
1293). As expected, we found an over-reliance on Western perspectives: Participants from Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa made up 8.7% of samples combined. However, we also found substantial variation in whether and where participants' gender, race, SES indicators, and education were reported across different areas of Psychology, as well as different norms in the use of students and crowd-sourcing platforms. Given the ch…
Psychology (7 works) · Social Psychology (6 works) · Sociology (4 works) · Gender Studies (2 works) · Interpersonal communication (2 works) · Linguistics (2 works) · Medicine (2 works) · Political science (2 works) · Social and Intergroup Psychology (2 works) · Social Psychology (2 works)