Social Psychological Research Research Articles

Considering sociocultural contexts of racism in psychological research on black forgiveness

AbstractIn this paper, we argue that a cultural context of racism in the United States influences the representation and outcomes of Black forgiveness. Previous research in psychology has focused on the positive social and emotional benefits of forgiveness; however, the consequences of Black forgiveness are not always straightforward. We review prior research and highlight real‐world examples that suggest Black people are often pressured and expected to forgive racism. This pressure to forgive overshadows calls for justice and encourages forgiveness as a more palatable, less antagonistic response to racism. Furthermore, we argue that this expectation suppresses Black emotions by stigmatizing negative emotional reactions to racism in favor of forgiveness. We conclude by proposing future lines of research in social psychology that do not reinforce a pressure for Black forgiveness, that foster a study of forgiveness that incorporates social justice, and that considers new lines of forgiveness research that are culturally sensitive to Black experiences.

Tragedy, Ownership, and Hospitality in Gerar: Lessons from Social Psychology

Can the story of Isaac be read with tragedy in mind or is the second patriarch the comedic relief of Genesis? Scholars mostly see Isaac as the book’s fool and thus laughable. Even more clearly so in Gen 26:7-11 which recounts how, during the hunger migration of Isaac and Rebekah to Philistine Gerar, Isaac presented Rebekah as his sister. Comparing Genesis 26 with similar stories about Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 12, 20), Isaac and Rebekah are in lesser danger than Isaac’s parents. This work takes three steps to argue that the story supports the national identity of displaced Israelites. First, I argue that the wife-sister scene isn’t necessarily less frightening than the other wife-sister scenes in Genesis 12 and Genesis 20. Second, I don’t consider the whole Isaac cycle. The reason is that unlike others who try to understand the character of Isaac, as it comes out from Genesis 17-35, I care for the wife-sister motif as a device to engage with fears around immigration. Third, and most untraditionally, I use modern social psychology research on modern societies to speculate about the effect of the story on its original readership.

Physical and social warmth.

The concept of a warm person has played a key role in western social psychological research, particularly in how people perceive others. Williams and Bargh (2008; Study 1) found that individuals holding a cup of warm beverage perceived the individuals they faced as psychologically warmer than those who held a cup of cold beverage. In this article, we set out to replicate and extend these findings by exploring whether various factors modify the effect of physical and social warmth. Specifically, we tested three moderating variables: participants' awareness of the purpose of the experiment, warmth of participants' personality and the target person's gender. We found no main effect of physical warmth, and very little evidence for any moderating effects. It is clear from this and other recent studies that the embodiment effect is not simple to replicate and, therefore, is difficult to exploit for practical purposes.

“System change, not climate change”: Effective environmental policies and state repression moderate the relationship between psychological predictors and environmental collective action

Social psychological research on environmental collective action often overlooks the facilitating or hindering impact of a country’s context. The institutional attitudes of governments toward environmental issues can play a crucial role in mobilizing environmental activism. To explore how individual and contextual factors interplay for engagement in environmental collective action, we conducted multilevel modelling using data from 12 countries (n = 18,746). While the engagement in environmental collective action was predicted by stronger environmental concern and environmental efficacy beliefs, the strength of these relationships was moderated by macro-level contextual variables related to political governance. In countries with more effective environmental policies, both environmental concern and environmental efficacy beliefs had a stronger impact on collective action compared to the countries with inadequate environmental governance. Moreover, our findings indicated that environmental concern is less likely to translate into environmental collective action in repressive countries. Findings are discussed within the frameworks of community resilience, identity, empowerment, and repression.

A social psychology of climate change: Progress and promise.

Social psychologists have conducted research relevant to environmental problems for many decades. However, the climate crisis presents a new problem with distinctive aspects and distinctive urgency. This paper reviews some of the principal ways in which social psychological research and theory have approached the topic, looking at perceptions, behaviour, and impacts linked to climate change. Each of these areas is becoming more sophisticated in acknowledging the diversity of experience among groups that vary in demographics and social roles. I close by identifying three important facets for future research: a focus on social justice, an effort to participate in interdisciplinary efforts, and an emphasis on maximizing our impact.

