Pandemic boredom: Little evidence that lockdown-related boredom affects risky public health behaviors across 116 countries

Some public officials have expressed concern that policies mandating collective public health behaviors (e.g., national/regional "lockdown") may result in behavioral fatigue that ultimately renders such policies ineffective. Boredom, specifically, has been singled out as one potential risk factor for noncompliance. We examined whether there was empirical evidence to support this concern during the COVID-19 pandemic in a large cross-national sample of 63,336 community respondents from 116 countries. Although boredom was higher in countries with more COVID-19 cases and in countries that instituted more stringent lockdowns, such boredom did not predict longitudinal within-person decreases in social distancing behavior (or vice versa; n = 8,031) in early spring and summer of 2020. Overall, we found little evidence that changes in boredom predict individual public health behaviors (handwashing, staying home, self-quarantining, and avoiding crowds) over time, or that such behaviors had any reliable longitudinal effects on boredom itself. In summary, contrary to concerns, we found little evidence that boredom posed a public health risk during lockdown and quarantine. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The role of values in coping with health and economic threats of COVID-19

The current research examined the role of values in guiding people's responses to COVID-19. Results from an international study involving 115 countries (N = 61,490) suggest that health and economic threats of COVID-19 evoke different values, with implications for controlling and coping with the pandemic. Specifically, health threats predicted prioritization of communal values related to caring for others and belonging, whereas economic threats predicted prioritization of agentic values focused on competition and achievement. Concurrently and over time, prioritizing communal values over agentic values was associated with enactment of prevention behaviors that reduce virus transmission, motivations to help others suffering from the pandemic, and positive attitudes toward outgroup members. These results, which were generally consistent across individual and national levels of analysis, suggest that COVID-19 threats may indirectly shape important responses to the pandemic through their influence on people's prioritization of communion and agency. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Frustration-aggression hypothesis reconsidered: The role of significance quest

One of the oldest scientific theories of human aggression is the frustration-aggression hypothesis, advanced in 1939. Although this theory has received considerable empirical support and is alive and well today, its underlying mechanisms have not been adequately explored. In this article, we examine major findings and concepts from extant psychological research on hostile aggression and offer an integrative conception: aggression is a primordial means for establishing one's sense of significance and mattering, thus addressing a fundamental social-psychological need. Our functional portrayal of aggression as a means to significance yields four testable hypotheses: (1) frustration will elicit hostile aggression proportionately to the extent that the frustrated goal serves the individual's need for significance, (2) the impulse to aggress in response to significance loss will be enhanced in conditions that limit the individual's ability to reflect and engage in extensive information processing (that may bring up alternative, socially condoned means to significance), (3) significance-reducing frustration will elicit hostile aggression unless the impulse to aggress is substituted by a nonaggressive means of significance restoration, (4) apart from significance loss, an opportunity for significance gain can increase the impulse to aggress. These hypotheses are supported by extant data as well as novel research findings in real-world contexts. They have important implications for understanding human aggression and the conditions under which it is likely to be manifested and reduced.

The Way They See Us: Examining the Content, Accuracy, and Bias of Metaperceptions Held by Syrian Refugees About the Communities That Host Them

Discourse about people seeking refuge from conflict varies considerably. To understand what components of this discourse reach refugees the most, we examined refugees' perceptions of how their host communities perceive them (i.e., intergroup metaperceptions). We sampled refugees who fled Syria to Jordan, Lebanon, Germany, and the Netherlands. Focus groups with 102 Syrian refugees revealed that the most prevalent metaperception discussed by refugees was that they thought their host communities saw them as threatening (Study 1). Surveys with 1,360 Syrian refugees and 1,441 members of the host communities (Study 2) found that refugees' metaperceptions tracked the perceptions held by their host communities (i.e., they were accurate), but there was also a significant mean difference, indicating that they were positively biased. Analyses further tested the roles of evaluative concern and group salience on metaperception accuracy, as well as differences in accuracy and bias across country and perception domain.

