Social Psychology Research Articles

Collective Emotion: A Framework for Experimental Research

Research on collective emotion spans social sciences, psychology and philosophy. There are detailed case studies and diverse theories of collective emotion. However, experimental evidence regarding the universal characteristics, antecedents and consequences of collective emotion remains sparse. Moreover, current research mainly relies on emotion self-reports, accounting for the subjective experience of collective emotion and ignoring their cognitive and physiological bases. In response to these challenges, we argue for experimental research on collective emotion. We start with an overview of theoretical frameworks to identify a set of three characteristics of collective emotion. Based on research in cognitive and affective sciences, we then examine the corresponding candidate mechanisms. Finally, we highlight outstanding questions, review experimental evidence, and suggest ideas for future experimental research.

Are replications mainstream now? A comparison of support for replications expressed in the policies of social psychology journals in 2015 and 2022

A decade ago, replications were typically not conducted and appreciated in social psychology, although replications play a central role in ensuring trust in scientific fields. Without systematic replication efforts, it is not clear whether findings are trustworthy. As journals can function as gatekeepers for publications, they can influence whether researchers conduct (and publish) replications. Yet, the scholarly culture in social psychology might have changed over the last decade because numerous highly visible studies did not replicate past findings. In light of these insights and the resulting learning opportunities for the field, we predicted an increase in the expressed support for replications in the policies of social psychology journals from 2015 (i.e., the year the replication problem became widely known) to 2022. We coded whether and how replications were mentioned in the author guidelines on the websites of social psychology journals (N = 51). As expected, replications were welcomed more often in 2022 (25%) than they were in 2015 (12%), but they were not mentioned on the websites of most journals (71% in 2022 vs. 82% in 2015). An exploratory analysis suggested that journals that expressed support for replications on their websites were also more likely to publish articles about replication. Further, exploratory analyses of the journals’ TOP factors indicated similar rates of support for replications as for other rigor and transparency promoting policies. In sum, our findings suggest that appreciation for replication has increased, but is not yet part of mainstream culture in social psychology.

Beyond reliability in first impressions research: Considering validity and the need to “Mix it up with folks”

‘First impressions’ are a popular topic in social psychology. They are researched because the initial judgments of others are consequential in everyday life (such as job interviews, first dates, justice outcomes). In the context of broader concerns about the credibility of psychological science, first impressions research has developed commendable initiatives for improving reliability (open stimulus databases, international collaborations, replication studies and reanalyses). However, these initiatives can impact the validity of studying how people form first impressions. There is a long history of critiquing the usefulness of passive-observer judgments of controlled, reduced, presentations of people—and these concerns are still relevant today. Here, we highlight the praiseworthy practices improving reliability in first impressions research, before moving on to identify persistent methodological concerns in the field. This includes inadequate stimulus sampling and diversity, constrained participant response options, limited consideration of study context, and limitations of atomised presentations of target people. We identify how these methodological limitations impact theory development, how we might be over/underestimating everyday experience, and even misunderstanding social differences in autism and mental health. Finally, we identify opportunities for methodological reform, focusing on codifying instead of controlling interactions, promoting inductive, participant-led, methodologies, and asking for stronger theory development and clarity on ‘can’ vs. ‘do’ research questions. Overall, we praise reforms for improving the reliability of first impressions research, but improvements to making scientific predictions about first impressions require renewed consideration of validity.

What are the differences in urban citizens’ preferences for the colour of condominium building facades?

The colour of a building facade is an important attribute that significantly influences consumers’ purchasing intentions towards commodity buildings. This influence is often reflected in transaction prices, allowing researchers to extract consumers’ colour preferences and analyse their psychological states. However, there is a significant lack of relevant research in this area. Therefore, this research is the first attempt to explore urban consumers’ preferences for the colour of building facades using a housing price measurement system. It also conducts comparative analyses of the consumption psychology of different homebuying consumer groups. The innovative approach in this research can serve as a reference for exploring similar issues in other regions worldwide, and the empirical results of this research hold important professional value for fields such as social psychology and urban planning. Specifically, this research takes the city of Fuzhou, China, as an example, and it uses cross-sectional transaction data from second-hand residential communities in 2020 as its research reference. Through economic and geographical research methods, this study explores consumers’ preference for colour among various consumer groups. The research reveals that the overall homebuying consumer groups in Fuzhou have specific preferences for the quantity and characteristics of facade colours. Furthermore, consumer preferences vary among different income levels and geographic locations of homebuying consumer groups. Finally, the research estimates the possible reasons for these preference differences.

