Liberals and conservatives both express political animosity and favouritism. However, less is known about whether the same or different factors contribute to this phenomenon among liberals and conservatives. We test three different relationships that could emerge among cognitive ability, cognitive reflection and political group‐based attitudes. Analysing two nationally representative surveys of US

Having a vision and being able to imagine socially and ecologically just alternatives can motivate people for societal transformation. However, which psychological processes drive this link between the mental accessibility of societal alternatives and collective action? We hypothesized that collective efficacy beliefs and politicized identification form two pathways mediating the effects of cognitive

Cruelty and its link to injustice in contexts of humiliation have not received to date due attention from experimental psychosocial research. Aiming at filling this gap, this paper presents three studies with increasing degrees of experimental control (Ntotal = 1098) that show a dual opponent‐process response to being targeted by potentially humiliating actions: while targets appraising more injustice

The United Nations Agenda 2030, inclusive of its 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), serves as the global blueprint for sustainability for both present and future generations. Scientific research is entrusted with the responsibility of contributing by informing the current situation and future challenges in achieving the SDGs. This paper investigates the role of social psychology in contributing

Humanity is facing rapid declines in both biodiversity and cultural diversity. As effective conservation policies often require strong public support, it is critical to understand whether individuals view diversity loss through a moral lens and whether they value diversity for its own sake, independent from instrumental or individual‐centric concerns. Across two studies (N = 796), we found that individuals

In response to the urgent global climate crisis, climate activism has risen as a potent force. Decision‐making regarding climate collective action includes individuals' perceptions of the anticipated future existential risks of the climate crisis (risk of inaction) and present‐day political risks of climate activism (risk of action). Our research, spanning four studies (two correlational surveys and

In this paper, we critique the colonial conception of time and present alternative decolonial temporalities. We propose that the colonial conception of time, which is linear and scarcity centred, is limiting when it comes to the possibility of contextually theorizing trauma and healing. We offer two main arguments. The first argument explores the discourse around the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Contrary to expectations about solidarity and sisterhood between women, women managers sometimes distance themselves from junior women in the workplace when facing identity threat, that is, the feeling that one's social identity—such as race or gender—is devalued or undermined. For example, women managers might distance themselves from lower status junior women by seeing themselves as more masculine

We currently inhabit an era marked by increasing economic inequality. This paper delves into the repercussions of perceived economic inequality on individual‐level pro‐environmental engagement and puts forth an explanatory mechanism. Across three empirical studies encompassing an archival investigation employing a nationally representative data set (Study 1), an online survey (Study 2) and an in‐lab

Previous research linked counternormative tendencies (e.g., conspiracy beliefs, cyberbullying, and catfishing) to narcissism—a personality trait characterized by difficulties in experiencing psychological threats. We argue that avoidance coping with stress favours attitudes and behaviours that allow for deflecting from stressful events and releasing one's stress at the expense of others. Thus, we hypothesized

In the present work, we addressed the relationship between parental leave policies and social norms. Using a pre‐registered, cross‐national approach, we examined the relationship between parental leave policies and the perception of social norms for the gender division of childcare. In this study, 19,259 students (11,924 women) from 48 countries indicated the degree to which they believe childcare

While social psychology has contributed much to our understanding of collective action, other forms of resistance are understudied. However, in contexts of long‐standing oppression—such as ongoing colonialism—and past repression of liberation struggles, other resistance strategies are important considering the constraints on overt, collective action in such contexts. This paper reports findings from

In this article, we investigate how being socially excluded (vs. included) affects people's distributive fairness judgements and their willingness to cooperate with others in subsequent interactions. For this purpose, we conducted three experiments in which we assessed individual differences in having experienced being socially excluded (Experiment 1, N = 164), and manipulated social exclusion (Experiment

In this paper, we conceptualize the days of mourning that followed the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. as constituting a liminal occasion, a moment of in‐betweenness through which we can explore sense‐making in times of transition. How do people navigate through liminal occasions, and are they always transformative? Through a rapid response ethnography (Ninterviews = 64, Nparticipants = 122), we were

Based on the Elaborated Social Identity Model of Crowd Behaviour, we tested in two experiments whether a forceful display of police power increases perceptions of illegitimacy of the police and the formation of resistance among protestors. In the high power condition, the police were dressed in riot gear (with helmets, armed with shields and batons). In the low power condition, the police were dressed

