Social Psychological Theories Research Articles

Socio-psychological analysis of education and science

This article reveals the relevance of the problem associated with the development of social psychology of education and science as a branch. The article examines the essence of the socio-psychological approach to understanding social psychology of education and science. It analyzes the results of the reforms, as well as the difficulties that occur in the reconstruction of the history of formation, definition of the concept, subject, structure, and functions of social psychology of education and science. Therefore, it is not a coincidence that the most important task is to create a full-fledged theory of social psychology of education and science. Social psychology of science is an integral part of social psychology of education and science. There is still a lot to be done, both in theoretical and applied terms, to fully formalize social psychology of education and science as a branch.

Mediated communication and refugee resilience: A social psychological model

The global refugee crisis, exacerbated by Russian aggression in Ukraine, has been caused by an unprecedented migration of millions of people fleeing wars, conflicts, and persecution. In this context, social psychologists are paying increasing attention to the role of mediated communication in promoting resilience among refugees. This paper explores how mediated communication can promote resilience, drawing on theories of social psychology and empirical research. An overview is provided of the global refugee crisis and the challenges faced by refugees, including those affected by ongoing wars. The concept of resilience and its importance for refugees is presented, and the role of social support, coping strategies, and positive emotions are discussed in fostering this vital quality. The role of mediated communication and its main feature was analysed, which can substantially prevent mental health problems. Mediated communication is considered a powerful tool for promoting refugee resilience, highlighting its ability to provide access to social support networks, promote connection and belonging, and facilitate access to information and resources. Understanding the cultural and social contexts in which refugees use mediated communication, including issues of gender, age, and cultural norms, is crucial for effective intervention. It is concluded that interventions can address the unique challenges faced by refugees, such as displacement, war trauma, and social isolation, including the specific needs of Ukrainian refugees from different cultural and linguistic traditions. Potential challenges and limitations of mediated communication in promoting resilience among refugees, such as issues of confidentiality and security, social isolation, and misinformation, are also discussed. Future research perspectives include empirically testing the conceptual model of the mediated communication potential of refugee resilience and developing scientifically based recommendations for future psychosocial interventions and mental health promotion

Beyond ideals: why the (medical) AI industry needs to motivate behavioural change in line with fairness and transparency values, and how it can do it

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly relied upon by clinicians for making diagnostic and treatment decisions, playing an important role in imaging, diagnosis, risk analysis, lifestyle monitoring, and health information management. While research has identified biases in healthcare AI systems and proposed technical solutions to address these, we argue that effective solutions require human engagement. Furthermore, there is a lack of research on how to motivate the adoption of these solutions and promote investment in designing AI systems that align with values such as transparency and fairness from the outset. Drawing on insights from psychological theories, we assert the need to understand the values that underlie decisions made by individuals involved in creating and deploying AI systems. We describe how this understanding can be leveraged to increase engagement with de-biasing and fairness-enhancing practices within the AI healthcare industry, ultimately leading to sustained behavioral change via autonomy-supportive communication strategies rooted in motivational and social psychology theories. In developing these pathways to engagement, we consider the norms and needs that govern the AI healthcare domain, and we evaluate incentives for maintaining the status quo against economic, legal, and social incentives for behavior change in line with transparency and fairness values.

Theorising the dark side of interorganizational relationships: an extension

PurposeThis paper aims to propose mechanisms of the dark side of interorganizational relationships from a social psychological perspective. The purpose is to understand the role of boundary spanners’ social psychological processes that may trigger the dark side effects.Design/methodology/approachMultple mechanisms are developed through three social psychological theories, namely, social identity theory, system justification theory and social learning theory.FindingsBoundary spanners’ social psychological processes can trigger the dark side of interorganizational relationships via mechanisms such as excessive cooperation, reification, system justification and path dependence in learning.Practical implicationsThis paper concludes with a discussion that offers a new perspective on research on dark side effects and the managerial implications of the present analysis.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the current literature by extending the interpersonal social psychological processes that could explain the dark side of interorganizational relationships. This paper is a step forward to answer the calls for multilevel considerations of the dark side effects and inspire future research on the role of social psychological processes in dark side effects.

