To what extent are cultural syndromes invariant within nations or can we identify within-cultural variability in structure and endorsement of cultural syndromes? These questions are central to a) ...recent discussions around the relevance of nation-states in cultural vs. geographical psychology and b) explorations of how cultural syndromes described in anthropological research are endorsed by individuals within and across regions within the country. We report data on Brazilian jeitinho, an informal problem-solving strategy that is central to Brazilian culture but may show within-cultural variability as suggested in previous anthropological and sociological research. Using a large online sample (N = 1259) we found evidence of full score equivalence for two multi-dimensional jeitinho measures across the most populous Brazilian regions, suggesting that respondents interpret the instruments similarly. Second, we found no practically meaningful mean differences: jeitinho was endorsed equally across all regions of the country. Finally, we found some small but consistent associations with demographic variables, notably gender, age, and education differences. We need to pay greater attention to behavioral functionality at individual level—the social position of individuals within the system rather than geographical boundaries.
We report a longitudinal study of Jeitinho brasileiro (salient cultural characteristic of Brazil) during a period of significant political instability. Previous historical and anthropological sources ...have pointed to the importance of political instability for cultural changes in behaviors such as jeitinho. We are the first to examine possible individual-level dynamics over time, reporting a 3-year longitudinal study (N = 205) of two dimensions that differentiate keeping a socially pleasant social climate (simpatia) from trickery and breaking social norms. Using longitudinal network analysis, we found (a) reinforcing links between behavioral nodes within each of these two jeitinho clusters over time, (b) few between-cluster links, (c) within-person and between-person components were distinct, and (d) only the between-person structure resembled the overall factor structure. Overall, our data show that cultural behaviors are systematically changing during a political crisis, offering first insights how cultural systems may change via shifts in individual behavior.
Abstract The present study aimed to adapt the Learned Helplessness Scale (LHS) to Brazilian Portuguese and assess its psychometric properties and nomological network in a Brazilian sample. ...Participants completed an online survey that consisted of the LHS, Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale, and the Perceived Stress Scale. 429 people participated, aged 18-79, mostly women, from multiple regions of Brazil and socioeconomic status. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis suggested a unidimensional solution with 18 items as appropriate. Correlations between the LHS and the other instruments also provided evidence of the expected nomological relationships. And we assessed the differences in LHS scores by sociodemographic data. These findings are favorable to the use of this instrument in Brazilian samples.
Resumo Este estudo teve como objetivo adaptar a Escala de Desamparo Aprendido (LHS) para português e avaliar suas propriedades psicométricas e rede nomológica em uma amostra brasileira. Os participantes preencheram um formulário online que consistia na LHS, na Escala de Auto-Estima de Rosenberg e na Escala de Estresse Percebido. 429 pessoas participaram, com idades entre 18 e 79 anos, a maioria mulheres, de múltiplas regiões do Brasil e níveis socioeconômicos. As Análises Fatoriais Exploratória e Confirmatória sugeriram uma solução unidimensional com 18 itens como apropriada. As correlações entre a LHS e os outros instrumentos forneceram evidências da validade nomológica esperada. E diferenças nas pontuações da LHS por dados sociodemográficos foram avaliadas. Tais achados foram favoráveis ao uso deste instrumento no Brasil.
ABSTRACT The goal of the present research was to investigate if individual differences in empathy and personal distress were stable predictors of compassionate emotions and whether these emotions, in ...turn, mediate the effect of attribution on prosocial propensity. We formulated four hypotheses to be tested concerning direct and indirect effects between the variables in our model. 627 participants, mainly female (N = 408), were randomly assigned to one of two conditions in which we manipulated the attribution of responsibility of a target person (uncontrollability x controllability). Our results corroborated totally or partially all four hypotheses, indicating that empathy was a stable predictor of compassionate emotions and that these emotions mediated the effect of attribution on prosocial propensity. Notably, we found that empathy was an even stronger predictor of compassionate emotions compared to the attribution that participants made. We found evidence corroborating the assumption that these prosocial individual differences measures can predict the tendency to actually experience compassionate emotions in different situations. Thus, we conclude that the comprehension of prosocial decision-making and attribution processes underlying prosocial situations must take into account individual differences as antecedents of compassionate emotions.
