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Concern with COVID-19 pandemic threat and attitudes towards immigrants: The mediating effect of the desire for tightness.

ABSTRACT: Tightening social norms is thought to be adaptive for dealing with collective threat yet it may have negative consequences for increasing prejudice. The present research investigated the role of desire for cultural tightness, triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, in increasing negative attitudes towards immigrants. We used participant-level data from 41 countries (N = 55,015) collected as part of the PsyCorona project, a cross-national longitudinal study on responses to COVID-19. Our predictions were tested through multilevel and SEM models, treating participants as nested within countries. Results showed that people's concern with COVID-19 threat was related to greater desire for tightness which, in turn, was linked to more negative attitudes towards immigrants. These findings were followed up with a longitudinal model (N = 2,349) which also showed that people's heightened concern with COVID-19 in an earlier stage of the pandemic was associated with an increase in their desire for tightness and negative attitudes towards immigrants later in time. Our findings offer insight into the trade-offs that tightening social norms under collective threat has for human groups.

SUBMITTER: Mula S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8691133 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Concern with COVID-19 pandemic threat and attitudes towards immigrants: The mediating effect of the desire for tightness.

Mula Silvana S Di Santo Daniela D Resta Elena E Bakhtiari Farin F Baldner Conrad C Molinario Erica E Pierro Antonio A Gelfand Michele J MJ Denison Emmy E Agostini Maximilian M Bélanger Jocelyn J JJ Gützkow Ben B Kreienkamp Jannis J Abakoumkin Georgios G Abdul Khaiyom Jamilah Hanum JH Ahmedi Vjollca V Akkas Handan H Almenara Carlos A CA Atta Mohsin M Bagci Sabahat Cigdem SC Basel Sima S Kida Edona Berisha EB Bernardo Allan B I ABI Buttrick Nicholas R NR Chobthamkit Phatthanakit P Choi Hoon-Seok HS Cristea Mioara M Csaba Sára S Damnjanovic Kaja K Danyliuk Ivan I Dash Arobindu A Douglas Karen M KM Enea Violeta V Faller Daiane Gracieli DG Fitzsimons Gavan J GJ Gheorghiu Alexandra A Gómez Ángel Á Hamaidia Ali A Han Qing Q Helmy Mai M Hudiyana Joevarian J Jeronimus Bertus F BF Jiang Ding-Yu DY Jovanović Veljko V Kamenov Željka Ž Kende Anna A Keng Shian-Ling SL Kieu Tra Thi Thanh TTT Koc Yasin Y Kovyazina Kamila K Kozytska Inna I Krause Joshua J Kruglanski Arie W AW Kurapov Anton A Kutlaca Maja M Lantos Nóra Anna NA Lemay Edward P EP Lesmana Cokorda Bagus Jaya CBJ Louis Winnifred R WR Lueders Adrian A Malik Najma Iqbal NI Martinez Anton A McCabe Kira O KO Mehulić Jasmina J Milla Mirra Noor MN Mohammed Idris I Moyano Manuel M Muhammad Hayat H Muluk Hamdi H Myroniuk Solomiia S Najafi Reza R Nisa Claudia F CF Nyúl Boglárka B O'Keefe Paul A PA Olivas Osuna Jose Javier JJ Osin Evgeny N EN Park Joonha J Pica Gennaro G Rees Jonas H JH Reitsema Anne Margit AM Rullo Marika M Ryan Michelle K MK Samekin Adil A Santtila Pekka P Sasin Edyta E Schumpe Birga Mareen BM Selim Heyla A HA Stanton Michael Vicente MV Stroebe Wolfgang W Sultana Samiah S Sutton Robbie M RM Tseliou Eleftheria E Utsugi Akira A van Breen Jolien Anne JA van Lissa Caspar J CJ Van Veen Kees K vanDellen Michelle R MR Vázquez Alexandra A Wollast Robin R Yeung Victoria Wai-Lan VW Zand Somayeh S Žeželj Iris Lav IL Zheng Bang B Zick Andreas A Zúñiga Claudia C Leander N Pontus NP

Current research in ecological and social psychology 20211211

Tightening social norms is thought to be adaptive for dealing with collective threat yet it may have negative consequences for increasing prejudice. The present research investigated the role of desire for cultural tightness, triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, in increasing negative attitudes towards immigrants. We used participant-level data from 41 countries (<i>N</i> = 55,015) collected as part of the PsyCorona project, a cross-national longitudinal study on responses to COVID-19. Our predic ...[more]

PMID: 35098189

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Project description:A strong sociocultural context could affect an individual's aesthetic standards. In order to achieve a socially recognized ideal appearance, obligatory exercisers might increase dieting behavior when exercise actions are disturbed, thereby placing the individual at risk of eating disorders. The current study mainly examined the relationship between obligatory exercise and eating attitudes during the COVID-19 pandemic, and considered the mediating role of externalized sociocultural attitudes towards appearance between the two. A total of 342 participants (175 females, 167 males) from various regions of China were invited to fill out the questionnaires including the Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire, the Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance Questionnaire-3, and the Eating Attitudes Test. In total, 51.5% of the participants presented symptoms of an obligatory exercise behavior. Among them, males, young adults, and the participants with lower BMI had higher OEQ scores, whereas females and young adults had higher EAT-26 scores. Meanwhile, 9.4% of the participants might have had an eating disorder. The OEQ score was positively correlated with the EAT-26 total score as well as SATAQ-3 'Pressures' and 'Information' subscales. In addition, the EAT-26 total score was positively correlated with the SATAQ-3 'Pressures' and 'Information' subscales. Externalized sociocultural attitudes towards appearance served as a mediator between obligatory exercise behavior and eating attitudes, and the mediation effect accounted for 56.82% of the total effect. Obligatory exercise behavior may have an indirect effect on eating attitudes through sociocultural attitudes towards appearance. Given the sociocultural information and pressures, in order to maintain or pursue an ideal appearance, many people tend to keep a pathological diet. Thus, forming a positive and healthy social aesthetic orientation is beneficial in helping obligatory exercisers to develop reasonable eating habits.

Dataset Information

Concern with COVID-19 pandemic threat and attitudes towards immigrants: The mediating effect of the desire for tightness.

Publications

Concern with COVID-19 pandemic threat and attitudes towards immigrants: The mediating effect of the desire for tightness.

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