Examining the indirect effect of income on well-being via individual-based relative deprivation: Longitudinal mediation with a random intercept cross-lagged panel model

Although the positive relationship between income and well-being is well established, the psychological mechanisms underlying this process are less understood. One underexplored explanation is that objective wealth (or lack thereof) fosters relative comparisons, which, in turn, predicts well-being. Extant work has, however, mostly focused on objective indicators of relative deprivation rather than on how people perceive their societal status. We address this oversight by examining the longitudinal indirect effects of income on well-being via perceived individual-based relative deprivation (IRD) using traditional and random intercept cross-lagged panel models. Averaged across 10 annual assessments in a nationwide longitudinal panel sample of adults (N = 66,560), our results revealed reliable indirect effects of income on well-being via IRD. Specifically, within-person increases in income predicted within-person decreases in IRD, which then predicted within-person increases in personal well-being over time. Our results replicated across robustness checks, including one using a general life satisfaction measure. We thus extend previous work by highlighting the need to consider one's perceptions of their relative societal position as a mechanism underlying the effects of income on well-being over time.

Do conspiracy beliefs fuel support for reactionary social movements? Effects of misbeliefs on actions to oppose lockdown and to "stop the steal"

Pundits have speculated that the spread of conspiracies and misinformation (termed "misbeliefs") is leading to a resurgence of right-wing, reactionary movements. However, the current empirical picture regarding the relationship between misbeliefs and collective action is mixed. We help clarify these associations by using two waves of data collected during the COVID-19 Pandemic (in Australia, N = 519, and the United States, N = 510) and democratic elections (in New Zealand N = 603, and the United States N = 609) to examine the effects of misbeliefs on support for reactionary movements (e.g., anti-lockdown protests, Study 1; anti-election protests, Study 2). Results reveal that within-person changes in misbeliefs correlate positively with support for reactionary collective action both directly (Studies 1-2) and indirectly by shaping the legitimacy of the authority (Study 1b). The relationship between misbelief and legitimacy is, however, conditioned by the stance of the authority in question: the association is positive when authorities endorse misbeliefs (Study 1a) and negative when they do not (Study 1b). Thus, the relationship between conspiracy beliefs and action hinges upon the alignment of the content of the conspiracy and the goals of the collective action.

The association between political orientation and political knowledge in 45 nations

Political knowledge is crucial for well-functioning democracies, with most scholars assuming that people at the political extremes are more knowledgeable than those at the center. Here, we adopt a data-driven approach to examine the relationship between political orientation and political knowledge by testing a series of polynomial curves in 45 countries (N = 63,544), spread over 6 continents. Contrary to the dominant perspective, we found no evidence that people at the political extremes are the most knowledgeable about politics. Rather, the most common pattern was a fourth-degree polynomial association in which those who are moderately left-wing and right-wing are more knowledgeable than people at the extremes and center of the political spectrum. This pattern was especially, though not exclusively, prevalent in Western countries. We conclude that the relationship between political orientation and political knowledge is more context-dependent and complex than assumed, and caution against (implicit) universal conclusions in social sciences.

Temporal Changes in Innate and Adaptive Immunity During Sepsis as Determined by ELISpot

Background

The inability to evaluate host immunity in a rapid quantitative manner in patients with sepsis has severely hampered development of novel immune therapies. The ELISpot assay is a functional bioassay that measures the number of cytokine-secreting cells and the relative amount of cytokine produced at the single-cell level. A key advantage of ELISpot is its excellent dynamic range enabling a more precise quantifiable assessment of host immunity. Herein, we tested the hypothesis on whether the ELISpot assay can detect dynamic changes in both innate and adaptive immunity as they often occur during sepsis. We also tested whether ELISpot could detect the effect of immune drug therapies to modulate innate and adaptive immunity.

Methods

Mice were made septic using sublethal cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Blood and spleens were harvested serially and ex vivo IFN-γ and TNF-α production were compared by ELISpot and ELISA. The capability of ELISpot to detect changes in innate and adaptive immunity due to in vivo immune therapy with dexamethasone, IL-7, and arginine was also evaluated.

Results

ELISpot confirmed a decreased innate and adaptive immunity responsiveness during sepsis progression. More importantly, ELISpot was also able to detect changes in adaptive and innate immunity in response to immune-modulatory reagents, for example dexamethasone, arginine, and IL-7 in a readily quantifiable manner, as predicted by the reagents known mechanisms of action. ELISpot and ELISA results tended to parallel one another although some differences were noted.

Conclusion

ELISpot offers a unique capability to assess the functional status of both adaptive and innate immunity over time. The results presented herein demonstrate that ELISpot can also be used to detect and follow the in vivo effects of drugs to ameliorate sepsis-induced immune dysfunction. This capability would be a major advance in guiding new immune therapies in sepsis.