In four studies (Ntotal = 1832 French participants), we tested if perceiving present society as disintegrated and disregulated (i.e. perceived anomie) would foster the projection of a negative national future and feelings of collective angst; which would in turn predict increased present intentions to engage in actions aimed at defending the country. Perceived anomie was measured (Pilot Study) or manipulated

The Informative Process Model (IPM) proposes an intervention to facilitate change in conflict‐supporting narratives in protracted conflicts. These narratives develop to help societies cope with conflict; but over time, they turn into barriers for its resolution. The IPM suggests raising awareness of the psychological processes responsible for the development of these narratives and their possibility

This paper discusses the importance of a social identity approach to crisis leadership in the context of global crises such as the Covid‐19 pandemic and emphasizes the interconnected relationships between leaders and followers. I highlight the role of leaders in fostering unity and shaping citizens' responses especially during crises. I discuss the nature of crises and the significant role of political

Previous research found that political polarization goes hand in hand with being strongly identified with a political ingroup. In this research, we assumed this should be the case only among those who identify with their political ingroup in a narcissistic way (stemming from frustrated needs and predicting outgroup hostility). This hypothesis was tested in one experimental (Study 4, n = 525) and three

Promoting intergroup friendships in schools is regarded as a powerful strategy for improving outgroup attitudes. However, stochastic actor‐oriented modelling (SAOM) studies have often revealed no association between intergroup friendship and outgroup attitudes. I investigated whether SAOM studies reported no effect of intergroup friendship on outgroup attitudes, what was responsible for this surprising

Futures consciousness (FC) refers to the capacity to understand, anticipate and prepare for the future. As a form of future orientation, it encompasses five interrelated dimensions of time perspective, agency beliefs, openness to alternatives, systems perception and concern for others. We present here cross‐sectional evidence that FC is related to greater environmental engagement, above and beyond

Migrants' subjective sense of home deserves further research attention. In the particular context of the United Kingdom's (UK's) decision to leave the European Union (‘Brexit’), we interviewed 10 European citizens living in the UK about their sense of home, using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). In our analysis, we identified themes of (1) having more than one home, (2) making and finding

Social bots, employed to manipulate public opinion, pose a novel threat to digital societies. Existing bot research has emphasized technological aspects while neglecting psychological factors shaping human–bot interactions. This research addresses this gap within the context of the US‐American electorate. Two datasets provide evidence that partisanship distorts (a) online users' representation of bots

Experimental and survey research shows that a common group membership can result in increased levels of social support. Here we complement such research with qualitative data concerning the forms and function of such support. Specifically, we explore the mutual support reported by pilgrims undertaking the Hajj. This requires participants enact a series of identity‐related beliefs and values (including

Materialism, or beliefs and values that link wealth and consumption to success and happiness, negatively affects interpersonal relationships. Prior work has typically explained these effects through the allocation of personal resources (such as time or money) within relationships, thus using a behavioural route. However, this research proposes an alternative cognitive pathway to understand the adverse

State apologies for human rights violations are often seen as a key mechanism in reconciliation processes. Nevertheless, they are often contested as well and have not been embraced equally by countries around the world. This raises questions about their universal value and potential to address or redress past harmdoing by countries. In a study across 33 countries (n = 11,023), we found that people

People constantly make inferences about others' beliefs and preferences. People can draw on various sources of information to make these inferences, including stereotypes, self‐knowledge, and target‐specific knowledge. What leads people to use each of these sources of information over others? The current study examined factors that influence the use of these sources of information, focusing on three

Self‐regulation is essential for maintaining harmonious social connections and sustaining groups, yet little research has examined how individuals regulate their actions for the benefits of groups and which self‐regulatory strategies promote effective self‐regulation (active engagement and disengagement) in group contexts. In three experiments, focusing on identity groups (family and friends in Study

Collective narcissism, a belief that one's group is exceptional and entitled to special treatment but underappreciated by others, is related to important social and political outcomes but has been predominantly studied in advantaged groups. The present research compares the motivational correlates (through values) of collective narcissism in ethnic groups of different status (advantaged and disadvantaged)

The concept of microaggressions alerts us how majority group members' everyday behaviour can impact minorities negatively. Recently, some researchers have questioned the criteria for identifying microaggressions and rejected the concept's utility. We maintain that attending to minorities' everyday experiences is important and illustrate this through a three‐phase study with Roma in Hungary. First,

