European Journal of Social Psychology

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.70043pmid: N/A

Oeberst, Aileen; Mischkowski, Dorothee; Imhoff, Roland

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.70006pmid: N/A

Recently, two independently published papers put forward separate frameworks to explain several different biases. Although the two frameworks do not contradict each other, their mere co‐existence is an unsatisfactory state as psychological theory is not advanced. In the present outlook paper, we make a first attempt in bringing the two frameworks together – and with it, the largely unconnected research strands they come from. Specifically, we focus on the (bi‐)directionality of a coherence generating process underlying the core of the one framework – coherence‐based reasoning (CBR) – and argue that one direction is largely consistent with the core process of the other framework: belief‐consistent information processing (BCIP). We elaborate on the circumstances under which coherence will be more likely obtained via BCIP. In doing so, we derive some predictions that future research could test. Furthermore, we point to relevant open questions and outline several recommendations for future research.

Ma, Gloria W. S.; Pavey, Chloe; Eiroa‐Solans, Conrado; Parkinson, Brian

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.70003pmid: N/A

Prior social sharing research suggests that cueing sharers to focus on recounting emotionally arousing details of a negative experience often increases negative affect, whereas cueing them to reconstrue the experience leads to emotional recovery. Extending these findings, we tested whether interpersonal encouragement of reconstrual was consistently more effective than that of recounting in improving emotions induced by different kinds of stressors that varied in collectiveness and emotional content (interpersonal conflicts vs. COVID‐19 news in Study 1; regretful vs. angry conflicts in Study 2). In addition, rather than a generic instruction to reconstrue as used in Study 1, Study 2 focused on two specific forms of reconstrual (stimulus‐reappraisal and perspective‐taking) and compared their emotional effects to those of recounting in online dyadic settings. Results showed that reconstrual generally had more beneficial effects than recounting by promoting meaning‐making in both studies. Study 1 showed that reconstrual helped achieve an enhanced sense of closure, and Study 2 revealed that certain reconstrual styles were more effective in regulating certain emotional responses. Specifically, perspective‐taking was especially effective in regulating anger, whereas stimulus‐reappraisal seemed more suited for reducing negative affect about regretful events.

Zhang, Kai; Zhang, Hong; Aaldering, Hillie; Majer, Johann M.; Trötschel, Roman

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.3178pmid: N/A

Although many negotiations affect external parties, prior research has often overlooked how negotiated agreements shape the outcomes of those who are dependent on–but absent from–the bargaining table. Across one scenario and three interactive, face‐to‐face negotiation experiments (N = 458), we investigated how, when and why negotiators consider the outcomes of external parties. Using a novel experimental paradigm, we introduced the proximity effect–the tendency for negotiators to achieve higher joint outcomes with their direct counterparts than for affected external parties. Experiments 1 and 2 provided consistent evidence for this effect, even though improving outcomes for external parties did not come at a cost to negotiators’ own joint gains. Experiment 3 showed that the proximity effect was moderated by the interdependence structure: It disappeared under positive interdependence but persisted under negative interdependence. In Experiment 4, prompting an interdependence mindset reduced the proximity effect and improved outcomes for all involved parties. An internal meta‐analysis confirmed the robustness of these findings, offering theoretical and practical insights for future research on negotiations affecting external parties.

Fischer, Ronald; Karl, Johannes A.

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.70009pmid: N/A

Values have become central to the study of social and psychological processes across cultures and across time. To date, there has been no conclusive analysis of the cross‐cultural and cross‐temporal comparability of values in Europe. We conduct invariance tests of the Portrait Values Questionnaire collected as part of the European Social Survey (ESS, k = 261 samples, N = 374,565) from 2002 to 2024. Using confirmatory factor analysis, we found that the theoretical value model fits the overall data. Ignoring temporal information, covariances and mean value patterns can be compared across countries. Testing separate country samples collected in specific rounds, we found evidence that sample‐specific results may not be comparable. Considering cross‐temporal invariance, only 17 out of 35 countries with multiple participation in the ESS showed metric invariance. We observed patterns of deteriorating model fit and changes in the basic value structure over time.

