Asian Journal of Social Psychology最新文献

Even after adopting various measures, recent years have witnessed a surge in environment-related issues such as pollution and climate change. These issues have been considered anthropogenic, and it is a well-received notion that changing human behaviour is crucial for sustainable development. Promoting pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) requires understanding of associations among relevant factors; the present study aimed to explore the same among a few less-explored constructs, which, along with other factors, may significantly explain pro-environmental behaviour. The study examined the direct relationship of PEB with ecological intelligence (EI) and self-transcendent values. Also, it explored the mediating effects of implementation-intentions and the moderating effect of the “new ecological paradigm” (NEP) on PEB. The data were obtained from 400 adult participants using a set of standardized questionnaires. The results showed significant direct and indirect associations among EI, self-transcendent values, implementation-intentions, the NEP and PEB. Implementation-intentions significantly mediated the relationship of EI and values with PEB, and the mediation was moderated by the NEP. Individuals low on EI but endorsing the NEP showed implementation-intentions similar to those with high EI. Knowledge of the interplay among these factors can be utilized to design interventions for promoting PEB.

There is a “positive–negative” debate on the development of the bottom-line mentality (BLM) concept. Previous research showed a relationship between BLM and unethical pro-organizational behaviour (UPB) and revealed that BLM positively affected UPB. This research aims to challenge this partial view and calls for a more balanced and comprehensive view of the BLM concept by revealing the potential negative influencing mechanism between BLM and UPB. Drawing from social information processing theory, we construct a moderated-mediation model to test the mediating mechanism through different individual-level processes in the Chinese context. Findings indicate that team BLM positively affects member UPB via state performance-prove goal orientation and perceived insider status and negatively affects member UPB via state performance-avoid goal orientation. These results confirm the overall positive relationship between team BLM and member UPB but also document the possible inhibitory mechanism of BLM on UPB. This study is the first to acknowledge the potential negative relationship between BLM and UPB, which deserves attention. This research also presents a complete picture of the BLM literature. The findings of this work have significant implications in enabling organizations to appropriately handle BLM and its relationship with UPB dynamically.

Drawing upon the social identity approach, the present study explored the interrelationships among perceived stigma (both group-based and personal), post-traumatic growth (PTG), and their underlying mechanisms. Cross-sectional data were collected from 3100 residents (female: n = 1667, 53.77%; male: n = 1433, 46.23%) of Hubei Province, China, aged between 12 and 65 years. The PROCESS macro (Model 7) in SPSS was employed to examine the moderated mediation effect of Inside/Outside Wuhan status on perceived identity and its associations with perceived stigma and PTG. The measurements included a brief scale assessing COVID-19-related stigma, the Multigroup Measure of Ethnic Identity, and the short form of the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory. Results showed that perceived stigma was positively associated with PTG, which was mediated by perceived identity. The moderation analysis suggested that the mediating effect of perceived identity on the courtesy stigma–PTG linkage was more pronounced in the Outside Wuhan group compared to the Inside Wuhan group. However, such an effect was not observed when personal affiliate stigma was the antecedent. In conclusion, this study suggests that positive contact and interaction can help reduce discrimination and stigma. Enhancing the perceived identity of stigmatized individuals can ultimately contribute to the achievement of PTG.

Rumors, conspiracies, and health-related misinformation have gone hand-in-hand with the global COVID-19 pandemic, making it hard to obtain reliable and accurate information. Against this background, this study examined the different psychosocial predictors of believing in conspiratorial information related to general health in India. Indian participants (N = 826) responded to measures related to conspiratorial thinking, trust, moral emotions, political ideology, bullshit receptivity, and belief in conspiratorial information in an online survey. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to determine the validity of the instruments used with an Indian sample. Results revealed that lower subjective socioeconomic status, lower trust in political institutions, greater negative moral emotions, greater conspiratorial thinking, and right-leaning political ideology predicted beliefs in health-related conspiratorial information. In highlighting these potential psychosocial determinants of conspiratorial beliefs, we can move toward combating conspiracies effectively and developing necessary interventions for the same. Future work can focus on assessing the moderating effects of political ideology on conspiratorial beliefs in India.

This prospective study examined (a) the mediating roles of Carl Rogers' facilitative interpersonal conditions (i.e., genuineness, empathic understanding, and unconditional positive regard) and (b) the moderating roles of femininity ideology in the association between dispositional authenticity and dyadic relationship functioning using a dyadic approach. Participants, 239 opposite-gender couples, completed the Authenticity Scale, Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory:mini, Femininity Ideology Scale, and Dyadic Adjustment Scale in two separate phases. Longitudinal data were analyzed using the actor-partner interdependence (mediation/moderation) model within a structural equation modelling framework. Perceived facilitativeness served as a mediator, channelling the positive associations from dispositional authenticity to dyadic relationship functioning, at both interpersonal and intrapersonal levels. Additionally, femininity ideology emerged as a moderator, influencing the relationships between dispositional authenticity and dyadic relationship functioning in both contexts. These findings underscore the significance of embracing authenticity and transcending traditional femininity ideologies for opposite-gender partners to thrive cohesively as a dyad. The implications of these findings and avenues for future research are further discussed.

