Academic Air Travel Cultures: A Framework for Reducing Academic Flying

As primary producers of knowledge, academics are required to create and disseminate research. The advent of internationalisation has given great emphasis to the importance of travel as it pertains to the success of an academic career and the international standing of an institution. However, academics who are highly aeromobile—particularly researchers working in the field of climate change—are now facing allegations of hypocrisy that in some cases may compromise the efficacy of their (climate) research. The novelty of this chapter arises from the application of the cultures framework to the study of academic air travel. It highlights three key elements—cognitive norms, practices and material culture. In this chapter, the cultures framework is adopted to provide a structure within which to consider individual and institutional pathways to achieve a reduction in academic flying. By exploring the interplay of cognitive norms, practices, material culture, support and barriers, the gap between academic theory and institutional realities and practices can be systematically explored and fully elaborated. Furthermore, in doing so, academics may be encouraged to engage in critical self-reflection of the cognitive dissonance between personal intentions to reduce air miles and behaviours to the contrary.

A Qualitative Examination of Dialogical Elements in Anti-Racist Deep Canvassing Conversations

This community-based action research study aimed to better understand the dialogical process underlying deep canvassing (Denizet-Lewis, 2016), a social justice intervention technique for engaging in nonconfrontational discussions designed to constructively challenge prejudicial attitudes. Previously, it has been suggested, but not demonstrated, that cognitive dissonance and perspective taking may serve as the mechanisms of change that facilitate shifts in the process of these dialogues. In the current study, 15 anti-racist deep canvassing conversations with White individuals were facilitated by White canvassers working with Showing Up for Racial Justice New York City. A dialogical approach was used to address the question of what intrapsychic and interpersonal processes occurred in these conversations on the topic of reparations. Themes included Interpersonal Agreement, Intervoice Dynamics, Authoring the Self and the Other, and Bringing in Personal Experience. We discuss the results and implications for future action research with prejudice reduction interventions.

“Queda Livre”: Conceitos de Cidadania em Episódio da Série Black Mirror

As inovações tecnológicas otimizaram novas possibilidades de interações pessoais no ambiente virtual, causando, no entanto, significativas mudanças comportamentais em certas ocasiões. O objetivo deste artigo é identificar as correlações das novas tecnologias com a realidade contemporânea, tendo o episódio intitulado “Nosedive” (em portuguêsbrasileiro,“Queda Livre”) da terceira temporada da série “Black Mirror” (Brooker, 2016) como contexto representativo de uma sociedade cada vez mais conectada em ambientes virtuais, exibindo comportamentos que por vezes geram dissonâncias cognitivas nos conceitos de cidadania. Após a análise com metodologia dialética, aproximando o episódio em análise com o que a sociedade tecnológica está exibindo, a conclusão é que o episódio “Queda Livre” está potencializando a cultura do impressionar, que retrata o desespero de indivíduos por serem notados e aceitos em uma sociedade, incluindo a síndrome de FOMO (Fear of Missing Out/medo de ficar de fora), patologia cada vez mais presente, que questiona conceitos de cidadania em redes sociais e ambientes virtuais. O referencial teórico para a análise inclui conceitos de Zygmunt Bauman, Massimo Di Felice, Pierre Lévy, Andrew Keen e SherryTurkle.“Nosedive”: Citizenship Concepts in Episode of the Series Black MirrorAbstractThe technological innovations have optimized new possibilities for personal interactions in the virtual environment, causing, however, significant behavioral changes on occasion. The aim of this article is to identify the correlations of new technologies with contemporary reality, with the episode entitled “Nosedive” (in Brazilian-Portuguese, “Free Fall”) from the third season of the series “Black Mirror” (Brooker, 2016) as context representative of a society increasingly connected in virtual environments, exhibiting behaviors that sometimes generate cognitive dissonance in the concepts of citizenship. After analyzing with dialectical methodology, bringing the episode under analysis closer to what the technological society is exhibiting, the conclusion is that the episode "Free Fall" is enhancing the culture of impressing, which portrays the despair of individuals for being noticed and accepted in a society, including the syndrome of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out/fear of being left out), an increasingly present pathology that questions concepts of citizenship in social networks and virtual environments. The theoretical framework for the analysis includes concepts by Zygmunt Bauman, Massimo Di Felice, Pierre Lévy, Andrew Keen and SherryTurkle.Keywords: Behavior; communication; social nets; virtual scenery; citizenship.

