Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom.
Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2021 May 14;16(5):e0251871. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251871. eCollection 2021.
Organizations and other groups often recognize the importance of members treating each other in a fair (dignified, unbiased) manner. This type of treatment is key to fostering individuals' sense of belonging in the group. However, while a sense of belonging is important, individuals also need to be shown that they have some distinct value to the group-enabling them to not only "fit in" but also "stand out." Building from research on fair treatment, we explicate another form, distinctive treatment, whereby others show interest and appreciation for an individual's more distinguishing, group-relevant qualities. In six studies using multiple methods (e.g., experimental, longitudinal) and in multiple types of groups (work organizations, student communities, racial/ethnic minority groups), we show that fair and distinctive treatment play fundamentally different roles-shaping individuals' perceived belonging versus intragroup standing, respectively-and with downstream benefits for mental health (less anxiety, fewer depressive symptoms). Overall, this illustrates that promoting fair treatment in groups is important, but not sufficient. Experiencing distinctive treatment is also key. Each type of treatment provides unique social evaluative information that fosters a healthy sense of self. This research further indicates that distinctive treatment may be a vital yet overlooked element to promoting diversity and inclusion in groups, as it provides a path for recognizing and appreciating, and thus encouraging, a diversity of ideas, insights, knowledge and skills that individuals bring to the group.
组织和其他团体通常认识到成员之间以公平（有尊严、不偏不倚）的方式相待的重要性。这种待遇是培养个人归属感的关键。然而，虽然归属感很重要，但个人也需要被证明他们对团体有一些独特的价值——使他们不仅“适应”，而且“脱颖而出”。在对公平待遇的研究基础上，我们阐述了另一种形式的独特待遇，即他人对个人更具区分性、与团体相关的素质表现出兴趣和赞赏。在六项使用多种方法（例如，实验、纵向）和多种类型团体（工作组织、学生社区、种族/族裔少数群体）的研究中，我们表明公平待遇和独特待遇起着根本不同的作用——分别塑造个人的归属感和群体内地位，以及对心理健康的下游益处（焦虑减少，抑郁症状减少）。总的来说，这表明在团体中促进公平待遇很重要，但还不够。体验独特待遇也很关键。每种待遇都提供了独特的社会评价信息，培养了健康的自我意识。这项研究进一步表明，独特待遇可能是促进团体多样性和包容性的一个重要但被忽视的因素，因为它为认识、欣赏和鼓励个人带到团体中的各种想法、见解、知识和技能提供了一条途径。