Barriers to Biculturalism: Historical Negation and Symbolic Exclusion Predict Longitudinal Increases in Bicultural Policy Opposition

The colonial ideologies of historical negation and symbolic exclusion (i.e., the "Dark Duo") promote inequality between settler colonizers and Indigenous peoples by denying the contemporary relevance of past injustices and excluding Indigenous culture from the nation's identity, respectively. Although their correlates are established, the temporal ordering of the relationship between the Dark Duo and bicultural policy opposition is unclear. We address this oversight by utilizing nine annual waves of panel data from a nationwide random sample of New Zealand adults (N = 31,104) to estimate two multigroup RI-CLPMs using the Dark Duo to predict symbolic and resource-based policy opposition (and vice versa). Results revealed that within-person increases in historical negation and symbolic exclusion predicted subsequent increases in symbolic and resource-based bicultural policy opposition for both majority and minority ethnic groups. These relationships were, however, bidirectional, demonstrating a self-perpetuating cycle, whereby the Dark Duo undermines biculturalism and antibiculturalism strengthens the Dark Duo.

Perceived Relative Deprivation Across the Adult Lifespan: An Examination of Aging and Cohort Effects

Despite being a core psychological construct for over 70 years, research has yet to examine how perceptions of deprivation relative to other individuals and/or groups develop across adulthood. As such, this preregistered study uses cohort-sequential latent growth modeling to examine changes in individual- and group-based relative deprivation (IRD and GRD, respectively) across the adult lifespan. Across 10 annual assessments of a nationwide random sample of adults (Ntotal = 58,878; ethnic minority n = 11,927; 62.7% women; ages 21-80), mean levels of IRD trended downward across the lifespan, whereas mean levels of GRD generally increased from young-to-middle adulthood before declining across late adulthood. Subtle cohort effects emerged for both constructs, although both IRD and GRD largely followed a normative aging process. Critically, the development of GRD-but not IRD-differed between ethnic groups, providing insights into how one's objective status may shape subjective (dis)advantage over time.

The socialization of perceived discrimination in ethnic minority groups

Contact with members of one's own group (ingroup) and other groups (outgroups) shapes individuals' beliefs about the world, including perceptions of discrimination against one's ingroup. Research to date indicates that, among members of disadvantaged groups, contact with an advantaged outgroup is associated with less perceived discrimination, while contact with the disadvantaged ingroup is associated with more perceived discrimination. Past studies, however, considered ingroup and outgroup contact in isolation and overlooked the various processes that could explain these associations. We addressed these issues by examining whether disadvantaged-group members' perceptions of discrimination are shaped by how much contact they have with ingroup and outgroup members (contact effects) or by those ingroup and outgroup members' perceptions of discrimination (socialization effects) while controlling for their tendency to affiliate with similar others (selection effects). Three studies (total N = 5,866 ethnic minority group members) assessed participants' positive contact, friendships, and perceived discrimination and applied longitudinal and social network analyses to separate and simultaneously test contact, socialization, and selection processes. In contrast to previous studies, we found no evidence that contact with members of the advantaged outgroup precedes perceived discrimination. Instead, we found that friendships with members of the disadvantaged ingroup longitudinally predict perceived discrimination through the process of socialization-disadvantaged-group members' perceptions of discrimination became more similar to their ingroup friends' perceptions of discrimination over time. We conclude that perceptions of discrimination should be partly understood as a socialized belief about a shared reality. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Social dominance orientation and right-wing authoritarianism across the adult lifespan: An examination of aging and cohort effects

Social dominance orientation (SDO) and right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) are foundational constructs in intergroup relations, yet their development across the lifespan is poorly understood. The few studies on the topic demonstrate that age positively correlates with both SDO and RWA. However, it is unclear whether this association is due to (a) normative aging, (b) generational differences associated with the period in which one was born and raised, or (c) a combination of these processes. This study estimates a series of cohort-sequential latent growth models to examine change due to both aging and cohort effects using 11 annual waves of longitudinal panel data collected from a nationwide random sample of adults (Ns = 61,858-61,862). Mean levels of SDO and RWA both trended upward across the adult lifespan, although this pattern was more marked for RWA. Cohort effects also emerged for both constructs and were again more pronounced for RWA. Contextual factors thus appear to influence authoritarianism more than they impact the preference for intergroup hierarchy. Similar trends emerged when differentiating birth cohorts by gender and ethnic majority status. Age and cohort effects for generalized prejudice among an ethnic majority group were also assessed (N = 47,955), revealing that prejudice declined in early adulthood but began to stabilize in middle age. This is the first large-scale study to document how SDO, RWA, and generalized prejudice change over the adult lifespan while also examining trends associated with the period in which a person was born and socialized. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The sanctity of life: The role of purity in attitudes towards abortion and euthanasia

