Shared social identification in mass gatherings lowers health risk perceptions via lowered disgust

Khazaie, Daniella Hult; Khan, Sammyh S.

doi:10.1111/bjso.12362

Cited by 27 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…We propose that such false negatives are particularly likely in the context of salient shared group membership, which may attenuate disgust reactions. Recent evidence for this proposition comes from Reicher and colleagues (Reicher, Templeton, Neville, Ferrari, & Drury 2016; see also Khazaie & Khan, 2019). In two studies, these authors found that participants felt less disgust towards a damp sports-shirt that smelled of perspiration when it bore a logo of their own university, compared to when it bore the logo of a rival university.…”

Section: A Role For Disgustmentioning

confidence: 99%

When trust goes wrong: A social identity model of risk taking.

Cruwys¹,

Greenaway

Ferris³

et al. 2021

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

114

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Risk taking is typically viewed through a lens of individual deficits (e.g., impulsivity) or normative influence (e.g., peer pressure). An unexplored possibility is that shared group membership, and the trust that flows from it, may play a role in reducing risk perceptions and promoting risky behavior. We propose and test a Social Identity Model of Risk Taking in eight studies (total N = 4,708) that employ multiple methods including minimal group paradigms, correlational, longitudinal, and experimental designs to investigate the effect of shared social identity across diverse risk contexts. Studies 1 and 2 provided evidence for the basic premise of the model, showing that ingroup members were perceived as posing lower risk and inspired greater risk taking behavior than outgroup members. Study 3 found that social identification was a moderator, such that effect of shared group membership was strongest among high identifiers. Studies 4 and 5 among festival attendees showed correlational and longitudinal evidence for the model and further that risk-taking was mediated by trust, not disgust. Study 6 manipulated the mediator and found that untrustworthy faces were trusted more and perceived as less risky when they were ingroup compared to outgroup members. Studies 7 and 8 identified integrity as the subcomponent of trust that consistently promotes greater risk taking in the presence of ingroup members. The findings reveal that a potent source of risk discounting is the group memberships we share with others. Ironically, this means the people we trust the most may sometimes pose the greatest risk.

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Section: A Role For Disgustmentioning

confidence: 99%

When trust goes wrong: A social identity model of risk taking.

Cruwys¹,

Greenaway

Ferris³

et al. 2021

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

114

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Once again, research confirms the role of a shared identity in attenuating disgust and motivating such sharing. Hult Khazaie and Khan (2019, Study 2) report data gathered from music festival attendees showing that the perception of a shared identity had an indirect effect on increasing the likelihood of engagement in risky practices (e.g., sharing water bottles) and that this was mediated via decreased disgust. They also found a similar indirect effect of shared identity (again via decreased disgust) on (reducing) the degree to which participants judged themselves vulnerable to infection.…”

Section: Mass Gathering Health: Understanding the Costs And Benefitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mass Gatherings, Health, and Well‐Being: From Risk Mitigation to Health Promotion

Hopkins

Reicher

2020

Social Issues Policy Review

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Mass gatherings are routinely viewed as posing risks to physical health. However, social psychological research shows mass gathering participation can also bring benefits to psychological well-being. We describe how both sets of outcomes can be understood as arising from the distinctive forms of behavior that may be found when people-even strangers-come to define themselves and each other in terms of a shared social identity. We show that many of the risks and benefits of participation are products of group processes; that these different outcomes can have their roots in the same core processes; and that knowledge of these process provides a basis for health promotion interventions to mitigate the risks and maximize the benefits of participation. Throughout, we offer practical guidance as to how policy makers and practitioners should tailor such interventions. Mass gatherings take many forms: large-scale religious pilgrimages (e.g., the hajj), sporting events (e.g., the World Cup), music festivals (e.g., Glastonbury), regional and national commemorative events (e.g., St Patrick's Day celebrations), etc. Some are short-lived, others span days, even weeks. Some attract a few thousand, others, hundreds of thousands. Perhaps the most striking of all are the Kumbh Mela and the Magh Mela, each of which attract millions of Hindu pilgrims to the banks of the Ganga (north India) for a full month (Buzinde, Kalavar,

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“…Contrary to both Cruwys et al (2020) and Khazaie and Khan (2019), however, the spectators’ lowered risk perception and concern for disease spread did not increase risk-taking, since they did not decrease adherence to COVID-19 safety measures. There are two important caveats to these findings.…”

Section: Perceived Risk Concern For Risk and Risk-takingmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…Khazaie and Khan (2019) explored the effect of social identification on health-risk perceptions, disgust, and likelihood of engaging in risk-taking behaviors. They found that participants asked to imagine being in a psychological crowd were less concerned about disease spread and reported greater likelihood to engage in health-risk behaviors (e.g., providing physical support to someone with flu-like symptoms) compared to those in the physical crowd condition.…”

Section: Perceived Risk Concern For Risk and Risk-takingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is a particular consideration during the COVID-19 pandemic since attendees must be vigilant to risks to keep one another safe and common activities that may ordinarily have been expected as part of the event (e.g., chanting) could now increase the likelihood of virus spread. Khazaie and Khan (2019) explored the effect of social identification on health-risk perceptions, disgust, and likelihood of engaging in risktaking behaviors. They found that participants asked to imagine being in a psychological crowd were less concerned about disease spread and reported greater likelihood to engage in health-risk behaviors (e.g., providing physical support to someone with flu-like symptoms) compared to those in the physical crowd condition.…”

Section: Perceived Risk Concern For Risk and Risk-takingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Future research avenues to facilitate social connectedness and safe collective behavior at organized crowd events

Templeton

2021

Group Processes & Intergroup Relations

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers of crowd events must facilitate physical distancing in environments where attendees previously enjoyed being close with ingroup members, encourage accurate perception of health risks and close adherence to safety guidance, and stop expected normative behaviors that may now be unsafe. Research from crowd psychology demonstrates how group processes are integral to each of these issues. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, has created an extreme case environment in which to evaluate the collective findings from previous research and identify future research directions. This paper outlines how organizers of crowd events and researchers can work together to further develop our understanding of social connectedness in crowds, reasons for risk-taking behavior, and level of engagement in new collective behaviors. By working together to address these issues, practitioners and researchers can develop our understanding of crowd processes and improve safety at future crowd events.

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Shared social identification in mass gatherings lowers health risk perceptions via lowered disgust

Cited by 27 publications

References 60 publications

When trust goes wrong: A social identity model of risk taking.

When trust goes wrong: A social identity model of risk taking.

Mass Gatherings, Health, and Well‐Being: From Risk Mitigation to Health Promotion

Future research avenues to facilitate social connectedness and safe collective behavior at organized crowd events

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