Collective Psychological Ownership Affecting High Schoolers' Acceptance of Outsiders

School Name

Chapin High School

Grade Level

11th Grade

Presentation Topic

Psychology

Presentation Type

Non-Mentored

Abstract

Collective psychological ownership (CPO) refers to people perceiving a place as belonging to their group. Existing research on CPO focuses on these feelings nationally but has recently narrowed down to smaller territories such as workplaces, neighborhoods, and parks. Previous literature also finds that children can experience the same understanding of territory as adults, but research on adolescents and CPO is lacking. The current study aims to investigate a construct aligned previously with CPO (exclusion of outsiders) in a new setting (high school) among an understudied group – adolescents ages 14-19 (N = 100). Additional constructs added include exclusive determination rights, group threat, and perceived acceptance. Participants in the survey were split into two groups, students who have lived in a town or the associated schooling system their whole lives and students who moved at some point. A follow-up survey was sent to the students who indicated they were willing to participate asking them if they had completed any of the outsider acceptance actions that they had previously stated they would do in Study 1. Statistical analyses using a chi-square test revealed significant differences in CPO scores among individuals who had moved to the town at some point versus others who had lived there their entire lives. The additional constructs revealed a consistency with previous research and responses regarding perceived acceptance by the people who had moved there revealed a discrepancy between the native students' willingness to accept a new student versus how accepting they are.

Location

RITA 277

Start Date

3-23-2024 9:30 AM

Presentation Format

Oral and Written

Group Project

No

COinS
 
Mar 23rd, 9:30 AM

Collective Psychological Ownership Affecting High Schoolers' Acceptance of Outsiders

RITA 277

Collective psychological ownership (CPO) refers to people perceiving a place as belonging to their group. Existing research on CPO focuses on these feelings nationally but has recently narrowed down to smaller territories such as workplaces, neighborhoods, and parks. Previous literature also finds that children can experience the same understanding of territory as adults, but research on adolescents and CPO is lacking. The current study aims to investigate a construct aligned previously with CPO (exclusion of outsiders) in a new setting (high school) among an understudied group – adolescents ages 14-19 (N = 100). Additional constructs added include exclusive determination rights, group threat, and perceived acceptance. Participants in the survey were split into two groups, students who have lived in a town or the associated schooling system their whole lives and students who moved at some point. A follow-up survey was sent to the students who indicated they were willing to participate asking them if they had completed any of the outsider acceptance actions that they had previously stated they would do in Study 1. Statistical analyses using a chi-square test revealed significant differences in CPO scores among individuals who had moved to the town at some point versus others who had lived there their entire lives. The additional constructs revealed a consistency with previous research and responses regarding perceived acceptance by the people who had moved there revealed a discrepancy between the native students' willingness to accept a new student versus how accepting they are.