Means substitutability in personal significance restoration

Drawing on Significance Quest Theory, we hypothesized that when people experience a loss of significance related to a specific life domain, they will aim to restore their significance by acting in an extreme manner in a different life domain. To test this hypothesis, we ran two cross-sectional studies using samples of employed people in romantic relationships. Study 1 tested if people experiencing a loss of significance in the romantic relationship domain were more prone to extremism at work. Study 2 tested whether people experiencing work-related significance loss were more prone to engage in obsessive relational intrusion (ORI) toward their romantic partner. Results from both studies confirmed our hypothesis, suggesting that both amorous relationships and careers are perceived as fruitful in maintaining or restoring ones' sense of personal significance, even if the original loss of significance is derived from an unrelated domain. Notably, this research represents one of the first tests of the key assumption of Significance Quest Theory entailing the substitutability of means through which one can attain or renew their sense of significance.

Ambition and extreme behavior: relative deprivation leads ambitious individuals to self-sacrifice

Ambitious people are characterized by strong motivation toward great and valuable objectives, with the superordinate goal to gain respect and recognition from others. Recent literature regarding ambition demonstrated that it leads individuals to engage in extreme behavior. However, no previous research has investigated under which conditions the relation between ambition and extremism is enhanced. Across two studies, we tested the hypothesis that ambitious individuals are more prone to engage in extreme behavior in the face of relative deprivation (i.e., justice sensitivity), than their less ambitious counterparts. We confirmed our predictions employing a cross-sectional design with an American sample (Study 1) and an experimental design with an Italian sample (Study 2). The present research adds theoretical knowledge and empirical support to the existing literature on ambition, extreme behavior, and relative deprivation, and provides fruitful insight into strategies for preventing extremism.

Intentions to be Vaccinated Against COVID-19: The Role of Prosociality and Conspiracy Beliefs across 20 Countries

Understanding the determinants of COVID-19 vaccine uptake is important to inform policy decisions and plan vaccination campaigns. The aims of this research were to: (1) explore the individual- and country-level determinants of intentions to be vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, and (2) examine worldwide variation in vaccination intentions. This cross-sectional online survey was conducted during the first wave of the pandemic, involving 6697 respondents across 20 countries. Results showed that 72.9% of participants reported positive intentions to be vaccinated against COVID-19, whereas 16.8% were undecided, and 10.3% reported they would not be vaccinated. At the individual level, prosociality was a significant positive predictor of vaccination intentions, whereas generic beliefs in conspiracy theories and religiosity were negative predictors. Country-level determinants, including cultural dimensions of individualism/collectivism and power distance, were not significant predictors of vaccination intentions. Altogether, this study identifies individual-level predictors that are common across multiple countries, provides further evidence on the importance of combating conspiracy theories, involving religious institutions in vaccination campaigns, and stimulating prosocial motives to encourage vaccine uptake.

Addressing the effect of concern with COVID-19 threat on prejudice towards immigrants: The sequential mediating role of need for cognitive closure and desire for cultural tightness

The link between threat and anti-immigrant prejudice is well-established. Relatedly, recent research has also shown that situational threats (such as concern with COVID-19 threat) increase anti-immigrant prejudice through the mediating role of desire for cultural tightness. This study aims to further our understanding of the psychological processes underlying the relation between concern with COVID-19 threat and increased negative attitudes towards immigrants by considering the mediational role of an individual epistemic motivation (i.e., the need for cognitive closure). A study was conducted on a large sample of Italian respondents covering all the Italian regions. Findings revealed that high concern with COVID-19 threat led to increased negative attitudes towards immigrants through the sequential mediating role of higher need for cognitive closure, leading in turn to higher desire for cultural tightness. Implications of these findings for a timely contextualized study of anti-immigrant prejudice will be highlighted.

