Current research in ecological and social psychology最新文献

Data generated by social media platforms such as Twitter provide a unique opportunity to examine large-scale public communication produced spontaneously and in real-time, and consequently, contribute to comprehensively understanding the complex set of attitudes towards refugees. The present study utilises a qualitative approach to explore host members’ attitudes towards refugees on social media during the global crisis. In particular, we examine perceptions of a broader population, Twitter users, and analyse public reactions towards Afghan refugees expressed within tweets during the pandemic in Turkey as a response to the 2021 Afghan refugee influx. We analysed and coded 2,686 tweets using qualitative content analysis based on four main categories: 1) Representations of Afghan refugees and immigrants, 2) main causes for rejecting them, 3) taking action against them and their supporters, and 4) positive attitudes towards them. Results highlighted the prevalence of negative perceptions about, dehumanisation of, and racism towards Afghan refugees in Turkey mainly due to perceived realistic, symbolic, demographic, security, moral, and health threats from them. However, the findings also showed there were positive, albeit very few, attitudes towards Afghan refugees in the form of solidarity, help and empathy. We discuss these findings in relation to the existing literature on host society members’ attitudes towards refugees and immigrants and why we need to qualitatively examine these attitudes on social media.

Activities that require mentalizing, such as meditating or reading literary fiction, have been shown to enhance Theory of Mind (ToM) (e.g., Tan, Lo, and Macrae, 2014; Kidd & Castano, 2013). In this article, we conjecture that relatively greater mentalizing effort also occurs when individuals can only listen in on a conversation, compared to those who actively participate in it. Therefore, those who listen in should show better performance on subsequent ToM tasks. Participants (N = 77) were divided into triads and randomly assigned to be Interlocutors (a Director and a Matcher) or Listeners. In each triad, Interlocutors completed a collaborative figure matching task while talking to each other, while Listeners completed the same task while listening to live audio of the Interlocutors' conversation. All participants then completed two Theory of Mind measures. Multivariate analyses show that Listeners outperformed Interlocutors on both measures, but the pattern is significant only for one measure. These results complement existing theorizing and findings regarding the potential benefit of participating in activities that train ToM and may also help explain the often-observed stronger ToM performance of those (e.g., women) who, at least in certain contexts, have typically been discouraged from participating actively in conversations.

This paper addresses methodological challenges in the growing research field of geographical psychology such as omitted variables, spatial autocorrelation, and causality. I provide tips and practical guidance for the spatial analysis of psychological data.

Among the main factors considered as predictors of humanness attribution were agency and communion. Agency constitutes an ability to affect one's own situation and communion an ability to form meaningful relationships with others. Seen as a cross-culturally universal framework for how people construe the world, these dimensions have been theorized to be pivotal for seeing others as humans and accordingly as less than humans. However, research testing the predictive power of agency and communion (or more fine-grained distinction of sociability and morality) for humanness ratings is showing a complex picture. Part of this complexity can be attributed to non-independence of measures used in previous research, as some traits pertaining to agency and communion were also used in measuring humanness perception, thus posing a risk of multicollinearity. Furthermore, the strength of the relationship of agency and communion with humanness conceptualizations was never tested, thus not allowing to compare which (if any) predictor is stronger. To address these limitations, we asked participants to rate our focal variables both at trait and group levels (4 studies; N_tot = 2565) in which we test the association of agency, communion (as well as morality and sociability), and different humanness measures. Across all studies, we also tested the strength of the relationship of agency and communion with humanness conceptualizations finding a stable and equal in strength relationship of agency and communion with humanness attribution.