Cognitive Dissonance: Affecting Party Orientation and Selective Recall of Political Information

Cognitive dissonance theory posits that inconsistencies between attitudes and behaviors cause an uncomfortable arousal state, and people are motivated to reduce this discomfort by changing attitudes or behaviors to increase consistency. This principle applies to research on political affiliation. Due to dissonance processes, individuals focus less on political information that opposes their views and pay greater attention when it is congruent with their views. This study adds to this research by examining whether political orientation causes a similar pattern of selective attention bias during the recall stage. Participants (117) studied a political article on a social issue representing a viewpoint that was favorable to Democrats. Next, participants recalled as much information as possible by typing the information in a textbox. Using a sliding scale, they also rated how they felt about the article in terms of arousal and affect, and indicated whether the article was neutral, positive, or negative. Democrats were predicted to recall more positive information and more positive affect after reading the article than Republicans. Surprisingly, more Republicans, rather than Democrats, recalled more positive information about the article. Finally, those who scored more conservatively on the political slider also reported more positive affect toward the article. Although contrary to the study hypotheses, these results have implications for our current understanding of selective attention in a political context by showing the bias also occurs at the recall stage. It takes a special effort to be able to think outside the bubble. The purpose of this study is to find what it takes to pop the bubble and change the mindset of political engaged people. Keywords: cognitive dissonance, attentional bias, political orientation, selective recall

Frame analysis of cognitive dissonance on the material of the story «Shiloh» by B. E. Mason

Аннотация. В статье предлагается фреймовый подход при интерпретации художественного текста. Целью статьи является применение теории фрейма при интерпретации постмодернистского произведения «Шайло» Бобби Энн Мэйсон. Актуальность обусловлена тем, что вследствие заострения внимания исследователями постмодернистского художественного текста на стратегии двойного кодирования, возникает необходимость обратиться к теории фрейма, о которой говорится в трудах М. Минского, Ч. Филлмора, В. С. Вахштайна, Г. Бейтсона, Д. А. Кожанова, В. В. Диденко. Рассматривается изменение когнитивной модели текста в зависимости от выдвижения различных элементов фрейма на смысловом уровне, способствующих возникновению когнитивного диссонанса по теории Л. Фестингера, на примере произведения Bobby Ann Mason «Shiloh». Рассказ разделен на 7 фреймов, в каждом из которых читатель может наблюдать неравномерное движение когнитивного диссонанса между главными героями. В конце рассказ приводит к консонансу, который отражает внутреннее состояние главной героини Нормы Джин.

The Cassandra Experience: A Mixed Methods Study on the Intragroup Cognitive Dissonance of Italian Expatriates During the First Wave of COVID-19

In March 2020, Italy was the first European country to be hit severely by the first wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to put in place moderate-high containment measures. 594 Italian expatriates participated in a cross-sectional mixed-methods survey focusing on the period that goes from the beginning of March 2020 to the beginning of April 2020. The survey aimed to describe the experiences of participants when it comes to conflicting beliefs and behavior with the Italian or host country communities in relation to COVID-19, using the Intragroup Cognitive Dissonance (ICD) framework. We explored: (1) COVID-19 risk perception (assessed for themselves, the Italian community, and the host country community); (2) COVID-19 risk meta-perception (participants’ perception of the Italian and host country communities’ risk perception); (3) intensity of emotions (assessed for themselves); (4) national group identification (assessed for themselves in relation to the Italian and host country communities) before and after the first wave of COVID-19 in Italy. An inductive thematic analysis of three open-ended questions allowed an in-depth understanding of the experiences of Italian expatriates. Results describe the ICD of participants with the Italian or host country communities, expressed as a difference between COVID-19 risk-perception and risk meta-perception. ICD predicts that when a dissonance of beliefs and behavior is experienced within an individual’s group, a shift in identification with another more consonant group will happen, if identity enhancing strategies with the dissonant group are unsuccessful. Our findings showed that when the ICD was experienced with the host country community, this was solved through a disidentification strategy and mediated by negative emotions. Identity enhancing strategies with the host country community were unsuccessfully enacted as described by the qualitative answers of participants referring to episodes of racism, ridicule, and to a Cassandra experience: predicting a catastrophic future without being believed. Unexpectedly, participants experiencing the ICD with the Italian community did not enact a disidentification strategy. An increase in virtual contacts, enhanced sense of belonging, a stronger identification baseline, and different features of the two ICDs can be responsible for these results. This study sheds light on the relevance of ICD in natural settings and on international communities, during global crises.

When election expectations fail: Polarized perceptions of election legitimacy increase with accumulating evidence of election outcomes and with polarized media

The present study, conducted immediately after the 2020 presidential election in the United States, examined whether Democrats’ and Republicans’ polarized assessments of election legitimacy increased over time. In a naturalistic survey experiment, people (N = 1,236) were randomly surveyed either during the week following Election Day, with votes cast but the outcome unknown, or during the following week, after President Joseph Biden was widely declared the winner. The design unconfounded the election outcome announcement from the vote itself, allowing more precise testing of predictions derived from cognitive dissonance theory. As predicted, perceived election legitimacy increased among Democrats, from the first to the second week following Election Day, as their expected Biden win was confirmed, whereas perceived election legitimacy decreased among Republicans as their expected President Trump win was disconfirmed. From the first to the second week following Election Day, Republicans reported stronger negative emotions and weaker positive emotions while Democrats reported stronger positive emotions and weaker negative emotions. The polarized perceptions of election legitimacy were correlated with the tendencies to trust and consume polarized media. Consumption of Fox News was associated with lowered perceptions of election legitimacy over time whereas consumption of other outlets was associated with higher perceptions of election legitimacy over time. Discussion centers on the role of the media in the experience of cognitive dissonance and the implications of polarized perceptions of election legitimacy for psychology, political science, and the future of democratic society.