In this paper, we examine how social identity, moral obligation and the relationship between the two shaped support for the 2016 Academics for Peace petition in Turkey. We examine the pre‐trial statements of nine defendants charged for signing the petition and appearing in court on the same day in December 2018. We first conduct an inductive thematic analysis on one statement, and then, using the themes

While the mechanisms underlying polarization are complex, scholars have consistently found a pervasive overestimation of perceptions of polarization to be a contributing factor. We argue that one mitigation strategy that can work at scale to address such misperceptions might be relatively straightforward: better data visualizations of cross‐party attitudes on key issues. In a large‐scale (N = 6603)

Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) explains variation in moral judgements on the basis of multiple innate, intuitive foundations and has been subject to criticism over recent years. Prior research has tended to rely on explicit self‐report in the Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ). In contrast, we seek to capture intuitive choices between foundations in a novel task – the Moral Foundations Conflict

What motivates people to participate in collective action? Some actions such as symbolic or online actions are often critiqued as performative allyship, motivated by personal gain rather than genuine concern for the cause. We aim to adjudicate this argument by examining the quality of motivations for acting, drawing on the insights of self‐determination theory and the social identity approach. Using

Some people deliberately spread conspiracy theories. What are the reputational benefits and costs of doing so? The Adaptive‐Conspiracism hypothesis proposes that it pays to be vigilant against possible conspiracies, especially in case of intergroup threat. Those who spread conspiracy theories may therefore be seen as valuable group members. Few studies have focused on the reputational impact of spreading

Opposing social movements are groups that have conflicting objectives on a shared social justice issue. To maximize the probability of their movement's success, groups can strategically portray their group in a favourable manner while discrediting their opposition. One such approach involves the construction of victimization discourses. In this research, we combined topic modelling and critical discursive

The present research examined whether consideration of individuals' certainty in their holism can enhance the ability of this individual difference to predict how they respond to contradiction‐relevant outcomes. Across four studies, participants first completed a standardized measure of holistic‐analytic thinking. Then, they rated how certain they were in their responses to the holism scale or were

Do chronically high‐lonely individuals exhibit specific memory biases when recalling past social episodes? We explored negative memory biases, focusing on the recall of unfavourable social experiences and social memory biases, emphasizing the recall of social experiences irrespective of emotional valence. We conducted a dictionary‐based semantic analysis of autobiographical episodes obtained from 4095

Social psychological research has witnessed a burgeoning interest in advantaged group allies acting in solidarity with disadvantaged groups to challenge systems of inequality. While solidarity from advantaged group members is often deemed critical for social change, the perceptions of disadvantaged group members regarding ally participation are seldom addressed. This research delved into how LGBTQIA+

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has had a detrimental effect on people's mental health. Drawing on the palliative function of ideologies, we suggest that people rely on system‐justifying beliefs to mitigate psychological distress during the pandemic. We conducted three studies with correlational and experimental designs to examine whether and how system‐justifying beliefs can buffer

While power is often defined and operationalized as control or influence over others, alternative conceptualizations define power as the ability to meet various fundamental needs. We argue that this conceptualization may better capture how marginalized minority group members understand their group's power or powerlessness. However, there is little research examining how people themselves construe group‐based

Unethical prosocial behaviour (UPB) refers to acts where people violate widely held moral rules to benefit others. In light of previous research on the association between immoral behaviours and dehumanization, we examined whether and how engaging in UPB would impact the tendency to self‐dehumanize. Across four studies (valid N = 1640), we found that UPB led to less self‐dehumanization than unethical

Individuals and governments often fail to take action to address climate change owing largely to widespread politicization of the issue and related discourse. In response to recent appeals for non‐partisan approaches to pro‐environmentalism, we propose that highlighting one's responsibility to future generations (RFG) could offer promise across the political spectrum. We argue that RFG may be effective

Multiculturalism and tolerance, as two sets of normative beliefs about how to deal with intergroup diversity, have been recognized as effective at reducing outgroup negativity among majority group members. However, whether majority group members' normative beliefs regarding them might motivate their solidarity-based collective actions and how their political ideology might qualify this influence remained

