Demobilising by legitimising: masculine honour, positive and negative contact, and social activism against criminal organisations

Italian mafia-type groups exert governance over the community. To do so, they must engage in contact with community members. Previous research indicates that individuals’ endorsement of masculine honour values is associated to more frequent contact with members of criminal organisations (COs). The present research examines the relationship between masculine honour and both positive and negative contact, as well the potential implications of such contact. Structural equation modelling of survey data (N = 327) revealed that masculine honour was associated to positive but not negative contact with COs’ members. Positive contact was, in turn, associated with a stronger tendency to see COs as matching the ideals of honour (romanticisation), and lower perceived threat. In contrast, negative contact was associated with stronger perceived threat from COs’ presence. Finally, romanticisation and lower perceived threat were associated with lower intentions to engage in social activism against COs. Results support the idea that cultural values of masculine honour make the presence of COs in society more acceptable and are an important predictor of contact with these types groups

Investigating the social embeddedness of criminal groups: Longitudinal associations between masculine honour and legitimizing attitudes towards the Camorra

The embeddedness of criminal groups within communities accrues from their ability to establish legitimacy, particularly among young people. A prototypical example are mafia claims to political authority in Italy. Intracultural Appropriation Theory proposes that embeddedness is partly derived from criminal groups’ ability to embody cultural ideologies of masculine honour, and to reinforce these ideologies in society through their actions. We tested these propositions using a three-wave longitudinal design involving Italian adolescents from the Campania region (N1stwave = 1,173). We also examined an alternative explanation rooted in individuals’ generic acceptance of group-based hierarchies, i.e., social dominance orientation. The longitudinal design enabled us to examine for the first time both between- and within-person processes. Between-person results indicated that higher levels of the masculine honour ideology and social dominance were associated with stronger legitimizing attitudes towards the Camorra, a mafia-type group. Within-person effects revealed a positive reciprocal association between masculine honour and legitimizing attitudes. These findings emphasize the importance of culture-specific ideologies in sustaining the legitimacy of criminal groups

Black Sheep, Outsiders, and the Qumran Movement : Social-Psychological Perspectives on Norm-Deviant Behaviour

Peer reviewe

The Psychological Science Accelerator’s COVID-19 rapid-response dataset

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Psychological Science Accelerator coordinated three large-scale psychological studies to examine the effects of loss-gain framing, cognitive reappraisals, and autonomy framing manipulations on behavioral intentions and affective measures. The data collected (April to October 2020) included specific measures for each experimental study, a general questionnaire examining health prevention behaviors and COVID-19 experience, geographical and cultural context characterization, and demographic information for each participant. Each participant started the study with the same general questions and then was randomized to complete either one longer experiment or two shorter experiments. Data were provided by 73,223 participants with varying completion rates. Participants completed the survey from 111 geopolitical regions in 44 unique languages/dialects. The anonymized dataset described here is provided in both raw and processed formats to facilitate re-use and further analyses. The dataset offers secondary analytic opportunities to explore coping, framing, and self-determination across a diverse, global sample obtained at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which can be merged with other time-sampled or geographic data

The Psychological Science Accelerator’s COVID-19 rapid-response dataset

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Psychological Science Accelerator coordinated three large-scale psychological studies to examine the effects of loss-gain framing, cognitive reappraisals, and autonomy framing manipulations on behavioral intentions and affective measures. The data collected (April to October 2020) included specific measures for each experimental study, a general questionnaire examining health prevention behaviors and COVID-19 experience, geographical and cultural context characterization, and demographic information for each participant. Each participant started the study with the same general questions and then was randomized to complete either one longer experiment or two shorter experiments. Data were provided by 73,223 participants with varying completion rates. Participants completed the survey from 111 geopolitical regions in 44 unique languages/dialects. The anonymized dataset described here is provided in both raw and processed formats to facilitate re-use and further analyses. The dataset offers secondary analytic opportunities to explore coping, framing, and self-determination across a diverse, global sample obtained at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which can be merged with other time-sampled or geographic data

