Disadvantaged groups can use collective action to improve their conditions. The present research targets the motivation to participate in collective action among individuals with a migration...Show moreDisadvantaged groups can use collective action to improve their conditions. The present research targets the motivation to participate in collective action among individuals with a migration background and how this is influenced by the presence of a social norm of equality and by an individualistic or collectivistic cultural background. This study had an experimental factorial 2x2 design and participants were Dutch residents with a migration background (N = 297). I predicted that the presence of an ingroup social norm of equality would increase the collective action intentions and that this effect would be stronger among people with a collectivistic cultural background than among those with an individualistic cultural background. I did not find evidence for the first hypothesis that an ingroup norm of equality (vs. control) increases the collective action intentions of people with a migration background. Furthermore, I did not find evidence that an individualistic or collectivistic culture of the country of origin of the parent would strengthen the collective action intentions. The findings, their implications and suggestions for further research are discussed.Show less
Previous studies established a link between social norms and collective action for social change. Collective action is used by disadvantaged groups as a path towards progressive social change....Show morePrevious studies established a link between social norms and collective action for social change. Collective action is used by disadvantaged groups as a path towards progressive social change. However, little is known about the influence of ideological extremity on the relation between social norms and collective action intentions. The present study focused on the disadvantaged group members’ perspective and examined the effect of an ingroup social norm of equality on collective action intentions of disadvantaged groups and influence of ideological extremity. We recruited participants among residents in the Netherlands with a migration background (N=300) and predicted that an ingroup social norm of equality affected collective action intentions and that ideological extremity interacted with this relationship. We successfully manipulated an ingroup social norm of equality (vs. control). I found no evidence for the prediction that an ingroup social norm of equality (vs. control) increased collective action intentions. I did find evidence that the manipulation affected higher-than-average ideologically-extreme people and it made them less prone for collective action. The findings and implications are discussed including interesting directions for future research.Show less
Despite rising economical inequalities it is still difficult to get Leftists and Rightists on the same page concerning taxes/economical redistribution. Trust and cooperation are factors that can...Show moreDespite rising economical inequalities it is still difficult to get Leftists and Rightists on the same page concerning taxes/economical redistribution. Trust and cooperation are factors that can play a big role in tax morale, could it be that Leftists and Rightists are just fundamentally different on these two elements? This study attempts to find that out. To be more specific this study explores whether Leftists and Rightists differ significantly in trust and cooperation, as measured in a context without political cues. With the use of a questionnaire, involving a Public Goods Game, Adjusted Trust Game, and ideology measure, data was gathered for the needed analyses. No significant differences were found between Leftists and Rightists on the factors trust and cooperation. What the results of this study would suggest is that there is no so called ideological asymmetry on trust and cooperation, which is in line with the proposed hypotheses.Show less
The current study focuses on the relationship between agreeableness and conflict tactics in intergroup conflict. Intergroup conflict arises when multiple groups have incompatible needs. Individuals...Show moreThe current study focuses on the relationship between agreeableness and conflict tactics in intergroup conflict. Intergroup conflict arises when multiple groups have incompatible needs. Individuals can invest in intergroup conflict at their own cost through conflict tactics such as ingroup bias or outgroup harm. The trait agreeableness may be an important predictor in the choice for conflict tactics. I hypothesized that agreeableness was positively associated with ingroup bias and negatively associated with outgroup harm. This study operationalized intergroup conflict with the Intergroup Prisoner’s Dilemma Maximizing-Differences (IPD-MD) (N = 126). The results supported the first hypothesis that indeed, highly agreeable people show more ingroup bias in intergroup conflict than their less agreeable counterparts. However, the second hypothesis was not supported by our results, as no relationship was found between agreeableness and outgroup harm. Finally, this study includes several theories to explain these results, as well as directions for future research.Show less
In the study of political ideology, a debate has formed between two opposite sides, one side belief that there is a fundamental difference in the psychological process of rightist and leftists....Show moreIn the study of political ideology, a debate has formed between two opposite sides, one side belief that there is a fundamental difference in the psychological process of rightist and leftists. Those who oppose this, belief that there bias in research methods and there is not a difference for rightists and leftists. A study was conducted online, recruiting a sample of 388 participants from the United States United Kingdom, with the aim to find out if aggression differed between leftists and rightist in a context neutral situation. Using the game of Attack and Defense to provide a context neutral situation, the results showed that rightist were significantly more aggressive than leftists regardless of who they played against. However, when looking at aggression levels when playing against a member of an outgroup, the results contradicted what was hypothesized. Leftists were significantly more aggressive than rightists when playing against a member of their political outgroup.Show less
