European Journal of Social Psychology

Masi, Matteo; Mattavelli, Simone; Fasoli, Fabio; Brambilla, Marco

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2905pmid: N/A

Prior research has shown that the face's width‐to‐height ratio (fWHR) and the voice's pitch influence social perception. Yet, the relative contribution of either cue has been largely unexplored. We examined the simultaneous effects of fWHR and pitch on social evaluations. Experiment 1 (N = 102) tested how such cues shaped global impressions. Experiment 2 (N = 121) tested fWHR and pitch's effect on behavioural affiliative intentions, framing social interaction as a physical or an intellectual competition. Experiment 3 (N = 57) assessed whether variations in fWHR and pitch could influence trait attribution (i.e., physical formidability and intelligence). Individuals with large faces or low‐pitched voices elicited negative impressions, positive behavioural intentions in a physical competition, and the attribution of stronger formidability but lower intelligence. Across the studies, cues exerted independent effects. The implications of these findings for research on cross‐modal social perception are discussed.

Owuamalam, Chuma Kevin; Tan, Chee Meng; Caricati, Luca; Rubin, Mark; Spears, Russell

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2901pmid: N/A

Why do poorer and less educated Asians trust their institutions of governance more than their richer and well educated counterparts, despite their disadvantaged position within society? System justification theory (SJT) assumes that this trust is driven by a system‐level motivation that operates independently from social identity needs. In two nationally representative surveys spanning several years (Ntotal = 221,297), we compared SJT's explanation with a newer social identity model of system attitudes (SIMSA): that system justification amongst disadvantaged Asians is driven by a group norm for harmony, especially amongst those who are strongly invested in their national ingroup. The results supported SIMSA more than SJT. Specifically, a strong sense of national identification boosted trust in systems of governance amongst poorer and less‐educated Asians, both when societal norms for harmony (Study 1), and personal endorsement of this norm (Study 2) were strong. Hence, social identity needs help to explain stronger system justification among objectively disadvantaged Asians.

Long, Feiteng; Ye, Zi; Liu, Guohua

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2902pmid: N/A

Established theories have acknowledged that intergroup threat is one of the key determinants of intergroup attitudes and behaviours, but how intergroup threat can affect consumer behaviour remains unclear. Here, four preregistered studies (total N = 988) examined the effect of intergroup threat (manipulated in terms of realistic and symbolic threats) on consumers’ willingness to purchase ingroup and outgroup products. In the context of China–West relations, we measured Chinese consumers’ willingness to purchase Chinese (ingroup) and Western (outgroup) products. These studies together revealed that realistic and symbolic threats (versus control) increased willingness to purchase ingroup products and decreased willingness to purchase outgroup products, regardless of the product category. Studies 3a and 3b also measured knowledge of the outgroup as a potential moderator, revealing that realistic threat (versus control) reduced willingness to purchase outgroup products only among individuals who had less knowledge of the outgroup. Furthermore, Study 3b showed that the intergroup threat manipulation indirectly influenced consumers’ willingness to purchase ingroup/outgroup products through increased anger and decreased hope. We discussed the contributions to the intergroup relations and consumer behaviour literature and the implications for transnational marketing practices, as well as the limitations of this research.

Wissink, Joeri; Cantiani, Anabela; Ven, Niels; Pronk, Tila; Erle, Thorsten M.; Beest, Ilja

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2904pmid: N/A

A key observation in coalition formation is that bargainers who control many resources are often excluded from coalitions by bargainers who control few resources, the Strength‐is‐Weakness effect. We argue that this effect is contingent on whether resources provide a legitimate claim to be included in a coalition. Across three incentivized coalition experiments (n = 2745; 915 triads), three participants (player A had four resources, player B had three resources, player C had two resources) negotiated about a payoff of 90 monetary units. Depending on condition, these resources were obtained randomly, earned, or earned and proportionally linked to the payoff. Results showed player As were less included when resources were obtained randomly and more often included in coalitions when resources were earned and/or proportionally linked to the payoff. This provides evidence that the Strength‐is‐Weakness is contingent on the legitimacy of the resources.

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2863pmid: N/A

Pretus, Clara; Ray, Jennifer L.; Granot, Yael; Cunningham, William A.; Van Bavel, Jay J.