Social psychological pathways to climate justice: Emerging insights and intersecting challenges

As the impacts of climate change grow in frequency and intensity, climate justice—the recognition of climate change’s unequal impacts across populations, as well as inequities in the benefits and burdens from societal responses to climate change—has become a central focus of climate policymaking, advocacy, and scholarship. In this review, we take stock of these trends to consider what social psychologists can contribute to this discourse. We draw from integrative perspectives within the environmental social sciences, as well as emerging insights from psychology, communication, and public health, to highlight three areas with growing policy relevance that are ripe for social psychological inquiry: (a) understanding factors that influence climate vulnerability, its causes, and remediation; (b) identifying barriers and pathways to inclusive climate governance and decision-making; and (c) enhancing justice in climate solutions. For each, we consider the relevance of group and intergroup processes and highlight emerging empirical insights and key unanswered questions. We conclude by considering the urgency and challenges of translating psychological research to address climate injustice and highlighting opportunities for advancing the societal relevance of this research.

Ethnolinguistic Communities: The Physical Visibility of MENA Americans and the Local Enregisterment of Dearborn English

Recent research in social psychology underscores the role of language and its intersection with other identity markers, including ethnic visibility, in exploring social perceptions and biases. This paper examines the physical visibility of people of Middle Eastern or North African (MENA) descent in the U.S., and the linguistic visibility of a concentrated MENA American community in Dearborn, Michigan. Relying on headshots, Study 1 shows that MENA could be an ambiguous ethnic community based solely on physical appearance, while religiously affiliated attire proves to be a significant ethnic marker for MENA. Using audio cues, Study 2 shows that the English variety spoken in Dearborn is a recognizable variety with masculinity associations. As such, Dearborn English is argued to be an ethnolinguistic repertoire that can be used to project ethno-local visibility. The results highlight the importance of the linguistic visibility of Dearborn and future research on language attitudes towards this variety.

The Greek crisis as a “morality tale”? An empirical assessment

Credit and debt are more than just material exchanges within a market economy, they are also social constructs embedded in moral judgments about the character of the agents involved. During the recent European Sovereign Bond crisis, some commentators noted how a similarly loaded moral media discourse juxtaposed “virtuous” Northern European countries on the one side, and “spendthrift, lazy” Southern European ones on the other side. In this article, I provide a quantitative large-N empirical assessment of this phenomenon. I employ a dictionary-based approach inspired by research in social psychology to measure moral content. Upon analyzing more than 14,000 articles published in the Anglo-American and German financial press between 2004 and 2019, I show the extent to which Greece was described in negative moral language. After the initial “shock” in the fall of 2009, the average moral tone turns negative, and more so in the German financial press relative to its Anglo-American counterpart. Moreover, by most measures, it never completely reverts to pre-crisis levels, thus suggesting how “sticky” economic narratives can become. Against the original expectations, though, there is no evidence that the financial press framed the last and most acute phase of the Greek crisis in 2015 in increasingly moral terms.

When People Do Allyship: A Typology of Allyship Action.

Despite increased popular and academic interest, there is conceptual ambiguity about what allyship is and the forms it takes. Viewing allyship as a practice, we introduce the typology of allyship action which organizes the diversity of ways that advantaged individuals seek to support those who are disadvantaged. We characterize allyship actions as reactive (addressing bias when it occurs) and proactive (fostering positive outcomes such as feelings of inclusion, respect, and capacity), both of which can vary in level of analysis (i.e., targeting oneself, one or a few other individuals, or institutions). We use this framework to profile six productive yet largely independent bodies of social psychological literature on social action and directly compare relative benefits and constraints of different actions. We suggest several future directions for empirical research, using the typology of allyship to understand when, where, and how different forms of allyship might succeed. Despite increased popular and academic interest in the word, people differ in what they believe allyship is and the forms it takes. Viewing allyship as a practice, we introduce a new way (the typology of allyship action) to describe how advantaged individuals seek to support those who are disadvantaged. We characterize allyship actions as reactive (addressing bias when it occurs) and proactive (increasing positive outcomes such as feelings of inclusion, respect, and capacity), both of which can vary in level (i.e., targeting oneself, one or a few other individuals, or institutions). We use this framework to profile six large yet mostly separate areas of social psychological research on social action and directly compare the relative benefits and limitations of different actions. We suggest several future directions for how the typology of allyship action can help us understand when, where, and how different forms of allyship might succeed.

