Social Psychology - Hogrefe

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Social Psychology publishes innovative research and serves as an international forum for scientific discussion and debate in social psychology. Editor: @akfetterman.bsky.social https://www.hogrefe.com/us/journal/social-psychology

Enhancing National Identity Reduces Affective Polarization and Increases Political Tolerance Radosław Rogoza, Zuzanna Molenda, Marta Rogoza, Wojciech Podsiadłowski, Dominika Adamczyk, Michalina Szczęsna, Dagmara Szczepańska, and Marta Marchlewska Abstract: While knowledge about the consequences of affective polarization is robust, less is known about how to reverse this process, and the current paper aims to provide such an evidence-based explanation. We hypothesized that referring to the positive aspects of the common national identity may reduce affective polarization and increase political tolerance. We have conducted one cross-sectional (N = 799) and one experimental (N = 827) studies. The results revealed that only authentic, but not narcissistic, national identity was related to desirable outcomes (i.e., lower affective polarization and higher political tolerance). Furthermore, experimentally induced authentic national identity increased political tolerance and decreased affective polarization. We provide a framework on how to address affective polarization and political tolerance between political adversaries.
Is Political System Justification (Counter-) Normative? A Comparison Between France and Germany Marie Mancassola , Melanie Steffens , and Eva Louvet Abstract: The present research examined the normativity of political system justification comparing France and Germany, two Western countries that substantially differ in their level of system justification. We conducted two studies, in France (N = 177) and Germany (N = 202), respectively, using the self-presentation paradigm. Participants were asked to answer a political system justification scale to present a good versus bad image of themselves either to a potential employer (context social utility) or a potential friend (context social desirability). Results indicated that political system justification appeared to be counter-normative in France regarding social desirability, but normative in Germany regarding social utility. We relate these results to frequent protest against the political system in France.
Biased Social Comparison in the Moment of Crisis The Better-Than-Average Effect and COVID-19 Wojciech Kulesza , Dariusz Dolinski , Paweł Muniak , Daisy Winner , Kamil Izydorczak , Ali Derakhshan , and Aidana Rizulla Abstract. The better-than-average effect (BTAE) is a mechanism where people perceive oneself as better than others. The BTAE could be one of the phenomena explaining why people follow – in the moment of a global health crisis – guidelines (“I am superior to others, and I [will]) take extra precautions, e.g., a vaccine shot”). In this paper, we investigate the BTAE with 3,066 respondents. In Study 1, in all countries, across two measurements in time, the BTAE was present: Participants rated their involvement in self-protection as greater in comparison to others. Study 2 replicated this effect, proving its robustness. Participants estimated their willingness to vaccinate as higher than others. The BTAE was a significant predictor of willingness to vaccinate.
Combining Moral Foundations and Justice Sensitivity Perspectives to Understand Political Orientation Lucas J. E. Köhler , Ulf Steinberg , Maxim Egorov , Claudia Peus , and Mario Gollwitzer Abstract: Political orientation is systematically related to individuals’ endorsement of different moral domains. Yet, current findings suggest that differences between conservatives and liberals can also be explained by a sensitivity to self-oriented or other-oriented moral transgressions. We argue that conceptualizing moral foundations as perspective-specific advances our understanding of differences in moral judgments across the political spectrum. We test a new instrument measuring perspective-specific moral foundations in a nationally representative German sample (N = 2,042). Our findings indicate that (a) an Integrated Foundations × Perspective Model fits the data better than models only representing moral foundations or moral perspectives and (b) a self-oriented moral sensitivity is related to right-wing political orientation, while an other-oriented moral sensitivity is related to left-wing political orientation across all moral foundations.
Relinquishing Control Associates With Prosociality and Provides Agency and Positive Affect in Adolescents Weicong Chen , Heya Lei , Wenxin Huang , Yonghui Chen , Jiayi Zhang , and Liang Huang Abstract: Across two studies with adolescent samples, we investigated whether expressing abdication could be classified as a form of prosocial behavior. Specifically, Study 1 investigated the link between expressing abdication and the initiator’s prosociality. The results demonstrated a positive correlation between the frequency of abdication and well-established indicators of prosociality, such as social mindfulness, agreeableness, empathic concern, and social value orientation. Study 2 investigated whether expressing abdication provides positive consequences – regarding agency and positive affect – for the receivers. The results revealed that participants experienced a significantly stronger sense of agency and positive affect after receiving high-frequency abdication compared to low-frequency abdication. Our findings provide support for the idea that expressing abdication can be classified as a prosocial behavior.
