Do Economic Crises Always Undermine Trust in Others? The Case of Generalized, Interpersonal, and In-Group Trust

After the global economic collapse triggered by the Great Recession, there has been an increased interest in the potential psychological implications of periods of economic decline. Recent evidence suggests that negative personal experiences linked to the economic crisis may lead to diminished generalized trust (i.e., the belief that most of the people of the society are honest and can be trusted). Adding to the growing literature on the psychological consequences of the economic crisis, we propose that the perceived personal impact of the economic crisis not only would undermine generalized trust but also may lead to increased interpersonal trust (i.e., directed to specific and close people) and depersonalized in-group trust [i.e., directed to individuals who, while strangers, belong to the same group (e.g., social class)]. Across three studies (N = 1379), we tested these central hypotheses and ascertained whether the perceived personal impact of the crisis would predict these types of trust (assessed using questionnaire and behavioral measures) independent of individuals’ socioeconomic status. Non-experimental data from Study 1 revealed that a higher perceived personal impact of the crisis is related to lower levels of generalized trust and higher levels of interpersonal trust. These effects were independent of participants’ socioeconomic status. Non-experimental data from Study 2 replicated the findings obtained in Study 1 and also showed a positive association between the perceived personal impact of the crisis and depersonalized in-group trust.This research was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [Ref. PSI2014-59659-R and Ref. PSI- 2017-83966-R (MINECO/AEI/FEDER/UE)] and by a Grant (FPU13/02478) from the FPU Program of the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport

Connecting perceived economic threat and prosocial tendencies: The explanatory role of empathic concern

Recent research suggests that perceived economic threat constitutes a valid predictor of people’s attitudes and behaviors. While accumulated empirical evidence has mostly underlined the deleterious psychological effects (e.g., reduced psychological well-being) of perceived economic threat in times of economic strain, we postulate that individuals experiencing higher economic threat linked to the Spanish economic crisis are more prone to engage in other-beneficial prosocial behavior. Across two independently collected community samples, we tested this theoretical formulation and examined the potential mediating roles of empathic concern (Studies 1 & 2) and identification (Study 2). Study 1 (N = 306) revealed that participants who descended in the social scale due to the negative national economic context were engaged in a larger number of helping behaviors over the last three months compared to participants who did not descend the social ladder—independently of several sociodemographic and ideological factors. Moreover, our data indicated these effects were driven by increased empathic concern. Study 2 (N = 588), in which two hypothetical helping-behavior scenarios were randomly administered (crisis-related vs. control), showed that participants under high perceived financial threat exhibited an undifferentiated pattern of prosociality. However, moderatedmediation analyses indicated that empathic concern explained the perceived financial threathelping behavior link in the hypothetical crisis-related scenario but not in the hypothetical control scenario. Together, these findings extend prior literature on the psychosocial effects of perceived economic threat and the determinants of other-oriented behavior. Implications of these findings and suggestions for further research are discussed.This research was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Ref. PSI2014-59659-R and Ref. PSI2017-83966- R [MINECO/AEI/FEDER/UE]). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Radicalización ideológico-política y terrorismo: un enfoque psicosocial

Ideological-political radicalization and terrorism generate a series of disastrous consequences for the correct functioning of society. Nowadays, polarization and ideological- political radicalization are on the rise. Factors contributing to this are situations of social upheaval like the migratory and economic crisis, as well as terrorism of an ideological-religious nature. The proposal of effective preventive interventions requires a multidisciplinary and systematic study of the phenomenon, in which social psychology is destined to play a central role. The aim of the current revision is to compile a comprehensive proposal of a conceptual nature, which will illustrate the psychosocial processes underlying violent radicalization of groups with extreme political ideologies. Specifically, the aim is to highlight the suitability of analyzing a set of psychosocial variables, which play an essential role in an individual’s personal balance, related to terrorists’ recruitment and the maintenance of extremist groups. Likewise, and as a response to the need to consider new research perspectives when studying the terrorism phenomenon, the part of victimization and competitive victimization in explaining terrorism is analyzed. The findings suggest enough theoretical links to encourage the integration of these constructs in future research.La radicalización ideológico-política y el terrorismo generan una serie de consecuencias desastrosas para el correcto funcionamiento de una sociedad. Actualmente, situaciones de convulsión social consecuencia de la crisis económica y migratoria, así como el terrorismo de corte ideológico-religioso, están ocasionando un aumento de la polarización y la radicalización ideológico-política. El planteamiento de intervenciones preventivas eficaces para atajar estos procesos requiere de un estudio sistemático y multidisciplinar en el que la psicología social debe ostentar un papel central. El objetivo del presente trabajo es hacer una propuesta comprensiva de corte conceptual que permita ordenar los procesos psicosociales que subyacen a la radicalización violenta de grupos con ideologías políticas extremistas. Concretamente, se pretende poner de manifiesto la idoneidad de analizar un conjunto de variables psicosociales que desempeñan un papel esencial en el equilibrio personal del individuo, en relación con el reclutamiento de terroristas, así como con el mantenimiento funcional de grupos radicalizados. Asimismo, y en respuesta a la necesidad de considerar nuevas perspectivas de investigación en el estudio del fenómeno terrorista, se examina el papel de la victimización y victimización competitiva, encontrándose suficientes argumentos teóricos como para recomendar la incorporación de dichos constructos en futuras investigaciones