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2906pmid: N/A

We investigated whether any differences in the psychological conceptualization of hate and dislike were simply a matter of degree of negativity (i.e., hate falls on the end of the continuum of dislike) or also morality (i.e., hate is imbued with distinct moral components that distinguish it from dislike). In three lab studies in Canada and the United States, participants reported disliked and hated attitude objects and rated each on dimensions including valence, attitude strength, morality, and emotional content. Quantitative and qualitative measures revealed that hated attitude objects were more negative than disliked attitude objects and associated with moral beliefs and emotions, even after adjusting for differences in negativity. In Study 4, we analysed the rhetoric on real hate sites and complaint forums and found that the language used on prominent hate websites contained more words related to morality, but not negativity, relative to complaint forums.

Marchlewska, Marta; Górska, Paulina; Molenda, Zuzanna; Lipowska, Katarzyna; Malinowska, Katarzyna

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2907pmid: N/A

Over the past 30 years, the Catholic Church has been rocked by a series of child sexual abuse scandals worldwide. Some of the religious officials suggested that the children are partly to blame for being sexually abused by priests. We assumed that such convictions (i.e., pedophilia myth acceptance) should be associated with a defensive commitment to one's religious group, captured by religious collective narcissism. In two studies conducted among Polish participants (Study 1, longitudinal, n = 719; Study 2, cross‐sectional, n = 357), we found that pedophilia myth acceptance was positively predicted by Catholic narcissism but negatively by secure identification with Catholics. We additionally demonstrated that the effect of Catholic narcissism on pedophilia myth acceptance was mediated by a siege mentality with respect to the religious in‐group. We discuss the role of different types of group commitment in predicting in‐group criticism and prejudice against underaged victims of sexual abuse.

Tanjitpiyanond, Porntida; Jetten, Jolanda; Peters, Kim; Ashokkumar, Ashwini; Barry, Oumar; Billet, Matthew; Becker, Maja; Booth, Robert W.; Castro, Diego; Chinchilla, Juana; Costantini, Giulio; Dejonckheere, Egon; Dimdins, Girts; Erbas, Yasemin; Espinosa, Agustín; Finchilescu, Gillian; Gómez, Ángel; González, Roberto; Goto, Nobuhiko;

Wang, Chris; Platow, Michael J.; Newman, Eryn J.

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2909pmid: N/A

This research examined the hypothesis that people judge as true those claims aligned with the normative content of their salient social identities. In Experiment 1a, participants’ social identities were manipulated by assigning them to ‘inductive‐thinker’ and ‘intuitive‐thinker’ groups. Participants subsequently made truth judgements about aphorisms randomly associated with ‘science’ and ‘popular wisdom’. Those with salient inductive‐thinker social identities judged science‐based claims as more truthful than popular wisdom‐based claims to a greater extent than those with salient intuitive‐thinker social identities. Experiment 1b was a preregistered replication, with additional conditions eliminating an alternative semantic‐priming explanation. In Experiment 2, American Conservatives and Liberals judged as more true claims associated with the ideological content of their social identities. This difference was attenuated through a manipulation that framed participants as more moderate than they had originally indicated. Overall, these experiments suggest an identity‐truth malleability, such that making salient specific social identities can lead to related perceptions of truth normatively aligned with those identities.

Gulliver, Robyn; Chan, Christian S.; Tam, Katy Y. Y.; Lau, Iris S. K.; Hong, Ying Yi; Louis, Winnifred R.

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2910pmid: N/A

In three studies, we examined the role of distrust and perceived threat in intentions to engage in normative and violent non‐normative collective action. A field‐based qualitative study of 35 pro‐democracy protestors during the 2019 Hong Kong Anti‐Extradition protests revealed that perceived threat to Hong Kong values alongside distrust of political institutions spurred collective action engagement and support for defensive violent collection action. In Study 2, a questionnaire (N = 639) testing pro‐democracy action intentions demonstrated direct paths on both normative and violent collective action intentions from distrust and threat. In Study 3 (N = 133), experimental trust and threat manipulations demonstrated a significant association between distrust and threat on violent collective action intentions and acceptance, and a significant interaction on acceptance of violent collective action. Our results reveal the importance of distrust and threat in attitudinal support for, and engagement in, collective action and their role in transitioning from non‐violent to violent collective action.