Objective
We examined the effects of control motivation on in‐group positivity. Past research suggests that people compensate for low personal control by increasing support for social in‐groups. We ...predicted that the effect of personal control on in‐group positivity would depend on the type of in‐group positivity. Low personal control should increase compensatory, narcissistic in‐group positivity, whereas high personal control should increase secure, non‐narcissistic in‐group positivity.
Method
These hypotheses were tested in a cross‐sectional survey (Study 1 N = 1,083, 54% female, Mage = 47.68), two experiments (Study 2 N = 105, 50% female, Mage = 32.05; Study 3 N = 154, 40% female, Mage = 29.93), and a longitudinal survey (Study 4 N = 398, 51% female, Mage = 32.05).
Results
In all studies, personal control was negatively associated with narcissistic in‐group positivity but positively associated with non‐narcissistic in‐group positivity. The longitudinal survey additionally showed that the positive relationship between personal control and non‐narcissistic in‐group positivity was reciprocal. Moreover, both types of in‐group positivity differentially mediated between personal control and out‐group attitudes: Narcissistic in‐group positivity predicted negative attitudes, and non‐narcissistic positivity predicted positive attitudes.
Conclusions
These findings highlight the role of individual motivation in fostering different types of in‐group positivity and intergroup outcomes.
Three studies examined the association between narcissistic identification with one’s advantaged in‐group and engagement in solidarity‐based collective action. Drawing on theory and past research, a ...negative effect of collective narcissism on solidarity‐based collective action was expected. A two‐wave longitudinal study (N = 162) found that Polish participants’ narcissistic, but not secure, national identification decreased their willingness to engage in collective action in solidarity with refugees over time. A field study (N = 258) performed during a mass protest against a proposed abortion ban showed that men’s gender‐based collective narcissism was a negative predictor of solidarity‐based engagement (operationalized as protest behavior and collective action intentions) and this effect was mediated by lowered empathy for women. Finally, a web‐based survey (N = 1,992) revealed that heterosexual/cisgender individuals’ collective narcissism was negatively associated with collective action intentions in support of LGBT rights and that this effect was sequentially mediated by increased intergroup anxiety and decreased empathy for LGBT people. Theoretical implications of the present findings, research limitations, and future directions are discussed.
Collective narcissism – a belief in in‐group greatness that is not appreciated by others – is associated with using one's group for personal benefits. Across one pilot and four studies, we ...demonstrated that collective narcissism predicts readiness to conspire against in‐group members (rmeta‐analysis = .24). In Study 1, conducted in Poland (N = 361), collective narcissism measured in the context of national identity predicted readiness to engage in secret surveillance against one's own country's citizens. In Study 2 (N = 174; pre‐registered), collective narcissism in UK workplace teams predicted intentions to engage in conspiracies against co‐workers. In Study 3 (N = 471; pre‐registered), US national narcissism predicted intentions to conspire against fellow citizens. Furthermore, conspiracy intentions accounted for the relationship between collective narcissism and beliefs in conspiracy theories about the in‐group. Finally, in Study 4 (N = 1064; pre‐registered), we corroborated the link between Polish national narcissism and conspiracy intentions against fellow citizens, further showing that these intentions were only directed towards group members that were perceived as moderately or strongly typical of the national in‐group (but not when perceived in‐group typicality was low). In‐group identification was either negatively related (Studies 1 and 2) or unrelated (Studies 3 and 4) to conspiracy intentions (rmeta‐analysis = .04). We discuss implications for research on conspiracy theories and populism.
There is growing recognition that identification with social groups can protect and enhance health and well-being, thereby constituting a kind of "social cure." The present research explores the role ...of control as a novel mediator of the relationship between shared group identity and well-being. Five studies provide evidence for this process. Group identification predicted significantly greater perceived personal control across 47 countries (Study 1), and in groups that had experienced success and failure (Study 2). The relationship was observed longitudinally (Study 3) and experimentally (Study 4). Manipulated group identification also buffered a loss of personal control (Study 5). Across the studies, perceived personal control mediated social cure effects in political, academic, community, and national groups. The findings reveal that the personal benefits of social groups come not only from their ability to make people feel good, but also from their ability to make people feel capable and in control of their lives.
Over-time variability characterizes not only individual-level emotions, but also group-level emotions, those that occur when people identify with social groups and appraise events in terms of their ...implications for those groups. We discuss theory and research regarding the role of emotions in intergroup contexts, focusing on their dynamic nature. We then describe new insights into the causes and consequences of emotional dynamics that flow from conceptualizing emotions as based in group membership, and conclude with research recommendations.
•Relative contribution of desire thinking, metacognitions and identity in predicting problematic Instagram use.•Different factors predicted compulsivity and withdrawal-based components of problematic ...Instagram use.•For compulsivity negative metacognitions and the verbal perseveration component of desire thinking were essential.•For withdrawal identity centrality and the imaginal prefiguration component of desire thinking were essential.
Work has identified that metacognitive thought results in desire-based thinking and perpetuates the magnitude and severity of maladaptive behaviour including problematic social media use, and also that one’s ingroup identity is related to increasing problematic behaviour. No evidence has ascertained the relative contribution of these as related differential factors in the experience of problematic social media use. The current study explored the comparative importance of components of desire thinking, positive and negative metacognitions and dimensions of ingroup identity on degree of problematic use among 147 current Instagram users. Results showed that for predicting general problematic Instagram use negative metacognitive beliefs and the verbal perseverance component of desire-based thinking were significant. Importantly, however, different factors appeared to be important for predicting distinct aspects of problematic Instagram. For compulsivity indicators, negative metacognitions and verbal perseveration were essential, whereas for the withdrawal component identity centrality (and no other dimensions of identity) and imaginal prefiguration emerge as the sole independent predictors.