Call for Social Psychology Special Issue Proposals Adam K. Fetterman
Highlighting the Old in the “New Normal” Appealing to Conservatives’ Focus on the Past Decreases Opposition to COVID-19 Measures Anna Schulte, Matthew Baldwin, and Joris Lammers Abstract: During the COVID-19 pandemic, a wide ideological gap frustrated an effective response to the health crisis. Whereas most liberals supported protective measures, many conservatives opposed them. Five studies (Ntotal = 3,090) demonstrate that American and German conservatives’ opposition to COVID-19 measures arose partially from nostalgic emotions. We show that framing COVID-19 measures as a return to the past reduces conservatives’ opposition to face masks and vaccinations. An internal meta-analysis shows that although the overall effect of temporal framing is significant, it is small. This research identifies conservatives’ focus on the past as a theoretically relevant antecedent to their opposition to COVID-19 measures and introduces temporal framing as a small but practically feasible strategy to reduce such opposition.
Authority Knows No Gender – Gender Effects in Exerting Obedience in Milgram’s Experiment Tomasz Grzyb, Dariusz Dolinski, and Katarzyna Cantarero Abstract: Previous studies employing Milgram’s paradigm have reported no gender differences between “learners” and “teachers” in the administration and receipt of punishment. However, the potential influence of the experimenter’s gender on obedience remains underexplored. To address this gap, we conducted two studies. Study 1 was a laboratory experiment (N = 80) using the obedience lite paradigm. The results revealed no significant effect of the experimenter’s gender on compliance rates: 88% of participants complied with a female experimenter, compared to 90% with a male experimenter. Study 2 was an online experiment (N = 793) in which participants were asked to imagine receiving instructions from either a male or female professor to administer electric shocks. As in the laboratory study, the imagined gender of the authority figure had no significant impact on participants' reported willingness to obey. Across both studies, obedience levels were statistically equivalent regardless of the experimenter’s gender. These findings suggest that gender does not meaningfully influence obedience – whether in actual or hypothetical contexts – thus enriching our understanding of the gender dynamics underlying responses to authority.
How to Translate a Verbal Theory Into a Formal Model Paul E. Smaldino Abstract: Turning verbal theories into formal models is an essential business of a mature science. Here I elaborate on taxonomies of models, provide ten lessons for translating a verbal theory into a formal model, and discuss the specific challenges involved in collaborations between modelers and non-modelers. It’s a start.
Pluralistic Ignorance for Automatic and Controlled Expressions of Prejudice: People Believe That Others Can Correct Their Automatic Biases, But Still Overestimate Others' Prejudice Abstract: Previous research shows clear evidence of pluralistic ignorance regarding prejudice: People believe that others are more prejudiced than they are. However, it is not clear whether these inferences pertain to automatic or controlled prejudice. In this study, participants completed automatic and controlled attitudinal measures regarding several groups, and they estimated how other people would respond to those measures. Participants underestimated how positive other people’s attitudes are, particularly for automatic responses. Still, participants believed that other people can correct and revise these automatic responses and produce more positive controlled responses. However, the presumed controlled responses of others are more negative than participants’ own automatic responses.
If Not Democracy, Then What? On the Relationships Between National Identification Versus National Narcissism and Support for Different Visions of the Political World Dominika Adamczyk , Michalina Szczęsna , Zuzanna Molenda , Dagmara Szczepańska , Marta Rogoza , Radosław Rogoza , Dominika Maison , and Marta Marchlewska Abstract: The current paper examines the relationships between different types of national identity and democracy, anarchism, and pacifism. In two studies (UK, N = 402; Poland, N = 799), national narcissism was negatively related to pacifism and, in Study 2, to democracy, while positively linked to anarchism. National identification, however, was related to lower support for anarchism but higher support for democracy and pacifism (only in Study 2). Additionally, national narcissism was negatively linked to voting intentions, whereas national identification was positively associated with them, mediated by support for democracy. Our research showed that national identity is linked to support for different political visions of the world, which have distinct effects on the functioning of society.
The Impact of Co-Creation on Life's Meaningfulness Federica Pinelli and E. Tory Higgins Abstract: Despite shared reality's ubiquity and importance in life, how the process of reaching it affects life’s meaning has not been explored yet. In three studies, we examine co-creation versus simple validation of opinions in enhancing life's meaning, controlling for the experience of inner states’ commonality. Study 1 shows that more co-creation correlates with greater life meaning beyond shared reality and personality traits. Study 2, a daily diary study, reveals that daily co-creation is positively associated with life's meaning via self-efficacy. Study 3 demonstrates that recalling co-creation events provides more meaning than mere agreement, an effect self-efficacy mediates.
