Asian Journal of Social Psychology最新文献

Using an Australian sample, the current study investigated the usefulness of protection motivation theory (PMT) in predicting intentions for two climate actions—one individual action (limiting household heating and/or cooling) and one collective action (writing a letter to a local Member of Parliament urging them to take action to mitigate climate change). The data were analysed in two ways: (1) regression analysis, to examine the independent effects of coping and threat appraisals, and (2) latent profile analysis (LPA), to understand how the coping and threat appraisals may act in combination. The regression showed that PMT explained a significant amount of variance for both behavioural intentions. While perceived response efficacy and self-efficacy were significant unique predictors of both behavioural intentions, perceived response costs were a significant unique predictor of heating and/or cooling intentions. Although the regression analysis suggests that people were more motivated by coping appraisals for both outcomes, the LPA indicates that the coping appraisals are unlikely to lead to stronger intentions unless individuals perceive climate change to be sufficiently threatening. PMT research could benefit from employing LPA to identify participant profiles with heightened likelihoods of reporting stronger intentions to participate in climate actions.

To better understand the relationship between self-control and impulsive consumption in different conditions of family SES and peer feedback among Chinese college students, we conducted longitudinal and experimental studies. In Study 1, a total of 326 participants completed the Chinese Consumer Impulsive Purchase Tendency Scale, the Chinese Self-Control Scale and two types of family SES indicators. The results indicated that trait self-control negatively predicts impulsive consumption tendency, with this effect being stronger in high family SES conditions compared to low family SES conditions. In Study 2, we recruited 148 participants who completed the Stroop task, the simulation method of peer feedback, the Impulsive Consumption Tendency Scale and the Impulsive Consumption Behaviour Scale. The findings revealed that the interaction of state self-control and peer feedback has an impact on impulsive consumption. Specifically, when receiving rational peer feedback, participants with high-state self-control (i.e., in non–ego-depletion condition) exhibited a weaker impulsive consumption tendency than those with low-state self-control (i.e., in ego-depletion condition). Therefore, our study demonstrates the relationship between self-control and impulsive consumption, as well as the moderative effects of family SES and peer feedback.

Discrimination and prejudice against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex and asexual+ (LGBTQIA+) individuals exacerbate social anxiety. Communication via avatars in virtual communities may be an effective strategy to reduce related symptoms. This study measured social anxiety in LGBTQIA+ and non-LGBTQIA+ individuals among Japanese users of Pigg Party, a massively multiplayer online game, in physical and virtual communities that use avatars for communication. They answered questions on social anxiety in physical and virtual communities and avatar identification (i.e., the degree of identification of the avatar with the self). The number of avatar customizations and amount of communication via avatars (indexed by the number of virtual peers) were collected based on game logs. The results revealed that the LGBTQIA+ group exhibited significantly higher rates of social anxiety in physical but not virtual communities than the non-LGBTQIA+ group. Moreover, the LGBTQIA+ group displayed higher levels of identification with avatars than the non-LGBTQIA+ group. Increased identification with avatars and avatar customization correlated with an increased number of communications via avatars, which was consequently linked to reduced social anxiety in physical and virtual communities. These findings suggest that communication using avatars can reduce social anxiety among LGBTQIA+ individuals.

Past meta-analytic, systematic and narrative reviews have painted a highly optimistic backdrop on the psychological, physical and social rewards associated with gratitude. However, as most of these reviews focused on how gratitude facilitates optimal psychological functioning in typically developing samples, question remains on the extent to which these findings are generalizable to individuals with diverse special needs or disabilities. This scoping review aims to map scholarly evidence on the psychological benefits of gratitude in individuals with various special needs and exceptionalities. Most studies relied on the dispositional gratitude model (~59%) and cross-sectional designs (~75%) in investigating gratitude in people with diverse needs. Majority of empirical investigations also focused on studying gratitude in Western cultural contexts such as the United States. Further, prior studies showed that gratitude increased positively valenced well-being outcomes. Future theoretical implications and scholarly directions are charted.