Hits and misses in the last decade of open science: Researchers from different subfields and career stages offer personal reflections and suggestions

The success of Open Science in addressing the replication crisis and restoring credibility in psychology can be understood more completely by examining the successes and challenges of adapting the recommended best practices by researchers at different types of institutions, different career stages, and from different subfields within social and personality psychology. In this article, we offer personal reflections about the impact and future of the Open Science movement in a conversational form between three researchers at varying career stages who focus on different subdisciplines (relationship science, diversity science, and social neuroscience and social cognition) and work at universities that place a different emphasis on research (relative to teaching and service). We see many successes of the open science movement, but we also note that implementation has trailed behind its full potential because (a) the incentive structures of our existing rigid system remain misaligned with some open-science goals, and (b) some open science solutions were designed by researchers with certain types of scientific practices in mind. We all feel encouraged by the focus on larger samples, greater data sharing, and pre-registration both for experimental design and analytical decisions. However, there are areas that need attention. Our perspective is that the open science movement has not been as strong of an ally as it could be to another goal of psychological science: increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion. Additionally, more careful consideration of how to facilitate data sharing and pre-registration is needed and may necessitate a shift in the incentive structure of our field.

Introduction to special topic “Is psychology self-correcting? Reflections on the credibility revolution in social and personality psychology”

Introduction to special topic “Is psychology self-correcting? Reflections on the credibility revolution in social and personality psychology”

Divine Compensation? Gender, Religiosity, and the Link Between Feeling Underpaid and Psychological Distress

Theoretical and empirical work within social psychology has highlighted the impact of the sense of distributive injustice—the evaluation of unfairness in the distribution of outcomes or rewards—and adverse mental health outcomes. Drawing on a sample of Canadian workers from the Canadian Work, Stress, and Health Study (CAN-WSH; N = 2,376), we consider whether three facets of religiosity—perceived divine control, religious attendance, and prayer—have stress buffering potency when it comes to perceived underpayment. We also test whether these associations vary by gender. Our results suggest that for men who reported being underpaid, higher levels of divine control were protective for psychological distress. By contrast, weekly religious attendance was a stress buffer for women who were underpaid. We draw from research at the intersection of sociology of religion and gender to interpret our findings. Taken as a whole, our findings underscore the importance of assessing religiously-based resources for individuals who perceive they are underpaid and speak to how understanding the effectiveness of coping resources, including those found within religious life, are contingent upon social status—a hallmark of the sociological tradition.

An analysis of the psychometric properties of the writing-specific cognitive strategies questionnaire for undergraduate students.

Writing strategies are needed to manage the complexity of writing tasks, especially at university, where writing tasks are for learning, professional, or scientific purposes and are highly demanding. The literature shows that many undergraduate students have defined, stable, writing strategies, although some lack proper strategic development and require explicit instruction in this regard. In both cases, adapting writing tasks to undergraduate students' preferences and instructing them effectively requires understanding their writing strategies, which will encourage optimal learning and writing proficiency. This is why valid, reliable, writing strategy assessment tools are essential. The present study focused on the validation of the Spanish Writing Strategies Questionnaire-Undergraduate Students (WSQ-SU), aimed at measuring undergraduate students' preferences for using different writing strategies. The sample comprised 978 Spanish undergraduates doing degrees in Infant, Primary or Social Education, Pedagogy and Psychology. The data from the questionnaire was explored by means of exploratory and confirmatory analysis, test-retest reliability to analyse temporal stability and convergent validity. Two factors, planning and revising, were identified through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, representing different writing strategies and supporting the original model. The results indicated adequate test-retest reliability and temporal stability. The results also showed the questionnaire's convergent validity; a direct, linear correlation between two factors and off-line planning and revising variables. Based on the results, the WSQ for undergraduate students-Spanish version has been shown to be a reliable and valid, scale that can be easily applied in the university context to explore undergraduate students' writing strategies.

