This research investigated the role of schadenfreude-feelings of joy at a target's misfortunes-in people's legitimization of illegal attacks against corrupt institutions with formal authority. Five experiments (Experiment 1 conducted in 2018, the others in 2024-2025; Experiments 2-5 preregistered) in the United Kingdom and Italy (N total = 1,676) employed realistic scenarios involving cyberattacks and violent intimidation from criminal groups. Across studies, exposure to institutional corruption increased support for illegal retaliation, and schadenfreude consistently mediated this effect. In Experiments 2 and 5, heightened anger and disgust at the institution's corrupt behavior and, in Experiment 3, reduced anger and disgust toward the illegal attacks themselves did not disrupt the link between schadenfreude and legitimization. Experiments 4 and 5 employed experimental approaches to mediation. Experiment 4 employed a manipulation-of-mediation-as-a-moderator design by altering the attackers' group affiliation. Results provided experimental support for the hypothesized mediational role of schadenfreude, indicating that attacks perpetrated by a disliked outgroup are less likely to evoke schadenfreude and, in turn, legitimacy. Experiment 5 adopted a causal chain approach and manipulated the satisfaction elicited by the attacks. More satisfying attacks (vs. baseline) elicited stronger legitimization, even when controlling for general appraisals of deservingness. Collectively, the findings highlight the importance of positive moral affect elicited by the misfortunes befalling a target as a psychological mechanism underpinning support for illegal system-disrupting actions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Both compassion and gratitude are positive moral emotions that regulate relationships. However, the distinct effects of these prosocial, self-transcending emotions, particularly on third parties, remain largely unexplored. Drawing on research on social functions and on norms of emotions and relationship-specific moral cognition, two preregistered studies (Ntotal = 640) examined social reactions (moral judgments and desire to affiliate) to compassionate versus grateful targets described in vignettes. We manipulated targets' social closeness toward emotion recipients (kin vs. strangers as sufferers/benefactors) and whether targets experienced the emotion toward a single individual or more strongly toward one than the other. As hypothesized, targets elicited more positive reactions when they experienced compassion with single suffering strangers than with suffering kin, in line with stronger norms to feel with family. For perceptions of grateful targets, relationships with single benefactors had less impact. More importantly, when pitting emotional reactions toward strangers and kin against each other, in line with our hypotheses, opposing patterns for compassion and gratitude emerged: Participants' reactions were more positive when targets experienced relatively stronger compassion toward kin than a stranger for identical predicaments. In contrast, targets who were relatively more grateful to a helpful stranger than helpful kin elicited more positive reactions. Both comparisons between grateful and compassionate targets within relational contexts and between relational contexts within emotions closely tracked theorized social functions of these emotions. Hence, moral reactions to similar prosocial, self-transcending emotions differentially depend on social contexts. By fulfilling emotion-specific norms, people may elicit favorable reactions from observers and potentially foster relationships.

Wahring, Simpson, and Van Lange's model is well-argued but underspecifies the psychological processes contributing to men's relationship maintenance behaviors. Extending their model to the realm of moral cognition, we propose that men utilize partner-serving moral double standards to excuse their female partners' everyday relationship transgressions. Such hypercrisy helps men to sustain romantic relationships from which they benefit more than women do.

Masculine honour values – the acceptance of retaliation and violence to enhance male reputation – have implications across interpersonal and group domains. Previous research has documented co-variation at the national level between collectivism and honour. However, little is known about the cultural orientations associated with the endorsement of masculine honour at the individual level. It is therefore essential to understand which configurations of cultural orientations characterise individuals more likely to endorse these values. This study adopted a person-centred approach to test which configurations of horizontal (equality-oriented), vertical (hierarchy- and duty-oriented), individualistic, and collectivistic orientations relate to masculine honour endorsement. This relationship was examined across three world regions: Latin America, W.E.I.R.D. countries, and East Asia (Ntot = 2,088). Latent profile analysis identified two key profiles—Balance-oriented (moderate scores across cultural orientations) and Competitive Egalitarians (focus on personal drive and independence)—that were associated with stronger endorsement of masculine honour. In contrast, profiles driven by equality and group duty showed lower endorsement of masculine honour. These patterns were consistent across Latin American and W.E.I.R.D. regions, whereas East Asia displayed more homogeneous levels of masculine honour across profiles. Overall, these findings underscore the importance of examining cultural orientations as integrated configurations rather than isolated dimensions when studying honour-related values.

