British Journal of Social Psychology最新文献

Emotional responses to anthropogenic climate change have attracted significant attention. People negotiate emotions through culturally available frameworks. This study, based on 18 focus group discussions, explores in detail three instances of how Norwegian youth engage affectively with climate change. Utilising affect and discourse theory, we conceptualise affective dilemmas as conflicts arising from contradictory expectations made available through discourse. These dilemmas are negotiated through affective-discursive practices. Through a discourse-oriented analysis, we illustrate how ecological distress is interpreted, enacted, and resisted. We identified three key affective-discursive dilemmas: (a) climate anxiety as voluntary versus involuntary, (b) fear as motivation versus a barrier for climate action, and (c) responsibility for climate actions versus self-care. Participants engaged in practices such as (a) purposeful engagement with climate anxiety, (b) detachment from ecological distress, and (c) self-care and staying positive. The study contributes to social psychology by applying affective-discursive theory to understand how youth make sense of and use eco-emotion categories in dialogue. It empirically shows how discussions on ecological issues reflect cultural expectations of self-care and positivity and individualised emotional management. The analysis highlights how socio-cultural imperatives shape youths' emotional responses, which may sideline collective climate action and favour psychological solutions to ecological crises.

The stigma of incarceration contributes to the global reoffending crisis and remains a barrier to reintegration into receiving communities. Recent research suggests that the key to solving this problem may lie in shared transformative experiences. We tested whether the salience of such experiences can overcome stigma among members of receiving communities when they act as gatekeepers for formerly incarcerated persons seeking employment. Across four experimental studies with seven samples of US and UK nationals (N = 2091), we examined the conditions under which transformative experiences can lead to identity fusion, a powerful form of social bonding and contribute to hiring and optimism about reintegration among prospective employers. In six of seven samples, those who reported stronger transformative experiences of their own were more fused to a job applicant, which was linked to positive attitudes towards them and willingness to hire them. Effects of formerly incarcerated persons' experiences varied between national samples and experience contexts: American citizens were more receptive to experiences in prison, while British citizens were more influenced by sports experiences. These findings highlight the potency of transformative experiences to forge connective bridges to stigmatized groups, despite cultural differences in perceptions of relevant social cues about formerly incarcerated people.

Existing research into values and relationship formation highlights the role of individuals' own values or value similarity between the parties. We consider the formation of functional relationships with professionals, which cannot be fully explained by documented value-based mechanisms. Instead, we examine the role of professionals' values as perceived by others. We study two occupations that require forming relationships yet are characterized by opposing value profiles: therapists and managers, who are prototypically high in self-transcendence and self-enhancement values, respectively. We show that: (a) client–therapist and employee–manager relationships are stronger the more the professional is perceived as prioritizing self-transcendence (Study 1, N = 191, USA); (b) perceived self-transcendence of managers contributes to relationship quality beyond employee personal values and employee–manager value similarity (Study 2, N = 177, IL); and (c) perceptions of warmth mediate the link between perceived self-transcendence and relationship formation (Study 3, N = 297, USA). Our discussion further highlights the importance of perceived values.

This paper explores the idea of a ‘golden age’ in social psychological research. I begin with ‘behavioural social psychology’—research that leverages the behavioural traces that are a product of the digital age. I argue that the ability to analyse digital visual data, natural language data, and smartphone and ambient sensor data, has made substantial contributions to the state of social psychological knowledge. However, social psychology needs to do more than just leverage digital data for psychological benefit. Digital technologies construct and reflect a world that is marked by profound structural inequality and unfairness. Yet social psychology never really considers technology as being ‘world-making’ in its own right. More specifically, social psychology very rarely goes beyond considering what technology might do—to explore the question of who wins and who loses when technologies reshape our worlds. I point to a mosaic of work applying social identity approaches to new technologies as the starting point for a social psychology that engages with power and resistance in the digital age. Social psychology will not enter a truly golden age until we engage not only with the data, but also with the power structures of digital technology.