Рroblems of implementing the principles of personal-activity approach to students' physical education

The purpose of the work is to define and generalize principles of implementation of personal-activity approach to physical education in higher educational institutions in order to avoid mistakes and shortcomings in modern conditions of development of the system of higher education of Ukraine. Research methods: theoretical analysis and generalization of data of scientific and methodical literature and sources of the Internet information network on the researched problem. It is determined that a necessary condition for optimizing the physical education of students is the organization of a personal-activity approach to physical improvement. It should be based on the idea of pedagogy of cooperation, the implementation of which takes into account the principles of democratization and humanization, optimization and intensification of the training process. In accordance with these principles, it is necessary to reorient the training process from reproductive to creative with the formation of students' conscious need for physical improvement. To this end, the educational process should be primarily saturated with information from personal and social hygiene, physiology, psychology, theory and methods of physical education, forming scientifically sound views on the socio- biological essence, the role and opportunities of physical culture in human development. In this sense, physical education classes should gradually turn into lessons in knowing yourself, your body, your moral and volitional qualities, spiritual and physical capabilities.

Rebalancing social & personality psychology methods: The case for naturalistic observation

AbstractThough naturalistic observation methods are lauded for their utility, they are often neglected in social and personality psychology research. This paper describes evidence of the absence of naturalistic observation methods in our field, and some historical roots of this methodological imbalance in social/personality (SP) psychology. The paper then provides an overview of existing naturalistic observation methods relevant to SP psychology, describes various types of barriers to conducting such research, and concludes with recommendations for overcoming these barriers to produce a more well‐rounded science. It is time to rebalance SP psychological methods by valuing and investing in naturalistic observation research.

How can white parents raise anti-racist children? Introducing the routes to effective anti-racist parenting (REAP) model.

In response to highly publicized instances of overt racial injustice, there has been a recent resurgence of interest and commitment to identifying processes through which anti-racist behaviors develop among White individuals. One particularly important context in which anti-racist behaviors can develop is within families and as a result of childrearing. Theories of anti-racism typically neglect the role of families and family science research typically neglects a focus on anti-racist parenting outcomes. To further research and applied work on fostering anti-racism within White families, this paper introduces a new integrative model called routes to effective anti-racist parenting (REAP). The model draws on theories from various fields, including family science and social psychology, and uses a metaphor of nurturing a plant to explain the nuanced, multi-faceted approaches to anti-racist parenting. The model incorporates factors related to the "pot" (i.e., fundamental values and structure necessary to contain more specific anti-racist skills and behaviors), "soil" (i.e., characteristics that define anti-racist commitment), "seeds" (i.e., direct transmission of anti-racism skills), and "environment" (i.e., influential external factors). Finally, we describe the intended benefits that can be reaped from this intentional approach to anti-racist parenting. The REAP model contributes to the family science literature by providing an empirically grounded theoretical model describing the roles that parents can play in children's anti-racist development.

Building Human Values into Recommender Systems: An Interdisciplinary Synthesis

Recommender systems are the algorithms which select, filter, and personalize content across many of the world's largest platforms and apps. As such, their positive and negative effects on individuals and on societies have been extensively theorized and studied. Our overarching question is how to ensure that recommender systems enact the values of the individuals and societies that they serve. Addressing this question in a principled fashion requires technical knowledge of recommender design and operation, and also critically depends on insights from diverse fields including social science, ethics, economics, psychology, policy and law. This paper is a multidisciplinary effort to synthesize theory and practice from different perspectives, with the goal of providing a shared language, articulating current design approaches, and identifying open problems. We collect a set of values that seem most relevant to recommender systems operating across different domains, then examine them from the perspectives of current industry practice, measurement, product design, and policy approaches. Important open problems include multi-stakeholder processes for defining values and resolving trade-offs, better values-driven measurements, recommender controls that people use, non-behavioral algorithmic feedback, optimization for long-term outcomes, causal inference of recommender effects, academic-industry research collaborations, and interdisciplinary policy-making.

Is Jethro an Ingroup or an Outgroup? Group Analysis of the Hebrew Bible and Its Early Interpretations

A social scientific approach to the Hebrew Bible allows us to ask questions that were not central to writers of the biblical narrative. Thus, the article uses concepts from group processes in social psychology to analyse the group identity of Moses'father-in-law as he is portrayed in the Bible and early Jewish and Christian interpretations. Jethro is a particularly interesting figure as he displays characteristics of both an ingroup and an outgroup member. This analysis illustrates how tools from social sciences can contribute not only to a better understanding of group relations in the narrative of the Hebrew Bible but also in the communities of early Jewish and Christian interpreters of these texts.

