Current research in ecological and social psychology最新文献

Beautism reflects the phenomenon of a widespread positivity bias that physically attractive people enjoy. This bias results in more attractive people receiving more positive social judgments, interactions, and economic outcomes. However, the literature has largely focused on third-party judgments of physical attractiveness, neglecting examinations of how self-rated attractiveness may predict self-evaluations. We sought to address this gap by examining how self-rated attractiveness predicts self-inferred social status, which is related to a myriad of psychosocial outcomes. Across one pilot test, one cross-sectional study, and a between-subjects experiment, we find converging evidence for the notion that self-rated physical attractiveness positively predicts higher self-inferred status. We discuss how this finding may have implications for status-navigating strategies in light of the malleability of self-rated attractiveness in a variety of social and occupational contexts.

Dehumanization often underlies the social ostracism, exclusion, and discrimination experienced by stigmatized group members. Given findings that people can detect sexually transmitted infection (STI) status from nonverbal facial cues, we tested whether people would dehumanize and discriminate against STI-positive individuals from detecting their stigmatized status. Specifically, we hypothesized that nonverbal stigma cues would stimulate dehumanizing reactions that lead to biases against hiring STI-positive individuals. Results showed that people dehumanize STI-positive individuals based on their nonverbal stigma cues (i.e., negative affect; Study 1), except when STI status is explicitly disclosed (Study 2), which leads to potential hiring biases (Study 3). Dehumanization and discrimination against STI-positive individuals may therefore depend on the stigma's legibility from nonverbal cues but may be tempered by explicit information about STI status.

People are aware that climate change is happening, yet many do not act on this information. Increasing the awareness that some pro-environmental behaviors have a larger impact than others has the potential to be a piece of the puzzle needed to increase climate action. The current study aims to create an intervention, by combining feedback about the efficacy of pro-environmental behaviors and a novel mental imagery task, intended to help people update their impact beliefs and increase their intention to engage in pro-environmental behavior. The participants (N = 1012) were recruited online and randomized to one of three conditions: 1) Environmentally themed mental imagery in combination with efficacy feedback; 2) Efficacy feedback only; 3) Control. As predicted, we found that efficacy feedback affected the intention to act pro-environmentally, however, the intention to act increased more when the feedback was combined with a mental imagery task. In addition, we found that combining the two interventions increased the perceived impact of pro-environmental behaviors to a higher degree than efficacy feedback alone. Mediation analyses indicated that the change of impact beliefs mediated the change in pro-environmental intention in the combination condition, but not in the other conditions. These results suggest the potential aggregated effect of using mental imagery with efficacy feedback in behavioral interventions aimed at mitigating climate change.

As a multicultural context, Lebanon has been subjected to complex cultural influences across history and has no clear cultural delineations. Lebanese currently choose to maintain or abandon a combination of four local cultural identities (sectarian, religious, national, and supranational). They may also choose to adopt postcolonial French culture and/or remotely acculturate to American culture. In this unique Middle Eastern context, we specifically examined Americanization in relation to well-being. Using a cross-sectional design, we analyzed data from 741 participants aged 18–40. We identified several cultural clusters from measures of identity and behavioral orientations towards one's self-ascribed sectarian, Arab, religious, national, postcolonial French, and American cultural indicators. Cluster analysis indicated the existence of three clusters within the sample: a national multicultural Americanized cluster (23%), a religious multicultural Americanized cluster (40%), and a religious multicultural traditional cluster (37%). The clusters’ composition and characteristics potentially reflect historical and current events related to the political and social fabric of the country and the region (e.g., the Arab Nationalist Movement, the recent national uprising). In addition, we compared psychological well-being across clusters; the analyses demonstrated significant differences. Universally, our results highlight the importance of maintaining a positive attitude towards one's local culture(s) to protect one's well-being and indicate that Americanization extends beyond adolescence and the emerging adulthood periods into adulthood. At the societal level, the emergence of a cluster prioritizing national identity encourages efforts to promote a superordinate national identity and could be indicative of a significant shift within the Lebanese social and political fabric.

Adolescents’ relationship to social media (SM) use shifted significantly during the COVID-19 lockdown. However, less is known about how adolescents’ social media use behaviors and mood were associated during this time. This study examined objective (passively sensed) SM use—including ‘screen time’ (duration of use) and checking (frequency of opening apps), retrospective daily reports of positive and negative affect during SM use, and general negative mood among adolescents during the COVID-19 lockdown period. Participants included 19 adolescents (Mean age = 15.8; 37 % female). Bayesian multilevel models examined whether within person-changes in SM ‘screen time’ and checking were associated with 1) retrospectively reported positive and negative affect while using SM and daily duration of SM use, 2) daily reports of overall negative mood. These relationships were examined both within the same day and prospectively (one day's SM behaviors predicting next-day mood and vise versa). On the same day, stronger positive or negative mood during SM use were associated with more SM ‘screen time’ (duration) and checking. Prospectively (next-day models), checking SM more frequently than usual was uniquely associated with within-person increases in adolescents’ positive mood when using SM the next day (p < .05), but not negative mood when using SM the next day. However, neither ‘screen time’ nor checking were associated with general negative mood on the same day or next day. These findings support the notion that SM is rewarding by highlighting that higher-than-usual SM checking is associated with within-person increases in positive mood during use. These findings also add to growing evidence that social media may not be directly tied to adolescents’ general mood state.

