Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

Program Name/Specialization

Social Psychology

Faculty/School

Faculty of Science

First Advisor

Frank Kachanoff

Advisor Role

Supervisor

Abstract

Feeling personally understood during day-to-day interactions is a rewarding experience for people and has been linked to greater psychological well-being. But are interpersonal situations the only contexts in which people desire to feel understood by others? We theorize that since individuals tie themselves to their social groups, individuals will also experience greater psychological well-being when they feel that other people in the world around them understand core elements of their group identity, what we call meta-understanding. We also examined whether meta-understanding is perceived to a different extent for members of dominant and marginalized groups in society. In Study 1 (nStudy1a = 236; nStudy1b = 274), we collected two independent ethnically diverse samples and found that meta-understanding was experienced to a lower extent for people of colour relative to White people. Additionally, meta-understanding was a significant predictor of people of colour’s well-being, but not for White people. Study 2 (n = 254) extended these results by examining LGBTQ2S+ community members’ experiences longitudinally across Pride month using a three-wave panel design. We found that meta-understanding is a relatively stable perception that did not change during Pride, and people’s average levels of meta-understanding significantly predicted their psychological well-being. Taken together, this work considers the experiences of marginalized group members whose identity is often less recognized and celebrated in modern society and capitalizes on the importance of feeling understood by others in terms of one’s social identity.

Convocation Year

2024

Convocation Season

Fall

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