Collective action can be a crucial tool for enabling individuals to combat crime in their communities. In this research, we investigated individuals' intentions to mobilize against organized crime, a particularly impactful form of crime characterized by its exercises of power over territories and communities. We focused on individuals' views and perceptions of state authorities, examining how these views may be linked to intentions for collective mobilization. Using a large dataset with participants from eight countries (NTotal = 2088), we tested two distinct and opposing indirect paths through which perceived state responsiveness may be associated with collective mobilization intentions against organized crime, namely increased collective community efficacy (a Catalyst Indirect Effect) and diminished perceived threat from criminal groups (a Complacency Indirect Effects). Results showed that state responsiveness was associated with stronger collective action intentions through increased collective community efficacy. There was also some evidence of reduced collective action intentions through diminished perceived threat. These findings highlight the complex role of state responsiveness in predicting people's intentions to mobilize against collective problems in their communities. Implications of the findings, limitations and future directions are discussed.

Confidence in institutions is a key predictor of civic honesty, yet evidence shows that this relationship varies across contexts and individuals. This study examined whether power-distance orientation (PDO)-the extent to which individuals accept hierarchical power relations-moderates this association. High-PDO individuals tend to view institutional authorities as entitled to privilege, inclined to engage in patronage relationships and potentially corrupt. We hypothesised that for individuals high in PDO, confidence in institutions could backfire and be linked to the rejection of civic honesty. Using data from 2088 participants across eight countries, we found support for this hypothesis. Specifically, the positive link between institutional confidence and civic honesty was reversed among those who strongly endorse PDO. These findings suggest that individual-level variation in the link between confidence in institutions and civic honesty partly reflects broader beliefs about authorities. We discuss implications of this interaction and outline directions for future research.

Civic honesty-the moral standards that define citizens' commitment to the public good-serves a fundamental role in societal functioning. Prior research has emphasized the role of vertical trust (trust in institutions) and horizontal trust (trust in fellow citizens) in predicting the endorsement of such standards among citizens. However, this research has mainly focused on the political conditions typical of the Global North while neglecting environments where criminal organizations, such as mafias, challenge state sovereignty and its monopoly over governance functions. Using a mixed-effects multilevel model and an extended Johnson-Neyman method for multiple moderators, we analyzed the role of two crucial contextual factors (i.e., criminal groups' influence and state resilience) on the relationships between trust and civic honesty across 84 countries (N = 132,602). Results revealed that vertical trust is positively associated with civic honesty in contexts where the influence of criminal groups is lower and state resilience is higher. However, this relationship reverses when the influence of criminal groups is stronger and state resilience is weaker, suggesting that, in these circumstances, trust in institutions may reflect trust in (and adherence to) a system that is corrupt. In contrast, horizontal trust was negatively associated with civic honesty only in states characterized by lower resilience. Policy implications and future research directions are discussed.

We developed and validated the Nature of Mind Scale (NOMS), a 24-item measure assessing lay beliefs about eight distinct philosophical positions on the mind-body relationship. Given the limitations of existing measures and the theoretical diversity of mind-body positions, our goal was to develop a comprehensive yet practical scale that could capture the full range of philosophical stances without reducing them to overly simplified dimensions. Across four studies with 1074 participants, we established the NOMS's psychometric properties and nomological network. Through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, we identified an eight-factor structure representing belief in substance dualism, interactionism, panpsychism, idealism, reductive physicalism, non-reductive physicalism, mystical monism, and neutral monism. Participants most strongly endorsed interactionism, non-reductive physicalism, and mystical monism, while showing the least support for idealism. The scale demonstrated good model fit and strong evidence of measurement invariance across samples. Convergent validity was established through correlations with existing mind-body belief measures. Construct validity was supported by theoretically consistent relationships with religiosity, free will beliefs, cognitive style, personality traits, and afterlife beliefs. The NOMS represents an extension of previous measures of mind-body relations, capturing the multifaceted nature of these beliefs while maintaining sufficient brevity for practical research applications.