We study the role of social status and neoliberal contexts on perceptions of social justice and their consequences for political behaviour in Latin America. While most literature measures these perceptions through personal assessments of income distribution fairness, we resort to a wider understanding including perceptions of fairness on access to fundamental rights. Using data from the Latinobarómetro 2020 survey (N ≈ 20,204), we find that perceived social justice involves assessments of income inequality and access to education, health and justice. Based on self-interest theory, we expect higher-status individuals to perceive the world as more just, as this perception aligns with their interests. We also argue that neoliberal contexts moderate this relationship by narrowing justice perception gaps across status groups, as these contexts advance ideologies emphasizing individual responsibility and meritocracy. Regression models suggest that social status, measured through three indicators (social class, socioeconomic status, and subjective income) is positively related to perceived social justice. Interaction models suggest that, in more neoliberal societies, differences in perceived social justice among social status groups tend to narrow. Finally, we find that perceived social justice is associated with satisfaction with life, democracy and economic system, and reduced intention to participate in protests.

Confrontational collective actions are neither uncontrolled outbursts of initially pacifist resistance nor mere reactions to helplessness and lack of viable political options. Instead, they serve strategically determined purposes within the group, making them perceived as both effective and legitimate. Regardless of whether it is more or less confrontational, examining the role of efficacy and legitimacy of actions that are committed to achieving group goals is crucial for understanding the appeal of collective action strategies. We examined the role of political trust and protest repression in predicting the legitimacy of protest violence and the perceived efficacy of confrontational and non-confrontational collective actions and, in turn, their role in confrontational collective action. Across three correlational studies conducted in Germany, Turkey and the United Kingdom (N = 3833), the legitimacy of protest violence and the efficacy of confrontational tactics were core determinants of confrontational collective actions. While low political trust did not directly predict confrontational action, it predicted heightened protest repression and the legitimacy of protest violence. Our findings challenge the nothing-to-lose hypothesis by demonstrating that confrontational actions are not driven by the low efficacy of non-confrontational strategies or low political trust, and people may perceive both confrontational and non-confrontational actions as similarly effective.

Ableism, encompassing discrimination and social oppression of disabled people, which results in their marginalization, persists as a significant global barrier to equity and inclusion. This paper explores how social psychological research can inform strategies to combat ableism by analysing the social processes that underlie ableist attitudes and actions. Social Identity Theory speaks to the role of identity in countering the marginalization of disabled people, while the Stereotype Content Model helps us to understand the origins of the stigma often attached to ‘disability’. Research in these two fields is reviewed alongside discursive research in social psychology, to determine how to work towards a more anti-ableist society. Based on my experience as a social psychologist and disabled person, and by integrating theoretical insights with practical applications, this paper advocates for a multi-level social psychological approach to building anti-ableist spaces, emphasizing educational and social policy recommendations

In three studies (N = 8775) including two pre-registered experiments and a pre-registered cross-national replication across five countries, we tested whether intergenerational appeals that emphasize our responsibility to protect future generations can expand our moral circle to include distant future people within the boundaries of moral regard. Importantly, asking participants to roleplay as a leader of a committee protecting future generations (Studies 1–2) and having them partake in a philosophical thought exercise emphasizing reduction of intergenerational harm (Studies 1–3) increased moral concern felt towards future generations. This was noted when moral expansiveness was construed as limitless (Study 1) and zero-sum (Studies 2–3). When moral concern was construed as zero-sum, moral concern attributed to ingroup members was re-allocated to future generations. Spillover effects for present entities were also noted. The present evidence illustrates that intergenerational appeals have the potential to expand our moral circle, increasing moral regard felt towards future people and potentially even shaping our moral concern expressed towards present entities.

Existing research on racial stereotypes predominantly relies upon White subjects, exploring their perceptions of Blacks and Asians. Do its findings generalize beyond Whites? To find out, we combined insights from the Stereotype Content Model and Gendered-race Theory, exploring the racial stereotypes of Whites, Blacks and Asians simultaneously as both perceivers and targets. In two studies involving White, Black and Asian Americans (Study 1, N = 702), and surveys in Australia, Japan, South Korea and China (Study 2, N = 6508), we found both similarities and differences in how racial groups perceive each other. Asians were consistently seen as more competent but less athletic, while Blacks were seen as more athletic but less competent. Whites fell between these poles. But each group differed in viewing their own race as warmer than other races, suggesting ingroup favoritism. This research demonstrates that diverse racial samples are needed for a less Eurocentric and more accurate understanding of racial stereotypes.