Political Ideology Outdoes Personal Experience in Predicting Support for Gender Equality

Indices of gender equality provide an inconsistent picture of current gender inequality in countries with relatively high equality. We examined women's and men's subjectively perceived gender inequality and their support for gender equality in the general population and in politicians, respectively, in three countries with relatively high gender equality: the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany (total N = 1,612). In both women's and men's perceptions, women were treated more unequally than men. However, the inequality that women perceived was larger than the inequality men perceived. Additionally, women reported they personally experience less inequality than women as a group (person-group discrepancy). Finally, women's and men's left/liberal (vs. right/conservative) political ideology turned out to be a relatively more powerful predictor of support for gender equality than perceived personal and societal inequality. We discuss reasons for why political ideology emerged as the strongest predictor of equality support and sketch out implications for policy efforts toward promoting gender equality.     

Effect of perceived public stigma on internalized homophobia,anticipated stigma,shame, and guilt: Outness as a moderator

Although previous studies found that distal minority stress contributes to proximal minority stress and shame/guilt among the lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) population, it is unclear whether the extent to which LGB individuals' open display and discussion their sexual orientation moderates these relationships. A total of 1,452 Chinese LGB adults provided demographic information and completed measures of outness, perceived public stigma, internalized homophobia, anticipated stigma, shame, and guilt. Structural equation modelling was conducted to test the hypothesized moderation analyses. Perceived public stigma had positive associations with internalized homophobia, anticipated stigma, shame, and guilt. Outness played a moderating role in the associations of perceived public stigma with internalized homophobia, anticipated stigma, shame, and guilt. Specifically, when LGB individuals had higher levels of outness, the effects of perceived public stigma on internalized homophobia, anticipated stigma, shame, and guilt were lower. Moreover, such moderating effect did not differ by sexual orientation. The degree to which sexual minority individuals' sexual orientation is known by and openly discussed with others may lower the extent to which LGB individuals internalize sexual stigma, expect rejection after coming out, and develop shame and guilt as a result of perceived social prejudice and discrimination.     

Context-dependent shifts in self-regulatory personality processes during COVID-19: Changes in control predict dynamic shifts in goal reengagement capacity

The ability to reengage with new attainable goals after major setbacks is a core self-regulatory trait linked to health and well-being. Yet little is known about the extent to which such goal reengagement capacities may shift over time in response to changing contextual circumstances. Using a nationally-representative sample of U.S. adults aged 18–80 (n = 293), the present 1-year study examined whether changes in opportunity to influence life circumstances (perceived control) were coupled with dynamic shifts in goal reengagement capacity for individuals who differed in their levels of control at pandemic onset. Results from multilevel models showed that within-person increases in perceived control during the pandemic predicted corresponding within-person increases in goal reengagement capacity. Moderation models showed that the positive within-person association between perceived control and goal reengagement was pronounced for individuals with lower levels of control at pandemic onset who may be particularly sensitive to periods of opportunity to pursue new attainable goals. Findings inform theories of personality and self-regulation in pointing to contextual circumstances under which goal reengagement capacity exhibits dynamic shifts in populations who differ in their perceived opportunities for control.     

A test of vaccine endorsement by political in- versus out-group sources: Effect on vaccination likelihood and exploration of mediation through perceived bias and liking

This study investigated whether political endorsements from in- versus out-group political elites would influence likelihood of COVID-19 vaccination. In March 2021, we ran an experiment with Democrats and Republicans in the United States to examine whether they would be more likely to get vaccinated following endorsements by former Presidents Obama or Trump. Participants reported greater likelihood of getting vaccinated if the vaccine was endorsed by an elite from their own rather than the opposing party. This effect was driven by Trump, who increased vaccination likelihood among Republicans but decreased it among Democrats. We also investigated the mechanisms underlying this persuasion effect and found that perceived bias and liking were plausible mediators, whereas perceived trustworthiness and expertise were not. This study highlights the potential of having endorsements from both Democrat and Republican political elites to increase support for health behaviors in a politically charged climate.     