Individuals' endorsement of standards of civic honesty is necessary for democracies to flourish. A critical driver of civic honesty is the relationship of trust between individuals and institutions. Research has yet to systematically assess the contextual factors that may moderate this relationship. In this study, we examined the societal influence of organized criminal groups. Criminal groups operate as alternative systems of authority that erode the reliability of institutions' moral standards. We employed a new indicator that quantifies their societal influence to test the hypothesis that the association between individuals' political trust and civic honesty would weaken in countries more strongly affected by criminal groups. Multilevel evidence across 83 representative national samples (N = 128,839) supported this hypothesis. Moreover, the association between political trust and civic honesty was negative in contexts where criminal groups' influence was more extreme. We discuss the implications of the findings and future research directions.

Individuals who reject sacrificial harm to maximize overall outcomes, consistent with deontological (vs. utilitarian) ethics, appear warmer, more moral, and more trustworthy. Yet, deontological judgments may not only convey emotional reactions, but also strict adherence to moral rules. We therefore hypothesized that people view deontologists as more morally absolutist and hence self-righteous-as perceiving themselves as morally superior. In addition, both deontologists and utilitarians who base their decisions on rules (vs. emotions) should appear more self-righteous. Four studies (N = 1254) tested these hypotheses. Participants perceived targets as more selfrighteous when they rejected (vs. accepted) sacrificial harm in classic moral dilemmas where harm maximizes outcomes (i.e., deontological vs. utilitarian judgments), but not parallel cases where harm fails to maximize outcomes (Study 1). Preregistered Study 2 replicated the focal effect, additionally indicating mediation via perceptions of moral absolutism. Study 3 found that targets who reported basing their deontological judgments on rules, compared to emotional reactions or when processing information was absent, appeared particularly self-righteous. Preregistered Study 4 included both deontological and utilitarian targets and manipulated whether their judgments were based on rules versus emotion (specifically sadness). Grounding either moral position in rules conveyed self-righteousness, while communicating emotions was a remedy. Furthermore, participants perceived targets as more self-righteous the more targets deviated from their own moral beliefs. Studies 3 and 4 additionally examined participants' self-disclosure intentions. In sum, deontological dilemma judgments may convey an absolutist, rule-focused view of morality, but any judgment stemming from rules (in contrast to sadness) promotes self-righteousness perceptions.

The terminology used in discussions on mental state attribution is extensive and lacks consistency. In the current paper, experts from various disciplines collaborate to introduce a shared set of concepts and make recommendations regarding future use.

The state’s monopoly on sovereignty can be challenged by criminal systems capable of gaining legitimacy within communities. Understanding the psychological basis of such legitimacy requires broadening traditional conceptualizations of authority to consider how it operates without legal backing and outside formal channels. This research introduces the Legitimacy of Secret Power (L-SP) Scale, a tool measuring individuals’ appraisal of illegal groups’ power. We validated L-SP through three studies ( Ntotal = 3,173). Findings demonstrate a reliable, 20-item mono-factorial structure. Study 3 tested L-SP’s measurement invariance in the UK, Italy, Japan, and the US. Across studies, L-SP correlated with support for illegality, ideologies of masculine honor, and social dominance. It was inversely related to the perceived national threat of criminal groups, democratic attitudes, and police legitimacy. Notably, L-SP predicted individuals’ willingness to report criminal groups independently of their fear of these groups or perceptions of police legitimacy. Theoretical implications and future directions are discussed.

People’s estimates are biased toward previously considered numbers (anchoring). We have aggregated all available data from anchoring studies that included at least two anchors into one large dataset. Data were standardized to comprise one estimate per row, coded according to a wide range of variables, and are available for download and analyses online (https://metaanalyses.shinyapps.io/OpAQ/). Because the dataset includes both original and meta-data it allows for fine-grained analyses (e.g., correlations of estimates for different tasks) but also for meta-analyses (e.g., effect sizes for anchoring effects).

