Inhibited Breathing and Suffocation in Relationships: Embodied Cognition in the Context of COVID Masks

According to models of embodied cognition, representations are anchored in bodily experiences; therefore, actual or represented bodily experiences give rise to related psychological representations (Barsalou, 2008). These connections are also expressed in metaphors that are common in the language. We focused on the bodily-based metaphor of “feeling suffocated in a relationship” which may be structured by the experience of inhibited breathing. Accordingly, we examined whether the physical experience of suffocation, stemming from wearing a COVID face mask, leads to the feeling of suffocation in one’s romantic relationship. In an online experiment, participants (N = 180) were randomly assigned to three conditions: wearing a mask properly thereby covering one’s mouth and nose throughout the experiment, wearing a mask on one’s chin, and a no-mask control condition. As expected, only the proper mask condition led to a feeling of suffocation in one’s romantic relationship through the mediation of sensing physical suffocation

Understanding intergroup conflict: How do children in a divided society perceive group differences?

Outgroup perceptions are a fundamental element of social categorization, particularly in contexts of intergroup conflict. Social Identity Development Theory argues that perceived differences between groups is the first step in ethnic identity development. This understanding of social categories among children may have implications for negative intergroup attitudes or even prejudice. Our study explores how Jews (N=180) and Arab-Muslims (N=207) in middle -childhood perceive the difference between these two ethno-religious groups in Israel. Thematic analysis found two layers themes: (1a) differences in everyday ethnic and cultural characteristics, and (2b) differences related to religion and faith. Understanding children’s perspectives offers rich evidence about categorization processes in a divided society

Outgroup prosocial giving during childhood: The role of ingroup preference and outgroup attitudes in a divided society

Amid protracted conflict, children are raised in divided contexts which shape the development of their intergroup attitudes and behaviors. Social Identity Development Theory (SIDT) suggests that ingroup preference may contribute to more negative outgroup attitudes and behaviors in middle childhood. In such contexts, ingroup favoritism may shape resource distribution, a key indicator of prosocial behavior. This study examined the predictors of resource distribution among 387 children (age: M=9.59, SD=2.34) of majority (Jewish) and minority (Arab-Muslim) groups in Israel. Rooted in SIDT, a multiple-group chain mediation found that the effect of age on outgroup prosocial giving was serially mediated by the child’s ingroup symbol preference and negative outgroup attitudes. The mediation held across both majority and minority groups, highlighting the underlying developmental process of prosocial giving across group lines in a divided society.British Psychological SocietyZefat Academic College internal institutional grantCheck for published version during checkdate report - A

Children’s bias beyond group boundaries: perceived differences, outgroup attitudes, and prosocial behavior

This study examined how children's perceptions of social group dissimilarities impact attitudes and behavior towards real-world outgroups. Focusing on Arab-Christian children living in Israel, we explored categorization into social groups based on multiple dimensions of social identity. The children (N = 231, 52% female, average age 9.8 years) were randomly presented with either Arab-Muslim or Jewish outgroup targets and performed tasks measuring perceptions, attitudes and prosocial behavior towards the outgroup. Results showed that the children perceived the Jewish outgroup as more dissimilar to their ingroup than the Arab-Muslim outgroup. They evaluated the Arab-Muslim outgroup more positively and favored them in resource allocation. The extent to which bias was influenced by the number of identity dimensions varied based on the outgroup target’s identity and the task performed. We discuss possible categorization strategies employed by children and their implications for promoting positive intergroup attitudes and behaviors during middle childhood