Human Values, Global Self-Esteem, and Belief in a Just World

ABSTRACT Relations were investigated between global self-esteem, just world beliefs, and value priorities in two large samples of Australian high-school (N= 953) and university students (N= 361). Principal component factor analyses involving the importance ratings for each of the Rokeach terminal and instrumental values showed that values could be classified into the following eight value domains for both samples: positive affiliation, universal prosocial, mature accomplishment, comfort/stimulation, security/salvation, self-directed competence, restrictive conformity, and prosocial concern. These value domains overlapped with but were not identical to the classification of motivational domains proposed by Schwartz and Bilsky (1987). As predicted, global self-esteem (assessed by the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale) was positively related to the importance of values in domains concerned with achievement, competence, and self-direction, and just world beliefs (assessed by the Just World Scale) were positively related to values in the restrictive conformity domain. Gender differences occurred in regard to the value domains and in the relation of prosocial values to global self-esteem in the older university sample. The results were discussed in relation to other studies of the structure of human values and other research on self-esteem and belief in a just world.     

Human values and social identities: A study in two collectivist cultures

The current study examines the value correlates of social identities (identification with in‐groups and geospatial units) in two collectivist cultures (Brazil, n = 471; Spain, n = 476). According to previous research, it was expected that subjects who score higher on social values would be more identified with the various traditional in‐groups and with the local geospatial units and that social identities would be predicted by different values among Brazilians and Spaniards. Subjects were undergraduate students (228 males; 719 females), with age ranging from 16 to 55 years (M = 21.9; SD = 4.57), from three states in Brazil (Paraíba, Distrito Federal, and São Paulo) and Spain (Pontevedra, Madrid, and Barcelona). They were administered the Individualism‐CollectivismQuestionnaire, the Basic Value Survey, the In‐group Identification Scale, the Geospatial Identification Scale, and a questionnaire with demographic questions (e.g., gender, age, religious affiliation). Results confirm that importance attributed to social values is correlated with traditional in‐group and local geospatial identification, and that values predicting social identities are different across cultures, especially in the case of values related to geospatial identification. Specifically, among the set of social human values, belonging and tradition were most important to explain social identities. Subjects that assigned more importance to privacy were less identified with traditional ingroups, independently of their national culture. Geospatial identification was based on the values religiosity and belonging for Brazilians, and tradition, social order, honesty, and power for Spaniards. In general, these findings corroborate previous ones, suggesting the existence of a common set of values to explain social identity, based on principally normative values (social order and tradition). Moreover, they indicate the specificity and complexity of the geospatial identification in Spain, where the values of honesty and power contribute to explaining it. In this country, it is possible that the determinants of geospatial identification surpass the social orientation endorsed by people.     

Taiwanese and American mothers' goals and values for their children's futures

Cross-cultural research on parents' socialization goals and practices with young children has increasingly shown that parents promote aspects of both independence and interdependence in their children. However, few studies have examined parents' long-term goals for their children's futures, which may be equally or more influential than short-term socialization goals on children's development. This study compared long-term goals and values for young children in a sample of 201 mothers from two industrialized countries: Taiwan and the United States. Six dimensions of long-term goals and values were measured: agency and self-direction, power and achievement, intimacy and enjoyment, conformity and tradition, family relatedness, and benevolence and universalism. Controlling for maternal education, there were no group differences in the importance attached to agency, benevolence, and family relatedness: Both groups attached highest importance to agency and benevolence, and considered family relatedness much less important. Differences were found in importance attached to intimacy, conformity, and power: Although both groups highly valued intimacy, European American mothers valued intimacy more than Taiwanese mothers; and Taiwanese mothers attached greater importance to conformity and power. All dimensions were positively correlated across groups, and only three correlations differed in their magnitude between the groups: Agency and conformity, agency and intimacy, and conformity and universalism, all of which were more strongly associated among Taiwanese than among European American mothers. Among Taiwanese mothers, maternal education was positively related to agency, intimacy, conformity, benevolence, and power. Among European American mothers, more educated mothers attached less importance to conformity than less educated mothers. This study demonstrates that Taiwanese and European American mothers' long-term goals for their children include aspects of both independence and interdependence, and extends findings of prior research focusing only on short-term goals. These findings suggest that parents' goals may differ depending on the child's age (short-term or long-term), and underscore the importance of examining social context when comparing parents' goals across cultures.     