Free Access“Understanding Others in Moments of Crisis” A Special Issue of Social PsychologyDana Schneider, Pascal Burgmer, Thorsten M. Erle, and Heather FergusonDana SchneiderDana Schneider, Psychology Department of Social & General Psychology, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Am Steiger 3/1, Room 115, 07743 Jena, Germany, dana.schneider@uni-jena.dePsychology Department of Social & General Psychology, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Jena, GermanySearch for more papers by this author, Pascal BurgmerSchool of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UKSearch for more papers by this author, Thorsten M. ErleDepartment of Social Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The NetherlandsSearch for more papers by this author, and Heather FergusonSchool of Psychology, Keynes College, University of Kent, Canterbury, UKSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:March 03, 2023https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000515PDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInReddit SectionsMoreUnderstanding what other people think and feel is a core capacity enabling complex human social interactions. Research on the core processes that enable us to do so, that is empathy, Theory of Mind and their related social behaviors are topics that currently receive enormous scientific attention (with over 13,800 publications for empathy and over 10,000 publications for Theory of Mind in the last 10 years according to Web of Science). These topics have been examined across different disciplines, such as philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience and yielded many insights (Hein et al., 2016; Schaafsma et al., 2015; Zahavi, 2017).However, despite the knowledge we have on social cognition and the understanding of others under “normal” circumstances, we have little consistent findings about how social cognition is affected in psychological crises. In recent years, the world has been confronted with several crises, some of which overlap. They are triggered by global health, environmental threats, and war. But besides these extreme events on a large scale, there are also difficult situations on a smaller scale like exposure to unknown or threatening others, relationships or family strains (e.g., forced contact to unpleasant strangers, unwanted separation or struggles around aging).Social psychology in general may understand reactions to crises as a form of threat reaction that leads to different behavioral patterns. A model by Jonas et al. (2014) integrates results from social neuroscientific and social psychological experiments that converge on a general process model of threat and defense. In this model, some defenses are more proximal and symptom-focused, and result directly from anxious arousal and heightened attentional vigilance associated with anxious states. Other defenses operate more distally and mute anxiety by activating approach-oriented states.Old and new intervention strategies for moments of crises include various approaches targeting for example dyadic interactions or the improvement of intergroup relations. Well-known and proven examples include active perspective and empathy taking (Sassenrath et al., 2016), self-affirmation (Badea et al., 2018), identity-restoration (Nadler & Shnabel, 2015), or paradoxical thinking (Hameiri et al., 2019).This special issue pushes the field forward with cutting-edge research and theory on emotion recognition (1), loneliness in older age (2), concern for others (3), downwards social comparision (4), family disruption and childrens pro-social behavior (5), defence strategies (6), populist attitudes for compliance (7), children’s distress and parental support (8), beliefs about people's happiness (9). As such, the issue elucidates the impact of crises concerning social perception, social cognition at the micro, meso- and macro-level and social behavior.This special issue begins with an article that examined how face coverings – of the kind commonly worn during the COVID-19 pandemic or in medical settings – impact face recognition ability. McCrackin et al (2023) showed that face coverings have a general detrimental effect on the recognition of emotional expressions, but the magnitude of these difficulties varies with individual differences in autistic traits and personality.De Lillo et al. (2023) add insights on the development of social-cognitive abilities during later life. Old age is associated with increased feelings of loneliness and reduced social functioning, which the authors conceptualize as a moment of crisis. Although it is intuitively plausible that reduced social functioning and loneliness are associated with reduced social-cognitive functioning, too, little previous research investigated this link. The authors assessed older adults’ perspective-taking and mentalizing abilities using behavioral tasks and found that both age and loneliness significantly predicted egocentric biases during perspective-taking tasks, while mentalizing was unaffected by age and loneliness.Next, Leder et al. (2023) present an article that compared the efficacy of three different health interventions as a means to alter peoples’ intentions to behave prosocially – using general information, mental simulation or inducing empathy. They found that prosocial intentions can be enhanced by prompting people to mentally simulate the consequences of their actions or inducing empathic concern for others, but that individual differences in empathic traits were the most reliable predictor of prosocial intentions, independent of health interventions.Kulesza et al. (2023) examine the better-than-average effect (BTAE) during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 before vaccines had become widely available. Participants from Poland, Kazakhstan, and Iran indicated higher compliance with health recommendations such as social distancing compared to their peers. Across different points of measurement and populations, the findings suggest a robust BTAE both at the individual and group level which also seems to manifest in an increased willingness to obtain the vaccine. Their findings showcase the implications of comparing oneself to others for social behaviors during a health crisis.Hughes, colleagues and the i-FAM COVID-19 Consortium (2023) investigated in their multi-site study in six countries with over 2,000 parental ratings how family disruption in the COVID-19 pandemic mediated 3–8-year-old children’s prosocial behavior. For all six sites, family disruption indirectly predicted reduced prosocial behavior. Negative feelings about COVID-19 regulations mediated this association in all sites except China. Contrariwise, understanding of COVID-19 regulations was not implicated in the link between family disruption and reduced prosocial behavior.Hechler et al. (2023) investigate individual defense strategies in the context of perceived threats during the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 in Germany and the United Kingdom. Their data suggests that perceptions of threat relate to personal distress. Additionally, some beneficial social reactions to threat such as empathic concern for others seem to map onto particular defense strategies that help individuals to cope with anxiety and stress evoked during the lockdowns. Taken together, Hechler et al.’ (2023) findings illustrate the importance of social defense strategies, in particular, to facilitate understanding others even during a crisis.Ehrke et al. (2023) extend previous work on populism and investigate the relationship between populist attitudes, trust in several institutions (media, politics, science), and COVID-19-related compliance attitudes as well as behaviors. Cross-sectional and longitudinal data from 2020 in Germany and Poland suggest that populist attitudes are linked to trust in alternative media but lack of trust in mainstream media, politics, and science. Particularly trust in political and scientific institutions seems to be relevant for compliance. Ehrke et al.’ (2023) findings thereby highlight social-cognitive processes such as trust that may underly the detrimental consequences of populist attitudes during a health crisis.Mullins et al. (2023) examined the extent to which parental understanding of Latina children’s distress predicted children’s affective empathy and prosocial behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. They report that parental empathic accuracy interacted with children’s distress proneness to predict children’s empathy and altruistic sharing, highlighting the importance of positive parental socialization and understanding during times of crisis.This special issue ends with an article by Olivos et al. (2023). This work extends the literature on people’s understanding of happiness by asking whether positive and negative events could affect the causal attributions of what makes others happy. Using a factorial survey applied to a representative and probabilistic sample of Chileans, they examined three central causal attributions rooted in Latin American folk culture. The results show that the positive family causal attribution of others’ happiness is reinforced by both negative and positive events that happened to the observer. Finally, the researchers discuss how their study contributes to understanding people’s causal attributions by examining how they are modified by critical events that affect the observer.A last note, to all contributors and readers that have been enormously patient with us, most contents for this special issue were put together during the second hard year of the COVID-19 pandemic (2021) and pushed our planned bundled publication way out of time. Still, we wish to express how rewarding we found the editorial work on this issue. We hope that scientists and the interested general public enjoy this collection of papers, and find they provide useful information about where the field of social cognition stands in 2023. As will have become clear, new scientific questions have emerged at least as quickly as older ones have been answered. We look forward to an exciting future of research on “Understanding Others.”ReferencesBadea, C., Iyer, A., & Aebischer, V. (2018). National identification, endorsement of acculturation ideologies and prejudice: The impact of the perceived threat of immigration. International Review of Social Psychology, 31(1). Article 14. 10.5334/irsp.147 First citation in articleCrossref, Google ScholarDe Lillo, M., Martin, A., & Ferguson, H. (2023). Exploring the relationship between loneliness and social cognition in older age. Social Psychology, 54(1-2), 16–26. 10.1027/1864-9335/a000482 First citation in articleLink, Google ScholarEhrke, F., Grommisch, G., Busch, E. P., & Kaczmarek, M. (2023). Populist attitudes predict compliance-related attitudes and behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic via trust in institutions. Social Psychology, 54(1-2), 78–94. 10.1027/1864-9335/a000500 First citation in articleLink, Google ScholarHameiri, B., Bar-Tal, D., & Halperin, E. (2019). Paradoxical thinking interventions: A paradigm for societal change. Social Issues and Policy Review, 13(1), 36–62. 10.1111/sipr.12053 First citation in articleCrossref, Google ScholarHechler, S., Wendel, C., & Schneider, D. (2023). Dealing with the Corona pandemic: How defense strategies relate to empathic reactions during lockdowns. Social Psychology, 54(1-2), 66–77. 10.1027/1864-9335/a000501 First citation in articleLink, Google ScholarHein, G., Engelmann, J. B., Vollberg, M. C., & Tobler, P. N. (2016). How learning shapes the empathic brain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 113(1), 80–85. 10.1073/pnas.1514539112 First citation in articleCrossref, Google ScholarHughes, C., Ronchi, L., Heng, J., Basile, C., Del Sette, P., & Lecce, S. (2023). What mediates the effect of family disruption in the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s prosocial behavior: A multi-site study. Social Psychology, 54(1-2), 52–65. 10.1027/1864-9335/a000485 First citation in articleLink, Google ScholarJonas, E., McGregor, I., Klackl, J., Agroskin, D., Fritsche, I., Holdbrook, C., Nash, K., Proulx, T., & Quirin, M. (2014). Threat and defense: From anxiety to approach. In J. M. OlsonM. P. Zanna (Eds.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 49, pp. 219–286). Academic Press. First citation in articleGoogle ScholarKulesza, W., Dolinski, D., Muniak, P., Winner, D., Izydorczak, K., Derakhshan, A., & Rizulla, A. (2023). Biased social comparison in the moment of crisis: The better-than-average effect and COVID-19. Social Psychology, 54(1-2), 40–51. 10.1027/1864-9335/a000495 First citation in articleLink, Google ScholarLeder, J., Schütz, A., & Pastukhov, A. (2023). Keeping the kids home: Increasing concern for others in times of crisis. Social Psychology, 54(1-2), 27–39. 10.1027/1864-9335/a000463 First citation in articleLink, Google ScholarMcCrackin, S. D., Capozzi, F., Mayrand, F., & Ristic, J. (2023). Face masks impair basic emotion recognition: Group effects and individual variability. Social Psychology, 54(1-2), 4–15. 10.1027/1864-9335/a000470 First citation in articleLink, Google ScholarMullins, J. L., Zhou, E. Z., & Michalska, K. L. (2023). How parental support affects Latina girls during the COVID-19 pandemic: Empathic accuracy and posttraumatic growth effects on empathy and altruistic sharing. Social Psychology, 54(1-2), 95–109. 10.1027/1864-9335/a000476 First citation in articleLink, Google ScholarNadler, A., & Shnabel, N. (2015). Intergroup reconciliation: Instrumental and socio-emotional processes and the needs-based model. European Review of Social Psychology, 26(1), 93–125. 10.1080/10463283.2015.1106712 First citation in articleCrossref, Google ScholarOlivos, F., Olivos-Jara, P., & Moyano-Díaz, E. (2023). Causal attributions of happiness and critical events: How beliefs about people’s happiness are affected by moments of crisis and joy. Social Psychology, 54(1-2), 110–122. 10.1027/1864-9335/a000484 First citation in articleLink, Google ScholarSassenrath, C., Hodges, S. D., & Pfattheicher, S. (2016). It’s all about the self: When perspective taking backfires. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 25(6), 405–410. 10.1177/0963721416659253 First citation in articleCrossref, Google ScholarSchaafsma, S. M., Pfaff, D. W., Spunt, R. P., & Adolphs, R. (2015). Deconstructing and reconstructing theory of mind. Trends in Cognitive Science, 19(2), 65–72. 10.1016/j.tics.2014.11.007 First citation in articleCrossref, Google ScholarZahavi, D. (2017). Phenomenology, empathy, and mindreading. In H. L. Maibom (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of philosophy of empathy (pp. 33–43). Routledge. First citation in articleCrossref, Google ScholarFiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Special Issue Understanding Others in Moments of CrisisVolume 54Issue 1-2January 2023ISSN: 1864-9335eISSN: 2151-2590 Published onlineMarch 3, 2023 InformationSocial Psychology (2023), 54, pp. 1-3 https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000515.© 2023Hogrefe PublishingPDF download