Chachignon, Philippine; Suchier, Johann; Dany, Lionel; Le Barbenchon, Emmanuelle

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.70007pmid: N/A

Critiques of mindfulness as a tool embedded in neoliberal ideology have emerged since the mid‐2010s, though they remain largely theoretical. Although they suggest that mindfulness shapes a neoliberal selfhood through self‐regulation and disidentification, potentially fostering acceptance of the system and political disengagement, our research empirically examined these assumptions. Study 1 (N = 213) indicated that trait mindfulness was associated with less system justification through lower competitiveness, whereas mindfulness practice had an indirect positive association with economic system justification (ESJ) via self‐regulation. On the basis of the social identity model of collective action, Study 2 (N = 252) revealed that trait mindfulness was linked to less group‐based anger through greater emotion regulation (i.e., acceptance), which, in turn, was associated with lower collective action intentions, but mindfulness was not related with social identification. Both studies point to nuanced relationships between mindfulness and the maintenance of the status quo, of which practical and social implications are discussed.

Marie, Charly; Bourguignon, David

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.70004pmid: N/A

Unemployed people face a stigmatizing representation leading to adverse outcomes. Its origin, content, evolution and transmission remain understudied. We use a lexicometric method to examine how ‘the unemployed’ are represented in 12,996 French press articles from 2005 to 2022. First, unemployed people represent 0.03% of all articles published during the study period. Second, we identify six mostly disembodied frames that reflect activation policies and almost exclusively individualize the cause of unemployment: unemployed people as statistics and economic data, political debates on unemployment, implementation of unemployment policies, local and organizational support, personal stories and realities of unemployment and collective actions. Only the frame of personal stories correlates with unemployment rate, suggesting increased humanization during economic crises. Third, when depicted, unemployed individuals are portrayed as persevering and willing poor men in need of guidance and support, who adhere to a strong social norm to work and take personal responsibility for their situation.

Caricati, Luca; Owuamalam, Chuma Kevin; Bonetti, Chiara; Rubin, Mark; Spears, Russell

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.70005pmid: N/A

The association between social identification and system justification, especially amongst low‐status groups, is a highly contested issue in the social and political psychology literatures. While some researchers propose that this association should be largely negative, others assume that it should be largely positive. Here, we synthesised the accumulated evidence on this relationship using a 4‐level meta‐analysis of 84 papers supplying 248 different samples and 359 effect sizes (Ntotal = 395,855). Overall the association between identification and system justification was positive, although weak (Zr = 0.11, 95% CI = 0.06, 0.17) and was stronger for high‐ and intermediate‐status groups (Zr = 0.19, 95% CI = 0.13, 0.25 and Zr = 0.12, 95% CI = 0.04, 0.20 respectively) but null for low‐status groups (Zr = 0.01, 95% CI = −0.04, 0.06). When theoretically relevant moderators were taken into account, the results further revealed that, for low‐status groups, subgroup identification was positively correlated with system justification, but only when status differences were stable and/or legitimate.

Toribio‐Flórez, Daniel; Altenmüller, Marlene S.; Douglas, Karen M.; Gollwitzer, Mario; Adinugroho, Indro; Alfano, Mark; Apriliawati, Denisa; Azevedo, Flavio; Betsch, Cornelia; Białobrzeska, Olga; Bret, Amélie; Valdez, André Calero; Cologna, Viktoria; Czarnek, Gabriela; Delouvée, Sylvain; Doell, Kimberly C.; Dohle, Simone; Dubrov, Dmitrii;

Zayas, Vivian; Strycharz, Steve; Ni, Minghui

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.70011pmid: N/A

One of life's most frequently encountered stressors is internal threat, such as distressing autobiographical memories. Across six studies, we examined whether activating representations of attachment figures could preemptively buffer against the affective sting of such memory recall. Compared to neutral primes (e.g., stranger or neutral object), viewing a photograph of one's mother or romantic partner reduced negative affect following memory recall. This effect was partially mediated by spontaneously triggered positive affect. Importantly, non‐attachment‐based positive primes—a liked celebrity or positive object—also conferred such benefits, suggesting that positive affect itself is a key mechanism. A mega‐analysis confirmed the robustness of the preemptive buffering effect for attachment figures and showed that it was moderated by attachment avoidance. These findings identify a novel route by which both close relationships and positively valenced stimuli preemptively protect against internal threats, offering new insights for research on emotion regulation, attachment theory and positive psychology.