18 research outputs found
Materialist and Post-Materialist Concerns and the Wish for a Strong Leader in 27 Countries
There is evidence that democracies are under threat around the world while the quest for strong leaders is increasing. Although the causes of these developments are complex and multifaceted, here we focus on one factor: the extent to which citizens express materialist and post-materialist concerns. We explore whether objective higher levels of democracy are differentially associated with materialist and post-materialist concerns and, in turn, whether this is related to the wish for a strong leader. Testing this hypothesis across 27 countries (N = 5,741) demonstrated a direct negative effect of democracies' development on the wish for a strong leader. Further, multi-level mediation analysis showed that the relation between the Democracy Index and the wish for a strong leader was mediated by materialist concerns. This pattern of results suggests that lower levels of democracy are associated with enhanced concerns about basic needs and this is linked to greater support for strong leaders.Peer reviewe
Materialist and Post-Materialist Concerns and the Wish for a Strong Leader in 27 Countries
There is evidence that democracies are under threat around the world while the quest for strong leaders is increasing. Although the causes of these developments are complex and multifaceted, here we focus on one factor: the extent to which citizens express materialist and post-materialist concerns. We explore whether objective higher levels of democracy are differentially associated with materialist and post-materialist concerns and, in turn, whether this is related to the wish for a strong leader. Testing this hypothesis across 27 countries (N = 5,741) demonstrated a direct negative effect of democracies' development on the wish for a strong leader. Further, multi-level mediation analysis showed that the relation between the Democracy Index and the wish for a strong leader was mediated by materialist concerns. This pattern of results suggests that lower levels of democracy are associated with enhanced concerns about basic needs and this is linked to greater support for strong leaders.Peer reviewe
Cultural Values Moderate the Impact of Relative Deprivation
Relative deprivation (RD) is the judgment that one or one’s ingroup is worse off compared
with some relevant standard coupled with feelings of dissatisfaction, anger, and resentment.
RD predicts a wide range of outcomes, but it is unclear whether this relationship is moderated
by national cultural differences. Therefore, in the first study, we used national assessments of
individual-collectivism and power distance to code 303 effect sizes from 31 different countries
with 200,578 participants. RD predicted outcomes ranging from life satisfaction to collective
action more strongly within individualistic nations. A second survey of 6,112 undergraduate
university students from 28 different countries confirmed the predictive value of RD. Again, the
relationship between individual RD and different outcomes was stronger for students who lived
in more individualistic countries. Group-based RD also predicted political trust more strongly
for students who lived in countries marked by lower power distance. RD effects, although
consistent predictors, are culturally bounded. In particular, RD is more likely to motivate
reactions within individualistic countries that emphasize individual agency and achievement as a
source of self-worth
Data for study 1a-b, 2a-c, & 3a-b
Each dataset in the zip file is named after each study respectively
Data from: Revisiting the measurement of anomie
Sociologists coined the term "anomie" to describe societies that are characterized by disintegration and deregulation. Extending beyond conceptualizations of anomie that conflate the measurements of anomie as 'a state of society' and as a 'state of mind', we disentangle these conceptualizations and develop an analysis and measure of this phenomenon focusing on anomie as a perception of the 'state of society'. We propose that anomie encompasses two dimensions: a perceived breakdown in social fabric (i.e., disintegration as lack of trust and erosion of moral standards) and a perceived breakdown in leadership (i.e., deregulation as lack of legitimacy and effectiveness of leadership). Across six studies we present evidence for the validity of the new measure, the Perception of Anomie Scale (PAS). Studies 1a and 1b provide evidence for the proposed factor structure and internal consistency of PAS. Studies 2a-c provide evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. Finally, assessing PAS in 28 countries, we show that PAS correlates with national indicators of societal functioning and that PAS predicts national identification and well-being (Studies 3a & 3b). The broader implications of the anomie construct for the study of group processes are discussed
Individual, group, and temporal perspectives on the link between wealth and realistic threat
In this 28-country study (N = 6112), we assessed how subjective perceptions and objective indicators of wealth
were associated with majority group members’ perceptions of realistic threat related to immigration. Subjective
wealth was assessed by individuals’ perceptions of their personal wealth (current/anticipated) and of their coun-
try ́s wealth, whereas objective country-level wealth was assessed by GDP and HDI. Multilevel analyses showed that living in a country with a lower objective wealth and perceiving the country’s relative wealth as low were associated with higher levels of perceived realistic threat. We also found that an anticipated decrease in personal wealth in the future was associated with higher threat perceptions only in low HDI countries. Our results suggest that perceived realistic threat is fostered by a perceived decline in the current wealth of the country, and country-level wealth may play a role in calibrating threat responses to anticipated personal wealthinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Individual, Group, and Temporal Perspectives on the Link Between Wealth and Realistic Threat
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe
“Our Country Needs a Strong Leader Right Now”: Economic Inequality Enhances the Wish for a Strong Leader
Societal inequality has been found to harm the mental and physical health of its members and undermine overall social cohesion. Here, we tested the hypothesis that economic inequality is associated with a wish for a strong leader in a study involving 28 countries from five continents (Study 1, N = 6,112), a study involving an Australian community sample (Study 2, N = 515), and two experiments (Study 3a, N = 96; Study 3b, N = 296). We found correlational (Studies 1 and 2) and experimental (Studies 3a and 3b) evidence for our prediction that higher inequality enhances the wish for a strong leader. We also found that this relationship is mediated by perceptions of anomie, except in the case of objective inequality in Study 1. This suggests that societal inequality enhances the perception that society is breaking down (anomie) and that a strong leader is needed to restore order (even when that leader is willing to challenge democratic values).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio