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Kanitsar G, Pfaff K. Is football coming out? Anti-gay attitudes, social desirability, and pluralistic ignorance in amateur and professional football. Soc Sci Res 2024; 117:102947. [PMID: 38049211 DOI: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2023.102947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Revised: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023]
Abstract
Past work consistently points to improved attitudes towards gay athletes and growing support for homosexuality, yet reports of a homophobic climate in amateur and professional football persist. Here, we explore two potential explanations for the prevalence of homophobia in football despite low levels of anti-gay attitudes: social desirability and pluralistic ignorance. We conduct an online survey among a football-affine and socio-demographically diverse sample in the UK. We find that anti-gay attitudes are rare. Importantly, estimates from a list experiment do not differ from the prevalence measured by direct questions, providing no evidence of social desirability. By contrast, second-order beliefs about anti-gay attitudes substantially and consistently exceed attitudes, pointing towards pluralistic ignorance as the most likely explanation. We conclude by emphasizing the need for transparent communication to reduce pluralistic ignorance and correct misperceptions among players, officials and supporters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georg Kanitsar
- Vienna University of Economics and Business, Institute for Sociology and Social Research, Welthandelsplatz 1, 1020, Vienna, Austria; Institute for Advanced Studies, Josefstädter Straße 39, 1080, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Katharina Pfaff
- University of Vienna, Department of Government, Kolingasse 14-16, 1090, Vienna, Austria
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Abraham M, Collischon M, Grimm V, Kreuter F, Moser K, Niessen C, Schnabel C, Stephan G, Trappmann M, Wolbring T. COVID-19, normative attitudes and pluralistic ignorance in employer-employee relationships. J Labour Mark Res 2022; 56:19. [PMID: 36408440 PMCID: PMC9660097 DOI: 10.1186/s12651-022-00325-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Employment relationships are embedded in a network of social norms that provide an implicit framework for desired behaviour, especially if contractual solutions are weak. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about major changes that have led to situations, such as the scope of short-time work or home-based work in a firm. Against this backdrop, our study addresses three questions: first, are there social norms dealing with these changes; second, are there differences in attitudes between employees and supervisors (misalignment); and third, are there differences between respondents' average attitudes and the attitudes expected to exist in the population (pluralistic ignorance). We find that for the assignment of short-time work and of work at home, there are shared normative attitudes with only small differences between supervisors and nonsupervisors. Moreover, there is evidence for pluralistic ignorance; asked for the perceived opinion of others, respondents over- or underestimated the consensus in the (survey) population. Such pluralistic ignorance can contribute to the upholding of a norm even if individuals do not support the norm, with potentially far-reaching consequences for the quality of the employment relationship and the functioning of the organization. Our results show that, especially in times of change, social norms should be considered for the analysis of labour markets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Abraham
- School of Business, Economics and Society, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Findelgasse 7, 90402 Nürnberg, Germany
| | | | - Veronika Grimm
- School of Business, Economics and Society, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Findelgasse 7, 90402 Nürnberg, Germany
| | - Frauke Kreuter
- Department of Statistics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Klaus Moser
- School of Business, Economics and Society, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Findelgasse 7, 90402 Nürnberg, Germany
| | - Cornelia Niessen
- Department of Psychology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Nürnberg, Germany
| | - Claus Schnabel
- School of Business, Economics and Society, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Findelgasse 7, 90402 Nürnberg, Germany
| | - Gesine Stephan
- School of Business, Economics and Society, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Findelgasse 7, 90402 Nürnberg, Germany
- Institute for Employment Research, Nürnberg, Germany
| | | | - Tobias Wolbring
- School of Business, Economics and Society, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Findelgasse 7, 90402 Nürnberg, Germany
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Penić S, Dukes D, Elcheroth G, Jayakody S, Sander D. Beyond Personal Empathy: Perceiving Inclusive Empathy as Socially Shared Predicts Support for Transitional Justice Mechanisms. Affect Sci 2021; 2:402-413. [PMID: 36043035 PMCID: PMC9382919 DOI: 10.1007/s42761-021-00086-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED In countries emerging from civil war, inclusive empathy is important for conflict resolution yet may be difficult to promote. Widening the predominant focus on personal inclusive empathy for conflict resolution, we examine whether support for transitional justice mechanisms (TJ) can be predicted by how much an individual perceives inclusive empathy as being shared in their local communities. Our results, based on a probability sample survey in post-war Sri Lanka (N = 580), reveal that the effects of this perceived communal inclusive empathy can be distinguished from those of personally experienced inclusive empathy, and that the more respondents perceive inclusive empathy as prevalent in their communities, the more they support TJ mechanisms. However, the results also indicate the contextual limits of perceived communal inclusive empathy as a resource for conflict resolution: participants tend to underestimate the prevalence of inclusive empathy, especially in militarized minority communities, and the more they underestimate it, the less they support TJ mechanisms. This study corroborates the importance of social influence in conflict resolution, suggesting that perception of inclusive empathy as shared in one's community is a key determinant of popular support for conflict-transforming policies. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42761-021-00086-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Penić
- Swiss Centre for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Daniel Dukes
- Swiss Centre for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | | | - Sumedha Jayakody
- University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Kandy, Sri Lanka
| | - David Sander
- Swiss Centre for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
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