British Journal of Social Psychology最新文献

Social identification and group norms have been identified as key social psychological determinants of engagement in protective public health behaviours, such as social distancing, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing upon both social identity and balanced identity theories, the research tests the utility of a Social Identity Model of Behavioural Associations (SIMBA)—which proposes reciprocal, interactive associations among self-group, group-behaviour and self-behaviour concepts—for the measurement of British national identification, group norms and social distancing behaviour at two different points during the pandemic. An online study asked participants (Time 1 N = 151, Time 2 N = 136) to complete implicit and explicit (i.e. self-report) measures both during and post-lockdown. Results demonstrated associations to be relatively stable across time and found strong correlational confirmation that the strength of any one association in the SIMBA could be predicted by the interactive strength of the remaining two—both implicitly and explicitly. However, the strength of any one association, as measured post-lockdown, was not predicted by the interaction between the change scores of the remaining two—suggesting that the constructs may not be long-range predictors of one another. Findings are discussed in terms of the value of the SIMBA for the measurement and modification of novel, emergent group-based associations.

Numerous studies have discussed the connection between social exclusion and prosocial behaviour, yet the conclusions have been inconsistent. We conducted a three-level meta-analysis on 83 effect sizes derived from 53 studies (N = 21,405). Overall, a significant yet weak negative correlation was found between social exclusion and prosocial behaviour (r = −.10, 95% CI [−0.17, −0.04]). Moderator analysis revealed that individuals in collectivistic cultures may exhibit higher levels of prosocial behaviour following exclusion compared to those in individualistic cultures. The female proportion positively influenced the overall effect size. The type of prosocial behaviour was marginally significant, in that ‘other’ prosocial behaviour yielded the largest effect sizes. However, effects did not differ across age groups, between the inclusion condition and the neutral condition, or between experimental research and correlational research. Our results underscore the crucial roles of culture and gender in the relationship between social exclusion and prosocial behaviour.

Almost inherently, helping occurs between people with disparate resources. Consequently, the helping dynamic can reinforce power hierarchies, particularly regarding dependency-oriented helping (that preserves the power hierarchy) rather than autonomy-oriented helping (that may level power hierarchies). We posit that perceived social norms regarding helping disadvantaged groups affect the tendencies to help versus discriminate. Specifically, individuals who feel threatened by disadvantaged groups may conform to social norms by offering dependency-oriented help, thus preserving hierarchy while ostensibly adhering to societal expectations. Data from three correlational studies and one longitudinal study conducted in Germany (Studies 1a, 2a and 2b) and Israel (Study 1b) (combined N = 960) show that dependency-oriented help towards refugees is higher when participants perceive strong norms to help but feel threatened at the same time. This interaction was not visible for autonomy-oriented help. The finding is extended to a different intergroup setting (Study 3; N = 365) in which Jewish Israelis indicate higher intention to offer dependency-oriented help to Arab Israelis when there is a high threat and strong norms perceptions (in contrast to weak norms). The results have theoretical and practical implications for understanding factors that influence hierarchy-maintaining action tendencies and thereby intergroup inequality.

Interindividual-intergroup discontinuity refers to the finding that groups are more competitive than individuals. Research on this phenomenon has typically compared interindividual and intergroup interactions in mixed-motive games where both players have equal power, neglecting power differentials that often characterize social interactions in everyday life. We had three key objectives. First, we tested whether the magnitude of the discontinuity effect varies depending on whether the players have equal or unequal power. Second, we compared the behaviour of high- and low-power players, correcting an imbalance in previous research, which has concentrated on high-power players. Third, we introduced a distinction between unequal-power stemming from differential control over the other player's outcomes versus differential control over one's own outcomes. Groups were more competitive than individuals and the magnitude of this discontinuity effect did not vary significantly between equal- and unequal-power settings. Further, regardless of whether the interaction was between individuals or groups, unequal (compared to equal) power conduced to competition. Finally, this greater competitiveness in unequal-power settings was due to the high-power players. Having high power (compared to equal or low power) increased competition in interindividual and intergroup interactions, irrespective of whether this power derived from greater control over others' or own outcomes.

People may perceive economic inequality through moral lens, focusing on the unfair distribution of resources, or as a threat to their personal and social environment. This research examines how justice- and threat-based concerns shape reactions to economic inequality. In Study 1 (N = 358), we identify elements of inequality perceived as unjust or threatening and explore how these are organized into meaningful clusters using network analysis. We identified four overarching concerns: distributive justice, social harmony, inequality of opportunities and economic threats. Distributive justice and social harmony concerns were the most prominent, associated with perceptions of injustice and threat, respectively. Study 2 (N = 260) showed that distributive justice (but not social harmony) concerns were positively associated with collective action and support for redistribution. In Study 3 (N = 1536), perceived economic inequality was positively related to both concerns, but only distributive justice concerns consistently mediated the relationship between perceived economic inequality and support for measures to reduce inequality. In Study 4 (N = 214) exposure to distributive justice concerns, compared to social harmony and control conditions, increased support for taxing the rich and assisting the poor. Results suggest that framing economic inequality as a justice issue effectively promotes social change.

