Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy最新文献

Canada's 2022 Freedom Convoy protests and blockades caused significant disruption, and many Canadians advocated for strong, forceful, and even autocratic responses from their government. In democratic nations, autocratic leadership is typically seen as undesirable and receives less support than democratic leadership. However, when group members experience significant identity-related self-uncertainty, they may have an accentuated desire for strong, directive leadership to help manage the uncertainty. Canadian participants (N = 406) reported their level of self-uncertainty, rated how autocratic they perceived Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to be, reported their level of support for Justin Trudeau, and reported their support for strong responses to the Freedom Convoy. Self-uncertainty moderated the relationship between leadership style and leader support. Perceived autocratic leadership style predicted significantly less leader support, but this relationship was weakened among participants high in self-uncertainty, who reported increased support for an autocratic leader. Further, self-uncertainty predicted a greater desire for a strong leader, willingness to restrict civil liberties, and support for expanded government powers. These results suggest that the typical preference for democratic leadership weakens when self-uncertainty is elevated.

Public significance statement

Uncertainty about one's identity lays the groundwork for autocratic leadership to emerge. Elevated self-uncertainty was associated with a greater desire for a strong leader who is willing to challenge democratic values and practices, a greater willingness to restrict civil liberties, greater support for expanded government powers in response to a national crisis, and greater support for a national leader perceived as autocratic.

Political polarization on social media, particularly during electoral campaigns, has become a growing concern. This study aimed to assess levels of affective polarization in political communication, considering temporal orientation, delegitimizing beliefs, and intergroup emotions. Two studies were conducted: one during the Andalusian elections in Spain, and another during the Colombian presidential campaign. Tweets from candidates and X users were analyzed in both studies. Linguistic analysis was used to develop an index for measuring affective polarization in linguistic pieces. This index offers an alternative to the lack of linguistic measurement tools for psychological processes regarding political polarization. Findings showed that communicative strategies often exhibited high indicators of ingroup bias in contexts without political violence, resulting in lower polarization that increased with positive emotions and a forward-looking perspective. Conversely, in contexts of political violence, strategies shifted towards outgroup discrimination and delegitimization. Positive emotions decreased polarization in these situations, while a past focus intensified it. The study concluded that affective polarization could indicate the willingness to pursue reconciliation in violent contexts. Consequently, this research provides a map of emotions associated with polarization.

Public significance statement

Two studies conducted in Spain and Colombia analyzed how political figures and users of the social network X communicate during elections. It was identified that the use of emotions can contribute to political polarization in both populations. Positive emotions can exacerbate polarization by glorifying one's group, while negative emotions can fuel polarization through attacks on opponents.

Previous research suggests that first-generation (first-gen) students may be at risk for lower academic performance, higher dropout rates, and lower graduation rates compared to their continuing-generation (continuing-gen) peers. The current study analyzes academic success (average yearly GPA) and retention/completion rates (cumulative dropouts and graduates) for four successive (2011–2014) entering first-year cohorts at a large Midwestern Research 1 University. Across all cohorts, academic success varied by first-gen status, with continuing-gen students having significantly higher GPAs each year. A significantly greater percentage of first-gen students dropped out each year. First-gen status was also negatively related to graduation rates at 4, 5, and 6 years after college entry. Additional analyses disaggregated the data by seven colleges of admission with semi-independent admissions policies. First-gen status was more strongly related to academic success and retention for students in the following colleges: education, biological sciences, liberal arts, and science and engineering. Overall, findings suggest that first-gen students are at higher risk of low performance and completion than their continuing-gen peers. Institutions need to examine why and how they are contributing to less successful outcomes for first-gen students, and if programming could lessen these group differences.

Public significance statement

The current study finds that first-generation undergraduate students are at higher risk of low academic performance and dropout compared to their continuing-generation peers. Differences were also seen by college of admission, with some colleges having larger gaps between these groups than others. Institutions need to examine why and how they are contributing to these outcomes for first-generation students, and if programming could lessen these group differences.