Although abortion and euthanasia are highly contested issues at the heart of the culture war, the moral foundations underlying ideological differences on these issues are mostly unknown. Given that much of the extant debate is framed around the sanctity of life, we argued that the moral foundation of purity/sanctity-a core moral belief that emphasises adherence to the "natural order"-would mediate the negative relationship between conservatism and support for abortion and euthanasia. As hypothesised, results from a nation-wide random sample of adults in New Zealand (N = 3360) revealed that purity/sanctity mediated the relationship between conservatism and opposition to both policies. These results demonstrate that, rather than being motivated by a desire to reduce harm, conservative opposition to pro-choice and end-of-life decisions is (partly) based on the view that ending a life, even if it is one's own, violates God's natural design and, thus, stains one's spiritual purity.

Religiosity and ambivalent sexism: the role of religious group narcissism

Although religious identification often correlates positively with traditional gender role attitudes and ambivalent sexism (Mikołajczak & Pietrzak, Sex Roles, 70(9–10), 387–399, 2014), other work shows it has countervailing associations with related conservative views (Lockhart et al., Religion, Brain & Behavior, 10(4), 379–392, 2020). One reason these opposing effects emerge is that insecure (or narcissistic) and secure forms of religious identification may have differing impacts on ambivalent sexism. To test this possibility, we analysed data from a nationwide random sample of adults who identified as religious (N = 1116). Whilst religious identification alone was unassociated with hostile and benevolent sexism, religious narcissism correlated positively with both forms of sexism. After including both predictors in a regression, religious identification correlated negatively with both forms of sexism and religious narcissism became a stronger positive correlate of sexism. These findings demonstrate that secure and insecure forms of religious identification suppress the respective positive and negative associations religious identification and religious narcissism have with sexism.

The political system through a partisan lens: Within-person changes in support for political parties precede political system attitudes

Although political party support and attitudes towards the political system are closely related, the temporal ordering of these associations is unclear. Indeed, prior research identifies both partisan-led change in system attitudes and system attitude-led change in party support. Using a ten-year (2010-2020) national probability sample of New Zealand adults (N = 66,359), we test these associations by modelling the within-person cross-lagged effects between conservative and liberal party support, and political system justification. During conservative-led governments, increases in conservative party support predicted increases in political system justification more strongly than vice versa. The 2017 shift to a liberal-led government was met with an immediate reversal of the effects of party support on system justification, but the effect of system justification on party support took a full year to reverse. These results demonstrate people's perceptions of the fairness of the political system depend on their support for the party in power.

Four cases of acute comitant esotropia associated with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma in children

BACKGROUND

Acute acquired concomitant esotropia (AACE) is usually a benign form of strabismus that infrequently is associated with intracranial pathology. Clinicians have noted an increase in its incidence and theorize that it may be related to public health "lockdown" measures taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. With an increased incidence of AACE clinicians must firstly differentiate AACE from common accommodative esotropia and secondly recognize AACE as a possible sign of serious neuropathology.Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) is a devastating diagnosis for affected families. Children typically present at age 6-7 years with cranial nerve palsies, long tract signs, and/or cerebellar signs. Diagnosis is made from characteristic findings on magnetic resonance brain imaging (MRI brain) and treatment includes radiotherapy and palliative care. Two years from diagnosis, 90% of affected children will have died from their disease.

CASE SERIES

We present four cases that attended our pediatric ophthalmology clinic with AACE either as a presenting sign of DIPG or as a clinical finding following a DIPG diagnosis. Patient A (age 5 years) presented to the emergency eye clinic with sudden onset diplopia and intermittent esotropia. Suppression later developed, they had 0.00 logMAR visual acuity either eye, and bilateral physiological hypermetropia. MRI brain imaging requested as a result of the unusual presentation led to the DIPG diagnosis. The other 3 cases (ages 11, 5 & 5 years) were assessed post DIPG diagnosis and found to have an esotropia measuring bigger on 1/3-meter fixation than 6-meter fixation, full ocular motility, physiological hypermetropia or emmetropia, and visual acuity normal for age. Other than patient B (age 11 years), who had papilledema and gaze evoked nystagmus when they were assessed 2 weeks prior to death, no patient had any other clinical eye findings.

CONCLUSIONS

This small series of 4 patients attending our clinic within a 12-month period supports the notion that children presenting with AACE should routinely be offered brain MRI. Not all children with DIPG-associated AACE have significant ophthalmic findings indicative of intracranial pathology. With the potential for increased incidence of AACE related to lockdowns, clinicians should be reminded of the infrequent possibility their patient has a more serious condition.