While initiating a conflict can sometimes lead to maximizing ingroup gains, it comes at high costs for the individual. Nevertheless, certain individuals are motivated to do so. The individual’s...Show moreWhile initiating a conflict can sometimes lead to maximizing ingroup gains, it comes at high costs for the individual. Nevertheless, certain individuals are motivated to do so. The individual’s need for affiliation might influence this because people high in the need for affiliation find good interpersonal relations important and want to benefit the ingroup (McClelland, 1961). This study hypothesizes that a high need for affiliation compared to a low need for affiliation increases the likelihood of investing in outgroup harm and thus initiating conflict. Participants (N = 126) engaged in the Intergroup Prisoner’s Dilemma-Maximizing Difference (IPD-MD) game with modifications of efficiency (Halevy et al., 2008). They responded to the six-item Unified Motive Scale (UMS-6) measure of the need for affiliation (Schönbrodt & Gerstenberg, 2012). Opposite to the hypothesis, the findings showed that a low need for affiliation predicted inclinations for initiating conflict if initiating conflict maximized the gains for the ingroup. Surprisingly, thriving for maximum gains for the ingroup motivated people with a low need for affiliation to initiate conflict but not people with a high need for affiliation. Possibly, the increased need to be cooperative amongst people high in the need for affiliation also comprises the outgroup (Halevy et al., 2008), inhibiting people high in the need for affiliation to initiate conflict. This work suggests that alternative individual differences, like ingroup identification, should be studied to enhance understanding of why, when and by whom conflict gets initiated.Show less
With the increase in polarization worldwide, the danger of democracies not working anymore and societies breaking apart has become an increasingly real prospect. Previous research concluded that,...Show moreWith the increase in polarization worldwide, the danger of democracies not working anymore and societies breaking apart has become an increasingly real prospect. Previous research concluded that, in general, Rightists tend to be more aggressive towards outgroup members than Leftists; recent studies, however, have challenged this by proposing affective responses are symmetrical in both groups. 200 Leftists and 200 Rightists were recruited from the United Kingdom and the United States with the aim of finding differences in aggression directed to ingroup and outgroup members. Using the Attacker-Defender Contest to assure context-neutrality and a mixed ANOVA to test for interactions between political ideology and aggression, results showed an increased rate of aggression towards outgroup members by Leftists only. Furthermore, a statistically significant interaction between political ideology and aggression was found.Show less
Can people be motivated to experience an emotion solely due to the belief that this emotion reinforces their ideology? This study investigated whether people would be motivated to experience...Show moreCan people be motivated to experience an emotion solely due to the belief that this emotion reinforces their ideology? This study investigated whether people would be motivated to experience ideology-congruent and -incongruent emotions, if they believed these would reinforce their (left or right) ideology. A repeated-measures design showed that across ideologies, people were more motivated to experience fear when they believed it was ideology-reinforcing than when they had no such belief. Contrary to the hypothesis, for hope, the data suggested motivation to be high regardless of people’s beliefs about its usefulness for their ideology. This study also investigated potential differences between leftists and rightists in their motivation to experience ideology congruent and incongruent emotions. Whilst the data suggested rightists to be generally more motivated to experience both hope and fear, these results had to be disregarded, due to a great gender and age difference between the samples of the leftist and rightist supporters, which influenced the results. The significance and implications of the current findings are discussed.Show less
As we move towards a technologically sophisticated future, society finds itself confronted with various types of complex novelties. People may however withdraw from information on such novelties...Show moreAs we move towards a technologically sophisticated future, society finds itself confronted with various types of complex novelties. People may however withdraw from information on such novelties due to feelings of confusion or unfamiliarity. We argue that this negative psychological impact of complexity may be shaped by means of message framing. Respective frames may either create a general discovery motive or focuses on specific information that is missing to close any gaps in knowledge. The results of our online experiment with a mixed design (N = 101) indicated that message framing however did not affect participants’ interest, motivation to know more, or confusion towards complex innovations. Contrary to our predictions, we did find that frames based on a general discovery motive resulted in higher levels of perceived complexity. Possible explanations for these results, shortcomings of the applied methodology, and theoretical implications for future research are discussed.Show less
The present study examines the effect of financial scarcity on cognitive performance by not only measuring the objective, but also the subjective aspect of scarcity, contrary to earlier research in...Show moreThe present study examines the effect of financial scarcity on cognitive performance by not only measuring the objective, but also the subjective aspect of scarcity, contrary to earlier research in this field. Cognitive performance was measured by means of a cognitive control task and a working memory task. A moderating effect of cognitive load was tested by randomly assigning participants into either a ‘difficult’ or ‘easy’ condition, determining the level of difficulty of the financial scenarios they had to solve. This effect could not be rejected, nor supported. By use of the Psychological Inventory of Financial Scarcity (PIFS), this study finds support for the relationship between subjective financial scarcity and cognitive performance. More specifically, we demonstrate an effect on cognitive control, while no support was found an effect on working memory. This study underwrites the importance of a measurement of subjective financial scarcity and encourages future research to uncover the true impact of the cognitive load in the minds of the poor.Show less