Preface: 2023 International Conference on Innovation Management, Psychology, Education and Sociology (IMPES 2023)

The 2023 International Conference on Innovation Management, Psychology, Education and Sociology (IMPES 2023) was held during December 09-10, 2023 in Sapporo, Japan. The main objectives of the conference are to promote research and development activities in innovation management, social psychology, educational technology, cultural studies, social policy, and sociology. Another goal is to promote the exchange of scientific information among researchers, developers, students, and practitioners around the world. IMPES 2023 can be a scientific forum to accommodate fruitful discussion among international researchers in various fields. We would like to thank all speakers, invited guests, and also other parties and donors for their continuous support to the success of this event. Hopefully, this event provides many benefits for us all.
 Conference Organizing Chair
 Sapporo, Japan

Causal inference for psychologists who think that causal inference is not for them

AbstractCorrelation does not imply causation and psychologists' causal inference training often focuses on the conclusion that therefore experiments are needed—without much consideration for the causal inference frameworks used elsewhere. This leaves researchers ill‐equipped to solve inferential problems that they encounter in their work, leading to mistaken conclusions and incoherent statistical analyses. For a more systematic approach to causal inference, this article provides brief introductions to the potential outcomes framework—the “lingua franca” of causal inference—and to directed acyclic graphs, a graphical notation that makes it easier to systematically reason about complex causal situations. I then discuss two issues that may be of interest to researchers in social and personality psychology who think that formalized causal inference is of little relevance to their work. First, posttreatment bias: In various common scenarios (noncompliance, mediation analysis, missing data), researchers may analyze data from experimental studies in a manner that results in internally invalid conclusions, despite randomization. Second, tests of incremental validity: Routine practices in personality psychology suggest that they may be conducted for at least two different reasons (to demonstrate the non‐redundancy of new scales, to support causal conclusions) without being particularly suited for either purpose. Taking causal inference seriously is challenging; it reveals assumptions that may make many uncomfortable. However, ultimately it is a necessary step to ensure the validity of psychological research.

Olfactory Entanglements: Syntactic Fragmentation & Scentimentality

This paper focuses on the entangled relationship of smell, affect, and environmental contamination. I show how olfactory memory mediates the relationship between breathing and the uneven distribution of respiratory risks from polluted air. To do so, I examine Cesar Majorana’s work “The Syntax of Smell,” which is performed in the context of an open laboratory. During the performance, Majorana engages with the audience, creating a scent based on their stories, bringing attention to the connections between their memories, their perception of artificiality, and pollution. This paper is divided into two sections focusing on syntactic fragmentation and scentimentality respectively. In the first section, I illustrate how “The Syntax of Smell” manifests both as the concepts of breathing and olfactory aesthetics. I demonstrate how the performance paradoxically criticises and utilizes bio- and necropolitical forces of smell production. In the second section, I explore the affective qualities of olfactory entanglements by zooming in on the relationship between affective responses and toxicity in relation to Michael Eigen’s concept of toxic nourishment as well as cognitive dissonance. Lastly, building on social psychological research, I show that the performance’s olfactory memory-triggering qualities might contribute to its effectiveness in increasing awareness of air pollution.

Lay theories of place effects

AbstractCombining research in political geography and social psychology, this article investigates lay theories of “place effects”—that is, ordinary citizens' beliefs about the effects that urban or rural places have on the individuals who live in them. We do so using a novel survey vignette embedded in a large‐scale survey of the Canadian public. Our results suggest that (1) citizens see rural identities as less malleable than urban identities, (2) lay theories of place effects depend on citizens' own place identities, and (3) lay theories of place effects are stronger for nonpolitical than for political place‐based characteristics. We also find that lay theories of place effects are associated with individual‐level characteristics that are connected to cosmopolitan‐communitarian divides, such as ideology and postsecondary education. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our findings for the growing literature on urban–rural divides and for research on citizens' implicit theories of places and their political consequences.

Gender and social class inequalities in higher education: intersectional reflections on a workshop experience.