The Switch to Daylight Saving Time and the Perceived Inappropriateness of Norm Violations Emma Halfmann, Joachim Hüffmeier, Nadira S. Faber, and Jan A. Häusse Abstract: Social norms serve as efficient guidelines that specify which behavior is adequate in a given social context. Building on Conservation of Resources Theory, we argue that this is specifically the case under disruptive states and hypothesized that switching to daylight saving time result in harsher evaluations of norm violations. In a quasiexperimental study (N = 724), individuals rated norm violations on the Monday following the switch to daylight saving time more inappropriate than on a regular Monday. Because this finding was not robust, we conducted a direct replication with more rigorous exclusion criteria, a larger sample size (N = 986), and additional exploratory sleep-related indices. No effect of switching to daylight saving time on perceived inappropriateness was found.
Niceness Fosters Cooperativeness Through Social Connectedness Olga Bialobrzeska, Ilan Roziner, and Aleksandra Cislak Abstract: Cooperation is critical for successfully functioning close relationships, workplaces, local communities, and civil society. In this research, we examined whether people’s cooperativeness is fostered by their acting nicely in everyday social interactions. In cross-sectional correlational Study 1 involving an online sample (N = 463), we found that the propensity for niceness was positively correlated with cooperativeness, and this relationship was partially explained by social connectedness. Next, in a field multilevel experiment involving students working in teams (N = 164), we confirmed the causal positive effect of acting nicely toward teammates on teamwork satisfaction and attitudes toward cooperation through a sense of connect- edness. Our findings could be used across various domains of life to enhance cooperation by promoting and training niceness.
Evidence of a Processing Advantage for Deservingness- Relevant Information Carolyn L. Hafer, Caroline E. Drolet, Emily E. Davis, Sidney J. Segalowitz, and Elizabeth P. Shulman Abstract: We investigated processing speed for deservingness-relevant versus deservingness-irrelevant information. Female students read stories involving deserved, undeserved, or neutral outcomes. We recorded participants’ reaction time (RT) in processing the outcomes. We also measured individual differences in “belief in a just world” as a proxy for deservingness schematicity. RTs for deserved and undeserved outcomes were faster than for neutral outcomes, B = 8.45, p = .011, an effect that increased the stronger the belief in a just world (e.g., B = 3.18, p = .006). These findings provide novel evidence that the construct of deservingness is central in human social relations, and suggest both universal and particularistic schemas for deservingness.
Women's Snap Judgments for Incompatible Facial and Vocal Cues Mehmet Harma and Elif Deniz Kuru Abstract: There has been a paucity of studies exploring the combined impact of facial and vocal cues on attractiveness and trustworthiness evaluations. We examined the concurrent evaluation of attractiveness and trustworthiness when facial and vocal cues were incompatible, such as attractive faces with unattractive voices. We collected data from women participants aged between 20 and 33 years (N = 127, M = 22.19, SD = 2.34). Results revealed that participants evaluated attractive faces with unattractive voices as more attractive, compared to unattractive faces with attractive voice combinations. Moreover, trustworthiness evaluations showed different patterns; participants rated untrustworthy faces with trustworthy voices higher on trustworthiness than trustworthy faces with untrustworthy voice combinations. These findings support the notion that different cues (facial and vocal) play divergent roles in snap judgments.
Exploring Negative Beliefs About Power: The Role of Autonomy and Influence Abstract. “The powerful are immoral”! Across four preregistered studies (total N = 2,744), we explored the role of perceived autonomy (control over own resources) and perceived influence (control over others’ resources) for this belief. In Study 1, perceived autonomy and influence mediated the effect of power on expected immorality. Likewise, directly manipulating perceived autonomy and influence led to increased expected immorality, increased perceived intentionality of a transgression, and consequently to harsher punishment recommendations (Studies 3 and 4). Interestingly, Study 2 revealed an interaction between autonomy and influence, which we however could not replicate in Study 4. Overall, our findings suggest that both autonomy and influence are associated with immorality and thus likely drive the belief that the powerful are immoral.
Great and Lonely? Assessing the Bidirectional Relations Between National Narcissism and Loneliness Marta Rogoza, Marta Marchlewska, Radosław Rogoza, Zuzanna Molenda, Dagmara Szczepańska, Dominika Adamczyk, Michalina Szczęsna, and Dominika Witke Abstract: Past research suggests that national narcissism goes hand in hand with negative intergroup and intragroup outcomes. We contend that national narcissism can be also linked to maladaptive intra-individual concomitants. Across two studies, we examined the relationship between national narcissism and loneliness, using representative samples from Poland. Study 1 (N = 633) demonstrated a positive correlation between national narcissism and loneliness. Study 2 (N = 811) employed a two-wave design to test bidirectional effect of national narcissism and loneliness. The results confirmed that both cross-lagged paths between national narcissism and loneliness were significant over the 6-month period, reinforcing the findings from Study 1.
