Journal of Social Psychology最新文献

This study examines the effects of vehicle size on driver impressions and behavioral intentions. Study 1 tested whether vehicle size (large vs. small) affects perceived physical size (height, body shape) through socioeconomic status (SES). We found that large (vs. small) vehicle drivers were perceived as tall (vs. short), and this perception was mediated by the drivers' estimated SES (but not by body shape). Study 2 focused on aggressive behavioral intentions (e.g. honking) toward other drivers, examining whether the relationship between vehicle size and intention was serially mediated by estimated physical size and traits (aggression, power). Here, large (vs. small) vehicle driver were perceived as tall (heavy) and possessing high power (high aggression), which is related to less (more) aggressive behavioral intention toward the driver. Our study suggests that individuals perceive other drivers' physical sizes differently, and this perception is associated with differences in behavioral responses toward other drivers.

We examined the effect of pathogen and mortality salience on moral values and political orientation, testing competing hypotheses derived from three relevant perspectives. While Terror Management Theory (TMT) predicts a delayed shift toward preexisting moral values and political orientation, Pathogen Prevalence Hypothesis (PPH) anticipates a shift toward binding moral foundations, and Political Conservatism as Motivated Social Cognition (PCMSC) posits a shift toward political Principlism. This was an experimental study with salience type (mortality, pathogen, control) and delay (immediate, delayed) as independent variables. The effect of pathogen salience on moral foundations and political orientation was consistent with TMT. Also, there was a delayed PPH-directed effect of pathogen salience on moral foundations, and a PCMSC-consistent effect of pathogen salience on political orientation. Findings are discussed in light of possible differences in the timeline of effects and provided insight to reconcile contradictory predictions of the three perspectives.

Two studies examine whether a social-cognitive model of appraisal predicts gratitude toward workers deemed "essential" by the UK government during the Covid-19 response. Gratitude was predicted by appraisals of how essential work was, how costly and whether workers were contributing out of a genuine desire to help, and in turn predicted judgments of how much workers should earn. In a second experimental study support is found for the novel prediction that gratitude is systematically higher for lower-paid workers. The data extends the model and applies it to self-reported gratitude toward remote and unidentified workers during a period of crisis.

The recent exponential increase in information available online has not only increased access to information about celebrities, but also decreased the degree to which that information is unambiguously positive. In the current work, we examined how positive celebrities (i.e. celebrities who are primarily admired) versus more ambiguous celebrities (i.e. celebrities about whom people have mixed feelings) differentially affect feelings about the self. Across three studies, we found that high attachment anxiety was associated with assimilating positive celebrities to feel better about the self, whereas attachment avoidance was associated with contrasting ambivalent celebrities to feel better to feel better about the self. Implications for parasocial relationships, social comparison, and attachment are discussed.

When people explain why they behaved aggressively, they can refer to their thought process that led to their aggressive behavior - so-called reason explanations - or to other factors that preceded their thought process - so-called causal history of reasons explanations. People's choice of what mode of explanation they give might be affected by whether they want to distance themselves (or not) from their past aggressive behaviors. To test these ideas, participants in the current study (N = 429) either recalled an aggressive behavior they regret or an aggressive behavior they believe was justified. Participants then explained why they behaved aggressively. Mostly, people gave reason explanations for their aggressive behaviors, which is consistent with past research on how people explain intentional behaviors. Further, and as predicted, participants who explained behaviors they believe were justified gave (relatively) more reason explanations and participants who explained behaviors they regretted gave (relatively) more causal history of reasons explanations. These findings are consistent with the idea that participants adjust their explanations to either provide a rationale for, or to distance themselves from, their past aggressive behaviors.

Past research has revealed positive effects of stress communication by oneself and by the partner on relationship satisfaction. However, the mechanisms through which stress communication by oneself and by the partner influence relationship satisfaction have not been well studied. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of one's own and the partner's stress communication on relationship satisfaction and the mediating roles of one's own and the partner's communication satisfaction in these associations. A total of 227 unmarried heterosexual couples were recruited. An actor-partner interdependence mediation model was used to examine the hypothesized relationships. The results showed that the actor effects of stress communication on relationship satisfaction were mediated by the actor effects of communication satisfaction. Moreover, the indirect effect of male stress communication on female relationship satisfaction through female communication satisfaction was found to be significant. These findings provide insights into the mechanism through which stress communication influences relationship satisfaction. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

An experience sampling survey showed that when people seek to support others' well-being in a given interaction, they experience greater life satisfaction, fulfillment of psychological needs, and lower time pressure through the perception that time spent on others is also time spent on themselves (i.e., nonzero-sum perception of time). In contrast, interpersonal goals to appear competent showed weaker positive indirect effects on psychological well-being, while goals to appear likable showed no significant indirect effects, and goals to avoid an undesirable self-image showed negative indirect effects. Spending time on others feels fulfilling rather than depleting when people have compassionate goals.

Work on implicit attitude measures has become increasingly rich and nuanced, with much theoretical development emanating from investigations of the correspondence between implicit and explicit attitude measures. However, various facets of implicit-explicit discrepancies (IEDs) remain underexplored - particularly, how prevalent the potentially distinct categories of IEDs are. Existing models speak mainly to discrepancies that occur because explicit attitudes are less prejudiced than implicit attitudes and tends to assume other possible categories are trivial. Using data from two large samples, this study provides a descriptive analysis of the different ways IEDs exist regarding racial attitudes among U.S. Whites. Results suggest IEDs exist largely in line with traditional theories, but there is substantial variation yet to be understood. These results were robust across a variety of measures, although decision-making in the construction of measures can be consequential. Future research should consider this variation in theory development regarding implicit versus explicit attitude measures.

Prior research in Western contexts has tested the hypothesis that stereotype threat induces a prevention focus and that in contexts where both prevention focus and stereotype threat are simultaneously activated, members of stereotyped groups experience a performance boost due to the fit between one's goal orientation and the task demands (i.e. regulatory fit or stereotype fit). The present Study tested this hypothesis with high school students in Uganda, East Africa. Study findings revealed that in this cultural context where high-stakes testing fosters a predominantly promotion-focused testing culture, individual differences in regulatory focus interacted with the broader cultural, regulatory focus test culture to impact student performance.

Although existing studies suggest the relationship between ostracism and ingratiation, the knowledge about why and when ostracism promotes ingratiatory behaviors remains limited. Drawing from identity process theory, the current study examines the influence of ostracism on ingratiatory behaviors through the mediating role of self-identity threat on a daily timescale and the cross-level moderation of core self-evaluation. Through a diary study of 117 Chinese college students across 14 consecutive days, we found that daily ostracism had a positive indirect effect on daily ingratiatory behaviors through daily self-identity threat. Core self-evaluation of students weakened the indirect effect, such that only students with low core self-evaluation engaged in daily ingratiatory behaviors to cope with self-identity threat from ostracism. More importantly, supplemental analyses suggested that averaged daily ingratiatory behaviors were negatively related to perceived ostracism one week later. We discussed several theoretical and practical implications of these findings and proposed future research directions.