The present research (total N = 2,057) tested whether people's folk conception of consciousness aligns with the notion of a "Cartesian Theater" (Dennett, 1991). More precisely, we tested the hypotheses that people believe that consciousness happens in a single, confined area (vs. multiple dispersed areas) in the human brain, and that it (partly) happens after the brain finished analyzing all available information. Further, we investigated how these beliefs are related to participants' neuroscientific knowledge as well as their reliance on intuition, and which rationale they use to explain their responses. Using a computer-administered drawing task, we found that participants located consciousness, but not unrelated neurological processes (Studies 1a and 1b) or unconscious thinking (Study 2) in a single, confined area in the prefrontal cortex, and that they considered most of the brain not involved in consciousness. Participants mostly relied on their intuitions when responding, and they were not affected by prior knowledge about the brain. Additionally, they considered the conscious experience of sensory stimuli to happen in a spatially more confined area than the corresponding computational analysis of these stimuli (Study 3). Furthermore, participants' explicit beliefs about spatial and temporal localization of consciousness (i.e., consciousness happening after the computational analysis of sensory information is completed) are independent, yet positively correlated beliefs (Study 4). Using a more elaborate measure for temporal localization of conscious experience, our final study confirmed that people believe consciousness to partly happen even after information processing is done (Study 5). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

