European Journal of Social Psychology最新文献

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused considerable military casualties on both sides and widespread harm to Ukrainian civilians. While polls suggest that a slim majority of Russians endorse the invasion, the factors underpinning this support remain uncertain. We investigated factors associated with support for the war among Russians. In three large, diverse, samples of Russian adults (total N = 2856), we extend the dual process motivational model to the context of international warfare, focusing on two key ideologies: right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO). Consistent with polling data, we find that approximately half of the participants support the war. Across studies, RWA, especially its submission facet, emerges as a strong and consistent predictor of increased support for the war in Ukraine. In contrast, the associations with SDO are weaker and more inconsistent, with anti-egalitarianism playing only a minor role in opposing peace efforts. Additionally, factors such as Russian identification, nationalism, group efficacy, war-related misperceptions and collective narcissism also contribute to war support. Our findings suggest that Russian support for the war may reflect broader support for the existing regime with backing for the military intervention serving as a demonstration of loyalty to Vladimir Putin and his government.

In four studies, we provide the first empirical examination of how wealth relates to cosmopolitan identity and its consequences for charitable intentions. Study 1 demonstrated that wealth positively predicted cosmopolitan identity in a 60-nation dataset (n = 90,350). Study 2 replicated this finding with multi-item measures in the United States, India and Australia (total n = 861); self-esteem and self-efficacy accounted for this association. Study 3 demonstrated the mediating role of cosmopolitan identity in explaining the link between wealth and charitable intentions (n = 351). Study 4 provided causal evidence for these relationships by experimentally manipulating wealth perceptions in the United States and India (total n = 537). People who were made to feel wealthy (as opposed to poor) reported greater self-esteem and self-efficacy, which flowed through to heightened cosmopolitan identification, and finally to increased charitable intentions. Together, these studies suggest that structural economic realities may impose psychological barriers to cultivating global citizenship, hence implicating prosocial downstream consequences.

Intergroup contact has long been established as a prejudice-reduction tool in divided societies, with contact being particularly effective during adolescence. A large proportion of evidence, however, draws on cross-sectional surveys or analytical approaches that do not distinguish between- and within-person effects. In the present research, we address this by exploring the potential of intergroup contact longitudinally on social cohesion–related outcomes amongst youth (aged 14–19) in Belfast (Study 1, N = 231) and Bradford (Study 2, N = 159). Measures included intergroup contact, outgroup attitudes, intergroup anxiety, outgroup empathy and outgroup prosocial behaviour across three time points. Using random-intercept cross-lagged panel models, results demonstrate between-person associations of contact with our outcomes, but limited within-person changes. Our findings demonstrate the potential and limitations of intergroup contact for social cohesion–related outcomes for youth growing up in divided societies, pointing to the need for developmental-focused future research.

Sextortion is a scantly investigated crime in which entrusted authority is abused to obtain sex in exchange for a service or benefit. Based on the literature on gender violence, in the present research, we examined the role of moral evaluations of the victims in predicting potential bystanders’ attitudes and behavioural intentions towards a woman who is a victim of a sextortion incident. In three experimental studies conducted with Italian participants (Study 1: n = 291; Study 2: n = 288; Study 3: n = 331), participants read a scenario describing a woman victim of sextortion and then rated the victim on moral outrage, moral evaluation, blame attribution, perceived reputational damage, and indicated their willingness to help her. The results highlighted that the victim was always perceived as less moral and more blameworthy when she caved into sextortion (vs. not). Furthermore, a sequential mediation model showed that, across all studies, caving into (vs. resisting) sextortion elicited stronger feelings of moral outrage towards the victim, as well as the perception of lower morality, which, in turn, reduced the willingness to offer help. In Study 3, this pattern was significant only when the woman reported the incident 1 year later (vs. 1 week). Current findings show that the peculiar transactional nature of sexual abuse makes sextortion victims appear to be complicit in the act. Thus, recognising the power dynamics through which sextortion can be used to exploit and abuse individuals is paramount to avoid secondary victimisation.

Two studies investigated how facial signals of communion and agency intersect to shape first impressions. Study 1 primarily investigated how enhancing or reducing facial signals of communion or agency affected impressions of these dimensions. Results demonstrated that the manipulation of facial signals of communion affected impressions of both communion and agency, whereas the manipulation of facial signals of agency affected only impressions of agency. Secondly, data from Study 1 were used to categorize the Basel Face Database stimuli into the four cells of the stereotype content model (SCM). Study 2 investigated how combined facial signals of communion and agency impact individuals’ evaluations, emotions and behavioural intentions towards targets. Results showed that communion signals in faces have a stronger impact on overall evaluations and behavioural intentions compared to agency signals. Furthermore, in line with the SCM, specific combinations of communion and agency evoked distinct emotions: admiration (high communion–high agency), pity (high communion–low agency) and contempt (low communion–low agency). Together, the research emphasizes the primary role of communion in social perception, highlighting theoretical and practical implications.

Drawing on significance quest theory and its derived model of romantic relationships, we demonstrated that perceiving romantic partners as having socially valued qualities (partners’ merit) and as admiring and caring (partners’ appreciation) enhanced actors’ significance gained through the romantic relationship which, in turn, increased the likelihood to enter (Studies 1A and 1B) and maintain (Study 2) romantic relationships. Further, Study 3 demonstrated that significance gained through romantic relationships and inclusion of the other in the self were independently associated with romantic partners’ merit and appreciation and the likelihood of maintaining romantic relationships. Finally, Study 4 showed that people experiencing feelings of significance loss were more sensitive to their partners’ merit and appreciation features. Findings are compared with the rich social psychological literature on romantic relationships and future directions are outlined.