Perceived COVID-19 threat, perceived healthcare system inequities, personal experiences of healthcare discrimination and their associations with COVID-19 preventive behavioral intentions among college students in the U.S

College students are often reluctant to follow U.S. preventive guidelines to lower their risk of COVID-19 infection, despite an increased risk of transmission in college settings. Prior research suggested that college students who perceived greater COVID-19 severity and susceptibility (i.e., COVID-19 threat) were more likely to engage in COVID-19 preventive behaviors, yet there is limited research examining whether perceived COVID-19 threat, perceived U.S. healthcare system inequities, and personal experiences of healthcare discrimination collectively influence college students' COVID-19 preventive behaviors. This study identified latent classes of perceived COVID-19 threat, perceived U.S. healthcare system inequities, and personal experiences of healthcare discrimination, examined whether latent classes were associated with COVID-19 preventive behavioral intentions, and assessed whether latent class membership varied across racial/ethnic groups.Students from the University of Maryland, College Park (N = 432) completed the Weighing Factors in COVID-19 Health Decisions survey (December 2020-December 2021). Latent class analysis identified latent classes based on perceived COVID-19 threat, perceived U.S. healthcare system inequities, and personal experiences of healthcare discrimination. Regression analyses examined associations between the latent classes and COVID-19 preventive behavioral intentions (i.e., social distancing, mask-wearing, COVID-19 vaccination) and whether latent class membership varied across racial/ethnic groups.Students in Latent Class 1 (27.3% of the sample) had high perceived COVID-19 threat and U.S. healthcare system inequities and medium probability of experiencing personal healthcare discrimination. Students in Latent Class 1 had higher social distancing, mask-wearing, and vaccination intentions compared to other latent classes. Compared to Latent Class 4 (reference group), students in Latent Class 1 had higher odds of identifying as Hispanic or Latino, Non-Hispanic Asian, Non-Hispanic Black or African American, and Non-Hispanic Multiracial versus Non-Hispanic White.Latent classes of higher perceived COVID-19 threat, perceived U.S. healthcare system inequities, and personal experiences of healthcare discrimination were associated with higher COVID-19 preventive behavioral intentions and latent class membership varied across racial/ethnic groups. Interventions should emphasize the importance of COVID-19 preventive behaviors among students who perceive lower COVID-19 threat.

COVID-19 stressors and health behaviors: A multilevel longitudinal study across 86 countries

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COVID-19 economic burden was associated with reduced diet quality and sleep quality.

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COVID-19 economic burden was linked with increased cigarette smoking.

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Those with high infection risk and high economic burden reported worse diet quality.

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High perceived infection risk and high economic burden predicted low sleep quality.

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Neither infection risk nor economic burden predicted exercise or binge drinking.

Anxiety associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and home confinement has been associated with adverse health behaviors, such as unhealthy eating, smoking, and drinking. However, most studies have been limited by regional sampling, which precludes the examination of behavioral consequences associated with the pandemic at a global level. Further, few studies operationalized pandemic-related stressors to enable the investigation of the impact of different types of stressors on health outcomes. This study examined the association between perceived risk of COVID-19 infection and economic burden of COVID-19 with health-promoting and health-damaging behaviors using data from the PsyCorona Study: an international, longitudinal online study of psychological and behavioral correlates of COVID-19. Analyses utilized data from 7,402 participants from 86 countries across three waves of assessment between May 16 and June 13, 2020. Participants completed self-report measures of COVID-19 infection risk, COVID-19-related economic burden, physical exercise, diet quality, cigarette smoking, sleep quality, and binge drinking. Multilevel structural equation modeling analyses showed that across three time points, perceived economic burden was associated with reduced diet quality and sleep quality, as well as increased smoking. Diet quality and sleep quality were lowest among respondents who perceived high COVID-19 infection risk combined with high economic burden. Neither binge drinking nor exercise were associated with perceived COVID-19 infection risk, economic burden, or their interaction. Findings point to the value of developing interventions to address COVID-related stressors, which have an impact on health behaviors that, in turn, may influence vulnerability to COVID-19 and other health outcomes.

Says Who? Credibility Effects in Self-Verification Strivings

Research shows that people prefer self-consistent over self-discrepant feedback-the self-verification effect. It is not clear, however, whether the effect stems from striving for self-verification or from the preference for subjectively accurate information. We argue that people prefer self-verifying feedback because they find it to be more accurate than self-discrepant feedback. We thus experimentally manipulated feedback credibility by providing information on its source: a student (control condition) or an experienced psychologist (experimental condition). In line with our expectations, the results of two preregistered studies with 342 adults showed that people preferred self-verifying feedback only in the control condition. In the experimental condition, the effect disappeared (or reversed, in Study 1). Study 2 showed that individual differences in credibility (epistemic authority) ascribed to the self and to psychologists matter as well. These findings suggest that feedback credibility, rather than the desire for self-verification, often drives the self-verification effect.