In the context of the refugee crisis in Poland following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, we conducted a four-wave panel study (N = 598) with time-lags of two and four weeks between waves in March and April 2022. Our study aimed to explore collective helping behavior and its predictors during this challenging period. Participants were asked about their helping activities during the previous week and responded to questions about prospective fear, closeness towards refugees from Ukraine, and norms of helping. We hypothesized that feeling close to those in need from war-torn Ukraine, coupled with a community norm of helping, would consistently predict collective helping behavior across all waves. Additionally, we expected that the initial fear of hostilities from Russia would lose its predictive power over time. However, we anticipated an interaction between fear and closeness, where fear would predict helping at low levels of closeness but not at high levels. Our findings confirmed that the feeling of closeness towards refugees and adherence to social norms of helping played vital roles in sustaining helping behavior, regardless of the time that had passed since the invasion. Moreover, as expected, while prospective fear did not consistently predict helping across all waves, the interaction between fear and closeness was significant. Specifically, we found that prospective fear significantly impacted helping behaviors when closeness was low, but not when high. These results highlight the crucial role of social identity processes in guiding assistance to war refugees and can provide valuable insights for developing responses to other humanitarian crises.

Emotion regulation (ER) strategies have been linked to emotional well-being. However, most studies on this topic have been conducted on Western samples. Furthermore, related studies that have been conducted with non-Western samples have examined the emotional consequences of a limited range of strategies. This paper aimed to replicate and extend prior research by investigating the link between a wide range of ER strategies and emotional well-being in an understudied region: the Middle East and North Africa region. A community sample of 169 Egyptian adults (18–65 years) completed a 14-day experience sampling study (5 surveys/day), measuring various ER strategies, as well as affect. Most adaptive engagement strategies (reappraisal, positive reframing, acceptance) were associated with greater emotional well-being. Meanwhile, most aversive cognitive preservation strategies (rumination, venting) and certain disengagement strategies (suppression, denial) were linked to lower emotional well-being. Results generally replicate past research from Western samples in an Egyptian sample: greater use of adaptive engagement strategies across contexts is emotionally beneficial, while frequent use of aversive cognitive preservation and disengagement strategies can be emotionally harmful.

Global environmental concerns affecting our planet require immediate action. To better understand the psychological dynamics underlying the adoption of pro-environmental behaviors, research increasingly directed its attention to the implicit (unconscious) psychological antecedents (attitudes) of the adoption of sustainable behaviors against climate change. The objective of this systematic review was to examine and summarize the current evidence for the association between the implicit attitudes related to climate change measured through the Implicit Association Test (IAT), and the explicit attitudes, beliefs, and identity toward climate change. Based on PRISMA guidelines, a structured electronic literature search of Google Scholar, PsycInfo, PubMed, Science Direct, PsycArticles, Sociological Abstracts, and Academic Search Complete was conducted. Of the 943 abstracts screened, only 18 studies met the inclusion criteria. Most studies testified independence between implicit and explicit attitudes towards climate change (absence of correlation). Despite this, implicit attitudes still predicted pro-environmental identity, while contradictory results appeared with beliefs. This highlights the urgency of promoting new research to understand on a deeper level dynamics involving implicit attitudes.

Objectives

During natural disasters, pregnant women are at risk of experiencing stress related pregnancy complications. This study explores factors influencing perceived stress reported by 90 women surveyed about their pregnancy during cyclones in Queensland, Australia.

Methods

Perceived stress was measured using the 10 item Perceived Stress Scale and objective hardship using the Traumatic Stress Schedule. Maternal characteristics were captured using validated questions pilot tested for reliability and validity. Hierarchical linear regression was used to test factors across three analysis blocks (maternal sociodemographic characteristics, mediating factors, and objective hardship). The effect of factor interactions was tested both within and between analysis blocks.

Results

Separate factors were found to have no significant effect on perceived stress. However, a significant moderating effect was found between maternal country of birth and experiences of objective hardship. Perceived stress levels were higher for mothers born in New Zealand who also experienced cyclone stressors (β = 0.48, p = 0.014), and mothers born in the United Kingdom/Western Europe who experienced non-cyclone stressors (β = 0.44, p = 0.014) and pregnancy complications (β = 0.43, p = 0.011).

Conclusion

Recall and sampling bias may influence perceived stress reported. However, mothers migrating to a different country are at a higher risk of experiencing disaster stressors. This can be due to limited social networks and access to resources. Identifying additional vulnerabilities within an existing disaster priority group supports informed risk mitigation.