Research has documented the identity relevance of racism perception, such that White Americans tend to deny the prevalence of racism and inequality in the United States to a greater extent than do Americans from other ethnic-racial groups. Across two studies (N = 971), we draw on temporal comparison theory to investigate how the identity relevance of such perceptions varies across past and future temporal periods. Specifically, we compared (1) the relationship between ethnic-racial identification and perceptions (Studies 1 and 2), (2) racial-group differences in perceptions (Study 2), and (3) perceptions of systemic (versus interpersonal) racism (Studies 1 and 2) across past and future periods. Results generally supported the temporal asymmetry hypothesis: the identity relevance of perceptions of racism and inequality decreased as temporal distance increased from the distant past to the present but remained strong and stable from the present to the future. This pattern suggests a contradiction in the subjective experience of time, such that people experience the distant past (1960) as less relevant to present self than the equidistant (2080) and even more distant (2100) future.

Prejudice is a pervasive problem that affects each and every one of us. Understanding how to reduce prejudice and promote better outcomes for both individuals and societies at large is an ambitious but essential task. For decades, social psychologists have theorized about and evaluated approaches to achieve just that, and there is one that stands out from the rest: facilitating intergroup contact, that is, (positive) interactions between members of different groups. Questions remain, however, about how and where good quality (meaningful and cooperative) interactions can be promoted in the face of societal division, and whether such interactions can foster social equality. In this paper, we argue for the importance of educational contexts as sites where future generations encounter the opportunity to interact with, or at the very least learn about, people who are different from them. We first outline social psychological research on the nature and effects of having frequent and good quality contact with people who are different from us, demonstrating evidence from education settings globally. We then provide a series of recommendations for schools and teachers on how to reduce prejudice in the classroom in both the presence and absence of difference.

Research suggests that social fear of crime and prejudice towards minority groups may be linked. We investigated (N_total = 7712) whether prejudice towards a social group that is stereotyped as more criminal (refugees) is more strongly associated with social fear of crime than prejudice towards a group that is less (homosexual individuals); and whether prejudice predicts social fear of crime or vice versa. We used a mixed-method approach to show that refugees are stereotyped as more criminal than homosexual individuals (pre-test). Subgroup characteristics of the criminally stereotyped group, such as country of origin (Study 1a) and flight motive (Study 1b) of refugees, qualified the prejudice–fear of crime link. Finally, whereas prejudice towards refugees predicted social fear of crime over time more strongly than vice versa, prejudice towards homosexual individuals did not (Study 2). Our results have important theoretical and practical implications suggesting prejudice reduction towards refugees as a criminally stereotyped group as a potential pathway to reduce social fear of crime.

System Justification Theory (SJT) proposes that members of disadvantaged groups perceive norms to express ingroup positivity. Adherence to these norms is assumed to result in open expressions of ingroup preferences on self-report measures while being unrelated to ingroup preferences assessed with indirect measures. We tested these assumptions with members of three disadvantaged groups: participants who identified as Gay or Lesbian (n = 196), as Black or African American (n = 202), or who reported higher weight (n = 208). We tested hypotheses on perceived norms and group attitudes at the individual level as well as at the social group level. While results at the group level suggest that differences in group attitudes between different disadvantaged groups are indeed related to differences in social norm perceptions between these groups, no consistent interrelations between norm perceptions and group attitudes were found at the individual level. We discuss the implications of these results, questioning SJTs basic postulate of group attitudes as manifestations of system justification processes in members of disadvantaged groups. We further argue that future research in this domain requires improved conceptual clarity in current theorizing, along with improved methodological operationalizations.

Even in the most egalitarian societies, hierarchies of power and status shape social life. However, power and received status are not synonymous—individuals in positions of power may or may not be accorded the respect corresponding to their role. Using a cooperatively collected dataset from 18,096 participants across 70 cultures, we investigate, through a survey-based correlational design, when perceived position-based power (operationalized as influence and control) of various powerholders is associated with their elevated social status (operationalized as perceived respect and instrumental social value). We document that the positive link between power and status characterizes most cultural regions, except for WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) and Post-Soviet regions. The strength of this association depends on individual and cultural factors. First, the perceived other-orientation of powerholders amplifies the positive link between perceived power and status. The perceived self-orientation of powerholders weakens this relationship. Second, among cultures characterized by low Self-Expression versus Harmony (e.g., South Korea, Taiwan), high Embeddedness (e.g., Senegal), and high Cultural Tightness (e.g., Malaysia), the association between power and status tends to be particularly strong. The results underline the importance of both individual perceptions and societal values in how position-based power relates to social status.