Research about the experiences of underrepresented groups in higher education (HE) demonstrates the persistence of challenges, despite policies and institutional strategies to promote inclusion. Diversity and inclusion policies have been part of the HE agenda for several decades, yet most policies and interventions focus on (a) a given, isolated identity experience (e.g., based solely on gender, social class, or ethnicity) rather than more intersectional approaches to identity; and (b) top-down interventions that do not include participants insights in their design. In this paper, we report a case study of a workshop with students at an elite university that drew on an intersectional approach to social identities (IASI), specifically, looking at gender and social class. We explore three key themes: (a) the importance of group processes, (b) the use of visual techniques, and (c) the institutional tensions and the (de)politicisation of social psychology research. Reflecting on this case study we argue that approaches to identity and inclusion in HE can benefit from intersectionality beyond the use of multi and overlapping identity and social group categories. We argue that research in this space is not neutral and needs to acknowledge researchers' position about (a) inclusion and diversity, (b) perceptions of participants in research, and (c) the motivation and aims of institutions where the research is conducted. Finally, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications of integrating an intersectional approach within social identity research in HE when focusing on underrepresented groups.

Актуальные направления исследований предпринимательства в социальной психологии: карта научного ландшафта

Background. Currently, the number of entrepreneurs who want to run a traditional business or a startup is growing rapidly. In scientific circles, there is also increasing interest in the phenomenon of entrepreneurship and, in particular, in the personality of the entrepreneur. The question arises as to which areas of research in the social psychology of entrepreneurship are relevant at the moment. Objective. The study is aimed at creating a map of scientific landscape in the field of entrepreneurship, as well as at highlighting relevant areas of entrepreneurship research in social psychology. Methods. Scientific mapping was carried out using the VOSviewer programme version 1.6.15. A scientometric analysis of keywords from 3,235 scientific articles published in the field of social psychology over the past 5 years was carried out (according to The Lens platform). The interpretation of the map in order to highlight the current directions was made using the metaphor of the city. Results. Current research topics include personal and environmental aspects. Among the relevant areas of entrepreneur's research are socio-psychological personality traits (optimism, enthusiasm, perseverance, traits of the dark triad, etc.), entrepreneurial intentions, motivation. When studying entrepreneurship, the question of the choice to become an entrepreneur as well as the process of entrepreneurial self-determination are important. At the same time, at this stage of research, the thematic bundle “identity-self-determination-intentions” is of interest only from the point of view of intentions. Conclusions. Entrepreneurship as a phenomenon in modern social psychology is of scientific interest in terms of point constructs: entrepreneurial intentions, socio-psychological personality traits, values. It is the study of entrepreneurial identity that seems promising, since it will allow to predict the professional path of young people and their predisposition to entrepreneurship.

The role of norm dynamics for climate relevant behavior: A 2019–2021 panel study of red meat consumption

More sustainable consumption is urgently called for but emerging very slowly at best. This paper contributes to the empirical foundation for understanding the role of norms in shaping, reinforcing, and changing consumption patterns. Drawing on institutional and social psychological theories and research, we investigate the development in normative influences on red meat consumption – a climate relevant behavior – over time. We apply cross lagged SEM analyses utilizing survey data from a representative sample of the Norwegian population the years 2019, 2020, and 2021. Red meat consumption is strongly supported by social norms in Norway but seems to be challenged by the societal attention to its negative climate impacts. Such attention may lead people to internalize norms for a climate-friendly diet and thus reduce their red-meat consumption. We find, however, that the influence of pro-climate mitigation norms on red meat consumption is weak and was further weakened in the 2020–21 period, during the Covid19 pandemic. An important question is whether and how policy measures can nurture pro-climate mitigation norms to reach a social “tipping point” regarding meat consumption. Implications for future research on norm dynamics are discussed.