In this contribution, we review current research on daily-life experiences of trust in diverse and naturally occurring social interactions ranging from close relationships to complete strangers. Experience-sampling methodology allows the joint examination of situational, relational, dispositional, motivational, and behavioral variables in their relation to trust. Thereby, these recent studies advance our understanding of how trust is shaped by important features of the social situation such as perceived conflict of interest. They elucidate how trust fluctuates in accordance with stable traits, and how these traits interact with situational variables (e.g., social closeness to the target). Furthermore, trust connects social perceptions of trustees with trustors' prosocial tendencies.

We offer a critical appraisal of Over's (2020) seven challenges for dehumanization research in social psychology.While the challenges mainly attack an exaggerated version of the claims that dehumanization research actually makes, the positive suggestions that follow them open up some much-needed questions.By seeing humanity as a prototypebased category, we can address more sensitively how various departures from prototypical humanity relate to each other.We can also ask whether all of these departures are equally necessary or sufficient explanations for the effects of dehumanizing treatment and metaphors in degrading moral consideration of other groups of people.

Although trust plays a pivotal role in many aspects of life, very little is known about the manifestation of trust and distrust in everyday life. In this work, we integrated several prior approaches to trust and investigated the prevalence and key determinants of trust (vs. distrust) in people’s natural environments, using preregistered experience-sampling methodology. Across more than 4,500 social interactions from a heterogeneous sample of 427 participants, results showed high average levels of trust, but also considerable variability in trust across contexts. This variability was attributable to aspects of trustee perception, social distance, as well as three key dimensions of situational interdependence: conflict of interests, information (un)certainty, and power imbalance. At the dispositional level, average everyday trust was shaped by general trust, moral identity, and zero-sum beliefs. The social scope of most trust-related traits, however, was moderated by social distance: Whereas moral identity buffered against distrusting distant targets, high general distrust and low social value orientation amplified trust differences between close vs. distant others. Furthermore, a laboratory-based trust game predicted everyday trust only with regard to more distant but not close interaction partners. Finally, everyday trust was linked to self-disclosure and to cooperation, particularly in situations of high conflict between interaction partners’ interests. We conclude that trust can be conceptualized as a relational hub that interconnects the social perception of the trustee, the relational closeness between trustor and trustee, key structural features of situational interdependence, and behavioral response options such as self-disclosure.

Which attributes of a person contribute to their tendency to moralize others' thoughts? Adopting an individual-difference approach to moral cognition, eight studies (N = 2,033) investigated how people's ability for self-control shapes their moral reactions to others' mental states. Specifically, Studies 1a-2b found positive predictive effects of trait self-control (TSC) on the moralization (e.g., blaming) of another person's fantasies about different immoral behaviors. While ruling out alternative explanations, they furthermore supported the mediating role of ascribing targets control over their mental states. Studies 3a-3b provided correlational evidence of the perceived ability to control one's own mental states as a mechanism in the relationship between TSC and ascriptions of control to others. Studies 4a-4b followed a causal-chain experimental approach: A manipulation of participants' self-perceived ability to control their emotions impacted their control ascriptions to others over their immoral mental states (Study 4a), and targets perceived as high (vs. low) in control over their immoral mental states elicited stronger moralizing reactions. Taken together, the present studies elucidate why people moralize others' purely mental states, even in the absence of overt behavior. More broadly, they advance our knowledge about the role of individual differences, particularly in self-control, in moral cognition.