Analysis of the Relationship Between Learning and Entertainment from the Perspective of Behavioral Economics

Under the background of high and new technology increasingly becoming advanced productive forces, the world has put forward urgent requirements for high-quality talents. However, with the development of information technology, the increasingly abundant recreational activities seem to become an obstacle to students' learning, which greatly increases the difficulty of cultivating talents. In view of this phenomenon, this paper analyzes the relationship between learning and entertainment from the perspective of "entertainment first" social psychology and ARCS learning motivation model. It points out that entertainment occupies the learning time mainly because the different time span leads to the reversal of people's time preference. In the future, the government should speed up the popularization of mental health knowledge and strengthen the supervision of digital platforms; the society needs to establish more effective learning and evaluation mechanisms, promote individuals abilities to collect and process information using information technology, establish a more comprehensive learning reward system and attach importance to cultivating students self-discipline. These practical and effective measures will help promote balance between entertainment and learning and adapt to the trend of talent development in society.

Negative spill over effects in brand alliance crises

Brand alliances, or partnerships between established brands, is a viable branding strategy. Yet, it is an inherently risky strategy, especially when one of the brand partners faces a crisis. A direct fallout of brand alliance crisis concerns consumer attitude spill over. Despite the surge in brand alliance research and industry interest, the literature on the psychological mechanisms and outcomes of spill over effects remains sparse. Underpinned by the Balance theory from social psychology, this research examines the impact of crises on consumers’ evaluations of corporate brand alliances. Employing an experimental design across three crisis contexts – preventable, accidental and victim, the research shows that crises in brand alliances negatively impact consumers’ evaluations of the culpable brand which spills over to the co-branded product. The non-culpable partner, however, is not found to be negatively affected. The results also show that post-crisis attitudes can be enhanced if consumers are exposed to recovery information that diminishes the culpable brand’s role in the crisis. The research provides novel contributions to knowledge and offers managerial guidelines on effective post-crisis public relations communication.

Social Activity Restriction and Psychological Health Among Caregivers of Older Adults With and Without Dementia.

We examined associations between social activity restriction and psychological distress and well-being for caregivers of older adults with and without dementia, and if the identified associations are different for the two groups. Using data from the 2017 National Study of Caregiving, we identified caregivers of older adults with (N = 541) and without (N = 1701) dementia. Linear regression models were estimated, adjusting for caregivers' age, gender, race, education, relationship to care recipient, and self-rated health. Restriction in visiting friends and family and attending religious services were associated with higher distress in dementia caregivers. Restriction in visiting friends and family was associated with higher distress and lower well-being in non-dementia caregivers. Any activity restriction had stronger association with distress for caregivers of older adults with versus without dementia. Findings highlight the need for tailored interventions based on caregivers' perceptions of meaningful social activities and dementia-friendly communities to promote social participation.

Shaping citizenship: Dynamic relations between the reified and the consensual universes in defining the “good foreign resident”

A social and political psychology of citizenship can be furthered by the analysis of the values and representations through which citizenship is constructed in the text of laws and reconstructed during implementation and how these (re)constructions best serve some groups. This article views laws as facts from the reified/institutional universe whose texts operate a simplification process by prioritizing certain values from the plurality existent in the consensual universe and sees institutions in charge of law implementation as mediating systems operating re-complexification processes. Using this perspective, it (1) explores how the values and social representations prioritized in Portuguese foreign residency laws exclude/include certain groups and define rights and duties of “the good foreign resident/citizen”; (2) illustrates with interviews with experts from a mediating system (n = 6) the re-complexification of the laws in implementation. It highlights how the “worthiness” of foreign residents in Portugal depends upon three central values (work, study, and investment) keeping, however, some ambiguity of these values in the legal texts. Interviews illustrate how mediating systems re-signify the laws, amplifying the ambiguities by resorting to other values and representations. We discuss how the analysis of the dynamic relation between the reified and the consensual universes contributes to a better understanding of how macro-level factors interact with everyday citizenship.

