Mula S, Di Santo D, Resta E, Bakhtiari F, Baldner C, Molinario E, Pierro A, Gelfand MJ, Denison E, Agostini M, Bélanger JJ, Gützkow B, Kreienkamp J, Abakoumkin G, Abdul Khaiyom JH, Ahmedi V, Akkas H, Almenara CA, Atta M, Bagci SC, Basel S, Kida EB, Bernardo ABI, Buttrick NR, Chobthamkit P, Choi HS, Cristea M, Csaba S, Damnjanovic K, Danyliuk I, Dash A, Douglas KM, Enea V, Faller DG, Fitzsimons GJ, Gheorghiu A, Gómez Á, Hamaidia A, Han Q, Helmy M, Hudiyana J, Jeronimus BF, Jiang DY, Jovanović V, Kamenov Ž, Kende A, Keng SL, Kieu TTT, Koc Y, Kovyazina K, Kozytska I, Krause J, Kruglanski AW, Kurapov A, Kutlaca M, Lantos NA, Lemay EP, Lesmana CBJ, Louis WR, Lueders A, Malik NI, Martinez A, McCabe KO, Mehulić J, Milla MN, Mohammed I, Moyano M, Muhammad H, Muluk H, Myroniuk S, Najafi R, Nisa CF, Nyúl B, O'Keefe PA, Olivas Osuna JJ, Osin EN, Park J, Pica G, Rees JH, Reitsema AM, Rullo M, Ryan MK, Samekin A, Santtila P, Sasin E, Schumpe BM, Selim HA, Stanton MV, Stroebe W, Sultana S, Sutton RM, Tseliou E, Utsugi A, van Breen JA, van Lissa CJ, Van Veen K, vanDellen MR, Vázquez A, Wollast R, Yeung VWL, Zand S, Žeželj IL, Zheng B, Zick A, Zúñiga C, Leander NP. Concern with COVID-19 pandemic threat and attitudes towards immigrants: The mediating effect of the desire for tightness.
CURRENT RESEARCH IN ECOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2021;
3:100028. [PMID:
35098189 PMCID:
PMC8691133 DOI:
10.1016/j.cresp.2021.100028]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Revised: 12/02/2021] [Accepted: 12/07/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Tightening social norms is thought to be adaptive for dealing with collective threat yet it may have negative consequences for increasing prejudice. The present research investigated the role of desire for cultural tightness, triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, in increasing negative attitudes towards immigrants. We used participant-level data from 41 countries (N = 55,015) collected as part of the PsyCorona project, a cross-national longitudinal study on responses to COVID-19. Our predictions were tested through multilevel and SEM models, treating participants as nested within countries. Results showed that people's concern with COVID-19 threat was related to greater desire for tightness which, in turn, was linked to more negative attitudes towards immigrants. These findings were followed up with a longitudinal model (N = 2,349) which also showed that people's heightened concern with COVID-19 in an earlier stage of the pandemic was associated with an increase in their desire for tightness and negative attitudes towards immigrants later in time. Our findings offer insight into the trade-offs that tightening social norms under collective threat has for human groups.
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