A better understanding of factors that can affect preferences and choices may contribute to more accurate decision-making. Several studies have investigated the effects of cognitive biases on ...decision-making and their relationship with cognitive abilities and thinking dispositions. While studies on behaviour, attitude, personality, and health worries have examined their relationship with human values, research on cognitive bias has not investigated its relationship to individual differences in human values. The purpose of this study was to explore individual differences in biased choices, examining the relationships of the human values self-direction, conformity, power, and universalism with the anchoring effect, the framing effect, the certainty effect, and the outcome bias, as well as the mediation of need for cognition and the moderation of numeracy in these relationships. We measured individual differences and within-participant effects with an online questionnaire completed by 409 Brazilian participants, with an age range from 18 to 80 years, 56.7% female, and 43.3% male. The cognitive biases studied consistently influenced choices and preferences. However, the biases showed distinct relationships with the individual differences investigated, indicating the involvement of diverse psychological mechanisms. For example, people who value more self-direction were less affected only by anchoring. Hence, people more susceptible to one bias were not similarly susceptible to another. This can help in research on how to weaken or strengthen cognitive biases and heuristics.
Culture-specific behaviour strategies provide an interesting window into individual differences research, producing a richer conceptualization of personality descriptions. Our aim is to describe the ...personality dimensions linked to a core socio-cultural behaviour pattern in Brazil: jeitinho. To reach this goal we conducted four studies. Our first set of studies (1a, 1b and 1c) examined the underlying structure of jeitinho as an individual difference variable and its nomological network with social values, the Big-Five, moral attitudes, and social dominance orientation. In Study 2, we confirm this structure and relate personal jeitinho to perceptions of jeitinho norms. Results demonstrated that personal jeitinho has two dimensions: Jeitinho Simpático is an individual's tendency to seek positive social interactions, avoid conflict, and find creative solutions; and Jeitinho Malandro captures behaviours such as the use of deception and trickery. These two behaviours are rooted in the same dimensions of the integrated model of values and personality.
Abstract This research aimed at investigating whether watching Brazilian advertising pieces that portray a sociocultural behavioral pattern called Brazilian jeitinho would influence participant’s ...subsequent behavior. One carried out an experiment in which 200 subjects watched and assessed three advertisement pieces. Upon recruitment, participants were informed that they would be taking part in a raffle for a gift card. The number of tickets received per participant was defined by a die-under-cup task. The more tickets they obtained, the higher the chance to receive the prize, providing an incentive to cheat. Afterwards, respondents took part in a task that defined the number of tickets that each would receive to participate in the raffle. Independent variables consisted in the manipulation of priming of jeitinho (video content: jeitinho or neutral) and privacy of the task (with or without privacy). On the other hand, the dependent variable consisted in the result obtained when participants rolled the dices that defined the number of tickets. One found a significant difference between the groups in which privacy was manipulated, indicating that the groups that performed the task aimed at measuring dishonesty with privacy actually tended to report lower values than the ones actually obtained, entailing an effect of contrast. This finding suggests that the implementation of public policies that utilize propaganda that portrays Brazilian jeitinho could reduce engagement in dishonest behavior among Brazilians.
Resumen Este estudio tuvo como objetivo investigar si ver anuncios publicitarios brasileños que retratan a un patrón de comportamiento sociocultural denominado jeitinho brasileño influiría en el comportamiento posterior de los participantes. Se realizó un experimento donde 200 individuos vieron y evaluaron tres anuncios publicitarios. Al ser reclutados, se les informó a los participantes que se realizaría un sorteo de una tarjeta de regalo. El número de boletos de cada participante fue definido mediante una tarea que consistía en lanzar un dado a una taza. Cuantos más boletos obtuvieron, mayor fue la posibilidad de recibir el premio, lo que ofreció un incentivo para hacer posibles trampas. Posteriormente, los encuestados participaron en una tarea que definió la cantidad de boletos que cada uno recibiría para participar en el sorteo del premio. Las variables independientes consistieron en la manipulación de la preactivación (priming) de jeitinho (contenido de los videos: jeitinho o neutro) y de la privacidad de la tarea (con o sin privacidad). Por otro lado, la variable dependiente consistió en el resultado obtenido cuando los participantes lanzaron los dados que definían el número de boletos. Se encontró una diferencia significativa entre los grupos en los que se manipuló la privacidad, lo que indica que en los grupos que realizaron la tarea dirigida a medir la deshonestidad con privacidad, en realidad tendían a informar valores más bajos que los que realmente obtuvieron, lo que conlleva un efecto de contraste. Este resultado sugiere que la implementación de políticas públicas utilizando propaganda que retrata al jeitinho brasileño podría reducir la participación en conductas deshonestas entre los brasileños.