The secret power of criminal organizations: A social psychological approach

This book presents a social psychological approach to understanding the reaction of communities to organized crime and illegal groups. Based on a new theoretical framework and the latest empirical evidence, this book explores questions of how criminal organizations are able to gain power and exert governance over entire territories. This book draws on the prototypical example of Italian organized crime and analyzes the thesis that the power of criminal groups is grounded in dynamics of legitimization rather than fear or coercion. The compliance of a community is seen here as stemming from the endorsement of specific cultural values and norms. These cultural values are actively appropriated, mobilized and transmitted by criminal groups, a dynamic the authors have labelled Intracultural Appropriation Theory. The book emphasizes what can be learned from using this emerging theory in similar settings such as those of terrorist groups and violent gangs, and points the way to solutions for this social problem

La rilevanza sociale della ricerca in psicologia o la rilevanza del sociale per la psicologia? Il silenzio degli psicologi e la responsabilit\ue0 del ricercatore di fronte ala memoria divisa del G8 di Genova

La recente storia del nostro Paese \ue8 segnata da tante \u201cfratture\u201d, dalla strategia della tensione agli anni di piombo, per giungere agli avvenimenti della globalizzazione. Piccole e grandi storie che hanno innescato pratiche della memoria, cos\uec come assenze e silenzi. Avvenimenti dimenticati e ricordati, spesso con interpretazioni discordanti e conflittuali. Una di queste \u201cfrattura d\u2019Italia\u201d \ue8 il G8 di Genova. Una citt\ue0 trasformata in campo di battaglia, scontri di piazza, violenze collettive e interpersonali, imprigionamenti e soprusi. Di fronte a simili eventi, romanzieri, teatranti, registi cinematografici hanno preso la parola. Cos\uec pure i politologi e i sociologi. E gli psicologi? Davanti ad avvenimenti che mettono in gioco parecchi argomenti di tante teorie e ricerche elaborate dalle scienze psicologiche, ci si aspetterebbe che tali scienze possano essere d\u2019aiuto. E invece gli psicologi, sostanzialmente, hanno taciuto

Cittadinanza psicologica e ostracismi quotidiani: Essere il partner straniero di coppie miste in Italia

Il concetto di cittadinanza \ue8 attualmente al centro di un ampio dibattito che coinvolge politologi e scienziati sociali. Recenti contributi teorici forniscono una definizione sempre pi\uf9 ampia e articolata di cittadinanza, svincolandola dalle tradizionali dimensioni nazionali e politiche. In modo particolare, da tale dibattito emerge, seppure con contorni teorici ancora non pienamente messi a fuoco, l\u2019idea di \u201ccittadinanza psicologica\u201d, intesa quale senso soggettivo di appartenenza. E sempre si appartiene a una specifica realt\ue0. Ne consegue che il sentirsi membro di un\u2019entit\ue0 sociale \ue8 qualcosa che va oltre una mera attribuzione di status. Concerne invece la soggettiva cura di tale status, che si sostanzia in termini di doveri, diritti, legami e responsabilit\ue0. Detta in altri termini, riguarda la capacit\ue0 dei singoli di partecipare al tessuto sociale della comunit\ue0 di appartenenza. Nel nostro Paese, per i migranti l\u2019esercizio di tale capacit\ue0 pu\uf2 comportare il dover compromettere elementi importanti della propria identit\ue0. Perch\ue9 arduo \ue8 il processo di accettazione nella comunit\ue0 ospitante. Dove il senso d\u2019appartenenza e il riconoscimento vengono a definirsi, strutturarsi, negoziarsi e rimodellarsi attraverso l\u2019interazione quotidiana. E la comunit\ue0 ristretta \u2013 famiglia, amicizie, vicinato \u2013 costituisce un ambito d\u2019osservazione privilegiato per comprendere le dinamiche di inclusione/esclusione, senso di appartenenza/non appartenenza

Author Correction: Perceptions of the appropriate response to norm violation in 57 societies (Nature Communications, (2021), 12, 1, (1481), 10.1038/s41467-021-21602-9)

The original version of this Article contained an error in the author affiliations. Cecilia Reyna was incorrectly associated with ‘Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC). Facultad de Psicología (UNC), Ciudad Universitaria, Bv. de la Reforma esquina, Enfermera Gordillo s/n, Córdoba, Argentina.’ instead of the correct ‘Instituto de Investigaciones Psicológicas (IIPsi), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), CABA, República Argentina.’ This has now been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article. © The Author(s) 202