Why do people comply with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health guidance? This study considers cultural-psychological foundations of variation in beliefs about motivations for such compliance. Specifically, we focused on beliefs about two sources of prosocial motivation: desire to protect others and obligation to society. Across two studies, we observed that the relative emphasis on the desire to protect others (vs. the obligation to the community) as an explanation for compliance was greater in the United States settings associated with cultural ecologies of abstracted independence than in Chinese settings associated with cultural ecologies of embedded interdependence. We observed these patterns for explanations of psychological experience of both others (Study 1) and self (Study 2), and for compliance with mandates for both social distancing and face masks (Study 2). Discussion of results considers both practical implications for motivating compliance with public health guidance and theoretical implications for denaturalizing prevailing accounts of prosocial motivation.
According to attachment theory, security providing attachment figures fulfill two main functions: (1) safe haven—providing safety and comfort and reducing stress—helping people regain a sense of security; and (2) secure base—providing resources and a base from which people can spring into action. According to the Dual Function of Security Priming Model, security priming can result in one of two outcomes paralleling these two functions. Which outcome is likely to present itself depends on the level of stress imposed by the context. Here we describe the Dual Function Model of Security Priming (DFSP) Model and provide evidence from a study examining the effects of attachment security priming on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal activity. In the study, participants were exposed to security-related cues under high or low/no-stress conditions, while their salivary cortisol concentrations were measured. Cortisol is a suitable index as it is released not only in response to stress, but also more generally when energy needs to be mobilized. We found that while security priming led to significant decreases in salivary cortisol concentrations when presented after a stressor (stress reduction), it led to a significant increase in salivary cortisol concentrations when presented before the stressor (energy mobilization).
Research on the impact of ex-romantic partners on current romantic relationships is mainly focused on negative aspects. Here instead we focus on the potential positive influence of reflecting on nostalgic memories of one's ex-partner. In three studies, we found that reflecting on nostalgic memories of one's ex-partner increased the perception of current relationship quality (Studies 1-3) and approach motivation towards the current relationship (Study 3), compared to a control condition. We also tested a potential underlying mechanism-perception of self-growth. We found that perception of self-growth mediated the positive effects of reflecting on nostalgic memories about an ex-partner on perceived current relationship quality (Studies 2 and 3) and approach motivation in the current relationship (Study 3). Implications for research and therapy are discussed.
Do people use ideal standards to evaluate and regulate their best friends? The current research examines whether the Ideal Standards Model captures dynamics in friendships, and what role attachment orientations play in these dynamics. Greater discrepancies between perceptions of best friends and ideal standards (low ideal-perception consistency) on the warmth/trustworthiness (Studies 1–3) and status/resources (Study 2) dimensions were associated with greater regulation attempts of best friends on these dimensions. Low ideal-perception consistency on the attractiveness/vitality dimension was not associated with regulation on this dimension (Study 2). Additionally, all studies illustrated that attachment avoidance was associated with lower ideal-perception consistency and, in turn, greater regulation attempts. By contrast, attachment anxiety was associated with higher regulation attempts of best friends, not because of lower ideal-perception consistency, but because of greater relationship maintenance motivations (Study 2) and an acute sensitivity to daily reductions in ideal-perception consistency (Study 3).
We suggest that as people move to construe robots as social agents, interact with them, and treat them as capable of social ties, they might develop (close) relationships with them. We then ask what kind of relationships can people form with bots, what functions can bots fulfill, and what are the societal and moral implications of such relationships.
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