Marie Curie vs. Serena Williams: ambition leads to extremism through obsessive (but not harmonious) passion

Extremism occurs when a certain need, for instance, significance quest, overrides other human motivations. Based on the Significance Quest Theory, we argue that ambition—a specific aspect of significance quest—can lead to extremism, particularly through obsessive passion. In an Italian sample (Study 1, N = 249) we predicted and found that ambition was positively related to both obsessive and harmonious passion; however, only obsessive passion positively predicted extremism. To bolster and generalize our findings we conducted a second study involving American participants (Study 2, N = 300). We confirmed the mediating role of obsessive passion in the relationship between ambition and extremism, while we did not find the mediating role of harmonious passion. The present research has theoretical implications in that it constitutes the first evidence that ambition might share some aspects with significance quest and sheds new light on ambition field. Moreover, our findings provide practical ways to prevent extremism.

The psychology of getting busy: Multitasking as a consequence of goal activation

With the constantly increasing popularity of human multitasking, it is crucial to know why people engage in simultaneous task performance or switch between unfinished tasks. In the present article, we propose that multitasking behavior occurs when people have multiple active goals; the greater their number, the greater the degree of multitasking. The number of currently considered goals is reduced where one goal's significance overrides the others, reducing the degree of multitasking. We tested these hypotheses in a series of six studies in which we manipulated either goal activation or goal importance and investigated how this affected the degree of multitasking. The results showed that the more active goals participants actively entertained, the more likely they were to plan to engage in multitasking (Studies 1 and 5), and the more often they switched between tasks (Study 2). They also multitasked more under high interruption condition assumed to activate more goals than low interruption condition (Study 3). Further, we demonstrated that the degree of multitasking was significantly decreased by reducing the number of simultaneously considered goals, either via increasing the relative importance of one of the goals (Study 4) or via inducing greater commitment to one of the goals through a mental contrasting procedure (Study 5). Study 6, carried out in an academic context, additionally showed that the importance of a class-related goal negatively predicted media multitasking in class. The results thus show that goal activation is the underlying mechanism that explains why people multitask. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Everyday discrimination and cancer metaphor preferences: The mediating effects of needs for personal significance and cognitive closure

Metaphors are often used to describe cancer experiences (e.g., battle, journey). Few studies explore how social threats (e.g., discrimination) shape metaphor preferences. We examined the relationship between discrimination and preferences for cancer battle metaphors (i.e., concrete, action-based) versus journey metaphors (i.e., open-ended, reflective) and mediating effects of needs for personal significance and cognitive closure. We also stratified the analysis when discrimination was/was not attributed to race and by racial/ethnic group. Four-hundred twenty-seven U.S. participants completed an online survey. Items included everyday discrimination, need for personal significance, need for cognitive closure, and preference for cancer scenarios using battle or journey metaphors. Multigroup structural equation modeling examined: serial mediation (i.e., discrimination predicting metaphor preference via needs for personal significance and cognitive closure) stratified by discrimination attribution; and single mediation (i.e., discrimination predicting need for cognitive closure via need for personal significance) stratified by racial/ethnic group. Discrimination was associated with battle metaphor preferences through serial mediation when discrimination was not attributed to race (β = 0.02, 95% CI [0.01,0.05]). Discrimination was directly associated with journey metaphor preferences (β = -0.20, 95% CI [-0.37,-0.06]) and the serial mediation was nonsignificant when discrimination was attributed to race. The single mediation model varied across racial/ethnic groups and was strongest for Non-Hispanic White participants (β = 0.17, 95% CI [0.07,0.30]). Discrimination may shape cancer metaphor preferences through needs for personal significance and cognitive closure, yet these relationships differ based on whether discrimination is attributed to race and racial/ethnic group. Given that the U.S. health system often focuses on battle metaphors when framing cancer treatment and screenings, individuals who prefer journey metaphors (i.e., those who experienced more frequent racial discrimination in the present study) may experience a systematic disadvantage in cancer communication. A more careful consideration of cultural, racial, and ethnic differences in metaphor use may be a crucial step towards reducing cancer disparities.

