Social Psychology Research Articles

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.

Gender Qualities and Campus Bullying: Psychological Causes and Social Ecology Behind the Rose Boy

In April 2000, "Rose Boy" Ye Yongzhi died due to bullying by his classmates for his unique gender identity. Although the Ye Yongzhi incident has drawn increasing attention to the seriousness of gender identity discrimination and campus bullying, the phenomenon of "gender bullying" still exists today. In this study, the author conducted a questionnaire survey of 100 male youths in mainland China who had experienced or were currently experiencing campus bullying to clarify the current status of campus bullying and gender bullying in mainland China, and conducted statistics on the forms, reasons, solutions, and impacts of bullying. On this basis, this paper adopts a social-psychological perspective to explore the social psychological causes behind "gender temperament bullying". On the one hand, adolescents may develop stereotypes about gender temperament due to prejudice. On the other hand, adolescents may exhibit irrational group behavior under the influence of "deindividuation". In addition, "obeying authority" is also one of the reasons why some teenagers join the ranks of bullies. Finally, this paper elaborates on the deeper macro-social ecology behind social psychology, such as the influence of traditional gender role beliefs on parents' expectations and requirements for their children in traditional Chinese families; most schools in China fail to provide comprehensive and scientific gender education courses, lacking in-depth exploration and correct guidance on gender issues; the administrative and judicial departments have not sufficiently punished and prevented campus bullying; the whole society's attention to campus bullying and gender discrimination also needs to be improved.

Application of the integrated threat theory to conservation law enforcement.

Interactions between law enforcement agents in conservation (e.g., rangers) and illegal resource users (e.g., illegal hunters) can be violent and sometimes fatal, which negatively affects conservation efforts and people's well-being. Models from social psychology, such as integrated threat theory (ITT) (intergroup interactions shape intergroup emotions, prejudices and perceived threats leading to hostile attitudes or behaviors between groups), are useful in addressing such interactions. Conservation approaches relying mainly on law enforcement have never been investigated using this framework. Using a structured questionnaire, we collected data from 282 rangers in protected and unprotected areas (n=50) in northern Iran. We applied Bayesian structural equation modeling in an assessment of rangers' affective attitudes (i.e., emotions or feelings that shape attitudes toward a person or object) toward illegal hunters in an ITT framework. Rangers' positive perceptions of illegal hunters were negatively associated with intergroup anxiety (emotional response to fear) and negative stereotypes about a hunter's personality, which mediated the relationship between negative contact and affective attitudes. This suggests that negative contact, such as verbal abuse, may lead rangers to perceive illegal hunters as arrogant or cruel, which likely forms a basis for perceived threats. Rangers' positive contact with illegal hunters, such as playing or working together, likely lowered their perceived realistic threats (i.e., fear of property damage). Perceived realistic threats of rangers were positively associated with negative contacts (e.g., physical harm). The associations we identified suggest that relationships based on positive interactions between rangers and illegal hunters can reduce fear and prejudice. Thus, we suggest that rangers and hunters be provided with safe spaces to have positive interactions, which may help lower tension and develop cooperative conservation mechanisms.

Is a sense of community based on similarity? The perception of shared values and citizens’ EU identity

ABSTRACT Does the perception of sharing values strengthen the EU citizens’ sense of belonging to the European Union? The present study uses the concept of social identity derived from social psychology to explore this question. It assumes that the perception that EU citizens share the same value orientations with each other strengthens identification with the EU’s political community. To empirically test this thesis, two-level regression models are conducted on the basis of survey data from the 2019 Eurobarometer (EB 92.3). The empirical results show that the subjective perception of being similar in terms of value orientations is positively associated with EU identity.

Cultural adaptation and validation of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) in a population of Iranian drug and alcohol addicts