Perception of groups,size of opposition,and social influence

Two experiments investigated the relationship between social influence and the number of persons attempting influence. The organization of these persons was varied so that subjects either perceived them as a single group, as several distinct groups, or as an aggregate of unrelated individuals. Conformity was found to increase as the number of separate individuals and groups (distinct social entities) in opposition increased. But varying the size of a single group had little effect on subjects' level of conformity. Furthermore, even when subjects had a partner (social supporter), they conformed more when the opposition was categorized as several entities than as a single group. Overall, findings from the studies suggest that the manner in which persons are initially organized into groups and aggregates of individuals affects their persuasive impact on observers. Implications of these findings for research on social influence were considered.     

Eager,Reluctant, and Nonresponders to a Mailed Longitudinal Survey: Attitudinal and Substance Use Characteristics Differentiate Respondents1

Personality and attitudinal characteristics of eager, reluctant, and nonresponders to a mailed longitudinal survey focusing on substance use are examined through a series of logistic regression analyses. The characteristics that differentiate response patterns in men and women differ in terms of the relative importance of cooperation, behavioral low social conformity (substance use), and support of science/medicine. Socioeconomic status and attitudinal low social conformity did not differentiate among groups of responders, regardless of gender.     

We‐commerce: Exploring factors influencing online group‐buying intention in Taiwan from a conformity perspective

Group buying is a relatively new online consumption practice. Consumers negotiate product or service prices with businesses to obtain low prices or an increased number of products. This study investigates factors influencing online group‐buying intention from a conformity perspective. An online survey is used to sample 650 online group buyers in Taiwan. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) is applied to examine the hypotheses within the theoretical framework. Analytical results indicate that social factors (online recommendations, media recommendations, and personal recommendations) positively affect social influence and online group‐buying intention. Individual factors (compliance and attention‐to‐social‐comparison‐information) positively affect social influence and conformity. Psychological factors (financial risk, performance risk, and social risk) negatively affect online group‐buying intention, and are positively correlated with social influence and conformity. Furthermore, social influence (informational influence and normative influence) are positively correlated with conformity and online group‐buying intention. Social influence and conformity are positively correlated with online group‐buying intention. Finally, implications of analytical findings are discussed.     

Indigenous Rights in Chile: National Identity and Majority Group Support for Multicultural Policies

We examine support for policies affecting indigenous ethnic minorities in Chile. Specifically, we examine the role of national group definitions that include the largest indigenous group—the Mapuche—in different ways. Based on questionnaire data from nonindigenous Chilean students (N = 338), we empirically distinguish iconic inclusion, whereby the Mapuche are seen as an important part of Chile's history and identity on the one hand, from egalitarian inclusion, which represents the Mapuche as citizens of equal importance to the nonindigenous majority on the other. Both forms of inclusion positively predict support for indigenous rights, independent of participants' political affiliation, strength of national identification, and social distance. A second study (N = 277) replicates this finding whilst controlling for right‐wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, blind patriotism, and constructive patriotism. It also finds iconic inclusion to be predictive of a pro‐Mapuche position regarding the unrest over the issue of ancestral land in 2009. We conclude that understanding how national identity affects attitudes about minority rights necessitates appreciating the importance of particular meanings of nationality, and not only the strength of identification.     

SUPERORDINATE IDENTIFICATION, SUBGROUP IDENTIFICATION, AND JUSTICE CONCERNS:

Abstract— The diversity of American society raises concerns about whether authorities can maintain social cohesion amid competing interests and values The group-value model of justice suggests that authorities function more effectively when they are perceived as fair (e g, benevolent, neutral, and respectful) However, such relational evaluations may be effective only if authorities represent a group with which people identify In a diverse society, subgroup memberships may assume special importance People who identify predominantly with a subgroup may focus on instrumental issues when evaluating a superordinate-group authority, and conflicts with that authority may escalate if those people do not receive favorable outcomes Results indicate that subgroup identification creates problems for authorities only when people have strong subgroup subgroup identification and weak superordinate-group identification As long as people identify strongly with the superordinate group, even if they also identify strongly with their subgroup, relational issues will dominate reactions to authorities     

The effects of reinforcement and social approval on conforming behaviour

The effects of reinforcement, social approval and sex on conformity were studied. Seventy-two male and 72 female college Ss were divided into equal high and low need for social approval groups. Each group was assigned to 1 of 3 experimental conformity conditions: (a) True-agree; (b) neutral; and (c) true-disagree. The groups were tested via a social conformity apparatus. It was found that: (a) Reinforcement for agreeing with a contrived group consensus (true-agree group) elicited more conformity than social pressure without reinforcement (neutral group), which in turn elicted more conformity than reinforcement for disagreeing with the consensus (trueA- disagree group); (b) females conformed more than males; (c) there was a slight tendency for high social approval Ss to conform more than low social approval Ss. Conformity was explained in terms of social learning, and it was suggested that the situational factor of reinforcement was a more important determinant of conformity than the motivational factor of social approval. The modified conformity scoring procedure used focuses on the conformity process.     