Social identity, perceived emotional synchrony, creativity, social representations, and participation in social movements: the case of the 2019 chilean populist protests

This paper analyzes the socio-cognitive and emotional processes related to collective action in the context of the 2019 populist social movement in Chile. It proposes an integrative explanation of populism as social movements and collective gatherings along with their relation with creativity and social representations of mass movements. A comprehensive online survey was used (n = 262) that included measures of participation in demonstrations, identification with protesters or the government, agreement with social movement grievances, collective efficacy, perceived emotional synchrony, collective action, self-reported cognitive creativity, and individuals’ proposals for improvement of society and ideas associated with stimuli (e.g., the concepts of majority or minority). Our results revealed that identification with demonstrators, agreement with protesters’ grievances, a high perceived emotional synchrony or collective effervescence, and higher creativity responses were associated with an active participation in the social movement. Higher participation and factors conducive to participation were associated with lexical clusters of responses to stimuli that include words such as rights, justice, injustice, bravery, dignity, or hope, which were conceived of as positive social representations of the populist social movement. These findings are discussed within the neo-Durkheimian framework of collective gatherings and the perspective of populism as a social movement that seeks to renew and expand democracy. Copyright © 2021 Castro-Abril, Da Costa, Navarro-Carrillo, Caicedo-Moreno, Gracia-Leiva, Bouchat, Cordero, Méndez and Paez

Construct validation of the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire in Spanish‐speaking countries: Assessment of the reliability, structural and external validity and cross‐cultural equivalence

A recent re-operationalisation of grandiose narcissism has resulted in the distinction of two narcissistic strategies based on the cognitive, affective-motivational, and behavioural dynamics: admiration (assertive self-enhancement) and rivalry (antagonistic self-protection). The Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire (NARQ) was developed to assess this model with two higher-order dimensions. However, cross-validations of the NARQ have not been extensively conducted across diverse population groups and languages. This study aimed to test the internal and external validity (through the relation with envy and self-esteem), reliability, and cross-cultural equivalence of the Spanish version of the NARQ. The psychometric properties were evaluated in a Spanish sample (N = 310), and cross-cultural equivalence was tested in participants from Chile (N = 234) and Colombia (N = 256). The results supported the reliability and validity of the Spanish NARQ, as well as the cross-cultural equivalence across Spanish-speaking countries. In addition, we discuss obtained differences across Spanish, Chilean, and Colombian sample within two narcissistic strategies.The work of Maria M. Kwiatkowska is supportedby the research program for young scientists and PhDstudents funded by the Cardinal Stefan Wyszy´nskiUniversity in Warsaw, Poland (project number:UmoBMF-14/18). The work of R. Rogoza was sup-ported by National Science Centre, Poland (projectnumber 2015/19/N/HS6/00685)

Do neuroticism and efficacy beliefs moderate the relationship between climate change worry and mental wellbeing?

BackgroundResearch on the nature and prevalence of phenomena like climate anxiety (or eco-anxiety) is increasing rapidly but there is little understanding of the conditions under which climate change worry becomes more or less likely to significantly impact mental wellbeing. Here, we considered two plausible moderators of the relationship between climate change worry and mental wellbeing: neuroticism and efficacy beliefs.MethodsAnalysis was conducted with survey data gathered in six European countries in autumn 2019. Participants were recruited from universities in the participating countries using opportunity sampling.ResultsWe found that climate change worry is negatively related to mental wellbeing at any level of perceived efficacy. In contrast, climate change worry is only significantly related to mental wellbeing at low and average levels of neuroticism. High neuroticism appears to have a masking, rather than amplifying, role in the relationship between climate change worry and mental wellbeing.LimitationsThe cross-sectional design of the study precludes verification of causal relationships among variables. The brief measure of neuroticism employed also did not allow for nuanced analysis of how different facets of neuroticism contribute to the observed interaction with climate change worry. Findings cannot be indiscriminately generalised to less privileged groups facing the worst impacts of the climate crisis.ConclusionOur findings lend to a view that harmful impacts of climate change worry on mental wellbeing cannot simply be ascribed to dispositional traits like neuroticism. We advocate for interventions that tackle negative climate-related emotions as unique psychological stressors