ARTICLE INFOReceived: 30 August 2023 | Accepted: 5 December 2023 | Available online: 12 March 2024CITATIONKhalvati M, Harouni GG, Ghazanfarpour M, et al. Cultural adaptation and validation of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) in a population of Iranian drug and alcohol addicts. Environment and Social Psychology 2024; 9(6): 2042. doi: 10.54517/esp.v9i6.2042COPYRIGHTCopyright © 2024 by author(s). Environment and Social Psychology is published by Asia Pacific Academy of Science Pte. Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), permitting distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is cited.This study aimed to culturally adapt and validate the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) in a population of Iranian drug and alcohol addicts. The statistical population in this cross-sectional, descriptive, scale development study consisted of all the drug and alcohol addicts in Iran. Of these, 518 were selected as participants using convenient sampling. The measurement tools included a demographic checklist, the BIS, and the Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS). The adaptability and stability of the tool were tested using Cronbach’s alpha and ICC to measure its reliability. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were also employed to assess the construct validity of the tool. The clinical cut-off point was determined following the psychiatrist interview (as the gold standard) using the rocking curve (to determine the tool’s sensitivity and specificity) in MedCalc-19.4.0. Moreover, CFA, EFA, and descriptive analysis of participants’ demographics were performed in AMOS-18, SPSS-24, and SPSS-26, respectively. The mean age of participants was 31.9 ± 9.3 years. Drug abuse was the most common type of addiction among the participants (77.8%). Scratching the body, punching a hard object, and self-injection were the most common impulsive actions. The ICC score calculated using the consistency type was 0.78 (95% Cl: 0.45–0.80). A significant inverse relationship was found between BIS and DTS (P = 0.000, r = −0.021). Three factors were extracted from the Varimax rotation of the factors, and two items (5 and 14) were excluded. The results showed a cut-point of 65, with the best balance exhibiting sensitivity values of 76.6 (62.0–87.7) and specificity values of 52.5 (47.9–57.1) for BIS. Items 27, 29, and 30 were excluded based on the correction indices provided for CFA in AMOS. The goodness of fit indices was satisfactory (CMIN/DF = 2.20, GFI = 0.826, AGFI = 0.792, CFI = 0.754, RMSEA = 0.071). Based on the study findings, it can be concluded that the right diagnostic tools can help policymakers, therapists, and other relevant authorities to predict people’s proclivity to abuse drugs.

Suicide in the Context of Elite Sport: a Meta-Ethnographic Synthesis

Suicide or its attempts are a serious problem that has drawn the attention of different areas of knowledge related to the field of sports. However, in most cases, the analyses are based on psychopathological visions or physical trauma without understanding the particularities of mental health. The article presents a meta-ethnography review of the literature on qualitative research on suicide in athletes from 2012 to 2022. The topics addressed in the studies are diverse: the importance of healthy relationships, the visibility of mental health problems, the normalization of violence by coaches, and the lack of emotional support. It is essential for athletes to have a support network (including coaches, mental health professionals, etc.). The issues that have affected athletes identified with suicidal ideation include a prolonged combination of concussion symptoms, academic problems, normalized violent training practices, high demands, the invisibility of suffering, and exposure to traumatic events. It required training of teachers/coaches in mental health, social support during injury recovery, ongoing mental health education, close relationships between coaches and athletes, involvement of sports psychiatry/psychology specialists, support from the environment, and balance between performance and personal development. Keywords: Mental health; Sport; Suicide; Social Sport Psychology; Sociology of Sport.

Islamization: A Sociological Approach

"Islamisation: A Sociological Approach" intricately explores the processes of cultivating an Islamic society. It delves into the interplay between individual and systemic transformations, aligning with Islamic doctrines. The meticulous examination includes integrating Islamic principles into societal frameworks, exploring social psychology, human soul cognition, schema control, behavioral modifications, community dynamics, and emotional management. The discourse spans foundational Islamisation aspects to constructing persuasive models, emphasizing the need for narratives resonating across the Islamic realm. The treatise addresses fostering uniformity in Islamic governance, focusing on human motivation, informational conformity, and aligning Islamic values with modern technologies. Contemplating the future trajectory, it juxtaposes scientific advancements with philosophical reflections, acknowledging challenges posed by conflicting secular liberal ideologies. The text highlights social media and educational initiatives' pivotal roles in nurturing close-knit Muslim community relationships. In conclusion, it underscores the necessity of managing cognitive schemas and mitigating extreme psychological reactance in Islamic societies, advocating for a harmonious blend of punitive measures and core Islamic values, contributing significantly to the discourse on contemporary Islamisation.

Deterrent or Stimulus? How Perceived Societal Stigma Affects Participation in Populist Radical Right Parties

While the effects of political stigma on populist radical right parties have been extensively investigated, we know little about the impact of societal stigma on populist radical right sympathisers. To examine this, I focus on a key group of populist radical right supporters, party members, and ask: How does perceived societal stigma affect the participation of populist radical right party members? Drawing on stigma research from social psychology and sociology, I develop the following three hypotheses: that stigma will work as a deterrent, as a stimulus, or that it will depend on where populist radical right rank-and-file live. I test these on the League in Italy and the Sweden Democrats, using original membership surveys of over 7800 grassroots members and interviews with 56 of them. The survey shows that perceived societal stigma has a consistent negative correlation with members’ participation. Furthermore, the interviews reveal that this negative relationship is due to stigma deterring participation, rather than participation reducing stigma.

Lived experiences of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in the UK: Migration and identity.

Sri Lankan Tamil refugees (SLTRs) have lived in the United Kingdom in substantial numbers for about three decades. However, they remain under-represented in academic and public discourse, and little is known about their migration experiences. This study examined first-hand accounts of such experiences, with special attention paid to identity and acculturation. Data were collected through four semi-structured interviews and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The results suggest that SLTRs' experience of conflict as an imposed life disruption continues to shape their adaptation, identity, and meaning-making ("Afflicted life"). Changing social identities mediate protection from, as well as risk of, trauma. SLTRs try to remedy the socio-economic and emotional losses suffered in the conflict, but achieve only a partial compensation. Consequently their repair efforts are a source not only of positive emotions but also of dissatisfaction ("Living past"). Finally, participants' sense of belonging and quest for home represent a challenging socio-emotional process in which they continue to engage even decades after migration ("Continuing quest for home"). This nuanced analysis of how the past continues to shape lived experience, contributes to the under-developed literature on qualitative psychological investigations of acculturation, research on forced migration, and the establishment of IPA in social psychology.

Can mental health practice benefit from procedural justice theory? A critical analysis on the opportunities and pitfalls of procedural justice to address coercion and human rights issues in psychiatry

The theory of procedural justice, derived from social psychology, is employed in numerous fields of study concerned with the quality of interactions involving individuals in positions of authority. Although this theory is increasingly cited for its potential to promote approaches aimed at mitigating the effects of psychiatric coercion and better respecting individuals' rights, empirical literature provides limited insights into how procedural justice could be translated into practice. It is important, therefore, to examine the theoretical and practical implications of such an orientation. Based on a critical analysis of existing literature, this article will discuss the potential contributions and limitations of procedural justice applied in the field of mental health and psychiatric nursing. Procedural justice has limitations regarding solutions for human rights violations in psychiatry. It nonetheless allows a focus on the quality of interactions with individuals in coercive contexts, in addition to considering the social and identity-related implications of psychiatric coercion.

Communication Challengers Between Individuals: An Introduction to Social Psychology

This paper deals with the challenges of communication between individuals who are studied with social psychology glasses. The question that arises in this writing is how the challenge arises in communication between individuals and how understanding of social psychology helps overcome communication challenges. The writing uses a kind of qualitative approach using library research or literature study aimed at reviewing the challenges of communication between individuals across social psychology. As for the result of this writing, there are several challenges of communication between individuals, differing perceptions, nonverbal communication, the author of social norms, prejudices and stereotypes, disagreements and conflicts, and technological limitations. In the context of communication, an understanding of the principles of social psychology can help overcome obstacles and increase communication's effectiveness. Psychology social views that in overcoming the challenges of communicating between individuals, communicators need to communicate more effectively, avoid misunderstandings, and build stronger and healthier relationships with people in diverse social environments.

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Mental Distress Among Adolescents and Youth in Zimbabwe.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are a global public health crisis associated with physical and poor mental health outcomes. The current study examined the prevalence and association between individual and cumulative ACEs with mental distress among adolescents and youth in Zimbabwe. Data from the 2017 Violence Against Children and Youth Survey were utilized (13-25 years old, n = 8,715). Bivariate analysis was conducted using chi-square tests to obtain the prevalence estimates. Two sets of logistic regression models were conducted to determine significant associations between independent variables (i.e., experiencing childhood physical, emotional, and sexual violence; witnessing intimate partner violence (IPV) and community violence; orphan status; and cumulative ACE exposure) and the dependent variable (i.e., mental distress in the past 30 days as measured by Kelser 6). 28.4% of the adolescents and youth reported experiencing mental distress in the past 30 days. Regarding ACEs, cumulative ACE exposure (34.7%; adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.13) and individual ACEs (i.e., experiencing childhood physical violence [39.3%; AOR = 1.41], emotional violence [55.8%; AOR = 2.67], sexual violence [50.8%; AOR = 2.00], witnessing community violence [47.3%; AOR = 1.52], witnessing IPV [43.1%; AOR = 1.47], and being orphaned during childhood [33.6%; AOR = 1.24]) were significantly associated with higher prevalence rates and odds of experiencing mental distress in the past 30 days among adolescents and youth in Zimbabwe. These findings show that ACEs are highly prevalent and increases the risk of mental distress for vulnerable adolescents and youth in Zimbabwe. Effective interventions to reduce violence exposure in families, schools, and communities are essential to mitigate the negative consequences of ACEs and mental distress of adolescents and youth in Zimbabwe. Strengthening child protection policies and involving social workers, psychologists, and mental health workers are also crucial for safeguarding vulnerable children who might be impacted by ACEs in Zimbabwe. Implications for future research are further discussed.