Participation,influence, and satisfaction in group decision making

The hypothesis that attitudinal effects of participation depend on individual differences in motivation was tested in a laboratory experiment with 56 three-man groups (leader and two members). Measures of the attractiveness of power and social acceptance were obtained prior to a group decision task, after which members described their perceived participation, influence, and satisfaction. Results showed that: (a) influence was more strongly related to satisfaction for members with strong, as opposed to weak, power motives; (b) for members with strong affiliation motives, participation was more strongly related to satisfaction than was influence. Relationships varied across satisfaction aspects. It was concluded that participation may be associated with favorable role attitudes through different motive-attainment mechanisms in the group decision-making process.     

Mind your mannerisms: Behavioral mimicry elicits stereotype conformity

Four studies demonstrate that the affiliative responding that is typically encouraged by mimicry can be manifested in conformity to shared gender and racial stereotypes. In Studies 1 and 2, mimicry by a confederate led participants to perform in accordance with stereotypes about their race and gender on a math task. Studies 3 and 4 tested the boundary conditions of mimicry's influence: in Study 3, mimicry elicited stereotype-consistent math performance only among participants who believed in stereotypes about their group that could drive others' expectancies. Study 4 established that the mimicry must occur in the context of affiliation for it to elicit stereotype-consistent behavior, highlighting the important moderating role of affiliation motivation in this phenomenon. In sum, these findings suggest that mimicked individuals are more conforming to the stereotyped expectancies that they believe others hold for them, which suggests not only a potential negative consequence of mimicry but also a subtle manner through which stereotypes may be perpetuated.     

Compulsive buying and life aspirations: An analysis of intrinsic and extrinsic goals

This study intends to gain better insight into the role the life aspirations described in the framework of Self-determination theory play in compulsive buying. Profiles based on the importance and likelihood for extrinsic and intrinsic personal goals in three groups with low, moderate, and high compulsive buying propensities from a general population representative sample (N = 2159) were initially established. Moreover, results from MANCOVA analyses showed that the high propensity group obtained significantly higher scores on the importance placed on each and every one of the extrinsic goals of financial success, image, popularity, and conformity, and on the likelihood of attainment of image and conformity. As for the intrinsic aspirations, it was confirmed that while the high risk group presented similar or significantly higher scores on the importance placed to them, they obtained significantly lower scores for the likelihood of attaining all the intrinsic goals of self-acceptance, affiliation, community feeling, physical health, and safety. Accordingly, interventions focused on the potentiation of the perceived likelihood of attainment of intrinsic goals, jointly with the reduction of the importance ascribed to extrinsic aspirations, may contribute to the effective treatment and prevention of compulsive buying.     

Need for affiliation,self-esteem,and social distance of black Americans

One hundred three undergraduate men at Howard University were administered a projective measure of the need for affiliation, a self-esteem scale, and a modified version of the Bogardus Social Distance Scale that compared the subject's social distance from his own ethnic group with his social distance from the average of 20 other American ethnic groups. High need for affiliation and high self-esteem were related to small social distance between own and other ethnic groups. Low need for affiliation and low self-esteem interacted to produce the largest social distance. Implications for occupational mobility are discussed.     

On being both with us and against us: a normative conflict model of dissent in social groups.

Although past research has demonstrated a positive relationship between collective identification and normative conformity, there may be circumstances in which strongly identified members do not conform but instead choose to challenge group norms. This article proposes a normative conflict model, which distinguishes between nonconformity due to dissent (challenging norms to change them) and nonconformity due to disengagement (distancing oneself from the group). The normative conflict model predicts that strongly identified members are likely to challenge group norms when they experience conflict between norms and important alternate standards for behavior, in particular when they perceive norms as being harmful to the group. Data in support of the model are reviewed, mechanisms by which external variables may influence dissent in social groups are elaborated, and the model is linked to contemporary perspectives on collective identity.     

Profiles of adolescents' clothing practices: purchase, daily selection, and care

The purpose of this study was to examine the clothing practices in the daily selection, care, and purchase of clothing by adolescents in order to determine the extent these practices are performed independently or influenced by others, and to identify the factors involved in the activities. Clothing Practice Profiles were developed for both sexes in the three age groups corresponding to divisions in the Oregon 4-H program. The age group comparison revealed increasing frequency of independent activity in all three clothing practice areas (selection, care, and purchase) as age increased. Parental influence appeared to decrease with increasing age. Siblings' influence was minimal. Peer influence on selection and purchase practices increased. Media influence on daily clothing selection practices and clothing purchase practices in terms of wearing or buying identical or similar clothing was minimal. Media influence in advertisements increased with age, but purchases of advertised clothing items remained about the same. Age group comparisons were also made for selection factors and other care and purchase practices, including responsibilities for care of the member's and family's clothing, planning clothing purchases, sources of funds and methods of paying for clothing, use of clothing label information, and purchase factors.     

