The Impact of Economic And National Identity Loss Messages, And The Moderating Effect of Political Orientation, On Climate Change Policy Support

As climate change continues to be politically divisive, developing communications that align with right-leaning beliefs may increase bipartisan support for climate policy. In two experimental studies (Study 1, Australia, N = 558; Study 2, United States, N = 859), we tested whether an economic loss or national identity loss message would elicit greater support for mitigation and adaptation policies when compared to one another and to a control message. We also tested whether the direct effects of these message types were conditional on political orientation (specifically, identifying as politically right-leaning). In both studies, preliminary analyses indicated that the message manipulations were effective and that there was a high level of support for both types of climate policy. When compared to left-wing adherents, those who were politically right-leaning were less likely to support mitigation and adaptation policies in either sample. Australian (Study 1) identification – although not American identity (Study 2) – also uniquely predicted adaptation support (but not mitigation support). Yet, there were no significant message frame or interaction effects in the Australian (Study 1) or U.S. sample (Study 2). This suggests that neither an economic loss nor national identity loss message frame may be effective in overcoming the political polarization of climate change in Australia or the United States. Nevertheless, national identity could still play a useful role in Australian climate communications given its positive relationship to adaptation policy support, and therefore warrants further investigation.

Three Dimensions of American Conservative Political Orientation Differentially Predict Negativity Bias and Satisfaction With Life

Numerous studies have linked political conservatism with negativity bias, whereas others have linked conservatism with indicators of positive adjustment. This research sought to reconcile this seeming contradiction by examining whether distinct dimensions of conservatism differentially predicted measures of negativity bias and positive adjustment. In two studies, we used an empirically derived and validated Attitude-Based Political Conservatism (ABPC) Scale that captures three correlated but distinct factors of American conservatism: Libertarian Independence, Moral Traditionalism, and Ethnic Separateness. In both studies ( N = 1,756), Libertarian Independence was linked with indicators of positive adjustment, whereas Moral Traditionalism and Ethnic Separateness were linked with indices of negativity bias. By identifying which dimensions of conservatism predict negativity bias and positive adjustment, this work illuminates the unique psychological foundations of distinct strands of conservatism in America.

A Social Psychological Review on Women’s Surname Change after Marriage and Divorce

Surname is an integral part of a person’s identity. However, surname which has many psychological and social meanings for the person is changed only for women after marriage. In this regard, the purpose of the article is to review the factors affecting women’s decisions regarding surname choice after marriage and divorce, as well as explaining the stereotypes and attitudes towards women who made traditional or untraditional name choices. In terms of the marital surname choice, women may adopt husband’s surname, hyphenate their birth surname and their husband’s surname, and retain only their birth surname. In this context, we presented not only related demographic variables such as age, socio-economic level, education level, and political orientation but also social psychological variables such as emphasis on family/motherhood, sexism, feminist identification, religiosity and perceived social norms. Then, studies focusing on the attitudes and stereotypes towards women who make different marital surname choices were presented. The traditional surname change was also considered in terms of patriarchy and gender-based discrimination. Additionally, possible effects of the post-divorce surname change on a woman's life were mentioned. In the conclusion part, the effects of surname change at the individual and societal level were discussed in parallel with the issues mentioned in the current article and further possible research ideas were suggested. Keywords: Surname change, surname choice, marriage, divorce, sexism, attitudes, stereotype

Individual Deep Fake Recognition Skills are Affected by Viewers’ Political Orientation, Agreement with Content and Device Used

AI-generated “deep fakes” are becoming increasingly professional and can be expected to become an essential tool for cybercriminals conducting targeted and tailored social engineering attacks, as well as for others aiming for influencing public opinion in a more general sense. While the technological arms race is resulting in increasingly efficient forensic detection tools, these are unlikely to be in place and applied by common users on an everyday basis any time soon, especially if social engineering attacks are camouflaged as unsuspicious conversations. To date, most cybercriminals do not yet have the necessary resources, competencies or the required raw material featuring the target to produce perfect impersonifications. To raise awareness and efficiently train individuals in recognizing the most widespread deep fakes, the understanding of what may cause individual differences in the ability to recognize them can be central. Previous research suggested a close relationship between political attitudes and top-down perceptual and subsequent cognitive processing styles. In this study, we aimed to investigate the impact of political attitudes and agreement with the political message content on the individual’s deep fake recognition skills.In this study, 163 adults (72 females = 44.2%) judged a series of video clips with politicians’ statements across the political spectrum regarding their authenticity and their agreement with the message that was transported. Half of the presented videos were fabricated via lip-sync technology. In addition to the particular agreement to each statement made, more global political attitudes towards social and economic topics were assessed via the Social and Economic Conservatism Scale (SECS).Data analysis revealed robust negative associations between participants’ general and in particular social conservatism and their ability to recognize fabricated videos. This effect was pronounced where there was a specific agreement with the message content. Deep fakes watched on mobile phones and tablets were considerably less likely to be recognized as such compared to when watched on stationary computers.To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate and establish the association between political attitudes and interindividual differences in deep fake recognition. The study further supports very recently published research suggesting relationships between conservatism and perceived credibility of conspiracy theories and fake news in general. Implications for further research on psychological mechanisms underlying this effect are discussed.