First-interview response patterns of intensive longitudinal psychological and health data.

Self-report data are essential in health psychology research where an individual's perception is critical to understanding one's health and psychological status. Intensive data collection over time, including daily diary assessments, is necessary in understanding within- and between-person variability in health and psychological processes over time. An "initial elevation or latent decline" (IELD) effect, inherent of self-report data, is increasingly acknowledged in the social psychology literature, but awareness of this effect in health psychology research is lacking, particularly in studies that emphasize within- and between-person variability in self-reports. The IELD effect is a pattern in which responses tend to be more extreme at the initial interview relative to subsequent responses. This paper illustrates the impact of IELD in applications of mixed-effects models based on observational self-reports and concludes that researchers take such effects into account in data analysis or in the research designing phase to help mitigate such effects.

Conflictual meetings between social identities in analytic group therapy

Social identities play a significant role in the development of personality and various disorders and challenges. In addition, they play an important role in the encounter between representatives of different social groups and can add to personality and interpersonal perspectives to group dynamics. Despite their significance, exploration of social identities occurs mainly in the realms of social psychology and post-colonialist theories and not so much in psychoanalysis, which favours the individual perspective over the social. Foulkes, the founder of group analysis, started a revolution in the field of psychoanalysis when he focussed on the social world and its significant influence on development. However, some of his successors argued that due to political and other reasons, Foulkes did not ‘follow through’ with his own theory and in his therapy groups he did not put sufficient emphasis on exploration of social identities and power relations. This article reviews the concept of social identities through four theoretical disciplines: social psychology, psychoanalysis, postcolonial theories and group analysis. A vignette from an analytic group that has been meeting for two years and coped with the meeting of different social identities in the complex Israeli reality will be discussed.

The association of farmers’ cognition, intention and behaviour towards sustainable intensification of cultivated land use in Shandong Province, China

ABSTRACT Cultivated land system confronts with a series of problems hindering its socioeconomic and ecological sustainability. Sustainable intensification of cultivated land use (SICLU) is considered as an efficient method to achieve three aspects of sustainable goals in society, economy and ecology simultaneously. Farmers, the main executor of all agricultural strategies, are the core of SICLU research. However, there is a small quantity of researches on SICLU from the perspective of farmers’ social psychology. Therefore, this article measured the level of SICLU at the farmer scale using super-efficiency SBM model, and relying on structural equation modeling and an innovative research framework, explored the association mechanism among farmers’ cognition, intention and behavior of SICLU. Finally, the results showed that (1) most of samples are at a medium or higher level of SICLU. (2) all samples’ cognition are significantly positively related to their behavior and their behavior significantly negatively affect their intention. (3) correlation characteristics among them are slightly different under each level. The proposed research outline not only expand the scope of SI research to the perspective of social psychology in breadth, but in depth take targeted actions to protect agricultural environment, make cultivated land system sustainable and alleviate food crisis.

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

The effects of self-other overlap and group efficacy on group-based anger and collective action tendency: An online experimental study