This study revisits the concepts and measurement scales of Hashimoto and Yamagishi's (Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 2016, 19, 286) adaptationist model of self-construals, which provides a promising framework for intercultural and cross-cultural research. Responding to a call for the establishment of measurement invariance of the scales across cultures, this study revised the scales and conducted a series of tests including tests of their dimensionality and measurement invariance across cultures. Additionally, this study examined construct and predictive validity of the revised scales across cultures. A total of 649 undergraduates from Japan and the United States were invited to respond to a survey designed for the purposes of the study. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the four-factor model, which consists of dual interdependence (harmony seeking and rejection avoidance) and dual independence (distinctiveness of the self and self-expression), fit the data better than alternative models across cultures. The invariance tests provided evidence to support partial configural, metric, and scalar invariance of the revised scales across cultures. The validity tests provided evidence to support construct and predictive validity of the revised scales across cultures. The results were discussed and the implications were offered.

This study examined the associations between changes in different types of social support and change in life satisfaction in retired older adults, and the moderating role of socioeconomic status (education and income). Data were extracted from a nationally representative sample of 2837 older adults taken from the survey of the 7th (2018) and 8th (2020) waves of the Korean Retirement and Income Study. The study employed regression analysis to explore the relationships between changes in three types of social support (emotional, informational, instrumental) and changes in life satisfaction. The results of the study indicate that the associations between changes in social support and life satisfaction differed by type of social support and participants' changes in income. Specifically, an increase in emotional social support positively related to an increase in life satisfaction, with a stronger association observed among older adults with decreased income compared to those with increased income. Meanwhile, changes in informational social support were positively related to changes in life satisfaction regardless of education or income level. Finally, changes in instrumental social support were not found to be significantly associated with changes in life satisfaction. This study highlights the importance of considering the types of social support that older adults have and need, as well as changes in their economic status, when seeking to understand their life satisfaction.

Good communication skills facilitate successful interpersonal relationships. However, the specific communication skills (encoding and decoding) required for establishing friendships can vary depending on aspects of the social context. We conducted a two-wave longitudinal study in Japan to investigate the adaptive value of communication skills in different socio-ecological contexts (i.e., different stages of university life). New college students are immersed in a high-level relational mobility environment, where they have a greater range of options for forming new relationships and leaving old ones. Conversely, students beyond their second year experience less relational mobility. Cross-lagged analyses indicated a positive association between decoding skill and friendship satisfaction 3 months later for senior students, who are likely to be in an environment characterised by low relational mobility. However, for first-year students in a high-relational-mobility environment, the association was negative, supporting our hypothesis. Conversely, encoding skill did not demonstrate an association with satisfaction 3 months later. However, it was positively associated with satisfaction at each time point. Another cross-lagged analysis revealed that satisfying relationships helped improve encoding skills. We further explore the socio-ecological aspects related to the adaptive value of communication skills.

This research investigates the contents, antecedents, and mediators of happiness in the Indian state of Assam. The first study examines the content and meanings of happiness in Assamese culture. Posing exploratory questions, a thematic analysis of the narrations of 53 participants revealed 18 themes, grouped into intrinsic or content and extrinsic or context factors of happiness. The content and meanings of happiness embrace a blend of ancient Indian, Eastern, and Western concepts. Based on these results, a culture-sensitive happiness scale is constructed in the second study. It further tests whether life skills mediate the relationship between character strength and happiness. Data from 503 Assamese participants showed that the one-factor model of happiness, combining all 14 items of intrinsic and extrinsic factors, is acceptable. It has measurement invariance across male and female genders and high- and low-income groups. To ensure criterion-related validity, the happiness of people is associated with their well-being profiles. Adjusting the confounding effects of age and sex of participants, it is observed that character strengths do not promote happiness but pass through life skills fully to promote happiness.

Previous studies have mainly explored the impacts of social mindfulness on social behaviours (e.g., cooperation), little is known about crucial macro social environment factors that affect social mindfulness, like the market economy. With the development of the market economy, people typically acquire the self-centred and rational market mindset which may suppress social mindfulness. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine the causal relationship between the market mindset and social mindfulness, as well as the psychological mechanism behind the effect. In Study 1, participants whose market mindset was activated by recalling market experiences showed lower social mindfulness than those whose non-market mindset was activated by recalling other experiences. Studies 2 and 3 explored the mediation of perspective taking and state empathy behind the detrimental effect. It was found that the relationship between the market mindset and social mindfulness was mediated by perspective taking rather than by state empathy. Together, the present three studies expand the existing literature on the relationship between the market mindset and social mindfulness and remind policymakers to pay attention to the adverse effects of the market mindset on social mindfulness.