Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology最新文献

Colonialism persists as a cultural, economic, political and psychological process. Colonial legacies embedded in Europe's landscapes of colonial memory continue to shape how individuals and groups are perceived and positioned in present-day intergroup relations. Schools and textbooks reproduce these legacies, making it essential to examine how they represent the colonised Other and construct power relations. This study investigates how images related to colonialism in Finnish school textbooks construct identity and power. Drawing on the social representations approach (SRA) and employing visual rhetorical analysis (VRA), 484 images from 52 textbooks were analysed to identify constructions of identity through subject positions and power through ego–alter pairings. The analysis identified four visual rhetorical strategies—oppressing, agentic, chaotising and eye-gazing—and addressed four subject positions of the colonised Other: subjugated, autonomous, wreckable and spectacular. The findings demonstrate how images construct and circulate collective memories and group identities, revealing how colonial hierarchies are maintained through imagery in the educational context. Empirically, the study provides new insights into how the colonised Other is visually represented in school textbooks. Theoretically and methodologically, it introduces the ego–alter framework to visual analysis, demonstrates the utility of VRA for uncovering the power of imagery, contributes to postcolonial social psychology and provides tools to foster critical visual literacy and challenge colonial legacies.

We report two studies investigating the relationship between political orientation, national identification and system support among members of discriminated groups within a nation. We used four cross-national datasets comprising several Western countries and more than 13,000 respondents who identified as members of discriminated groups in their respective nations. Study 2 was pre-registered and replicated the methods and analyses of Study 1. Results from both studies indicated that right-leaning individuals from discriminated groups were slightly more likely to be satisfied with the existing system but were equally likely to trust the system compared to their left-leaning counterparts. Furthermore, rightists showed higher levels of national identification. Across both studies, national identification was positively associated with both system satisfaction and trust and showed a significant indirect effect in the relationship between political orientation and system support. These findings suggest that increased system support among discriminated individuals may be partially associated with heightened national identification, which tends to co-occur with right-wing political orientation.

In a sample of 438 adolescents, we found that greater exposure to online hate speech was associated with higher levels of both support for and engagement in such behaviour. This relationship was mediated by perceived injunctive and descriptive norms. The mediating effect of perceived descriptive norms was amplified when participants appraised online hate speech as low in offensiveness. Findings provide insights for prevention programs.

Social touch has the power to alleviate physical pain and emotional distress. Here we ask whether touch is perceived as more effective than words in comforting interactions, and whether its effects are influenced by interaction dynamics, individual preferences for touch, propensity to trust, and trait empathy. Across two studies, participants (n = 199) were exposed to comics depicting comforting interactions between two friends, one experiencing emotional distress and the other providing comfort either verbally or through touch. Results suggest that the comforter's trustworthiness and the interaction positivity increase when the comforting modality matches the one that observers would likely use in their friendships. Tactile interactions and observers' high trait empathy enhance emotional empathy. Social touch therefore emerges as especially impactful in eliciting empathy, yet it may also carry the risk of enhancing personal distress for comforters. Please refer to the Supporting Information section to find this article's community and social impact statement.

Research on the gender gap in STEM has primarily focused on the behaviours of girls and women in response to their environments, with little focus on the attitudes of the boys and men. We introduce the Draw-A-Woman-Scientist Test (DAWST), a variant on the Draw-A-Scientist Test (DAST), in order to understand attitudes towards women scientists. Using a sample of 696 drawings from students in grades K–7, we analyse rubric scores for differences across grade and gender. Our findings indicate that boys are less likely than girls to depict women scientists with feminine features. In addition, girls more frequently illustrate contemporary, realistic scientists, while boys tend to portray scientists in more sensationalised ways. Few changes occur across grade level other than those associated with drawing skill level. Overall, the image of the traditional scientist (lab coat, goggles, chemistry) persists. We note implications for policy and practice, with a focus on how ‘girls-in-STEM’ initiatives may contribute to gender imbalances by siloing depictions of women scientists into gender-specific programming, rather than integrating those images into mainstream science education.

The value–action gap in sustainable clothing consumption reflects a disconnect between consumers' sustainable values and actions. As global clothing consumption rises, garment lifespans decrease, increasing textile waste. Addressing this requires practical interventions to engage consumers in practices like extending garment lifetimes and responsible disposal of non-reusable textiles. This study applied the Design for Sustainable Behaviour model in combination with selected behaviour change techniques (BCTs) in a workshop intervention aiming to bridge this gap. Pre-post-test surveys analysed the relationships between BCTs, participants' behavioural intentions and self-reported behaviour. Results showed statistically significant associations between specific BCTs, such as environmental education, behaviour comparison and skill-building, and participants' intentions to reuse or repair garments. However, no such associations were found for responsible disposal intentions. While we observed a reduction in the value–action gap over time, intention did not significantly predict long-term behaviour, indicating a persistent intention-behaviour gap. This research contributes to the literature by demonstrating how BCTs can be applied and evaluated in real-world interventions related to clothing consumption. It also highlights the importance of tailoring techniques to the behavioural context and cautions against over-reliance on intention as a predictor of sustainable action. Findings inform the design of future interventions targeting post-use clothing practices.

The secondary transfer effect (STE) is based on the idea that contact with a primary outgroup may shape attitudes towards secondary outgroups uninvolved in the contact setting. Most research has investigated attitudes towards the primary outgroup as a mediator of the STE. We conducted one correlational and one three-wave longitudinal study with Italian participants (Total N = 912), to test whether the secondary transfer effect can be explained at least partly by personality change. Specifically, we tested agreeableness and openness to experience as two facets of the five-factor model of personality as possible mediators of the STE. Main findings across the two studies are that the quality of contact with immigrants (primary outgroup) is indirectly associated with attitudes towards dissimilar secondary outgroups (gay people, individuals with disabilities) via greater agreeableness and greater openness to experience (in Study 2, STE effects emerged at the within-person level for openness only); effects for quantity of contact were inconsistent across studies. In general, the present findings show that (changes in) personality can underlie the STE. Implications of these findings for our understanding of the STE are discussed.