Therapist verification of patient self-concepts as a responsive precondition for early alliance development and subsequent introject change

Objective Social psychological research has indicated that people strive for self-consistent feedback and interactions, even if negative, to preserve the epistemic security of knowing themselves. Without such self-verification, any interpersonal exchange may become frustrated, anxiety-riddled, and at risk for deterioration. Thus, it may be important for therapists to meet patients’ self-verification needs as a responsive precondition for early alliance establishment and development. We tested this hypothesis with patients receiving cognitive behavioral therapy for generalized anxiety disorder—a condition that may render one’s self-verification needs especially strong. We also tested the hypothesis that better early alliance quality would relate to subsequent adaptive changes in and posttreatment level of patients’ self-concepts. Method Eighty-four patients rated their self-concepts at baseline and across treatment and follow-up, their postsession recollection of their therapist’s interpersonal behavior toward them during session 2, and their experience of alliance quality rated after sessions 3–6. Results As predicted, the more therapists verified at session 2 a patient’s baseline self-concepts (which trended toward disaffiliative and overcontrolling, on average), the more positively that patient perceived their next-session alliance. Moreover, better session 3 alliance related to more adaptive affiliative and autonomy-granting self-concepts at posttreatment. Conclusion Results are discussed within a therapist responsiveness framework.

Age dynamics of graphic reflection of social identity

Social identity recently has become one of the actual subjects of scientific research in social psychology, social cognitive psychology. Social identity reflects conscious and unconscious feelings of a person’s belonging to certain communities, is the context for decision-making in situations of choice. The novelty of the study lies in the analysis of little-conscious aspects of identity, namely the subjective significance of communities to which a person belongs by the fact of his birth or main activity, as well as subjective inclusion in such a community. The author has developed a procedure of graphic representation of social identity based on the techniques used in projective drawing methods. The test person is asked to draw himself and five communities (family, occupation group, locality and country of residence, all people of the world) with the help of circles. This experimental procedure was conducted in nine age groups, starting with 6-7 year olds and ending with working adults. A total of 282 people participated in the experiment. The data (21 indicators) were subjected to factor analysis by the method of principal components. The following results were obtained: for each age group the average sizes of images of self and proposed social communities were revealed, using Student’s t-criterion the conclusions about significant differences in the sizes of images of the country and territory of residence for age groups were obtained. Discussion of results and conclusions. Factor analysis by the principal component method revealed four factors of social identity, which were labeled as: multiple, hierarchical, egocentric, and diffuse social identity. The proposed types of social identity were described, their psychological interpretation was given, and criteria for identification by graphic representation were proposed. The results of the study can be used in pedagogical practice, practice of psychological and pedagogical counseling.

A reconsideration of group differences in social psychology: Towards a critical intersectional approach

AbstractSocial psychology has focused on patterns of inequality (e.g., discrimination, stereotyping, stigma, intergroup relations) that underlie well‐documented disparities, often without engaging with the structural and intersectional patterns underlying these experiences. In this paper, we draw on intersectionality theory and research to illustrate how approaches to studying inequity and disparities in social psychology reflect a Western perspective, and structures work to uphold the status quo. It is argued that structures within the research process need to be made visible, both in terms of how research questions are framed, as well as on the representation within institutions responsible for producing and disseminating work addressing disparities. Engaging with intersectionality theory and research, we suggest four strategies that address individual and structural approaches to better position social psychology to contribute meaningfully to the reduction of disparate outcomes affecting minoritized individuals and groups. We suggest (a) examining and addressing the sources of inequality (e.g., addressing racism rather than the effects of racism), (b) carefully attending to language and framing in both the causes and impact of inequality and discrimination to shift the status quo in social psychology research and in society, (c) addressing representation within social psychology research, namely in critically examining representation and assumptions made about research samples, and (d) addressing representation in the “structure” of institutions. We offer these approaches, informed by intersectional theory, as tangible strategies to address some of the structural issues underlying inequality and disparities that can be addressed within social psychology.

Social psychological research on gender, sexuality, and relationships: reflections on contemporary scientific and cultural challenges

This inaugural article considers two types of challenges – scientific and cultural – facing researchers who study gender, sexualities, and relationships. For the scientific challenges, I focus on the tension between constructing parsimonious theories while simultaneously accounting for the complexity of gender, sexuality, and relationships. I focus on ambivalent sexism theory as an example that illustrates both the advantages and disadvantages of parsimonious theories before turning to a topic for which achieving parsimony has been elusive: gender identity. Finally, I address the current, highly politicized cultural environment, addressing attempts to suppress gender and sexual diversity, as well as to silence teaching and research on these topics.