Significance-Quest Theory

Even though the motivation to feel worthy, to be respected, and to matter to others has been identified for centuries by scholars, the antecedents, consequences, and conditions of its activation have not been systematically analyzed or integrated. The purpose of this article is to offer such an integration. We feature a motivational construct, the quest for significance, defined as the need to have social worth. This need is typically fulfilled by a sense of measuring up to the values one shares with significant others. Our significance-quest theory (SQT) assumes that the need for significance is universal, whereas the means of satisfying it depend on the sociocultural context in which one's values are embedded. Those means are identified in a narrative supported and validated by one's network, or reference group. The quest for significance is activated by significance loss and/or the opportunity for significance gain. It motivates behavior that aims to affirm, realize, and/or show commitment to an important value. The SQT is consistent with large bodies of prior research and supported by novel studies in multiple laboratory and field settings. It transcends prior understandings and offers guidance for further study of this essential human motivation.

Motivated team innovation: Impact of need for closure and epistemic authority

New members are important sources of innovative perspectives in groups. However, it can be very difficult for newcomers’ ideas to be heard. It is likely that group members with high (vs. low) levels of need for closure (NFC) are more resistant to newcomers’ innovative ideas. Moreover, when group epistemic authority (EA) is high, members should “freeze” on the group’s ideas, regardless of the newcomer’s EA. In contrast, when group EA is low, members would be expected to “seize” the ideas proposed by newcomers with high EA. Study 1 confirmed that high (vs. low) NFC group members are more resistant to newcomers’ innovative ideas. In Study 2, in high NFC groups, evidence was obtained for seizing but not freezing. In Study 3, for group members with heightened NFC, both freezing and seizing results were obtained. Findings suggest that both NFC and EA play important roles in receptivity to newcomers’ ideas.

Concern with COVID-19 pandemic threat and attitudes towards immigrants: The mediating effect of the desire for tightness

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.

Why Do I Seek Negative Feedback? Assessment Orientation, Self-Criticism, and Negative Feedback-Seeking

Negative feedback plays an important role in employee performance improvement, yet little research has specifically examined the motivational factor that drives employees to seek negative feedback. Drawing from the regulatory mode theory, we propose that assessment orientation could increase negative feedback-seeking by triggering individual self-criticism and participative leadership could enhance this effect. Results from a two-wave lagged survey study obtained from 216 Chinese employees suggested that assessment orientation is positively correlated with negative feedback-seeking via the mediating role of self-criticism. Moreover, the positive effect of assessment orientation on self-criticism and the positive indirect effect of assessment orientation on negative feedback-seeking via self-criticism are both stronger when participative leadership is higher. These results enrich the literature on feedback-seeking and regulatory mode and are useful for increasing employee negative feedback-seeking behavior in the organization.

'We are all in the same boat': How societal discontent affects intention to help during the COVID-19 pandemic

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has caused a global health crisis. Consequently, many countries have adopted restrictive measures that caused a substantial change in society. Within this framework, it is reasonable to suppose that a sentiment of societal discontent, defined as generalized concern about the precarious state of society, has arisen. Literature shows that collectively experienced situations can motivate people to help each other. Since societal discontent is conceptualized as a collective phenomenon, we argue that it could influence intention to help others, particularly those who suffer from coronavirus. Thus, in the present study, we aimed (a) to explore the relationship between societal discontent and intention to help at the individual level and (b) to investigate a possible moderating effect of societal discontent at the country level on this relationship. To fulfil our purposes, we used data collected in 42 countries (N = 61,734) from the PsyCorona Survey, a cross‐national longitudinal study. Results of multilevel analysis showed that, when societal discontent is experienced by the entire community, individuals dissatisfied with society are more prone to help others. Testing the model with longitudinal data (N = 3,817) confirmed our results. Implications for those findings are discussed in relation to crisis management. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