Political attitude change over time following COVID-19 lockdown: Rallying effects and differences between left and right voters

Restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19 have required widespread compliance over long periods, but citizens' attitudes to these often change over time. Here, we examine the time course of political attitudes in New Zealand over the months before and after the announcement of the country's first nationwide COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 using a large-scale national survey (Ns = 41,831-42,663). Government satisfaction increased immediately following the lockdown announcement and remained elevated 5 months later. Trust in institutions and political efficacy also increased gradually over the same period. However, these trends varied by political party vote: Compared to center-left voters who supported the largest governing party, center-right voters who supported the opposition party returned to baseline levels of government satisfaction quicker and showed more pronounced dips in their satisfaction with the economy. These same attitudes also predicted compliance with COVID-19 guidelines. Results illustrate a rally-around-the-flag effect during the pandemic and suggest that support wanes faster among center-right (opposition party) voters.

When women support the status quo: Gender moderates the relationship between openness to experience and system-justifying beliefs

Although epistemic needs motivate the endorsement of system-justifying beliefs, few studies have investigated moderators of this association. Here, we argue that because being the target of discrimination should undermine one’s sense of control, the association between epistemic needs and system-justifying beliefs should be stronger for disadvantaged (vs. advantaged) groups. As hypothesized, analyses of a nation-wide random sample of adults ( N = 14,929) revealed that the negative relationship between openness to experience (i.e., an indicator of low epistemic needs) and multiple system-justifying beliefs (i.e., gender-based system justification, right-wing political preference, and conservative party support) was stronger for women (vs. men), and that these moderated associations were mediated by perceptions of gender discrimination. Our results suggest that women may sometimes endorse beliefs that conflict with their self and group interests in order to satisfy their epistemic needs.

The authoritarian incubator: Examining the effect of conversion to Christianity on right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation

Although religiosity correlates positively with authoritarianism, the temporal ordering of this relationship is unclear. Because religious teachings often promote authoritarian values, right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) should increase following religious conversion. Yet spiritual beliefs may also promote egalitarianism. As such, social dominance orientation (SDO) might decrease postconversion. We tested these hypotheses using data from a subset of participants who converted to Christianity at some point during a 9-year longitudinal panel study ( N = 536). We also examined a separate subsample who deconverted over the same period ( N = 696). As hypothesised, RWA was stable before conversion, but increased slightly after becoming religious. Unexpectedly, SDO was stable both pre- and postconversion. Conversely, those who deconverted from Christianity experienced declines in RWA both before and after losing their religion, whereas SDO declined only postdeconversion. These results suggest that religious conversion precedes increases in RWA (but not SDO), and that declines in RWA precede deconversion.

Socio-political efficacy explains increase in New Zealanders' pro-environmental attitudes due to COVID-19

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic claimed millions of lives and caused unprecedented disruptions. Despite these negative impacts, there is optimism the pandemic may shift public opinion on other global crises by fostering a sense of collective efficacy. Using propensity score matching to compare New Zealanders assessed before (n =12,304) and after (n = 12,370) nationwide lockdowns in 2020, we tested a preregistered mediation model with COVID-19 lockdown experience predicting increases in pro-environmental attitudes via enhanced socio-political efficacy. As hypothesized, socio-political efficacy increased after the successful nationwide lockdowns. In turn, socio-political efficacy amplified respondents' pro-environmental attitudes including climate beliefs and concern, as well as support for a government subsidy for public transport and opposition to government spending on new motorways. The pandemic also enhanced respondents' satisfaction with the quality of the natural environment, which was unmediated by socio-political efficacy. The crisis might offer an opportunity to foster collective pro-environmental actions.

System Justification or Social Dominance? A Multilevel Test of the Ideological Motivators of Perceived Discrimination

Although system-justifying beliefs often mitigate perceptions of discrimination, status-based asymmetries in the ideological motivators of perceived discrimination are unknown. Because the content and societal implications of discrimination claims are status-dependant, social dominance orientation (SDO) should motivate perceptions of (reverse) discrimination among members of high-status groups, whereas system justification should motivate the minimization of perceived discrimination among the disadvantaged. We tested these hypotheses using multilevel regressions among a nationwide random sample of New Zealand Europeans (n = 29,169) and ethnic minorities (n = 5,118). As hypothesized, group-based dominance correlated positively with perceived (reverse) discrimination among ethnic-majority group members, whereas system justification correlated negatively with perceived discrimination among the disadvantaged. Furthermore, the proportion of minorities within the region strengthened the victimizing effects of SDO-Dominance, but not SDO-Egalitarianism, among the advantaged. Together, these results reveal status-based asymmetries in the motives underlying perceptions of discrimination and identify a key contextual moderator of this association.

