The authors proposed a process model whereby experiences of rejection based on membership in a devalued group can lead people to anxiously expect, readily perceive, and intensely react to status-based rejection. To test the model, the authors focused on race-based rejection sensitivity (RS-race) among African Americans. Following the development and validation of the RS-Race Questionnaire (Studies 1 and 2), the authors tested the utility of the model for understanding African American students' experiences at a predominantly White university (Study 3). Students high in RS-race experienced greater discomfort during the college transition, less trust in the university, and relative declines in grades over a 2-to 3-year period. Positive race-related experiences, however, increased feelings of belonging at the institution among students high in RS-race.Every day, I wear a suit and tie. I get on the train. I always have The New York Times, and a cup of coffee too. But you know what? Every day, I am the last person people sit next to on the train! Especially White women. Do you know that one day I got off the train and I happened to be walking behind this woman and she clutched her bag, started walking faster, and kept turning around, as if I was following her! Like I wanted to take her purse . . . I'm so used to this happening that even when a woman might be in a rush to get to work, and maybe she didn't even see me, I think she's scared and running away from me. Your mind starts to play tricks on you like that, after a while.-Ian, African American focus group participant Whether one is a disabled person entering the workplace, a woman entering the U.S. military, or an African American student entering a predominantly White university, a history of rejecting experiences based on status characteristics can lead to doubts about one's acceptance by members of these social institutions (Aronson, Quinn, & Spencer, 1998;Branscombe, Schmitt, & Harvey, 1999;Crocker, Luhtanen, Broadnax, & Blaine, 1999;Goffman, 1963;Tyler, 1990;Tyler & Smith, 1998). Despite the removal of legal and other structural barriers to achieving diversity, research suggests that some members of historically excluded groups continue to experience such doubts in social institutions that have marginalized them in the past (Bowen & Bok, 1998;Frable, Blackstone, & Sherbaum, 1990;Jones, 1972Jones, /1997Steele, 1997;Steele & Aronson, 1995;Terrell & Terrell, 1981). In this article, we examine how expectations of rejection based on membership in a stigmatized social category or status group influence people's personal and interpersonal experiences in majoritydominated social institutions. In particular, we examine whether anxious expectations of rejection based on such group membership can strain social relationships and undermine people's confidence in the institution's fairness and legitimacy, diminishing the motivation to persist in the pursuit of valued personal goals. Support for this proposition would provide evidence that maximizing individual and instit...

Sexist attitudes do not exist in a limbo; they are embedded in larger belief systems associated with specific hierarchies of values. In particular, manifestations of benevolent sexism (Glick and Fiske 1996, 1997, 2001) can be perceived as a social boon, not a social ill, both because they are experienced as positive, and because they reward behaviors that maintain social stability. One of the strongest social institutions that create and justify specific hierarchies of values is religion. In this paper, we examine how the values inherent in religious beliefs (perhaps inadvertently) propagate an unequal status quo between men and women through endorsement of ideologies linked to benevolent sexism. In a survey with a convenience sample of train passengers in Southern and Eastern Poland (N = 180), we investigated the relationship between Catholic religiosity and sexist attitudes. In line with previous findings (Gaunt 2012; Glick et al. 2002a; Taşdemir and Sakallı-Uğurlu 2010), results suggest that religiosity can be linked to endorsement of benevolent sexism. This relationship was mediated in our study by the values of conservatism and openness to change (Schwartz 1992): religious individuals appear to value the societal status quo, tradition, and conformity, which leads them to perceive women through the lens of traditional social roles. Adhering to the teachings of a religion that promotes family values in general seems to have as its byproduct an espousal of prejudicial attitudes toward specific members of the family.

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We examined the interactive effects of ethnic identification (EI) and race-based rejection sensitivity (RS-race) on institutional outcomes among African American college students. We distinguished between effects on institutional identification on the one hand and academic goal pursuit (e.g., staying in school, grade point average [GPA]) on the other. Supporting the utility of this distinction, we found that EI and RS-race interacted to predict these outcomes differently. Higher EI in combination with higher RS-race predicted reduced identification with the institution (Studies 1, 2, and 3a). This combination, however, did not lead to decreases in GPA over time. Moreover, EI was positively related to intentions to stay in school as well as to GPA increases among those lower in RS-race (Studies 1 and 3b). Implications for understanding identity negotiation vis-à-vis performance in institutional settings are discussed.

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