Ideological Extremism Among Syrian Refugees Is Negatively Related to Intentions to Migrate to the West

The conflict in Syria created a dire humanitarian situation, as nations around the world struggled with how best to deal with the more than 6.6 million Syrian refugees who fled their homes to escape aggression. Resistance to granting refugee status to individuals often originates in the belief that the influx of refugees endangers national security because of the presumably extremist religious and political beliefs that refugees hold. The present research surveyed Syrian refugees residing in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iraq (N = 1,000). The results revealed that the majority of surveyed refugees did not intend to migrate to the West and would rather return to their home country. More importantly, refugees most interested in moving to Western countries were the least likely to subscribe to Islamist extremism or to harbor negative sentiment toward the West. Theoretical and practical implications for addressing the current refugee crisis are discussed.

Lockdown Lives: A Longitudinal Study of Inter-Relationships Among Feelings of Loneliness, Social Contacts, and Solidarity During the COVID-19 Lockdown in Early 2020

We examine how social contacts and feelings of solidarity shape experiences of loneliness during the COVID-19 lockdown in early 2020. From the PsyCorona database, we obtained longitudinal data from 23 countries, collected between March and May 2020. The results demonstrated that although online contacts help to reduce feelings of loneliness, people who feel more lonely are less likely to use that strategy. Solidarity played only a small role in shaping feelings of loneliness during lockdown. Thus, it seems we must look beyond the current focus on online contact and solidarity to help people address feelings of loneliness during lockdown. Finally, online contacts did not function as a substitute for face-to-face contacts outside the home-in fact, more frequent online contact in earlier weeks predicted more frequent face-to-face contacts in later weeks. As such, this work provides relevant insights into how individuals manage the impact of restrictions on their social lives.

Men and women who want epistemic certainty are at-risk for hostility towards women leaders

Researchers have spent the past five decades asking why women leaders face disproportionally more disapproval than their men colleagues. We extend recent research by investigating the need for cognitive closure (NCC), or the desire for stable and certain knowledge, to help answer this question. Consistent with Role Congruity Theory, we propose that individuals with this need are more likely to disapprove of women who break traditional gender roles as well as women leaders, a subcategory of nontraditional woman. We studied the NCC effect relative to the effects of gender and political orientation (i.e., women and political liberals are less likely to disapprove of women leaders). In four studies, including state and dispositional treatments of NCC and a brief meta-analyses, we argue that NCC has an indirect effect on negative attitudes toward women leaders through hostile sexism, among both men and women and from both sides of the political spectrum.

Lives versus Livelihoods? Perceived economic risk has a stronger association with support for COVID-19 preventive measures than perceived health risk

This paper examines whether compliance with COVID-19 mitigation measures is motivated by wanting to save lives or save the economy (or both), and which implications this carries to fight the pandemic. National representative samples were collected from 24 countries (N = 25,435). The main predictors were (1) perceived risk to contract coronavirus, (2) perceived risk to suffer economic losses due to coronavirus, and (3) their interaction effect. Individual and country-level variables were added as covariates in multilevel regression models. We examined compliance with various preventive health behaviors and support for strict containment policies. Results show that perceived economic risk consistently predicted mitigation behavior and policy support-and its effects were positive. Perceived health risk had mixed effects. Only two significant interactions between health and economic risk were identified-both positive.

The Call of the Wild: How Extremism Happens

Behavioral extremism (e.g., violent extremism, extreme humanism, or extreme athleticism) elicits fear, revulsion, pity, or admiration depending on the context. Its common image as exotic and esoteric makes extremism fascinating to audiences worldwide. The negative, antisocial and positive, prosocial cases of extremism are generally regarded as poles apart and as based on qualitatively different psychologies. By contrast, we propose that all cases of extremism, across different manifestations and levels of phylogeny, involve the same psychological mechanism. This mechanism consists of a motivational imbalance wherein a given need becomes dominant to the extent of overriding other basic concerns and liberates behaviors that the latter formerly constrained. We discuss the antecedents and consequences of such imbalance and provide empirical evidence to support our claim.