To meat, or not to meat: A longitudinal investigation of transitioning to and from plant-based diets

Concerns over potential negative effects of excessive meat consumption on both the environment and personal health, coupled with long-standing debates over animal rights, have motivated research on the prevalence and predictors of plant-based versus meat-based diets. Yet few studies have examined longitudinal trends in dietary behaviours using large national samples. We address this gap by examining the prevalence, predictors, and annual change in the self-reported dietary behaviour of a large national probability sample of New Zealand adults (categorised as omnivore, vegetarian, or vegan; Ns = 12,259-50,964). Consistent with our pre-registered hypotheses, omnivore was the most prevalent dietary category (94.1%). Moreover, higher levels of conservative ideologies (i.e., political conservatism, Right-Wing Authoritarianism, and Social Dominance Orientation), lower subjective health, lower environmental efficacy, and lower disgust sensitivity predicted having an omnivore (vs. vegetarian or vegan) diet. Longitudinal analyses further revealed that the probability of shifting from an omnivore diet to a vegetarian or vegan diet over a one-year period was low, and that veganism was the least stable dietary category. Both gender (men) and political conservatism predicted lower probabilities of transitioning from meat to no-meat diets over time.

Examining the relational underpinnings and consequences of system-justifying beliefs: Explaining the palliative effects of system justification

People often perceive social systems as fair and legitimate in order to satisfy existential, epistemic, and relational needs. Although much work has examined the existential and epistemic roots to system justification, the relational motives underlying the tendency to justify the system have received comparatively less attention. We addressed this oversight by examining the associations approach and avoidance relational goals have with system justification in a national probability sample (N = 21,938). Consistent with the thesis that the need to belong motivates system justification, avoidance goals (i.e., the desire to avoid social conflict) correlated positively with system justification (approach goals also unexpectedly correlated positively with system justification). Also as hypothesized, system justification mediated the relationship between avoidance goals and belongingness. Moreover, system justification mediated the relationship between avoidance goals and belongingness. Finally, sequential mediation analyses revealed that avoidance goals predicted higher well-being via system justification and belongingness. This study is the first to demonstrate that system justification confers palliative benefits by satisfying two different relational goals.

Authoritarianism and Social Dominance Predict Annual Increases in Generalized Prejudice

Although right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO) are the two most studied individual difference correlates of prejudice, debate remains over their status as enduring constructs that precede generalized prejudice. We contribute to this discussion using 10 annual waves of longitudinal data from a nationwide random sample of adults to investigate the stability and temporal precedence of RWA, SDO, and prejudice among members of an ethnic majority group ( Ns = 23,383–47,217). Results reveal high wave-to-wave rank-order stability for RWA, SDO, and generalized prejudice. Adjusting for their between-person stability, RWA and SDO predicted within-person increases in generalized prejudice. Results replicated when predicting (a) prejudice toward three specific minority groups (namely, Māori, Pacific Islanders, and Asians) and (b) anti-minority beliefs. These findings demonstrate that RWA and SDO are highly stable over 10 consecutive years and that they independently precede within-person annual increases in generalized prejudice and anti-minority beliefs.

Ideology before party: Social dominance orientation and right-wing authoritarianism temporally precede political party support

Although an extensive literature on political ideology and party support has developed, studies examining the temporal ordering of these variables remain lacking. We address this oversight and argue that because ideologies provide a framework for understanding the world, they should forecast changes in party support over time. Accordingly, a random intercepts cross-lagged panel model estimated the annual within-person associations between social dominance orientation (SDO), right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), and party support in nine waves of a New Zealand representative longitudinal panel sample from 2009 to 2017 (N = 31,537). As hypothesized, SDO and RWA predicted within-person increases in support for the centre-right National Party, but decreases in support for the centre-left Labour Party. Reciprocal associations from party support to ideology were approximately half the magnitude. These results provide some of the most robust evidence to date of the oft-assumed, but largely untested, premise that SDO and RWA predict change in party support.

System Justification and Perceptions of Group-Based Discrimination: Investigating the Temporal Order of the Ideologically Motivated Minimization (or Exaggeration) of Discrimination Across Low- and High-Status Groups

Believing that social systems are fair confers palliative benefits via different mechanisms. Although the minimization of group-based discrimination plays a central role in this process, the direction of this association is contested. We address this debate by using eight waves of nationally representative longitudinal panel data to model the temporal ordering of system justification (SJ) and perceptions of group-based discrimination across ethnic minorities ( n = 7,159) and Whites ( n = 18,140). Consistent with SJ theory and the original status-legitimacy hypothesis, system-justifying beliefs precede (and reduce) perceptions of group-based discrimination among minorities, whereas the corresponding association is positive and bidirectional for members of the ethnic majority group. These results are the first to demonstrate important asymmetries in both the direction and temporal ordering of SJ and perceptions of group-based discrimination across ethnic minority and majority populations.