Knowledge development in non-fungible tokens (NFT): a scoping review

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential of NFTs in revolutionizing innovation management and information systems. Innovations done by firms are blatantly used by other firms to develop cheap knock-off. This leads to huge economic loses to the firm investing in research and development activities. Firms are in need of trusted, immutable and verifiable means of storing information which cannot be used by others, even if publically available without their consent. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) appear to be one such solution to this problem that has recently attracted a lot of investor interest. Using NFTs the information is tokenized and is stored in a secure manner.Design/methodology/approachThrough this scoping review, the authors investigate the influence of NFTs towards the innovation management from the dual aspects of management and information systems. This scoping review is underpinned by the five-stage framework by Arksey and O’Malley. The five stages of Arksey and O’Malley’s framework were used in this analysis to classify the literature through five stages of identifying the initial research questions; locating relevant studies; study selection; charting the data; and compiling, summarizing and reporting the results.FindingsThis study suggests that NFTs on the blockchain have significant potential to revolutionize innovation management and information systems. Theoretical frameworks used in investigating the role of digital tokens in blockchain management are mainly based on contracts, diversity theory, portfolio theory and faking likelihood theory. The study reveals gaps in the literature, particularly in the under-researched areas of behavioural psychology and social psychology theories. The appropriate regulation and regulation authority for different types of digital tokens are required. The study also presents archetypes that represent patterns in the current landscape of blockchain tokens, which have significant potential for future research and practical applications.Originality/valueThis study is unique in its approach to assessing the future of NFTs in the field of innovation and information management. While many existing reviews have focused on describing the progress and development of NFTs in the past, this study takes a forward-looking perspective and projects the future potential of NFTs. This innovative approach allows for a deeper understanding of the potential impact of NFTs in various fields such as entrepreneurship, innovation management and tokenomics. Therefore, this study contributes to the literature on NFTs by providing insights and recommendations for future research and practical applications.

Towards a Psychology of Corporate Governance: Theoretical Insights on Non-Executive Director and CEO Performance

Generally, corporate governance research has been considered the preserve of economics, accounting, and finance scholars. However, attempts are being made to apply behavioral science knowledge in this domain that has traditionally been considered economics and finance. The purpose of this article is to further the efforts in establishing a tradition of behavioral science research in corporate governance. To accomplish this objective, the article establishes the gaps in the extant literature on corporate governance. The article argues from theoretical insights emanating from organizational psychology in particular and behavioral sciences in general. As a result, this article attempts to apply some of the existing theories in social and organizational psychology to explain factors influencing the performance of non-executive directors on boards as well as executive performance and remuneration. Principally, we utilized theories of motivation (expectancy and equity theories) and social influence theory (conformity) to highlight the potential contributions that the psychology of corporate governance can make to advance knowledge and practice. Further, applications and practical ways of testing derived assumptions are also discussed.

Avid, Averse, Apprehensive, or Apathetic? A typology of collaboration attitudes

AbstractAs much of nonprofit management research on inter‐organizational collaboration has focused on various macro and meso aspects of collaboration, little is known about micro aspects such as the attitudes of individuals involved in collaboration. To contribute to a more holistic and multidisciplinary understanding of collaboration, this study draws upon social psychological theories about attitude structure and attitudinal ambivalence to explore the variation in attitudes that nonprofit leaders have toward collaboration opportunities. Based on interviews with the leaders of 20 US‐based transnational nonprofits in the field of child welfare, the study qualitatively identifies four major types of attitudes toward collaboration opportunities: Avid, Averse, Apprehensive, and Apathetic. The study then presents several propositions to facilitate a future research program for the integration of attitudes into collaboration research. Practical policy and managerial implications are also discussed.

Pushing too far? Negotiations of non‐compliance and resistance to the COVID‐19 cabin ban in Norway

AbstractMany societies experienced pushback against governmental COVID‐19 measures. When the Norwegian government made it a punishable offence to spend the night at privately owned cabins in the first phase of the pandemic, this resulted in discussions and pushback. Basing our research on in‐depth interviews at three different time points during the pandemic, we ask how Norwegian participants discursively explain why the cabin ban was the first measure that evoked pushback in Norway. We conducted a Foucauldian discourse analysis (FDA), exploring three overarching explanations provided by the interview participants. In the first explanation, the pushback was presented as a result of the cultural importance of the cabin. Here, participants partly legitimised the pushback when constructing it as a predictable reaction in this cultural context. In the second explanation, participants constructed the pushback as an expression of ‘cabin people’ in particular and Norwegians in general being ‘too privileged’ to acknowledge the measure's necessity. Here, the pushback was constructed as an illegitimate reaction. In the third explanation, participants explained the pushback as a result of people seeing the measure as meaningless. This interpretation constructs pushback as a legitimate response to an illogical measure. These different constructions illustrate the complexity of compliance with COVID measures, where people negotiated individual freedom against solidarity, and compliance against critical thinking. The article contributes to the understanding of people's negotiations of resistance and pushback against restrictive measures. We argue that social psychological theory and research need to acknowledge the temporal, contextual and ideological specificities in understanding compliance and non‐compliance.