Coping with COVID-19-induced threats to self

Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic induces in people both uncertainty and angst, the latter may not be a direct consequence of uncertainty as such, but rather of the possible negative outcomes whose subjective certainty increased under the pandemic. From this perspective, we discuss the psychological determinants of people’s reactions to the pandemic and their modes of self-affirmation in response to pandemic-implied threats. Those reactions are guided by value-oriented narratives that may variously drive people’s pro- and anti-social behaviors during the pandemic.

The Unique Role of Regulatory Mode Orientations in Implicit and Explicit Self-Forgiveness

Abstract. The present research addresses the unique role of locomotion and assessment regulatory-mode orientations on self-forgiveness, by controlling for personality traits and by excluding possible effects of variables linked to strategies that underestimate one’s culpability. In three studies (Total N = 471) we found that assessment obstructs, while locomotion promotes, self-forgiveness both at an explicit (Studies 1 and 2) and at an implicit level (Study 3), and by controlling for acceptance of responsibility (Studies 1 and 3), the Big-Five dimensions, moral disengagement strategies (Study 1), self-blame and justifications (Study 2), transgression severity, and time passed since the episode occurred (Study 3). The implications of the results are also discussed with reference to self-forgiveness.

Effects of need for closure on creativity in small group interactions

Three experiments investigated the consequences of the epistemic motivation toward closure on the emergence of creative interactions in small groups. In the first study, need for closure was manipulated via time pressure. Results showed that in groups under high need for closure (i.e. under time pressure) the percentage of creative acts during group discussion was reduced. The second study replicated this result using an individual differences operationalization of the need for closure. In the third study, groups composed of individuals high (versus low) in need for closure performed less creatively, and exhibited less ideational fluidity during group interaction. Moreover, it was demonstrated that conformity pressure mediates the negative relationship between dispositional need for closure and group creativity. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Regulatory mode and the joys of doing: effects of ‘locomotion’ and ‘assessment’ on intrinsic and extrinsic task‐motivation

This research investigates the relation between regulatory‐mode (Higgins, Kruglanski, & Pierro, 2003; Kruglanski et al., 2000) and task motivation. Four studies conducted in diverse field and laboratory settings support the notions that ‘locomotion’, i.e. a self‐regulatory emphasis on movement from state to state, is positively related to intrinsic task motivation, whereas ‘assessment’, i.e. a self‐regulatory tendency to emphasize comparative appraisal of entities and states (such as goals and means) is positively related to extrinsic motivation. It is further found that ‘locomotion’, but not ‘assessment’, is positively related to effort investment, which, in turn, is positively related to goal attainment. Attainment is, additionally, predicted by an interaction of locomotion and assessment, such that individuals are most likely to reach their goals if they are high on both these dimensions. Taken as a body, these findings highlight the relevance of regulatory‐mode concepts to the study of task motivation and activity experience. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

On the psychology of extremism: How motivational imbalance breeds intemperance

We present a psychological model of extremism based on the concept of motivational imbalance whereby a given need gains dominance and overrides other basic concerns. In contrast, moderation results from a motivational balance wherein individuals' different needs are equitably attended to. Importantly, under moderation the different needs constrain individuals' behaviors in prohibiting actions that serve some needs yet undermine others. Those constraints are relaxed under motivational imbalance where the dominant need crowds out alternative needs. As a consequence, the constraints that the latter needs exercise upon behavior are relaxed, permitting previously avoided activities to take place. Because enactment of these behaviors sacrifices common concerns, most people avoid them, hence their designation as extreme. The state of need imbalance has motivational, cognitive, behavioral, affective and social consequences. These pertain to a variety of different extremisms that share the same psychological core: extreme diets, extreme sports, extreme infatuations, diverse addictions, as well as violent extremism. Evidence for the present model cuts across different domains of psychological phenomena, levels of behavioral analysis and phylogeny. We consider the model's implications for further research and explore the tradeoffs between extremism and moderation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Helping when the desire is low: Expectancy as a booster

One might assume that the desire to help (here described as Want) is the essential driver of helping declarations and/or behaviors. However, even if desire to help (Want) is low, intention to help may still occur if the expectancy regarding the perceived effectiveness of helping is high. We tested these predictions in a set of three experimental studies. In all three, we measured the desire to help (Want) and the Expectancy that the aid would be impactful for the victim; in addition, we manipulated Expectancy in Study 3. In Studies 1 and 3, we measured the participants’ declaration to help while in Study 2, their helping behavior was examined. In all three studies, we used variations of the same story about a victim. The results supported our hypothesis. Thus, the studies help to tease apart the determinants of helping under conditions of lowered desire to do so, an issue of great importance in public policymaking.