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide lockdown on trust, attitudes toward government, and well-being

The contagiousness and deadliness of COVID-19 have necessitated drastic social management to halt transmission. The immediate effects of a nationwide lockdown were investigated by comparing matched samples of New Zealanders assessed before (N_prelockdown = 1,003) and during the first 18 days of lockdown (N_lockdown = 1,003). Two categories of outcomes were examined: (a) institutional trust and attitudes toward the nation and government and (b) health and well-being. Applying propensity score matching to approximate the conditions of a randomized controlled experiment, the study found that people in the pandemic/lockdown group reported higher trust in science, politicians, and police, higher levels of patriotism, and higher rates of mental distress compared to people in the prelockdown prepandemic group. Results were confirmed in within-subjects analyses. The study highlights social connectedness, resilience, and vulnerability in the face of adversity and has applied implications for how countries face this global challenge. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Social Media Use Is (Weakly) Related to Psychological Distress

Although the growing prevalence of social media usage raises concerns about its potentially negative impact on mental health and distress, research has found mixed results. This study resolves these inconsistencies by examining the association between hours of time spent on social media use and psychological distress in a sample of New Zealand adults (N = 19,075). After adjusting for demographics and time spent on various other activities (e.g., exercise, sleep, and housework), social media use correlated positively with psychological distress. Although social media use had one of the largest per-hour unit associations with psychological distress compared with time spent engaging in other habitual activities, the association was very weak. Thus, only excessive amounts of social media usage would result in practical changes in distress. These findings provide robust data from a large-scale national probability sample of adults, demonstrating that social media use is typically not a serious risk factor for psychological distress.

Chicken or the egg? A cross-lagged panel analysis of group identification and group-based relative deprivation

Group identification and group-based relative deprivation (GRD) are critical predictors of numerous group-oriented attitudes and behaviours. While social-identity-based approaches suggest that salient group identities increase social comparisons, empirical data bearing on the causal direction of the relationship between group identification and GRD are mixed. To resolve this inconsistency, we examined the cross-lagged effects of group identification on GRD—as well as the potential reverse causal pathway—using three annual waves of data from a nationally representative sample of ethnic minorities in New Zealand ( N = 5,115). Although we found evidence of a reciprocal relationship between variables, ethnic group identification had a stronger positive cross-lagged effect on ethnic GRD than vice versa, suggesting that social identity is an important antecedent to invidious group-based comparisons. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

Testing the Social Identity Model of Collective Action Longitudinally and Across Structurally Disadvantaged and Advantaged Groups

Although the social identity model of collective action (SIMCA) demonstrates that identity, efficacy, and injustice are key correlates of collective action, longitudinal tests of these causal assumptions are absent from the literature. Moreover, most collective action research focuses on disadvantaged groups’ responses to injustice, with few studies examining what motivates advantaged groups to protest. We address these oversights using nationally representative longitudinal panel data to investigate SIMCA among members of disadvantaged ( N = 2,574) and advantaged ( N = 13,367) groups. As hypothesized, identity predicted increases in injustice, efficacy, and collective action support over time. In turn, injustice (but not efficacy) mediated the longitudinal association between identity and collective action support. Notably, results were largely consistent across disadvantaged and advantaged groups. Thus, we provide the first demonstration that identity temporally precedes collective action across objectively disadvantaged and advantaged groups, but identify complexities regarding the role of efficacy in protest.

Sociodemographic factors associated with attitudes towards abortion in New Zealand

AIMS

The present study examined the sociodemographic correlates of support for legalised abortion in New Zealand.

METHOD

Data (N=19,973) were from the 2016/17 New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study, a national longitudinal panel sample of New Zealand adults aged 18 and older. The survey measured support for legalised abortion (a) regardless of the reason and (b) when the woman's life is endangered, as well as (c) focal sociodemographic correlates.

RESULTS

Our sample expressed moderate-to-high support for legalised abortion regardless of the reason and high support for abortion when the woman's life is endangered. Being religious, living in a more deprived neighbourhood and having more children all correlated negatively with support for both measures of abortion. Men were less supportive of abortion for any reason but did not differ from women's support for legalised abortion when the woman's life is endangered. Furthermore, age correlated negatively with support for abortion for any reason, but positively with support for abortion when a woman's life is endangered.

