Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology最新文献

Although the importance of a collective action approach for pandemic management has been acknowledged during the recent COVID-19 pandemic, actual attempts at involving people in designing a package of mitigation measures were absent. Our research examines the potential of active participation of the student community in collective pandemic decision making in the university setting. We address two questions. First, would a student population be willing and able to contribute to the design of mitigation measures that apply to their own situation? Second, would other students, knowing that student contributions had been part of COVID-19 policies design at campus, be more inclined to endorse these measures? We examine these questions in two studies employing an observational survey design (Study 1 N = 47) and an experimental design (Study 2 N = 215), employing (multilevel) regression models. Our findings reveal that students who were themselves actively involved in the decision-making process were able to compose a package of measures (with actual potential of reducing the risk of virus transmission), which they considered legitimate, feasible, and effective. These positive effects did not generalise to the wider student community as students, after knowing that their fellow students had been involved, did not report more support. We conclude that collective decision making is a promising approach that may inform current debate about collective decision making and future pandemic preparedness. Future research should examine which elements of greater involvement of the target population could increase widescale community support.

Dehumanisation is the perception of someone less than human. Several studies have used innovative approaches to investigate the subtle ways in which humanity can be denied. While most of these models clearly distinguish humans from animals and robots, none adequately capture the huge range of dehumanisation that exists in metaphorical thought, such as disease-related metaphors (i.e., biologisation). Building on existing theoretical frameworks concerning dehumanisation, we developed a set of items (i.e., the Tripartite Agency Attribution Scale) measuring the capacity to experience emotions (affective mental states), produce effective actions (behavioural potential), and think rationally (cognitive abilities), and demonstrated the relevance of this approach to assess biological dehumanisation. Study 1 (N = 512) and Study 2 (N = 237) consistently showed that viruses (vs. animals vs. humans) are perceived as possessing behavioural potential but lacking affective mental states and higher-order cognitions. Accordingly, Study 3 (N = 250) showed that biologised (vs. animalised vs. mechanised vs. non-dehumanised) social groups in Italian society are perceived as primarily possessing behavioural potential with limited affective and cognitive abilities. Our research provides empirical evidence of a new, subtle way to investigate one of the most understudied forms of dehumanisation, while also expanding the literature on this process. Please refer to the Supporting Information section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

Antiabortionists are becoming a prominent conservative force, as illustrated by the recent rulings of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal and the USA Supreme Court. However, global resistance in favor of abortion rights persists, with an increasing number of men joining the protests. In three studies (total N = 937 men), we analysed ideological and motivational factors predicting men's support of abortion protests. Study 1 examined the role of anti-restrictions politicised identification and sexism in explaining men's support for pro-abortion protests in Poland longitudinally and cross-sectionally. Studies 2 and 3 investigated the influence of motivations (egalitarian and paternalistic) on men's intentions to participate in pro-abortion and feminist collective actions, in Poland (Study 2) and the USA (Study 3). Our findings indicate that politicised identities lead men to support collective action for women's rights, both directly and indirectly through egalitarian motives (in cross-sectional data). The role of benevolent sexism is more complex; while it discourages long-term support for abortion protests, it can indirectly lead men to support collective action for women's rights through paternalistic motivation. We reflect on whether mechanisms that perpetuate gender power imbalances can somehow be beneficial for social change, at least in the short run.

Despite considerable research on the impact of intergenerational contact on attitudes and behaviours towards the other generation, very few studies have qualitatively explored the psychological processes which occur, nor have they tested the effect of such programmes on more generalised outcomes. In this paper, we examine the effect of an intergenerational contact intervention, centred around discussions of social issues with intergenerational conversation partners. Firstly, we analyse focus group and interview data with younger (n = 24) and older (n = 10) participants conducted following the programme. Thematic analysis is used to explore the psychological processes that occur during intergenerational contact that could drive attitude and behaviour change. This is complemented by a quantitative study in which we examine the impact of the intergenerational contact programme on key intergroup outcomes (confidence in contact, perceived similarity) and more generalised outcomes (confidence in community social action). Primary and secondary school aged children (N = 114) completed survey measures prior to and following the intervention programme. Themes arising from the qualitative analysis showed a breakdown in stereotypes of older and younger generations. Additionally, further themes arising included intergroup felt understanding, self-disclosure, feeling heard and having voice, which we contend may drive intergenerational contact effects on intergenerational and more generalised outcomes. Analysis of survey responses revealed a significant boost in confidence in contact, perceived similarity, and confidence in social action (secondary school age pupils only) following the intergenerational contact programme. Methodological limitations are outlined and future directions for research discussed.

This study explores social and psychological factors influencing the intention to purchase sustainable fashion products. Integrating self-congruity theory, self-completion theory, and Theory of Planned Behaviour, this study proposed a dual-path model of socio-psychological variables essential for shaping consumer attitudes towards sustainable consumption and subsequent purchase intention. Additionally, the moderating role of sustainable brand awareness in the link between attitude and intention and the effect of affordability on purchase intentions were tested. Data were collected from 278 US fashion consumers through an online survey, and PLS-SEM was used for the analyses. Results show that self-identity drives self-expressive benefits, while environmental awareness positively influences environmental concern and consumer attitudes towards sustainable fashion consumption. Additionally, subjective norms and affordability are strong predictors of purchase intentions. Furthermore, the moderating effect of sustainable brand awareness in the attitude-intention relationship is statistically significant. These findings expand our understanding of fashion consumers' intention to purchase sustainable products and offer valuable guidance for businesses seeking to effectively communicate their sustainable efforts, strengthen branding and boost potential sales.

The Harry Potter saga has been—and still is—a worldwide phenomenon, attracting the interest of millions of people. Leveraging this success and the potential for the storyline to act as a moral guide, we developed and tested the SPELL, a scientifically-driven anti-bullying intervention based on the Harry Potter novels. The main goal of this intervention was to foster children and adolescents' willingness to intervene in response to bullying episodes. Participants were middle-school students (N = 343, M_age = 12.18 years), who engaged in four sessions designed to raise awareness about bullying, including its forms, roles of the different bullying actors, its consequences and ways to address it. The sessions also focused on psychological constructs identified in the literature as crucial in fostering bystander intervention, namely empathy, moral disengagement and defender self-efficacy. Results revealed that the intervention, when compared with a control condition, was successful in fostering intentions to counteract bullying, with greater empathy and lower moral disengagement being the psychological processes underlying this effect; evidence for self-efficacy was weaker. Our findings suggest that the powerful magic of Harry Potter can help to create a better world for children and adolescents, as future generations. Please refer to the Supporting Information section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.