Despite the established health and ecological benefits of a plant-based diet, the decision to eschew meat and other animal-derived food products remains controversial. So polarising is this topic ...that anti-vegan communities — groups of individuals who stand vehemently against veganism — have sprung up across the internet. Much scholarship on veganism characterizes anti-vegans in passing, painting them as ill-informed, uneducated, or simply obstinate. However, little empirical work has investigated these communities and the individuals within them. Accordingly, we conducted a study using social media data from the popular platform, Reddit. Specifically, we collected all available submissions (∼3523) and comments (∼45,528) from r/AntiVegan subreddit users (N = 3819) over a five-year period. Using a battery of computerized text analytic tools, we examined the psychosocial characteristics of Reddit users who publicly identify as anti-vegan, how r/AntiVegan users discuss their beliefs, and how the individual user changes as a function of community membership. Results from our analyses suggest several individual differences that align r/AntiVegan users with the community, including dark entertainment, ex-veganism and science denial. Several topics were extensively discussed by r/AntiVegan members, including nuanced discourse on the ethicality and health implications of vegan diets, and the naturalness of animal death, which ran counter to our expectations and lay stereotypes of r/AntiVegan users. Finally, several longitudinal changes in language use were observed within the community, reflecting enhanced group commitment over time, including an increase in group-focused language and a decrease in cognitive processing. Implications for vegan-nonvegan relations are discussed.
It is often claimed that social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are profoundly shaping political participation, especially when it comes to protest behavior. Whether or not this is the ...case, the analysis of “Big Data” generated by social media usage offers unprecedented opportunities to observe complex, dynamic effects associated with large‐scale collective action and social movements. In this article, we summarize evidence from studies of protest movements in the United States, Spain, Turkey, and Ukraine demonstrating that: (1) Social media platforms facilitate the exchange of information that is vital to the coordination of protest activities, such as news about transportation, turnout, police presence, violence, medical services, and legal support; (2) in addition, social media platforms facilitate the exchange of emotional and motivational contents in support of and opposition to protest activity, including messages emphasizing anger, social identification, group efficacy, and concerns about fairness, justice, and deprivation as well as explicitly ideological themes; and (3) structural characteristics of online social networks, which may differ as a function of political ideology, have important implications for information exposure and the success or failure of organizational efforts. Next, we issue a brief call for future research on a topic that is understudied but fundamental to appreciating the role of social media in facilitating political participation, namely friendship. In closing, we liken the situation confronted by researchers who are harvesting vast quantities of social media data to that of systems biologists in the early days of genome sequencing.
Abstract
Despite decades of research in economics and psychology attempting to identify ingredients that make up successful teams, neuroscientists have only just begun to study how multiple brains ...interact. Recent research has shown that people’s brain activity becomes synchronized with others’ (inter-brain synchrony) during social engagement. However, little is known as to whether inter-brain synchrony relates to collective behavior within teams. Here, we merge the nascent field of group neuroscience with the extant literature of team dynamics and collective performance. We recruited 174 participants in groups of 4 and randomly assigned them to complete a series of problem-solving tasks either independently or as a team, while simultaneously recording each person’s brain activity using an electroencephalography hyperscanning setup. This design allowed us to examine the relationship between group identification and inter-brain synchrony in explaining collective performance. As expected, teammates identified more strongly with one another, cooperated more on an economic game, and outperformed the average individual on most problem-solving tasks. Crucially, inter-brain synchrony, but not self-reported group identification, predicted collective performance among teams. These results suggest that inter-brain synchrony can be informative in understanding collective performance among teams where self-report measures may fail to capture behavior.
Past research consistently suggests that singles are stigmatized, but do they constitute a stigmatized group? The current research provides deeper insight into the stigmatization of single people by ...understanding their ‘group-y’ nature, and how group identification and perception map onto discrimination and prejudice. Study 1 examined the extent to which singles identify as part of a group. Participants were assigned a novel minimal group identity and then completed measures of group identification for four group memberships (e.g., minimal group, relationship status, sexual orientation, nationality). As hypothesized, singles' identification with other singles was lower compared to their identification with other identities—as well as compared to partnered people's group identification. Contrary to our hypothesis, singles did not perceive less discrimination towards singles relative to other aspects of their identity. Study 2 examined the extent to which singles are perceived as a group and the extent to which their group-y-ness vs. perceived responsibility for their group membership explains the acceptability of prejudice towards them. Participants completed measures of entitativity and perceived responsibility for similar out-group identities as in Study 1 (e.g., single people vs. people in romantic relationships). As hypothesized, singles were rated lower in entitativity than people in romantic relationships and other groups. Prejudice towards singles was also more acceptable than prejudice towards national and sexual orientation groups. Accordingly, perceived responsibility was a stronger predictor of the acceptability of prejudice towards singles than their entitativity. We discuss the importance of group-based theoretical perspectives for understanding the current and future stigmatization and well-being of singles.
•Singles self-identified as a group but to a lesser extent than other identities.•Singles were perceived as a group but to a lesser extent than other groups.•Singles did not perceive less discrimination toward their single identity than other identities.•Prejudice towards singles was deemed more acceptable than prejudice towards other groups.•Prejudice towards singles was explained by perceptions of their responsibility for being single.
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