Collective emotions and actions represent foundational constructs in social psychology, significantly influencing societal dynamics and responses. Within this framework, the Self-Other Overlap (SOO) - wherein individuals perceive minimal distinction between their own and others' identities - has been identified as an impactful factor at the interpersonal level. However, the extrapolation of SOO's implications at the collective, group level remains an underexplored domain in contemporary research.In addressing this lacuna, the present research endeavors to elucidate the multifaceted implications of SOO on group emotions and actions, contextualized within societal challenges such as “food hygiene problems”. Utilizing validated instruments including the Self-Other Overlap Scale, Group-Based Anger Scale, Collective Action Tendency Scale, and Group Efficacy Scale for Coping Situations, this study adopts a tripartite situational experiment, engaging a collective sample of 359 participants, systematically recruited via the Credamo smart research platform to ensure representativeness.Study 1 examined the potential influence of variable SOO degrees on Group-Based Anger (GA) and Collective Action Tendency (CAT). Study 2 further refined the exploration, discerning the differential impacts of SOO targets on GA and CAT. Conclusively, Study 3 sought to ascertain the potential moderating role of Group Efficacy (GE) within the SOO-GA-CAT relationship.The empirical findings yielded several salient insights: notably, an augmentation in SOO levels corresponded with an amplification of GA and CAT. Furthermore, a delineation in SOO targets, specifically from external to ingroup entities, manifested in a pronounced augmentation of GA and CAT. Intriguingly, while elevated SOO predisposed heightened CAT, the modulatory effect of GE on CAT manifested predominantly in lower SOO contexts.In summation, the present study underscores the pivotal role of SOO magnitude and orientation as determinants of GA and CAT. The nuanced interplay between SOO degree and GE, particularly vis-à-vis CAT, provides a fresh scholarly perspective, contributing to the enriched understanding of group dynamics and collective behavioral paradigms.

Compensation and Tax Fairness: Evidence From Four Countries

Abstract This paper uses a conjoint survey experiment fielded in the US, Australia, Chile, and Argentina to develop and test the compensatory theory of tax fairness, which states that higher taxes on the rich can be used to compensate for other benefits unequally granted by the state. Drawing on social psychology, this paper argues that evidence of preferential treatment by the state violates well-established fairness principles and shows, experimentally, that it leads to taxation to restore equality in crisis times, irrespective of wealth and across a variety of settings. The paper makes two important contributions: it provides the first direct, causal evidence of the importance of compensatory arguments for tax preferences and presents unconfounded estimates of the effect of more established fairness considerations as benchmarks against which to compare the importance of compensatory arguments.

Racism in the “colony”: Towards appreciating race fluidity and racialization in social psychology of racism

AbstractRace is a significant means through which individuals and groups relate to each other. A problematic instance of its significance is colonialism and all the destruction it brought with it. In this paper, I explore how knowledge about race and racism from settings that were erstwhile colonized can enrich current understandings and approaches to studying race and racism in social psychology. I advance the possibility of mutual learning and sharing of theoretical and methodological practices for researchers who examine race and racism in colonizing or settler‐colonial settings and those in erstwhile colonized settings. I do so by first, locating the centrality of Whiteness for the very development of race categories and the shaping of psychology as a discipline. Second, I discuss how race and racism are examined in (primarily) Euro‐American contexts, with a focus on engagement with Whiteness by Critical Race Psychologists and social constructionist researchers. Third, I outline alternative ways of engaging with race and race categories identified in erstwhile colonized places. I end with how this latter informs our understandings of race and racism, and possibilities for mutual learning.

Her Parasites: A poetic ecospiritual perspective of the COVID-19 pandemic and nature's intelligence

In this transdisciplinary perspective, I present my initial ecospiritual thinking about the COVID-19 pandemic in a poem, titled Her Parasites. I identify with other thinkers – both those in science and not – who articulated ecophilosophical musings about the pandemic in various ways, some of whom were met with mockery and censure. In the hope that it will inspire openness and a sense of curiosity, I draw on metaphysical insights from Vedic treatises and the literature on environmental decline, zoonotic epidemiology, health science, animal agriculture, animal ethics, and animal sentience to explain my poem’s philosophical and ecological framework. I focus on the scientific knowledge of epidemics caused by viruses that transcend species boundaries, why cross-species hopping occurs, and the nature (and incredible intelligence) of such viruses. I invite readers to consider ancient Vedic principles that articulate the rationale for living harmoniously with other sentient beings and entities. Considering the unseen metaphysical association between the pandemic and animal cruelty explained through the Vedic laws of Karmā, I present the possibility that one of the lessons Mother Earth might have wanted the Homo sapiens species to learn from the COVID-19 pandemic is its need to alter its diet. I end with a discussion on the possibility and value of this change. The downplaying or denial of animal sentience (strategies to overcome the psychological discomfort of incongruence between loving animals and eating them, as described in social psychology), is a barrier to this change. However, observed through a Vedic lens, this cognitive dissonance suggests that the Homo sapiens species is innately humane, the realisation of which might hold the key to this dietary change.