General Description

General Description We aim to test whether inducing a sense of social belonging can temporarily increase individuals’ self-esteem—and whether this effect differs between immigrants and native-born citizens. Participants will be drawn from two groups: • Immigrants (all newcomers, regardless of length of residency) • Native-born citizens Each participant is randomly assigned to read one of two short passages: either a belongingness prime (a brief passage designed to evoke feelings of inclusion and community) or a neutral control passage. Immediately after reading, they will complete a brief state self-esteem questionnaire to assess their momentary self-worth. The study uses a 2 (Group) × 2 (Prime) between-subjects design, and we will analyze the results with a textbook ANOVA to compare self-esteem scores across conditions. This experimental design allows for clear cause-effect inferences regarding the impact of the belonging manipulation on state self-esteem.