Resumo Esta pesquisa objetivou investigar se assistir a peças publicitárias nacionais representativas de um padrão de comportamento sociocultural do Brasil, o jeitinho brasileiro, influenciaria o comportamento subsequente dos participantes. Realizou-se um experimento no qual 200 participantes assistiram e avaliariam três anúncios publicitários. Ao serem recrutados, os participantes foram informados de que estariam concorrendo a um sorteio de um vale-presente. O número de tickets do sorteio foi definido por uma tarefa que consistiu em jogar um dado dentro de um copo. Quanto mais tickets obtivessem, maior a chance de ganhar o prêmio, criando-se um incentivo para trapacear. As variáveis independentes constituíram a manipulação da pré-ativação (priming) de jeitinho (conteúdo das peças: jeitinho ou neutro) e da privacidade da tarefa (com ou sem privacidade). Já a variável dependente consistiu no resultado obtido ao jogar dados para definir o número de tickets. Encontrou-se diferença significativa entre os grupos para manipulação de privacidade, indicando que os participantes que realizaram a tarefa de mensuração de desonestidade com privacidade tenderam a reportar valores menores do que os que realmente obtiveram no sorteio, ocasionando um efeito de contraste. Esse achado sugere que a implementação de políticas públicas utilizando propagandas que retratem o jeitinho brasileiro podem reduzir o engajamento em comportamento desonesto entre os brasileiros.
Conspiracy theories thrive in moments of crises because they provide straightforward answers that assist individuals in coping with threats. The COVID-19 outbreak is such a crisis and is boosted by ...the political turmoil related to the politicization of the pandemic in some countries. To assess the role of political partisanship, intolerance of uncertainty (IU), and conspiracy beliefs in our two criterion variables (support for COVID-19 prevention measures and compliance with social distancing), we applied an online questionnaire to 662 participants. Our results indicate direct effects of political partisanship on support for COVID-19 prevention measures and non-compliance with social distancing while IU has not directly affected any of them. We have also found a significant effect of political partisanship on conspiracy theory dimensions involving personal wellbeing (PW) and control of information (CI) but not government malfeasance (GM) ones. Moreover, beliefs in CI theories predicted non-compliance with social distancing. Intolerance of uncertainty, on its turn, predicted the three dimensions of conspiracy beliefs. As to interaction effects, belief in GM, PW, and CI conspiracy theories moderated the effect of political partisanship on support for COVID-19 prevention measures whereas only belief in GM and PW theories moderated the effect of IU on past non-compliance with social distancing. Overall, our results suggest the relevance of diminishing politicization around the virus, providing basic scientific knowledge to the general population, and assisting individuals in coping with uncertainty. Besides, these findings provide insights into developing information campaigns to instruct the population to cope with the pandemic, producing behavioral change at societal and individual levels.
Abstract
Messaging applications are changing the communication landscape in emerging countries. While offering speed and affordability, these solutions have also opened the way for the spread of ...misinformation. Aiming to better understand the dynamics of COVID-19 as infodemic, we asked Brazilian participants (n=1007) to report the perceived accuracy of 20 messages (10 true and 10 false). Each message was randomly presented within five fictitious WhatsApp group chats of varying political orientation. Correlational analyses revealed that right-wing participants had lower levels of truth discernment as did those with greater trust in social media as a reliable source of coronavirus information. Conversely, open-minded thinking about evidence and trust in the WHO and traditional media was positively associated with truth discernment. Familiarity with the content consistently increased perceived truthness for both true and false messages. Results point to the nefarious effects of COVID-19 politicization and underline the importance of promoting the ability to recognize and value new evidence as well as enhancing trust in international agencies and traditional media.
Teorias clássicas sobre consistência cognitiva recentemente têm sido exploradas enquanto processos não apenas intraindividuais, mas influenciados por aspectos grupais. Tendo em vista a tendência ...humana ao enaltecimento pessoal e grupal e a teoria unificada de cognição social implícita, informações negativas a respeito do endogrupo têm potencial de gerar inconsistência por meio da dissonância cognitiva e de desbalanceamento. Para testar as funções protetivas da consistência cognitiva diante das ameaças à avaliação positiva do endogrupo, 156 participantes passaram por pré e pós-teste de autoestima e por manipulação experimental de ameaça ou neutra. Não houve diferença significativa na autoestima dos participantes, nem no estado afetivo. Nos grupos experimentais, embora apontassem os comportamentos como negativos, muitos alegaram ser esperteza e jeitinho brasileiro. Pesquisas sobre dissonância apontam que, quando o objeto da redação contra-atitudinal é uma norma cultural, os efeitos da dissonância e a possibilidade de mudança de atitude são minimizados. Resultados serão discutidos.
PDF