The hopeful dimension of locomotion orientation: Implications for psychological well-being

Individuals who have a strong locomotion orientation tend to be future-oriented and motivated to move from the present state toward a future state, making swift and steady progress toward their goals. The current study has assessed the conceptual possibility that such motivation leads locomotors to experience greater hopeful thinking, an active cognitive process that consists in planning the future and implementing these plans. The results of Study 1 lend preliminary support to this possibility. The practical implication was linked to the importance of hope in the subjective well-being experienced in everyday life. For this reason, Study 2 tested a model in which hopeful thinking mediated the subjective well-being experienced by locomotors. The results supported the hypothesis: locomotion orientation was associated with enhanced hope capabilities that, in turn, were associated with higher subjective well-being, with significant positive implications for individuals.

Habitual Behavior Is Goal-Driven

We address the relation between goal-driven and habitual behaviors. Whereas in recent years the two have been juxtaposed, we suggest that habitual behavior is in fact goal-driven. To support this view, we show that habitual behavior is sensitive to changes in goal properties (reward contingencies), namely goal value and its expectancy of attainment. Whereas adjustment to these properties may be slower for habitual (or overlearned) than for nonhabitual behavior, this is likely due to the routinized (or automatic) nature of such behavior, characterized as it is by reduced attention to its consequences. Furthermore, we show that habitual behavior’s prolonged persistence despite its manifest detachment from the original goal likely stems from its attachment to a different goal. Thus, there is no need to postulate purposeless behavior. The view that habitual behavior is goal-driven offers an integrative account of a considerable body of evidence and is consistent with a functional account of psychological processes.

Frustration-affirmation? Thwarted goals motivate compliance with social norms for violence and nonviolence

When thwarted goals increase endorsement of violence, it may not always reflect antisocial tendencies or some breakdown of self-regulation per se; such responses can also reflect an active process of self-regulation, whose purpose is to comply with the norms of one's social environment. In the present experiments (total N = 2,145), the causal link between thwarted goals and endorsement of violent means (guns and war) was found to be contingent on perceptions that violence is normatively valued. Experiments 1-3 establish that thwarted goals increase endorsement of violence primarily among U.S. adults of a lower educational background and/or men who endorse a masculine honor culture. Experiment 4 manipulates the perceived normative consensus of college educated Americans, and demonstrates that thwarted goals increase college educated Americans' endorsement of whatever norm is salient: prowar or antiwar. Generalizing the model beyond violent means, Experiment 5 demonstrates that goal-thwarted Europeans report increased willingness to volunteer for refugee support activities if they perceive strong social norms to volunteer. Altogether, these findings support a frustration-affirmation model rather than frustration-aggression, whereby thwarted goals increase compliance with perceived norms for behavior, which can increase endorsement of violent means such as guns and war, but also nonviolent charitable actions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Does inconsistency always lead to negative affect? The influence of need for closure on affective reactions to cognitive inconsistency

We present an experiment showing that need for closure (NFC)-defined as the epistemic desire for certainty-can moderate individuals' affective reactions to cognitive inconsistency. Informed by Kruglanski and colleagues' new theory, that cognitive inconsistency elicits negative affect particularly under certain circumstances, we find that NFC (i.e. the desire for certain, stable and unambiguous knowledge) influences the strength of consistency effects and resulting negative affect. More specifically, we find that individuals who are high on NFC experience more negative affect upon encountering an inconsistent (vs. consistent) cognition. However, when individuals are low on NFC, inconsistency is irrelevant, and their affect depends on whether the ultimate outcome of the cognition is positive or negative. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of this research.