We study a transcript of discourse recorded on an open mic during the mass suicide/murder of 909 members of a religious community in Jonestown in 1978. The 'Jonestown massacre' is often cited in psychology textbooks as a warning example of how powerful situations and charismatic leaders can lead ordinary people to extreme and destructive behaviours. These accounts suggest that individuals lose control

Conspiracy theories introduce a democratic paradox, as belief in conspiracy theories predicts support for both democratic and non-democratic political systems. In this article, we explore whether democratic and anti-democratic attitudes, resulting from conspiracy beliefs, can be mutually exclusive. In Study 1 (United Kingdom, N = 293), we show that belief in conspiracy theories is associated with decreased

Intergroup help contributes to the solution of global issues in particular. However, whether to teach an outgroup how to address their problem permanently, or to directly help them solve the current problem? Collective narcissism might play a crucial role in this process. Based on the core characteristics of collective narcissism, this research explored whether and how collective narcissism would affect

Research has found that psychological groups based on opinion congruence are an important group type. Previous research constructed such groups around opinions potentially connected to pre‐existing identities. We strip away the socio‐structural context by using novel opinions to determine whether opinion congruence alone can be a category cue which can foster identification and whether such group identification

The effectiveness of mutual help groups (MHGs) in promoting addiction recovery has been widely acknowledged. However, the psychological mechanisms underlying the impact of MHGs remain somewhat uncertain. Drawing on a social identity perspective, this study investigated a sequential mediation model in which social support is posited as a driving factor that enhances abstinence maintenance through group

Daily need satisfaction for relatedness (social connection), autonomy (volitional self‐congruent action), and competence (self‐efficacy) fosters well‐being, but those findings primarily reflect experiences during social interactions. A three‐week daily diary study (N = 178) explored psychological need satisfaction in two key everyday contexts: solitude and social. Holding constant the benefits of need‐satisfying

This article seeks to enhance the theoretical understanding of discrimination perception, especially in contexts with relevant statistical information. Previous research has provided important insights into the perception of single, ambiguous instances of discrimination. However, the generalizability of these insights to scenarios involving multiple, repeated instances of discrimination remains unclear

Objectification, being treated as a tool to achieve someone's instrumental goals, is a common phenomenon. A workplace supervisor may view employees solely in terms of their output; likewise, friends may be seen only for their potential for personal and social advancement. We conducted five studies (N = 1209) to test whether objectification increases conspiracy beliefs through thwarted trust and whether

Shared social identity and social norms are often un(der)recognized within mass gatherings health literature, yet they can increase infectious disease transmission by motivating people to engage in risk‐taking behaviours. Across three experiments (Ntotal = 1551), we investigated how shared social identities, perceived norms of resource‐sharing, and perceived riskiness of sharing interact to shape decisions

In‐between groups encompass individuals who simultaneously belong to social categories that are often seen as mutually exclusive in addition to maintaining their distinct group identity. The current paper sheds light on how members of in‐between groups manage their relations within intergroup conflicts. Three studies were conducted among the Druze minority in Israel, a group that is ethnically Arab

Economic inequality does not encounter strong protests even though individuals are generally against it. One potential explanation of this paradox is that individuals do not perceive inequality as caused by intentional agents, which, in line with the Theory of Dyadic Morality (Schein & Gray, 2018), should prevent its assessment as immoral and consequently dampen moral outrage and collective action

This research examined religious engagement and subsequent antibody responses to the COVID‐19 vaccine. Using publicly available data from the Understanding Society survey, we employed a longitudinal design. Between January 2016 and May 2018, respondents completed measures of religious belonging, frequency of attending religious services (i.e., extrinsic religiosity), and the difference religion made

Joint action theorizing implies that any coordinated behaviour that induces co‐representation with a partner should increase social identification, especially when the associated actions require a high degree of coordination and are experienced as being performed effectively. The current research provides a first test of this new theoretical prediction for complementary (rather than synchronous) joint

Although there have been numerous studies on the relations between group identification and ethnic prejudice, it is less clear whether their associations reflect stable individual tendencies or rather situational or temporal fluctuations. This longitudinal multilevel study aimed to fill this gap by examining the between‐ and within‐person associations of identification with the national and superordinate

Social psychologists have conducted research relevant to environmental problems for many decades. However, the climate crisis presents a new problem with distinctive aspects and distinctive urgency. This paper reviews some of the principal ways in which social psychological research and theory have approached the topic, looking at perceptions, behaviour, and impacts linked to climate change. Each of