As a countermeasure to the increased loneliness induced by the COVID-19 pandemic-related university closures, universities provided students with online interaction opportunities. However, whether these opportunities contributed to reducing loneliness during the university closures remains unclear, as previous studies have produced contradictory findings. We conducted a nationwide cross-sectional survey. Data were collected on demographics, social environment, social support, interactions, health and loneliness from 4949 students from 60 universities across Japan. We used psychological network and Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs) to examine the effect of online interactions on loneliness during university closures during COVID-19. The results showed that the frequency of online interactions with friends did not exert a significant influence on loneliness during university closures. A comparative examination of the DAGs further illuminated that the social environment exhibited fewer pathways for interpersonal interactions and social support during these closure periods. The psychosocial pathways influencing young adults' loneliness show variations contingent on the university's closure status. Notably, the impact of heightened online interactions with friends on loneliness appears to be less pronounced among young adults in the context of university closure.

The World Health Organization (World Health Organization, 2020) announced the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic. Globally, this situation affects people in various domains including mental health. Existing theories and research findings suggest justice beliefs are associated with mental health and may help to cope with adverse life circumstances. Participants (N = 3694) in 15 Asian nations completed measures of belief in a just world (BJW), Karma, system justification, well-being indices and COVID-19 impact. The results show that BJW for the self and system justification positively predicted well-being while BJW for others provided reverse associations. Furthermore, Karma predicted both higher life satisfaction and depression. However, COVID-19 impact did not moderate the relationships between justice beliefs and well-being. The results provide various psychological functions but do not consistently indicate the buffering role of justice beliefs during COVID-19 pandemic.

Theory of Mind (ToM), the ability to understand others' thoughts and emotions, is crucial for social interaction. However, few longitudinal studies have explored ToM development within different social domains, particularly among rural populations. To address this gap, we conducted a study with 113 preschoolers aged 3–5 years from rural China. We assessed ToM development in different social domains using false belief tasks at three different time points with semester intervals, and we evaluated their performance on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and inhibitory control (IC). Results showed that ToM development trajectories differ across domains, with moral and social-conventional domains developing earlier than the personal domain. Additionally, while general cognitive skills such as language and IC are associated with ToM development across these domains, they do not significantly predict it. This study enhances our understanding of ToM development by emphasizing the importance of including rural samples in developmental research.

The current study analyzes how the two facets of justice beliefs (GBJW and PBJW) relate to victim-blaming in a recent man-made disaster that occurred during the Halloween Festival in Seoul, South Korea. We also explore the psychological mechanism that underlies the link between justice beliefs and victim-blaming by analyzing the mediating role of fatalism. We conducted a two-wave survey over the first 10 days of the disaster (N = 185 and 154 for Time 1 and Time 2, respectively). We found that the GBJW positively predicted victim-blaming at both Time 1 and Time 2, and this relationship was mediated by fatalistic cognitions about life. By contrast, the PBJW was not related to victim-blaming across the two measurement points. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the findings and directions for future research on the link between justice beliefs and victim-blaming.

Lookism encompasses discrimination based on a person's physical appearance. In a society where lookism is prevalent, the question arises concerning the impact of the fear of lookism on one's well-being. To address this issue, we assessed the fear of anticipated appearance discrimination by constructing a new Fear of Lookism Scale (FLS). By testing 400 Japanese participants, we developed a three-factor seven-item scale and confirmed its convergent validity by establishing significantly positive correlations among its subscales (exclusion/devaluation, romantic rejection and insult) and related measures (physical appearance perfectionism and social appearance anxiety) in Study 1. In Study 2a, we gathered data from 312 Japanese participants to assess the scale's test–retest reliability. In Study 2b, combining data from 401 American participants with data from Study 2a, we verified FLS measurement invariance in the United States and Japan. Japanese participants scored higher on the FLS than Americans, particularly for exclusion/devaluation and insult. Across cultures, romantic rejection and insult were positively associated with physical appearance perfectionism, which, in turn, decreased subjective happiness through impacting self-esteem (or increased loneliness) and increased subjective happiness through impacting self-esteem (or decreased loneliness) respectively.