CONCLUSIONS

A majority of our respondents expressed high levels of support for legalised abortion. Several sociodemographic factors were significantly associated with support for legalised abortion.

Ingroup Love or Outgroup Hate (or Both)? Mapping Distinct Bias Profiles in the Population

Researchers have long argued that ingroup favoritism and outgroup derogation are separable phenomena that occur in different, meaningful combinations. Statistical methods for testing this thesis, however, have been underutilized. We address this oversight by using latent profile analysis (LPA) to investigate distinct profiles of group bias derived from ingroup and outgroup warmth ratings. Using a national probability sample of Māori (the indigenous people of New Zealand; N = 2,289) and Europeans (N = 13,647), we identify a distinct profile reflecting ingroup favoritism/outgroup derogation (Type III in Brewer's typology of ingroup bias) in both groups (6.7% of Māori, 10.3% of Europeans). The factors associated with this type, however, differed between groups. Whereas ethnic identity centrality predicted membership for Type III for Māori, social dominance orientation predicted this type for Europeans. Thus, although both groups may express the same kind of bias pattern, the motivation underlying this bias varies by status.

“We Look (and Feel) Better Through System-Justifying Lenses”: System-Justifying Beliefs Attenuate the Well-Being Gap Between the Advantaged and Disadvantaged by Reducing Perceptions of Discrimination

Low-status groups report lower levels of well-being than do high-status groups. Although system justification theory posits that the endorsement of system-justifying beliefs should decrease this well-being gap, the underlying mechanisms responsible for this hypothesized palliative effect have evaded empirical scrutiny. We address this oversight by arguing that system-justifying beliefs confer palliative benefits upon low-status groups by decreasing perceptions of group-based discrimination. Using nationally representative data from New Zealand ( N = 12,959), we demonstrate that ethnic minorities (Study 1a) and women (Study 1b) generally report lower levels of well-being than do New Zealand Europeans and men, respectively. Nevertheless, as hypothesized, these differences were mitigated by the endorsement of ethnic- and gender-specific system justification, respectively. Mediated moderation analyses further revealed that part of the palliative effects of system justification occurred via reductions in perceived group-based discrimination. The implications of these findings for intergroup relations are discussed.

What Is Central to Political Belief System Networks?

A central challenge for identifying core components of a belief system is examining the position of components within the structure of the entire belief system. We test whether operational (i.e., positions on issues) or symbolic (i.e., affective attachments to political groups and labels) components are most central by modeling a political belief system as a network of interconnected attitudes and beliefs. Across seven waves of representative panel data from New Zealand, we find that symbolic components are more central than operational components (ds range = 0.78-0.97). Symbolic components were also closer than operational components in the network to self-reported voting (d = −2.43), proenvironmental actions (ds = −1.71 and −1.63), and religious behaviors (d = −0.74). These findings are consistent with perspectives that emphasize the importance of symbolic politics in tying belief systems together and motivating behavior, and further the link between political belief system research and network science.

Public support and sociodemographic correlates of public breastfeeding support in New Zealand

AIMS

The present study examined levels of support for public breastfeeding and sociodemographic correlates of public breastfeeding attitudes in New Zealand.

METHOD

Data (N=19,598) were from the 2016/17 New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study, a nationwide longitudinal panel study of the social attitudes of New Zealand adults aged 18 and older. The survey included an item measuring support for women breastfeeding in public alongside relevant sociodemographic variables.

RESULTS

Most New Zealanders (75.3%) supported breastfeeding in public, whereas a small minority (5.2%) were opposed (a further 19.5% were neutral on the issue). In terms of sociodemographic correlates of public breastfeeding support, men (relative to women), being older, identifying with a religion and being of Asian ethnicity (relative to European/Pākehā) were associated with lower support. Conversely, being a parent, having more children (given birth to, fathered or adopted), being in a serious romantic relationship, having attained higher education and being of Māori ethnicity (relative to European/Pākehā) were associated with greater support for public breastfeeding.

CONCLUSIONS

New Zealanders expressed high levels of support for public breastfeeding. Reliable sociodemographic correlates of public breastfeeding support were also identified. These results provide the first comprehensive overview of New Zealanders' support towards breastfeeding in public.

System justification theory at 25: Evaluating a paradigm shift in psychology and looking towards the future

Since first being proposed 25 years ago, system justification theory has become a paradigm-shifting framework for understanding intergroup relations and political psychology. Based on the thesis that people are motivated to defend and bolster the societal status quo, system justification theory helps to explain varied phenomena, including resistance to change, outgroup favouritism, and other instances of false consciousness. This paper summarizes four tenets of the theory including the following: (1) antecedents to system justification, (2) palliative effects of system justification, (3) status-based asymmetries in conflict between justification motives, and (4) societal consequences of system justification. Throughout our review, we highlight how system justification theory helps to explain why disadvantaged groups might sometimes support the status quo, emphasizing research conducted outside the United States when possible. We conclude by calling on future research to (1) further utilize nationally representative and multi-level data, (2) investigate the relational motives behind system justification, (3) address social change from a system justification perspective, and (4) extend system justification theory's focus beyond WEIRD societies.