The Spanish Trans Law has sparked great public debate, generating opposing and confrontational discourses on Twitter. As the debate can be influenced by contextual and individual factors, this study aimed to analyze the tweets posted on the day the preliminary draft of the law was presented and the day it was approved, exploring the prevailing attitudes toward the Trans Law in Spain, both supportive and opposing. Through deductive content analysis of 531 tweets, it was observed that the content tended to vary on both days, although the main differences were found between the pro and anti-law stances. While supportive messages tended to advocate for rights and highlight transphobia, tweets opposing the Trans Law tended to claim that its approval could cause harm to others, especially cisgender women and children. Moreover, we examined the use of feminism, gender essentialism beliefs, and gender self-determination measures as arguments to support each stance. The findings reflect the importance of contextual and attitudinal dynamics in the narratives posted on Twitter (now rebranded as X) regarding transgender rights. This qualitative research contributes to understanding attitudes toward transgender individuals as expressed on social media, integrating insights from Social Psychology within the current Spanish context.

Public significance statement

When analyzing the content of the tweets commenting on the Spanish Trans Law, two different positions are identified. One supports the law, advocating for rights and taking a stand against transphobia. The other opposes the law, considering it a threat to cisgender women and children. By exploring the reasoning behind the two positions, this study helps to understand attitudes toward trans people online and emphasizes the need to combat misinformation.

Scholars have noted several connections between the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis, ranging from the material influence of the pandemic on climate change processes (e.g., how lockdowns temporarily lowered climate emissions) to the similar ways the crises have been managed. Both crises are also global in scope, have exerted a significant toll on human lives and require major changes in our lifestyles. However, while collective responses to COVID-19 were rapid and concerted, efforts to address climate change continue to be met with resistance. In this article, we investigate the social vulnerabilities common to both crises and the lessons that policymakers in the climate field can take away from the pandemic. After outlining the theoretical and empirical similarities between the two crises, we present a general framework and recommendations for the use of social science-based interventions. We focus on two broad topics of contemporary interest that lay bare social vulnerabilities of the coronavirus pandemic—conspiracy theories and racial and ethnic inequities—to highlight the ways that understanding social and psychological processes associated with the pandemic can help inform more efficient climate policies.

Public Significance Statement

This paper shows how the COVID-19 pandemic's social and psychological lessons can guide climate change policies. By leveraging social science insights, we propose strategies and illustrations to combat misinformation and address social inequities, ultimately fostering more effective and inclusive climate actions and benefiting policymakers and society at large.

Drawing upon three waves of micro-level data from the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) collected during the period of 2015 to 2018, the study empirically examines the relationship between voting participation in grassroots elections and individual-level SWB in rural China. The empirical results indicate that those rural residents who participated in villagers’ committee elections are associated with higher levels of SWB. Furthermore, the findings based on partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) also reveal that the positive relationship between rural residents’ voting participation and their SWB is mediated by a chain effect of subjective social class and perceived social fairness. Significant heterogeneity of such mediation roles across different demographic groups is detected. The findings of this research highlight the importance of promoting the engagement of residents in grassroots-level elections as a means of enhancing social harmony.

Public Significance

This study demonstrates that voting participation in rural elections in China is associated with individual subjective well-being, with this effect mediated by individual social status and sense of fairness. These findings underscore the importance of civic engagement in promoting personal well-being, highlighting the need for policies that encourage widespread participation in grassroots governance.

Endorsement of the employed student identity can provide social support for employed students or protection from negative intergroup comparisons. However, not much is known about what identity aspects or characteristics comprise the employed student identity and how they become important and central to that identity. Using data from 215 employed university students in the UK, we investigated two research questions (RQ's) in this mixed-method study. RQ1. What are the identity aspects that participants ascribe to the employed student identity? RQ2. Are identity aspects that distinguish employed from non-employed students, and are considered more suitable for employed versus non-employed students, more central and more important to the employed students’ self-concept? A thematic analysis categorized the identity aspects that participants self-generated into 14 distinct categories, with the most important categories being hard-working, being organized, having motivation, and discipline. Multilevel analyses of identity aspects within individuals revealed that distinctiveness was negatively associated with the importance and centrality of aspects, whereas suitability for employed students was positively associated with the importance and centrality of aspects. We offer practical value through revealing important identity aspects which inoculate employed students against negative intergroup comparisons, and theoretical value through suggesting future avenues for employed students’ identity construction.

Public Significance Statement

Being an employed student carries a social cost but defining as one can help in obtaining social support or protecting from negative comparisons with non-employed students. We identify fourteen categories of aspects that can define oneself as an employed student (e.g., motivation, hard work) with employed students experiencing those aspects which are more suitable to them as more identity-defining, and those aspects which differentiate them from non-employed students as less identity-defining.