Entry requirements
Only open to second year students who completed at least a Social and Organisational Psychology course or a similar course (only for students outside of the bachelor programme Psychology). Students outside of the bachelor programme Psychology (excl. minor and Exchange students) who have taken a similar course, need to contact the study advisers of Psychology to assess if they fulfil the entry requirements (deadline: 14 days before the start of the course).
Description
In this course we study the social psychological processes related to culture and diversity in work and organisations. Diversity and inclusion are important issues in today’s world, offering opportunities as well as posing major challenges for organisations and its employees at all levels. Increasing globalisation and the many forms of diversification have a growing impact on work outcomes, mobility, and wellbeing. Diversity is often associated with innovation, but research has shown ambiguous results for the impact of group composition on workgroup performance. One of the questions we will address is how to explain this. Other topics include, but are not limited to, strategies to enhance equality and inclusion, managing diversity, diversity training, the role of ethnic minorities, and gender inequality.
In the lectures and readings we examine classic and current theories and research on the impact of diversity on group processes, motivation and performance. We specifically pay attention to challenges in recruitment and selection, evaluation, leadership, and decision-making. We also discuss how stereotypes and prejudice can influence personnel decisions and career development, how group composition affects teamwork, and how motivation is impacted by group processes. The course is taught in English.
Course objectives
At the end of the course, the student can:
recognise and describe the key concepts and theories on diversity and inclusion that are presented in the course;
apply those concepts and theories to work and organisational contexts;
analyse how the included concepts and theories relate to each other;
apply those concepts and theories to practical issues involving culture and diversity at work;
evaluate the benefits and challenges of diversity in work environments.
Timetable
For the timetable of this course please refer to MyTimetable
Registration
Education
Students must register themselves for all course components (lectures, tutorials and practicals) they wish to follow. You can register up to 5 days prior to the start of the course.
Exams
You must register for each exam in My Studymap at least 10 days before the exam date. Don’t forget! For more information, see the enrolment procedure.
You cannot take an exam without a valid registration in My Studymap.
Carefully read all information about the procedures and deadlines for registering for courses and exams.
Students who take this course as part of a LDE minor or a premaster programme, exchange students and external guest students will be informed by the education administration about the current registration procedure.
Mode of instruction
The course consists of seven two-hour lectures. Weblectures will be made available shortly after the lecture.
Assessment
Students will be examined on their knowledge and understanding of the material and their ability to apply the knowledge they have acquired in a final exam comprising multiple choice (70% of the grade) and open questions (30% of the grade). Open questions may be answered in English or in Dutch. The students will be examined on the readings and the information presented in the lectures.
You will be informed about the method of inspection and feedback of the examination via Brightspace in due course.
The Institute of Psychology uses fixed rules for grade calculation. It also follows the policy of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences to systematically check student papers for plagiarism with the help of software. All students are required to take and pass the Scientific Integrity Test with a score of 100% in order to learn about the practice of integrity in scientific writing. Students are given access to the quiz via a module on Brightspace. Disciplinary measures will be taken when fraud is detected. Students are expected to be familiar with and understand the implications of these two policies.
Readings
Reading consists of articles and chapters made available via Brightspace. Typical examples are provided below. The final list and additional readings will be printed in the syllabus; changes may be announced in lecture and/or via Brightspace.
Bourguignon, D., Teixeira, C. P., Koc, Y., Outten, H. R., Faniko, K., & Schmitt, M. T. (2020). On the protective role of identification with a stigmatized identity: Promoting engagement and discouraging disengagement coping strategies. European Journal of Social Psychology, 50(6), 1125–1142. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2703
Canton, E., Hedley, D., & Spoor, J. R. (2023). The stereotype content model and disabilities. The Journal of Social Psychology, 163(4), 480–500. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2021.2017253
da Rocha Grangeiro, R., Gomes Neto, M. B., Silva, L. E. N., & Esnard, C. (2024). The triggers and consequences of the queen bee phenomenon: A systematic literature review and integrative framework. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 65(1), 86–97. DOI:10.1111/sjop.12957.