Persistence of The Tarekat Naqsabandiyah in Local Politics of Indonesia Post New Order

In the Indonesian context, tarekat is seen as a social movement with a broad impact. Its existence and activity need to be paid attention to by the State, society, and other political infrastructure. Many experts have carried out the discourse on tarekat with various points of view. This study focuses on the socio-political sphere of tarekat and its movements in local Indonesian politics after the Soeharto Era using a qualitative approach with interpretive data analysis involving the informants who understand the tarekat activity in Rokan Hulu in depth. The emergence of spiritual organs with various ideological variants, visions, and missions indicates the strengthening of civil supremacy in Indonesia. As part of a religious civil society organization, the Naqsyabandiyah order can grow and exert a strong influence on the dynamics of Indonesian local democracy, especially in Rokan Hulu - Riau. The existence of this movement strengthens Bruinessen's argument about the tarekat as a "storehouse of sounds," whose symbolization of motion is described by the gesture and commands of the teacher. After the New Order, there was a shift in the political orientation of this group; the nature of taqlid to master teachers was only for religious matters, while on political issues, there was a shift in direction that was more directed at the individual interests of the congregation. Even so, the Naqsyabandiyah Rokan Hulu tarekat could still maintain its existence and political power.

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

The Canadian COVID-19 Experiences Survey: Study Protocol

Introduction: Vaccine hesitancy remains a significant challenge even through the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, even in the most well-supplied countries. In Canada, despite high vaccine uptake of the first wave of vaccinations, there are signs of declining uptake of vaccine boosters. Likewise, recommended COVID-19 mitigation behaviors such as mask wearing, distancing, and hand hygiene have been challenging to sustain over the pandemic. The aim of the Canadian COVID-19 Experiences Survey (CCES) is to use a variety of social-cognitive and neurocognitive variables to predict the uptake and sustaining of vaccinations, boosters, and COVID-19 mitigation behaviors across the Canadian population through the second and third years of the pandemic. Methods and analyses: Vaccine hesitant and fully vaccinated adults (N=1,958) were recruited to the 35-minute CCES web survey, using quota sampling, with sampling weights being applied to ensure representativeness of the Canadian population. In Wave 1, conducted between 28 September and 21 October, 2021, 43.3% (n=848) reported not having received any vaccinations, 50.2% (n=983) reported being fully vaccinated, and 6.5% (n=127) reported having had one vaccination with no intention of having a second dose. Social cognitive variables being measured include intentions, beliefs, reasons, and attitudes. Neurocognitive variables being measured include executive dysfunction, delay discounting, and temporal orientation. Other key variables being measured include trust in science, political orientation, mood, and long-COVID symptoms. Ethics and dissemination: The CCES has received ethical review and approval by the University of Waterloo Office of Research Ethics. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at scientific meetings.

Social Psychological Predictors of Belief in Fake News in the Run-Up to the 2019 Hungarian Elections: The Importance of Conspiracy Mentality Supports the Notion of Ideological Symmetry in Fake News Belief

Accessing information online is now easier than ever. However, also false information is circulated in increasing quantities. We sought to identify social psychological factors that could explain why some people are more susceptible to false information. Specifically, we investigated whether psychological predispositions (social dominance orientation, right-wing authoritarianism, system justification beliefs (SJB), openness, need for closure, conspiracy mentality), competencies (scientific and political knowledge, interest in politics) or motivated reasoning based on social identity (political orientation) could help explain who believes fake news. Hungarian participants (N = 295) judged political (anti- and pro-government) and non-political news. The Hungarian context—characterized by low trust in media, populist communication by the government and increasing polarization—should be fertile ground for the proliferation of fake news. The context in making this case particularly interesting is that the major political fault line in Hungary runs between pro- and anti-government supporter groups and not, for instance, between conservative and liberal ideology or partisanship. We found clear support for the motivational reasoning explanation as political orientation consistently predicted belief in both fake and real political news when their contents aligned with one’s political identity. The belief in pro-government news was also associated with higher SJB among pro-government supporters. Those interested in politics showed better capacity to distinguish real political news from the fake ones. Most importantly, the only psychological predisposition that consistently explained belief in all types of fake news was a conspiracy mentality. This supports the notion of ideological symmetry in fake news belief—where a conspiracy mentality can be found across the political spectrum, and it can make people susceptible to disinformation regardless of group-memberships and other individual differences.