If They Say "Yes," We Say "No": Partisan Cues Increase Polarization Over National Symbols

Real-world tests of the impact of partisan cues on voters are scarce because they require assessing how citizens' attitudes changed toward an issue from before to after it became politically divisive. During the 2015-2016 New Zealand flag referendums, the leader of the (center-right) National Party and then-Prime Minister, John Key, championed changing the flag-a move strongly contested by the (center-left) Labour Party. Accordingly, we measured New Zealanders' attitudes toward changing the flag using national longitudinal panel data collected in 2013, before the change was proposed, and again in 2016 at the height of the debate (Ns = 6,793-6,806). Registered voters who supported the National Party were more likely to shift from opposing to supporting the flag change, whereas those who supported the Labour Party were more likely to shift from supporting to opposing the change. These data demonstrate the powerful impact of partisan cues on political attitudes in a real-world setting.

Māori, a Politicized Identity: Indigenous Identity, Voter Turnout, Protest, and Political Party Support in Aotearoa New Zealand

Political struggles are important to the identities of many indigenous peoples. This article examines identity as a predictor of crucial political outcomes—voter turnout, support for protest, and political party support—for Māori, the indigenous peoples of Aotearoa (New Zealand). We analyzed data from a national probability sample of Māori ( N = 663) that included a scale of subjective identification with various aspects of Māori identity: the Multidimensional Model of Māori Identity and Cultural Engagement. Use of the scale allowed us to examine the facets of ethnic identity that predict political mobilization for indigenous peoples. As expected, the identity domain relating to political struggle, Socio-Political Consciousness, was positively associated with support for left-wing parties and Māori rights protest but negatively associated with support for the right-wing party. However, Socio-Political Consciousness did not relate to voter turnout. These results demonstrate the importance of ethnic identity as a key predictor of political behaviors for indigenous peoples.

Cross-Cultural Analysis of Volition: Action Orientation Is Associated With Less Anxious Motive Enactment and Greater Well-Being in Germany, New Zealand, and Bangladesh

Background: People differ in action vs. state orientation, that is, in the capacity for volitional action control. Prior research has shown that people who are action-rather than state-oriented are better able to perceive and satisfy own motives (e.g., affiliation, achievement, power), which translates into greater psychological well-being (Baumann et al., 2005; Baumann and Quirin, 2006). However, most of the extant literature has been limited to samples from European countries or the US. To address this shortcoming, the present paper investigated the associations between action vs. state orientation, psychological well-being, and anxious style of motive enactment among samples in Germany, New Zealand, and Bangladesh (combined N = 862). Methods: To examine the consistency of our results across countries, a multi-group structural equation model (SEM) was used to examine the associations between action orientation, anxious motive enactment, and well-being. Subsequent mediation analyses assessed whether anxious motive enactment mediated the relationship between action orientation and well-being across each of the three samples. Results: Across all three cultural groups, action orientation was associated with less anxious motive enactment and higher well-being. Moreover, mediation analyses revealed significant indirect paths from action orientation through less anxious motive enactment to well-being that were similar across the three samples. Conclusions: These findings suggest that individual differences in action vs. state orientation have a similar psychological meaning across Western and non-Western cultures.

The Gradual Move Toward Gender Equality: A 7-Year Latent Growth Model of Ambivalent Sexism

Sexist ideologies maintain and reinforce gender inequality, yet the stability of these belief systems is unknown. We addressed this oversight by examining changes in men’s and women’s hostile sexism (HS) and benevolent sexism (BS)—complementary gender-based belief systems, respectively, rooted in punitive and protective (albeit restrictive) attitudes toward women—using seven annual waves of longitudinal panel data ( N = 15,626). Autoregressive cross-lagged models examined the rank-order stability of BS and HS, whereas latent growth models examined mean-level changes in both ideologies for men and women from 2009 to 2016. Results indicated that both BS and HS demonstrated high levels of rank-order stability across time for men and women. Nevertheless, women and men experienced mean-level curvilinear decreases in HS characterized by initial sharp declines that decelerated over time. Conversely, women’s mean-level BS initially declined slowly before gradually accelerating, whereas men’s mean-level HS decreased linearly. Together, these results indicate that sexism decreased over time.