Eagly, A. H., & Koenig, A. M. (2021). The vicious cycle linking stereotypes and social roles. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 30(4), 343–350. https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214211013775
Gündemir, S., Martin, A. E., & Homan, A. C. (2019). Understanding diversity ideologies from the target’s perspective: A review and future directions. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Article 282. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00282
Hashem, H., Ghani, M., Hirani, S., Bennett, A., & Awad, G. H. (2022). Solo status, religious centrality, and discrimination among American Muslim women. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 88, 32–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2022.03.005
Heilman, M. E., Manzi, F., & Caleo, S. (2019). Updating impressions: The differential effects of new performance information on evaluations of women and men. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 152, 105–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2019.03.010
Inzlicht, M., Tullett, A. M., & Gutsell, J. N. (2012). Stereotype threat spillover: The short- and long-term effects of coping with threats to social identity. In M. Inzlicht & T. Schmader (Eds.), Stereotype threat: Theory, process, and application (pp. 107–123). Oxford University Press.
Kende, J., Jacobs, D., Green, E. G. T., Tropp, L. R., Huo, Y. J., Dovidio, J. F., … Klein, O. (2024). Integration policies shape ethnic-racial majorities’ threat reactions to increasing diversity. Science Advances, 10(22), eadk8556. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adk8556
Melson-Silimon, A., Spivey, B. N., & Skinner-Dorkenoo, A. L. (2024). The construction of racial stereotypes and how they serve as racial propaganda. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, e12862. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12862
Plaut, V. C., Thomas, K. M., Hurd, K. M., & Romano, C. A. (2018). Do color blindness and multiculturalism remedy or foster discrimination and racism? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 27, 200–206. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721418766068
Roberson, Q. M. (2019). Diversity in the workplace: A review, synthesis, and future research agenda. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 6, 69–88. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012218-015243
Roberts, S. O., Bareket-Shavit, C., Dollins, F. A., Goldie, P. D., & Mortenson, E. (2020). Racial inequality in psychological research: Trends of the past and recommendations for the future. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 15(6), 1295–1309. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691620927709
Ryan, M. K., & Morgenroth, T. (2024). Why we should stop trying to fix women: How context shapes and constrains women’s career trajectories. Annual Review of Psychology, 75, 555–572. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-032620-030938
Sam, D. L., & Berry, J. W. (2010). Acculturation: When individuals and groups of different cultural backgrounds meet. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5(4), 472–481. doi:10.1177/1745691610373075.
Shemla, M., Ihmels, A., & Wegge, J. (2025). Gender quotas influence the appointment of women to precarious leadership positions: A signaling approach. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 98(1), e12557. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12557
Van Laar, C., Meeussen, L., & Jacobs, C. (2019). Coping with stigma in the workplace: Understanding the role of threat regulation, supportive factors, and potential hidden costs. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Article 1879. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01879
van Knippenberg, D., Li, J., & Tu, Y. (2024). Team informational resources, information elaboration, and team innovation: Diversity mindset moderating functional diversity and boundary spanning scouting effects. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 97(4), 1835–1853. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12541
Villotti, P., Stinglhamber, F., & Desmette, D. (2019). The influence of multiculturalism and assimilation on work-related outcomes: Differences between ethnic minority and majority groups of workers. Psychologica Belgica, 59(1), 246. 10.5334/pb.472
Walker, S. S., Corrington, A., Hebl, M., & King, E. B. (2022). Subtle discrimination overtakes cognitive resources and undermines performance. Journal of Business and Psychology, 37(2), 311–324. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-021-09747-2
Contact information
Dr. Ambra Brizi a.brizi@fsw.leidenuniv.nl
Dr. Ruthie Pliskin r.pliskin@fsw.leidenuniv.nl