15 research outputs found
When Men Who Dislike Feminists Feel Proud: Can Self-Affirmation and Perspective-Taking Increase Menâs Empathy Toward Feminists?
Abuse against womenâs rights activists is a serious concern, but there is a lack of research into strategies on how to reduce this. Past research has identified self-affirmation (i.e., thinking about oneâs valued traits) and perspective-taking as promising strategies to reduce minority target backlash. Through one pilot study (n = 98), and one two-part experimental study (n = 202), we tested the effect of perspective-taking and self-affirmation on empathy toward feminism among men. Fictional Facebook profiles were manipulated to encourage perspective-taking, perspective-taking with self-affirmation, or were neutral in content. Participants then rated feelings toward individual feminists as well as feelings (in the context of perspective-taking emotions) toward abuse faced by feminists more generally. Results indicated that perspective-taking combined with self-affirmation promoted empathetic feelings (as represented by perspective-taking emotions) toward feminists experiencing abuse. The impact on empathy was particularly strong among men with high initial prejudice toward feminists. These results suggest that self-affirmation could potentially reduce online abuse of feminists through an increase in empathetic feelings. This research has broader implications for male engagement within feminism, and we recommend that educators and male allies of feminism promote positive, affirming roles for men (e.g., as fathers), as this may encourage empathy toward feminist issues. Policy makers could consider this strategy in the context of promoting policies such as shared parental leave
The Psychological Science Acceleratorâs 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
A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic
Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This crosscountry, preregistered experiment (n = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e., a controlling message) compared with no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message lowered feelings of defiance compared with the controlling message, but the controlling message did not differ from receiving no message at all. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly internalized form of motivation relying on one's core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between people's existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing. Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intention to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges
A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic
Significance
Communicating in ways that motivate engagement in social distancing remains a critical global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study tested motivational qualities of messages about social distancing (those that promoted choice and agency vs. those that were forceful and shaming) in 25,718 people in 89 countries. The autonomy-supportive message decreased feelings of defying social distancing recommendations relative to the controlling message, and the controlling message increased controlled motivation, a less effective form of motivation, relative to no message. Message type did not impact intentions to socially distance, but peopleâs existing motivations were related to intentions. Findings were generalizable across a geographically diverse sample and may inform public health communication strategies in this and future global health emergencies.
Abstract
Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-country, preregistered experiment (n = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e., a controlling message) compared with no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message lowered feelings of defiance compared with the controlling message, but the controlling message did not differ from receiving no message at all. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly internalized form of motivation relying on oneâs core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between peopleâs existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing. Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intention to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges
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Hot QCD White Paper
Hot QCD physics studies the nuclear strong force under extreme temperature
and densities. Experimentally these conditions are achieved via high-energy
collisions of heavy ions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and the
Large Hadron Collider (LHC). In the past decade, a unique and substantial suite
of data was collected at RHIC and the LHC, probing hydrodynamics at the nucleon
scale, the temperature dependence of the transport properties of quark-gluon
plasma, the phase diagram of nuclear matter, the interaction of quarks and
gluons at different scales and much more. This document, as part of the 2023
nuclear science long range planning process, was written to review the progress
in hot QCD since the 2015 Long Range Plan for Nuclear Science, as well as
highlight the realization of previous recommendations, and present
opportunities for the next decade, building on the accomplishments and
investments made in theoretical developments and the construction of new
detectors. Furthermore, this document provides additional context to support
the recommendations voted on at the Joint Hot and Cold QCD Town Hall Meeting,
which are reported in a separate document