Collective Effervescence, Self-Transcendence, and Gender Differences in Social Well-Being During 8 March Demonstrations

8 March (8M), now known as International Women’s Day, is a day for feminist claims where demonstrations are organized in over 150 countries, with the participation of millions of women all around the world. These demonstrations can be viewed as collective rituals and thus focus attention on the processes that facilitate different psychosocial effects. This work aims to explore the mechanisms (i.e., behavioral and attentional synchrony, perceived emotional synchrony, and positive and transcendent emotions) involved in participation in the demonstrations of 8 March 2020, collective and ritualized feminist actions, and their correlates associated with personal well-being (i.e., affective well-being and beliefs of personal growth) and collective well-being (i.e., social integration variables: situated identity, solidarity and fusion), collective efficacy and collective growth, and behavioral intention to support the fight for women’s rights. To this end, a cross-cultural study was conducted with the participation of 2,854 people (age 18–79; M = 30.55; SD = 11.66) from countries in Latin America (Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador) and Europe (Spain and Portugal), with a retrospective correlational cross-sectional design and a convenience sample. Participants were divided between demonstration participants (n = 1,271; 94.0% female) and non-demonstrators or followers who monitored participants through the media and social networks (n = 1,583; 75.87% female). Compared with non-demonstrators and with males, female and non-binary gender respondents had greater scores in mechanisms and criterion variables. Further random-effects model meta-analyses revealed that the perceived emotional synchrony was consistently associated with more proximal mechanisms, as well as with criterion variables. Finally, sequential moderation analyses showed that proposed mechanisms successfully mediated the effects of participation on every criterion variable. These results indicate that participation in 8M marches and demonstrations can be analyzed through the literature on collective rituals. As such, collective participation implies positive outcomes both individually and collectively, which are further reinforced through key psychological mechanisms, in line with a Durkheimian approach to collective rituals.Fil: Zumeta, Larraitz N.. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Castro Abril, Pablo. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Méndez, Lander. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Pizarro, José J.. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Włodarczyk, Anna. Universidad Católica del Norte; ChileFil: Basabe, Nekane. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Navarro Carrillo, Ginés. Universidad de Jaén; EspañaFil: Padoan De Luca, Sonia. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: da Costa, Silvia. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Alonso Arbiol, Itziar. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Torres Gómez, Bárbara. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Cakal, Huseyin. Keele University; Reino UnidoFil: Delfino, Gisela Isabel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina "Santa María de los Buenos Aires"; ArgentinaFil: Techio, Elza M.. Universidade Federal da Bahia; BrasilFil: Alzugaray, Carolina. Universidad de Santo Tomas; ChileFil: Bilbao, Marian. Universidad Alberto Hurtado; ChileFil: Villagrán, Loreto. Universidad de Concepción; ChileFil: López López, Wilson. Pontificia Universidad Javeriana; ColombiaFil: Ruiz Pérez, José Ignacio. Universidad Nacional de Colombia; ColombiaFil: Cedeño, Cynthia C.. Universidad Politécnica Salesiana; EcuadorFil: Reyes Valenzuela, Carlos. Universidad Andina Simon Bolivar - Sede Ecuador.; EcuadorFil: Alfaro Beracoechea, Laura. Universidad de Guadalajara; MéxicoFil: Contreras Ibáñez, Carlos César. Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana; MéxicoFil: Ibarra, Manuel Leonardo. Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México; MéxicoFil: Reyes Sosa, Hiram. Universidad Autonoma de Coahuila; MéxicoFil: Cueto, Rosa María. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Perú; PerúFil: Carvalho, Catarina L.. Universidad de Porto; PortugalFil: Pinto, Isabel R.. Universidad de Porto; Portuga

Sociopolitical consequences of COVID-19 in the Americas, Europe, and Asia: A multilevel, multicountry investigation of risk perceptions and support for antidemocratic practices