The impact of high school on social development

In reviewing the literature on the social impact of high school, six themes were identified: (1) students perceive strong norms for conformity to school rules, (2) the emphasis on conformity and control influences the quality of student/teacher relations which tend to be role bound and inflexible, (3) paths to social status continue to emphasize athletic competence, (4) peer group identification has an impact on social relations within the larger community as well as in the school setting, (5) powerlessness is felt as a result of the authoritarian approach to decision making, and (6) the overall high school environment does not enhance students' beliefs in the Bill of Rights. It was concluded that high school students have limited opportunities for flexible self-definition. As a result of the way they are treated by authority figures and the strong pressures toward conformity, many adolescents fail to learn the extent of their rights or effective strategies for the exercise of power.     

Factors for radical creativity, incremental creativity, and routine, noncreative performance

This study extends theory and research by differentiating between routine, noncreative performance and 2 distinct types of creativity: radical and incremental. We also use a sensemaking perspective to examine the interplay of social and personal factors that may influence a person's engagement in a certain level of creative action versus routine, noncreative work. Results demonstrate that willingness to take risks, resources for creativity, and career commitment are associated primarily with radical creativity; that the presence of creative coworkers and organizational identification are associated with incremental creativity; and that conformity and organizational identification are linked with routine performance. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

Situating social influence processes: dynamic, multidirectional flows of influence within social networks.

Social psychologists have studied the psychological processes involved in persuasion, conformity, and other forms of social influence, but they have rarely modeled the ways influence processes play out when multiple sources and multiple targets of influence interact over time. However, workers in other fields from sociology and economics to cognitive science and physics have recognized the importance of social influence and have developed models of influence flow in populations and groups-generally without relying on detailed social psychological findings. This article reviews models of social influence from a number of fields, categorizing them using four conceptual dimensions to delineate the universe of possible models. The goal is to encourage interdisciplinary collaborations to build models that incorporate the detailed, microlevel understanding of influence processes derived from focused laboratory studies but contextualized in ways that recognize how multidirectional, dynamic influences are situated in people's social networks and relationships.     

Social identity gratifications of social network sites and their impact on collective action participation

Collective action has been studied by social psychologists for over a century. Social network sites such as Facebook have further extended the ability of individuals to instigate social, political and organizational change, and provide a new context in which to study collective action. Drawing on social identity theory (SIT), self‐categorization theory (SCT) and uses and gratifications theory (UGT), this study explores the role of individuals’ group identification, social identity gratifications (SIG) and Facebook group use intensity on their willingness to participate in collective actions instigated through a Facebook group. Members of a Facebook group representing a cause against management completed an online survey (N = 406). Factor analyses reveal that motivations based on psychological affiliation with the group explained the most variance for Facebook group use. Moreover, compared to Facebook group use intensity, SIG were the stronger mediator between group identification and willingness to participate in collective action. The study demonstrates the utility of blending concepts from SIT, SCT and UGT to explore how socially motivated uses of the media can predict collective actions.     

Psychometric Evaluation of a Controlled Social Affiliation Paradigm: Findings From Anxiety,Depressive Disorder,and Healthy Samples

Social impairments are common across many psychiatric conditions. Standardized dyadic assessments intended to elicit social affiliation between unacquainted partners are used to elucidate mechanisms that disrupt relationship formation and inform possible treatment targets; however, the psychometric properties of such paradigms remain poorly understood. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of a controlled social affiliation paradigm intended to induce connectedness between a target participant and trained confederate. Individuals with an anxiety or depressive disorder diagnosis (clinical group; n = 132) and those without (control group; n = 35) interacted face-to-face with a trained confederate; partners took turns answering a series of increasingly intimate questions about themselves. Social connectedness, affect, and affiliative behavior measures were collected during the interaction. Participant symptom and social functioning measures were collected to examine validity. The paradigm elicited escalating social connectedness throughout the task for both participants and confederates. Parallel forms (i.e., different question sets) elicited similar affiliation outcomes. Self-reported (but not behavioral) affiliation differed across some demographic variables (e.g., participant gender, Hispanic ethnicity). Within-task affiliation measures were associated with one another and with global social connectedness and social anxiety symptom measures, but not with somatic anxiety measures. Clinical participants reported lower social affiliation and positive affect reactivity and higher negative affect reactivity than healthy participants. These findings provide initial psychometric support for a standardized and controlled dyadic affiliation paradigm that could be used to reliably probe social disconnection mechanisms across psychopathology.