Making Sense of Ego Depletion: The Replication Crisis, A Path Forward, and Lessons for Accounting Researchers

SUMMARY Ego depletion, an influential social psychology theory that has been applied in auditing research, is currently in crisis following unsuccessful attempts to replicate the phenomenon. I summarize the questions surrounding ego depletion as a phenomenon and the strength model of self-control as its theoretical explanation. Existing evidence suggests that depletion is a real phenomenon but that its effect is likely overstated in prior literature. However, it seems that the strength model is not the best theoretical explanation for depletion. To provide a path forward to continue investigating this phenomenon, I describe four alternative theories from prior literature. Highlighting motivation as a common thread in these theories, I then propose a new theory that views ego depletion as transient cognitive fatigue. Finally, I discuss opportunities for future research in auditing, best practices for the design of these studies, and meta-lessons that accounting researchers can take from crises in psychology research.

Social-psychological Aspects of Probability-based Online Panel Participation

Abstract In this study, we use qualitative research methods to identify, discuss, and investigate the self-reported motivational factors and barriers in all stages of the probability-based online panel lifecycle—recruitment to the panel, wave-by-wave data collection, and voluntary attrition. Our data were gathered with qualitative in-depth interviews (IDIs). Between March 2020 and February 2021, panelists from the Life in Australia™ probability online panel were classified into four groups based on their previous panel response behavior and each was interviewed. The qualitative data were used to link the reported motivation for and barriers against joining and staying active in the panel with theories about survey participation. Evidence from the IDIs shows that motivations and barriers can be directly linked to social-psychological theories that explain panel/longitudinal survey participation, including how theories such as social-exchange theory, leverage-salience theory, and the reasoned action approach, are sufficiently robust to help understand the time dimension of survey participation and behavioral change of panel members. Our findings have practical implications for probability-based online panel management.

Positioning Asian Americans in social cognition

AbstractAsian Americans are increasingly positioned at the center of current events, yet extant theories and approaches in social psychology (and social cognition specifically) may not adequately capture how Asian Americans are perceived and treated in the current American racial landscape. We propose three directions to propel social cognition research on Asian Americans. First, research emphasizes Asian Americans' perceived high status (e.g., the model minority stereotype) while often overlooking their perceived foreignness. The two‐dimensionalRacial Position Modelelucidates the consequences of being stereotyped as perpetual foreigners for Asian Americans and their relations with other racial and ethnic groups. Second, research and laypeople alike consider East Asian Americans to be the prototypical Asian Americans, thereby excluding subgroups such as South and Southeast Asian Americans. Considering theethnic diversityof Asian Americans challenges and extends existing social psychological theories. Lastly, much of psychological research approaches race in isolation without considering its intersection with other identities such as gender. Anintersectional frameworkoffers insights into how Asian Americans' gender and race overlap in our social cognition. More nuanced research on Asian Americans is needed to fully understand race relations in the 21st century and we hope these three interconnected directions can guide researchers who are interested in the topic.

Entrepreneurship on Social Networking Sites: The Roles of Attitude and Perceived Usefulness.

Social media platforms are a significant growth opportunity for enterprises, especially for microenterprises, due to the possibility of establishing direct contact with their customers. We investigate the psychological reasons that drive entrepreneurs towards the use of social networking sites (SNSs) for their business, following two important social psychology theories: the theory of planned behaviour and the technology acceptance model. We also tested for two personality traits: openness to experience and dominance. Data were acquired by examining 325 microentrepreneurs who decided to use either SNSs or traditional sales methods for their businesses. Our results confirm that of all the behavioural antecedents tested, perceived usefulness and attitude towards SNSs' effect on business proved to be the best predictors of the intention to use (or continue using) SNSs for business activity. Implications and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

Selfie-Evaluation: A Meta-Analysis of the Relationship Between Selfie Behaviors and Self-Evaluations.