Although different social crises may eventually favor undemocratic and authoritarian forms of governance, at some point, such antidemocratic practices require the support of a significant part of the population to be implemented. The present research investigates how and whether the COVID-19 pandemic might have favoured greater support for antidemocratic governmental practices, on the premise of regaining control and security. Using data from 17 countries (N = 4364) and national-level indicators (i.e., real number of contagions and deaths, and sociopolitical indicators), we test how the risk of contagion and death from COVID-19, along with personal orientations (i.e., social dominance orientation [SDO], right-wing authoritarianism [RWA], and perceived anomie) motivate authoritarian and antidemocratic practices. Results from multilevel models indicate that risk perception and perceptions of political instability predict a wish for stronger leadership, agreement with martial law, and support for a controlling government especially when SDO and RWA are high, while more egalitarian and less conservative people agree less with these authoritarian measures in spite of the levels of risk perception. We discuss the implications for these findings for future research on similar but also dissimilar external events (natural disasters, war, or terror incidents) and the consequences for societies with higher authoritarian tendencies.Fil: Pizarro, José J.. Universidad Católica del Norte; Chile. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Cakal, Huseyin. Keele University; Reino UnidoFil: Méndez, Lander. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Zumeta, Larraitz N.. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Gracia-Leiva, Marcela. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Basabe, Nekane. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Navarro-Carrillo, Ginés. Universidad de Jaén; EspañaFil: Cazan, Ana Maria. Transilvania University of Brasov; RumaniaFil: Keshavarzi, Saeed. Independent Researcher; IránFil: López López, Wilson. Pontificia Universidad Javeriana; ColombiaFil: Yahiiaiev, Illia. Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv; UcraniaFil: Alzugaray Ponce, Carolina. Universidad Santo Tomas; ChileFil: Villagrán, Loreto. Universidad de Concepción; ChileFil: Moyano Díaz, Emilio. Universidad de Talca; ChileFil: Petrović, Nebojša. University of Belgrade; SerbiaFil: Mathias, Anderson. Universidad Autonoma de Coahuila; MéxicoFil: Techio, Elza M.. Universidade Federal da Bahia; BrasilFil: Wlodarczyk, Anna. Universidad Católica del Norte; ChileFil: Alfaro-Beracoechea, Laura. Universidad de Guadalajara; MéxicoFil: Ibarra, Manuel L.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Michael, Andreas. University of Cyprus; ChipreFil: Mhaskar, Sumeet. O.p. Jindal Global University; IndiaFil: Martínez Zelaya, Gonzalo. Universidad Viña del Mar; ChileFil: Bilbao, Marian. Universidad Alberto Hurtado; ChileFil: Delfino, Gisela Isabel. Universidad Pontificia Comillas; España. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Carvalho, Catarina L.. Universidad de Porto; PortugalFil: Pinto, Isabel R.. Universidad de Porto; PortugalFil: Mohsin, Falak Zehra. Karachi School Of Business And Leadership; PakistánFil: Espinosa, Agustín. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Perú; PerúFil: Cueto, Rosa María. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Perú; PerúFil: Cavalli, Stefano. Scuola Universitaria Professionale Della Svizzera Italiana; ItaliaFil: da Costa, Silvia. Universidad de Zaragoza; EspañaFil: Amutio, Alberto. Universidad Andrés Bello; Chile. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Alonso Arbiol, Itziar. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Páez, Darío. Universidad Andrés Bello; Chil

Negative emotions about climate change are related to insomnia symptoms and mental health : Cross-sectional evidence from 25 countries

Climate change threatens mental health via increasing exposure to the social and economic disruptions created by extreme weather and large-scale climatic events, as well as through the anxiety associated with recognising the existential threat posed by the climate crisis. Considering the growing levels of climate change awareness across the world, negative emotions like anxiety and worry about climate-related risks are a potentially pervasive conduit for the adverse impacts of climate change on mental health. In this study, we examined how negative climate-related emotions relate to sleep and mental health among a diverse non-representative sample of individuals recruited from 25 countries, as well as a Norwegian nationally-representative sample. Overall, we found that negative climate-related emotions are positively associated with insomnia symptoms and negatively related to self-rated mental health in most countries. Our findings suggest that climate-related psychological stressors are significantly linked with mental health in many countries and draw attention to the need for cross-disciplinary research aimed at achieving rigorous empirical assessments of the unique challenge posed to mental health by negative emotional responses to climate change.Peer reviewe

Climate anxiety, wellbeing and pro-environmental action: correlates of negative emotional responses to climate change in 32 countries

This study explored the correlates of climate anxiety in a diverse range of national contexts. We analysed cross-sectional data gathered in 32 countries (N = 12,246). Our results show that climate anxiety is positively related to rate of exposure to information about climate change impacts, the amount of attention people pay to climate change information, and perceived descriptive norms about emotional responding to climate change. Climate anxiety was also positively linked to pro-environmental behaviours and negatively linked to mental wellbeing. Notably, climate anxiety had a significant inverse association with mental wellbeing in 31 out of 32 countries. In contrast, it had a significant association with pro-environmental behaviour in 24 countries, and with environmental activism in 12 countries. Our findings highlight contextual boundaries to engagement in environmental action as an antidote to climate anxiety, and the broad international significance of considering negative climate-related emotions as a plausible threat to wellbeing.publishedVersio