Feeling Bad and Doing GoodForgivability Through the Lens of Uninvolved Third Parties Shoko Watanabe and Sean M. Laurent Abstract: Previous forgiveness research has mostly focused on victims’ forgiveness of transgressors, and offenders’ post-transgression efforts intended to promote victim forgiveness have been collectively branded as apology. However, decisions concerning forgiveness frequently occur outside of dyadic contexts, and the unique roles of repentance and atonement in determining forgivability of offenders, despite their preeminence in theology and law, have received little empirical attention. Across five experiments (N = 938), we show that repentance and atonement independently influence third-party perception of forgivability for a variety of harms, even in disinterested contexts. Our findings provide a systematic examination of decisions about forgivability disentangled from direct personal involvement, demonstrating that components of apology known to facilitate forgiveness in victims also increase perceived forgivability from unharmed observers. Keywords: third-party, forgivability, repentance, atonement, moral judgment, cooperation
Bullshitting and Bullibility – Conditions and Consequences John V. Petrocelli, Yanying Li, Enhui Wang, and Joseph M. Curran Abstract Abstract: Bullshitting involves communicating with little to no regard for truth, established knowledge, or genuine evidence in a way that helps people impress, persuade, influence, or confuse others, or to embellish or explain things in an area in which their obligations to provide opinions exceed their actual knowledge in those domains. Put another way, bullshitting encompasses a set of rhetorical strategies employed to help a person sound like they know what they are talking about when they really do not. Although bullshit can be useful to individual bullshitters as a persuasive tool, it can have considerable negative consequences for learning, memory, attitudes, opinions, and beliefs about what is believed to be true. Deeper understanding of the conditions under which bullshitting and general bullibility (i.e., consistent failure to discern bullshit from nonbullshit despite social cues signaling something is bullshit) are likely to emerge should position observers with a more successful vantage point to detect this deceptive behavior in others.
Visualizing Gendered Representations of Male and Female Teachers Using a Reverse Correlation Paradigm Juliane Degner, Jana Mangels, and Lysann Zander Abstract: Stereotypically, men are expected to outperform women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) domains, and women to outperform men in language. We conceptually replicated this association using reverse correlation tasks. Without available gender information, participants generated male images of physics teachers and female images of language teachers (Studies 1 and 3). Personal endorsement of respective ability stereotypes inconsistently predicted these effects (Studies 1 and 3). With unambiguous gender information (Study 2), participants generated feminized images of female language teachers and masculinized images of female physics teachers, whereas images of male teachers were unaffected by academic domain. Stereotype endorsement affected perceptions of female but not male teachers, suggesting that appearing feminine in STEM domains still signals professional mismatch. Keywords: academic gender stereotypes, reverse correlation paradigm, data-driven method, STEM, prospective teachers
Moneyball: Studying Effects of Ostracism on Both Targets and Voluntary Sources Benedikt Werner, Wladislaw Mil, and Wasilios Hariskos Abstract: This study develops and employs a novel paradigm called “Moneyball” – a modification of the “Cyberball” framework with monetary incentives – to simultaneously examine the consequences of ostracism on both targets and sources in an interactive and deception-free environment (N = 504 university students). Validating the paradigm, we observe comparable detrimental impacts on targets’ need satisfaction and mood to those observed in non-incentivized studies. Sources experienced some positive effects on belonging, meaningful existence, and control but suffered a decline in self-esteem and mood. Both sources and targets allocated less money to group members than inclusive participants, even when financial equality was maintained. Thus, Moneyball offers a viable method to examine voluntary social exclusion in a unified framework. Keywords: social exclusion, ostracism, sources of ostracism, Cyberball, Moneyball
The Impact of Persuasive Messages on IAT Performance is Moderated by Source Attractiveness and Likeability Colin Tucker Smith and Jan De Houwer Abstract. In two studies, participants read persuasive messages introduced by an attractive (Study 1) or likeable (Study 2) source before completing measures of implicit and explicit evaluations. The persuasive messages were in favor of an unfamiliar brand of facial soap (Study 1) and the implementation of comprehensive examinations at the participants’ university (Study 2). Results showed that persuasive messages had a stronger impact on an Implicit Association Test when the source was high in attractiveness or likeability (Study 1 and Study 2); responses on an Affect Misattribution Procedure, though in the predicted direction, were not significantly impacted by a source high in likeability (Study 2). These findings parallel those of numerous studies that, however, have looked almost exclusively at persuasion of explicit evaluations. They confirm that implicit evaluations can be changed through direct persuasive appeals and provide new information about the conditions under which persuasion of implicit evaluations can be found. Keywords: implicit social cognition, persuasion, Implicit Association Test, attitudes
The Social Amplification of Distortions in Representations of Ratios. Cristina Mendonça, Andre Mata, and Mario Boto Ferreira Abstract: When faced with a choice between two ratios, some people prefer the option with the larger numerator instead of the larger ratio. In this study, participants read texts containing two options involving ratios, indicated their preference between those options, and recalled the texts. Using the serial reproduction method, the recall protocols were then given to other participants to read, judge, and recall. Results show that some people’s representations of the problem are distorted, favoring the option with the largest numerator; these distortions are associated with increased ratio bias and are amplified as information is socially transmitted. Finally, this social amplification progressively increases the ratio bias. These results show how small biases can grow larger when information is socially transmitted. Keywords: denominator neglect, ratio bias, social amplification, serial reproduction
Evaluating the Convergence of Dimensions Across Social Evaluation Models Gino Carmona-Díaz, Sergio Barbosa, Estefanía Arévalo-García, Gabriel Ricardo Zamora-Marcelo, and William Jiménez-Leal Abstract Abstract: A recent adversarial collaboration integrated dimensions proposed in five major theories of social evaluation into two overarching dimensions: Horizontal and Vertical. This paper examines the convergence in how evaluative dimensions have been operationalized for each model to determine if they address the same constructs. Across various coding strategies and using two similarity indexes, we found robust evidence of low convergence in the traits used to operationalize dimensions assumed to represent the same constructs. These results suggest that the integration proposed by the adversarial collaboration might be limited, as it is unclear whether dimensions within the Horizontal and Vertical domains correspond to the same constructs. We discuss the theoretical and methodological implications and propose recommendations for refining construct operationalization.
The Mediating Role of Partner Evaluations in the Associations Between Attachment Orientation and Partner Regulation Strategies Susan M. Chesterman, Gery C. Karantzas, James Aloni, and Penelope Wilmot Published Online:October 24, 2024https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000551 Abstract: The current study investigated how a partner falling short of the desired standard may act as a mediator in the association between attachment orientations and the strategies people use to change qualities of their partners (termed partner regulation). The proposed mediation model was tested on a large sample (N = 965) recruited from the community. The results revealed that for attachment anxiety, evaluating a partner as falling short of the ideal standards of warmth and status mediated associations with negative and positive regulation strategies. For attachment avoidance, evaluating a partner as falling short of ideal standards of attractiveness and status mediated associations with negative and positive regulation strategies.
East Asians’ Lower Satisfaction With Homelife Is Plausibly Related to Lower Attitude Similarity Within Couples Minjae Seo, Dov Cohen, D. A. Briley, and Syamil Yakin Abstract Abstract: World Values Survey respondents from East Asia (China and Japan) viewed themselves as less similar to their spouses on a variety of attitude domains, compared to respondents from Western and other non-Western cultures. Mediational analyses showed significant indirect effects from the East Asian variable through attitude dissimilarity to lower homelife satisfaction. In all regions, similarity with one’s spouse predicted homelife satisfaction. Unexpectedly, it was a relatively weaker predictor for Western European couples (vs. elsewhere). One puzzle is whether shared attitudes (a) are so important for Westerners that they self-select into relationships where remaining discrepancies are trivial or (b) are so unimportant for Westerners, who needlessly sort themselves on this basis.
Abstract: Based on a representative sample derived from the MIDUS study (1,472 females and 1,415 males), we investigate temporal patterns of the relationship between sexual satisfaction and marital satisfaction and find that this relationship increases (rather than decreases) with time, and that it is primarily due to age (rather than marital duration). Theoretical and methodological implications of this finding are discussed, and in particular the importance of relying on large samples when examining moderation effects, of examining alternative explanations for observed interactions, and of conducting replications in samples drawn from different populations.
“Social Psychology has been an excellent outlet for not only a wide range of topics in social psychology, but also for critical examinations of our field, as was seen with the successful special issue on replicability. I am excited to continue developing this identity by creating good controversy and debate within its pages. My goal is to further establish Social Psychology as a leading journal for quality, open and transparent, and exciting science, befitting of its name. I am excited for the next 4 years of journal and to see what new discoveries it helps produce.” Adam Fetterman, September 2024 Department of Psychology, University of Houston, TX