The myth of regaining control: Ostracism increases superstitious tendencies

Whether and how interpersonal experiences predispose people to show superstitious tendencies have been largely unexamined by past studies. By adopting a multimethod approach, three studies tested (a) whether ostracism increases superstitious tendencies through thwarted perceived control, (b) whether the dispositional need for closure moderates the effect of ostracism on superstitious tendencies and (c) whether restoring ostracized people's thwarted control weakens their superstitious tendencies. The results revealed that ostracized participants had higher superstitious tendencies than nonostracized participants did (Studies 1–3). Moreover, thwarted control mediated the effect of ostracism on superstitious tendencies (Study 2). In addition, the dispositional need for closure moderated the effect of ostracism on superstitious tendencies, such that the effect was stronger among participants with a high need for closure (Studies 1–2). Finally, restoring ostracized participants' perceived control weakened the effect of ostracism on superstitious tendencies (Study 3). Altogether, these findings feature the essential role of thwarted perceived control in understanding the link between ostracism and superstitious tendencies and the implication of control restoration in weakening the link. They also highlight the importance of dispositional characteristics in moderating people's responses to superstitions following ostracism and related forms of interpersonal maltreatment.     

Social desirability,perceived stress,and PACT ratings in lung transplant candidates: A preliminary investigation

Some aspect of psychosocial criteria is commonly utilized by most transplant programs in assessing candidates' acceptability for transplantation. However, regardless of the assessment methodology, information obtained in pretransplant assessments may be limited given the evaluative nature of the assessment as well as the sensitive nature of the contents. Indeed, transplant candidates may present themselves in a favorable fashion, minimizing any negative traits or psychological dysfunction which they perceive might prevent transplantation. Unfortunately, there are limited data addressing the extent to which transplant candidates may present themselves in an overly positive light. This investigation surveys the prevalence of social desirability in lung transplant candidates as well as its association with self-reports of perceived stress. Further, the relationship between social desirability and interviewer ratings of transplant candidacy is examined. Subjects included 24 patients in end-stage organ failure being evaluated for lung transplant candidacy. Subjects completed the Perceived Stress Scale and a brief version of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Additionally, subjects were interviewer-rated on the Psychosocial Assessment of Candidates for Transplantation. Results indicate social desirability is a prevalent phenomenon in lung transplant candidates, with more than half of the sample scoring at or above the 84th percentile on the social desirability measure. Further, self-reports of perceived stress are moderately and inversely associated with social desirability (r=–.55,p .01). Social desirability was unrelated to interviewer-ratings of transplant candidates acceptability (r=.13,p .56). Future research might include larger samples of subjects, other organ transplant candidates, and more detailed assessments of symptom distress.     

Perception of autonomic reactions and actual heart rate in phobic patients

The relationship between perceived physiological arousal and actual heart-rate reactions was studied in two behavioral test situations. The subjects were 70 phobic patients (34 social phobics and 36 claustrophobics) who were given the general form of the Autonomic Perception Questionnaire about 1 month before the respective behavioral test and the specific form immediately after the test. The results showed significant correlations between APQ and actual heart rate for the social phobics, while the picture was more complicated for the claustrophobics. The implications of these results are discussed.This research was supported by Grant 05452 from the Swedish Medical Research Council.     

农村留守儿童领悟家庭支持、朋友支持与抑郁的交叉滞后分析

为考察农村留守儿童领悟家庭支持、朋友支持与抑郁之间的双向预测关系,本研究对河南省159名留守儿童进行两次间隔四个月的问卷调查。结果发现：控制年级、性别后,T1抑郁显著负向预测T2领悟家庭支持与朋友支持;T1领悟朋友支持显著预测T2领悟家庭支持。研究揭示了农村留守儿童抑郁对领悟家庭支持与朋友支持的耗损效应以及朋友支持对家庭支持的溢出效应,对农村留守儿童心理关爱和预防干预具有一定的理论和实践启示。     

Close‐knit ties through thick and thin: Sharing social exclusion and acceptance enhances social bond

Three experiments investigated whether and why sharing experiences of social exclusion or social acceptance with others strengthens social bonds. Participants experienced either social exclusion or social acceptance alongside another co‐participant who either also experienced the same outcome, or experienced a different outcome, as them. Multilevel modeling results showed that participant dyads who shared the experience of social exclusion or social acceptance felt closer to each other than those who experienced different outcomes, and that perceived similarity mediated the effect of shared experiences on social bonds. Interestingly, participants felt closer to one another after having shared social acceptance, more so than when they have shared social exclusion. Implications of the present findings are interpreted in light of theories of social exclusion, shared experiences, and social bonding.