People tend to underestimate others’ environmental values, including when judging the values of minority-status groups. Using a large national sample (N = 5110), we test whether these misperceptions extend to concern about climate change in Australia, and differ depending on immigrant status, ethnicity, and where one is located (i.e., in or outside capital cities). We also examine the consequences of misperceptions for self-efficacy and pro-environmental behaviour. We find personal climate concern is high, but perceptions of others’ concern is lower. Immigrants and Australian-born participants have similarly high concern, but both groups underestimate how concerned immigrants are. Southern-Central-Asian identifiers are the most concerned; Australian identifiers relatively less so. All ethnic categories appeared to underestimate the concern of their own ethnicity. City-dwellers had slightly higher concern than those in regional or rural areas, but city-dwellers' concern was underestimated by people regardless of their location. Those who underestimated others’ concern had lower pro-environmental behavioural engagement compared to those who overestimated concern, and this was mediated by lower self-efficacy. We suggest that strategies to promote climate engagement and efficacy go beyond attempting to correct misperceptions, and encompass approaches that promote environmentally-relevant social interaction across different groups.

Natural disasters and extreme weather events have increased in recent years and are likely to increase further in the face of climate change. Many survivors of such events suffer from mental health complaints. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on treatment efficacy of psychological interventions for mental disorders in survivors of natural disasters. Systematic database searches resulted in the inclusion of ten randomised controlled trials with 613 participants (37.8 % women). Nine of these trials focused on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), whereas one trial included individuals with alcohol dependence. Studies were conducted in China, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and Thailand. Four trials included children and adolescents who received group treatments, whereas six trials included adults who received individual treatments. Most interventions consisted of cognitive-behavioural therapy (k = 7). Results suggest a significant short-term efficacy of interventions for PTSD compared to passive control conditions (g = 1.44; 95 % CI 0.53–2.35, k = 7). The long-term efficacy after an average of 8 weeks post-treatment remained significant (g = 0.59; 95 % CI 0.25–0.93, k = 4). The trials furthermore yielded significant treatment effects regarding comorbid depression compared to control conditions for both short-term and long-term assessments. Heterogeneity in effect sizes between individual studies was small to moderate. Our findings suggest that psychological interventions, especially cognitive-behavioural therapy, can effectively treat PTSD and comorbid mental health problems in survivors of natural disasters. Nonetheless, conclusions are limited by the small number of trials and the strong focus on PTSD.

Elder abuse is a growing worldwide problem. The dehumanization of older adults likely contributes to elder abuse as it relates to a lower standard of care afforded to them as well as perpetuates negative attitudes and institutional policies affecting them. Here, we examined mind attributions of older adults receiving care given that mind denial relates to the perpetuation of harm against human agents. We show that living situation is a potent contextual cue affecting mind attributions toward older adults. Older adults receiving more external support and care in their overall living situations were attributed less mind, an effect due to their being attributed limited attributed agentic relative to experiential mental capacities (Experiment 1). Limited attributed agentic versus experiential capacities also emerged for older adults in care facilities to receive cognitive, but not physical, rehabilitation after acute medical emergencies (Experiments 2 and 3). This cognitive rehabilitation effect generalized to younger adults, although older adults were attributed less mind overall (Experiment 3). Showing consequences of limited inferred mental agency, attributed agentic capacities positively related to beliefs that rehabilitation would be successful (Experiment 3). All effects emerged when controlling for variability in aging-related prejudice, suggesting a broad emergence that could substantially affect older adults’ lives. These findings suggest that older adults in need of care are attributed limited agentic capacities that are necessary for people to believe in the efficacy of their care.

To encourage energy conservation, some interventions refer to abstract, large-scale, and complex phenomena (e.g., climate change), while others rely on concrete actions (e.g., changing light bulbs) and consequences (e.g., saving money). Some also combine both. Mostly conducted in non-applied settings, existing studies that compare the impact of abstract vs. concrete pro-environmental interventions have yielded mixed results. Moreover, they have not documented the potential advantage, in the long term, of adding abstract information to an existing concrete intervention. With this goal in mind, we joined an intervention in which households of two neighbourhoods (N = 177) participated in an energy conservation programme encouraging and facilitating concrete energy-conserving behaviours. We randomly assigned about half of the households to a concrete-only condition (the basic intervention) and half to a condition in which we also provided abstract environmental information. Results showed that an abstract message added to a concrete intervention successfully increased the amount of attention households reported paying to energy consumption six months after the intervention, compared to the concrete-only intervention. An abstract message also had an indirect impact on energy saving behaviours six months later, through increased biospheric (environmental) values. Taken together, these results suggest that low-level construal goals, such as everyday energy saving behaviours, should be accompanied by high-level construal goals, such as limiting climate change, to increase individuals’ willingness to act for the environment.

Big Five personality traits have been consistently shown to be important predictors of political differences. Other work found that political differences are related to geographical differences in personality. The present study extended existing work by examining the numbers and features of distinct personality profiles within different political regions of the United States using latent profile analysis (LPA). Across two large datasets (total N > 6,000), we found that while all regions shared similar numbers (3–5 profiles per region) and some overlapping patterns of personality profiles (e.g., well-adapted individuals), different political regions also showed unique personality profile patterns (e.g., “Worrisome Liberals”, “Rigid & Antisocial”). Overall, these results provide initial evidence suggesting that different personality profiles may exist among different political regions of the US, and offer insights on the interplay between personality, political ideology, and geographical differences.