Behind my pet's shadow: exploring the motives underlying the tendency of socially excluded consumers to anthropomorphize their pets

PurposeSocial exclusion is a complicated psychological phenomenon with behavioral ramifications that influences consumers' lifestyles and behaviors. In contrast, anthropomorphism is a phenomenon that marketing strategists employ and that occurs in customers' lives as a result of social isolation. The literature discusses these two complicated structures as ones that require investigation based on consumer judgments. The purpose of the current study is to understand the fundamental motivations that underlie the propensity for anthropomorphizing in people who suffer social isolation through their pets.Design/methodology/approachTo look into the motivations driving these themes, a study technique with three distinct components was created. Cyberball was employed as a technique to manipulate social exclusion in the initial stage of this research methodology. Two scenarios, one of which had an anthropomorphizing tendency and the other of which did not, were presented to participants who had suffered social exclusion and advanced to the second phase in order to determine the anthropomorphizing tendency. The Attachment to Pets Scale (LAPS), which Johnson et al. (1992) created based on the social support provided by pets, was utilized while creating the scenarios. The Zaltman method was applied as an interviewing technique in the third stage of the research design, with the interviewees being guided by visuals that reflected their emotions and thoughts.FindingsThe results of the data analysis were evaluated in light of social psychology. A more thorough expression of the complex relationship between anthropomorphism and those who experience social exclusion has been made. The findings showed that when people anthropomorphize their pets in response to feelings of social exclusion, the motivations that emerge include pure love, loyalty, animals' need for a human, living creature and embracing. The study emphasizes that these ideas will be helpful in customers' interactions with anthropomorphic objects.Practical implicationsAs a contribution to the literature, the study findings offer the five major motivations underpinning these beliefs. These findings may help marketing scientists comprehend social exclusion and anthropomorphism, thereby benefiting the individual and society.Originality/valueThe majority of research in the literature (Chen et al., 2017; Epley et al., 2008; Eyssel and Reich, 2013; Waytz et al., 2019) verified that people who were socially excluded would use anthropomorphism, but no studies were discovered about the motivations outlined in the current study. The results of this investigation should add to the body of knowledge in this area. The pet was employed as an anthropomorphism tool in the current study because it is the object that a person chooses to anthropomorphize deliberately and independently. It adds to the study's originality by explaining in the individual's own terminology how he will feel as a result of his social isolation, how he will make up for it and potential responses he may have. In addition to all of these contributions, the study's primary goal of analyzing the motivations behind anthropomorphism yields significant findings that are relevant to both industry and academic research.

Action replay role-play: promoting social work students’ communication skills through video enhanced reflective practice

ABSTRACT This article evaluates a collaboration between social work academics and educational psychologists using Video Enhanced Reflective Practice (VERP) to support the development of social work students’ communication and interpersonal skills. VERP is a strengths-based model of reflective practice and professional development that involves a specific method of video reflection to enhance individuals’ capacity for ‘attuned interactions’. An adapted model of VERP was implemented with first year UK-based undergraduate social work students during a ‘Readiness for Direct Practice’ module. The project was evaluated with a focus on eliciting the views of the students on how using the approach had affected their development of communication skills. The findings, based on a qualitative analysis of students’ self-reflection forms and a focus group, indicate the potential of this model for developing students’ awareness of the micro-skills involved in sensitive, attuned interactions, and building their confidence and sense of agency in using these skills. Potential benefits and limitations of using VERP in social work education and practice are discussed.

Sociopsychological principles for intercultural interventions to reduce intergroup bias in school

ABSTRACT The role of educators includes promoting cultural competence and cultural sensitivity in order to create an inclusive school climate, and for this role, they need multicultural knowledge and skills. This article presents theory-based and evidence-based principles, adopted from social psychology, to reduce intergroup biases and to improve intergroup attitudes. These principles are proposed here for use in intercultural educational intervention programmes with the aim of promoting cultural competence and cultural sensitivity in schools. Awareness of these principles and their implementation in educational programmes can contribute to acquaintance with the ‘other’, heterogeneous perception of groups, identifying similarities between cultures, addressing stereotypes, reducing intergroup biases, and enhancing intergroup attraction. All of these have the capability to contribute to an optimal and inclusive educational climate in schools and in society.