The "selfie" phenomenon shaped the past two decades, yet there is inconsistent evidence concerning the relationship between selfie behaviors and self-evaluations. This meta-analysis investigates the relationship between selfie taking, editing, and posting behavior and general and appearance-specific self-evaluations. The results reveal that selfie taking and posting are related to positive appearance-specific self-evaluations. In contrast, selfie editing is related to negative self-evaluations both generally and specific to appearance. Gender and age did not moderate these relationships, but methodological factors did, suggesting these relationships depend on factors, such as how selfie behaviors are measured and study design. We interpret these findings through the lens of prominent social psychological theories and conclude with suggestions to guide future research.

Psychosocial Influence Scale of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption among Adolescents: Adaptation and Factorial Validity

Instruments to evaluate psychosocial determinants of fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption among adolescents are scarce, and there appears to be only one instrument - unnamed and unvalidated - that investigates determinants derived from theories of social psychology targeting the frequency of F&V consumption among adolescents. The scope of this paper was to present the process of cultural adaptation and factor validation of this instrument al-lowing its use in studies with Brazilian adolescents. The cross-cultural adaptation process was accomplished and the final version - named Psychosocial Influence Scale for Fruit and Vegetable Consumption among Adolescents (PSI-FAVES) - was tested with 429 students (58% female) using McDonald's omega (ω) reliability and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) as analytical methods. The final version required refinement and the instrument showed adequate overall reliability (ω=0.86) and good fit of the data to the previously elaborated model (CFI=0.955; TLI=0.951 and RMSEA (90%CI) =0.043 (0.038-0.049)), being the first systematically validated instrument to investigate psychosocial determinants of F&V consumption among adolescents.

The Effects of Humor in Clinical Settings on Medical Trainees and the Implications for Medical Educators: A Scoping Review.

Clinical settings represent the site of patient care and clinical training for medical students and residents. Both processes involve social interaction, and humor is a fundamental component of social interaction that remains underexplored in medical education. This study investigated the impact of humor on medical trainees in the context of the clinical learning environment and examined the implications for medical educators. Following scoping review methodology, the authors systematically searched six databases and Google Scholar in February 2021 and March 2022. Articles were screened and selected according to inclusion/exclusion criteria, and findings from included articles were synthesized using procedures of metasynthesis. Fifteen articles met inclusion criteria. Six themes emerged relating to the functions and effects of humor in clinical training settings: (1) managing emotions; (2) demarcating insider vs outsider status; (3) facilitating camaraderie; (4) ensuring conformity; (5) negotiating power differentials; and (6) fostering discrimination. The use of humor by medical educators plays an integral role in trainees' everyday experiences. Positive humor helps with coping and communication, while negative humor serves as an indirect medium for communicating ridicule and prejudice. Further research drawing on social psychology theories may identify ways to reduce effects of negative humor and promote well-being and diversity in medical education. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-023-01769-0.

Altered temporoparietal junction activity during reflected self-evaluation in sub-clinical depression.

Negative self-schema is a core symptom of depression. According to social psychological theories, two types of self-evaluations play important roles in forming the negative self-view: direct self-evaluation (that is, evaluating the self directly through one's first-person perspective introspection) and reflected self-evaluation (which requires theory of mind (ToM) ability, and is evaluating the self through reflecting on a third person's perspective). Although many previous studies have investigated the processing of the direct self-evaluation in depression, few have extended research on the reflected self-evaluation. In the current study, functional magnetic resonance imaging scans were acquired in 26 dysphoric (individuals with elevated number of depressive symptoms) and 28 control participants during both direct and reflected self-evaluation tasks. Two regions of interest were defined within bilateral temporoparietal junctions (TPJs) because their significant role in ToM. Results showed that the dysphoric participants evaluated themselves more negatively than the control participants, regardless of whose perspective they were taking. More importantly, the enhanced TPJs' activations were observed in the control group during the reflected self-evaluation task versus the direct self-evaluation task, whereas no such difference was observed in the dysphoric participants. The results are interpreted in the framework of impaired ToM ability in sub-clinical depression. General Scientific Summary (GSS) Negative self-schema is one of the core symptoms of depression. This study suggests that the negative self-schema reflects not only in direct self-evaluation (i.e. evaluating the self via one's own introspection) but also in reflected self-evaluation (i.e. evaluating the self via others' perspective). Importantly, altered TPJ activity was found during a reflected self-evaluation task among individuals with depressive symptoms. These changes in brain function might be associated with impaired ToM ability in sub-clinical depression.

How to not lose oneself: the case for relational identity in collaborative supply relationships

PurposeFor a long time, researchers have stressed the importance of identity for collaborative supply relationships. Accordingly, it has been proposed that supply relationships may be efficiently managed by establishing a shared collective identity among partners. However, this strategy may challenge the partners' individual distinctiveness and thus lead to adversarial relationship outcomes. In this article, it is argued how and when establishing an intergroup relational identity may be a better choice than building a collective identity.Design/methodology/approachThe conceptual research is based on an analysis of previous literature. Relational identity theorizing and the theory of intergroup leadership are applied to build on and extend previous views on identity in interorganizational contexts.FindingsIt is proposed that when supply chain actors are subject to identity threats in collaborative supply relationships, such threats are driven by the imbalance of power between or among the parties. Therefore, establishing an intergroup relational identity should be preferred over a collective identity in situations characterized by a high identity threat.Research limitations/implicationsFuture studies could support this article's theoretical suggestions with empirical evidence.Practical implicationsIntergroup relational identity preserves the distinctiveness of all parties involved in a collaborative relationship and is based on their individual contributions. Managers could support a collaborative environment and promote a shared vision between or among organizations through appropriate rhetoric.Originality/valueThis study contributes to an understanding of the relational aspects of interorganizational behavior by adapting social psychological theories to this area of research.

USING REDUNDANCY ANALYSIS TO EXPLAIN INTENTIONS TO PARTICIPATE IN INCUBATORS: A GENDER PERSPECTIVE

A key support mechanism for early-stage entrepreneurs is business incubator programs, which provide tailored assistance and a conducive work environment for new business development. However, incubators are not created equal in terms of their effectiveness and reach. Extant research on business incubation is also largely gender-neutral. In addition, a scholarly gap exists when it comes to our understanding of the cognitive, behavioral and socio-cultural barriers to incubation and entrepreneurship. This research contributes to filling this gap by designing a pre-experiential behavioral intention model rooted in social psychology theories to explain the entrepreneur’s intention to participate in incubation programs. A multidimensional construct of perception and its underlying dimensions (e.g., usefulness, ease of use and self-efficacy) is developed and tested. Studying 344 early-stage entrepreneurs, it is found that perceived utility and ease of use relate to the decision to join an incubation program. Furthermore, when female entrepreneurs are not convinced whether incubation programs are beneficial considering their use and access, they are less likely to join incubation. Our empirical results highlight the need for adopting behavioral interventions and inclusionary best practices to expand the effect of business incubation programs.

‘The persuasion effects of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) video advertisements: A conceptual review’

Using the social psychology theory of elaboration likelihood model (ELM), we present a conceptual model of persuading consumer attitudes through virtual and augmented reality advertisements. We begin this paper with a systematic literature review that assesses a number of theoretical and empirical papers that utilize ELM for virtual reality and augmented reality advertisements. The second section presents research prepositions that facilitate the investigation of consumer attitude persuasion through virtual reality and augmented reality advertisements. The authors identified six research prepositions that facilitate the investigation of consumer attitude persuasion through these advertisements based on the literature.Presented in the third section of this paper is a detailed future research agenda organized by two main research paths: central and peripheral. Moreover, advertisement quality, demographic differences, and the technological context of virtual and augmented reality advertisements helped to facilitate central route persuasion. Variables such as source credibility, social presence, and message content in virtual reality and augmented reality advertisements were found as the persuasion factors under the peripheral route. Therefore, this study provides a method to examine consumer attitudes through virtual reality and augmented reality advertisements using the social psychology theory of elaboration likelihood modelling (ELM).

Special Education and Meritocratic Inclusion

In this theoretical article we present our hypothesis on the incompatibility of the inclusive education policy toward students with special educational needs with the meritocratic principle of education. If considering and recognizing the needs of these students is necessary to achieve a successful inclusive environment, we propose that this goal cannot be achieved within current educational systems driven by a meritocratic ideology. We base our rationale on social psychology theories such as system justification and backlash to argue that such incompatibility is particularly visible during the evaluation process. Finally, if we provide some incentives toward greater inclusion while considering the diverse contradictions such inclusivity generates, we also invite researchers to further empirically examine these contradictions in order to guide policy makers within their choices.