The pathogen paradox: Evidence that perceived COVID-19 threat is associated with both pro- and anti-immigrant attitudes

Bağcı, Çiğdem

doi:10.5334/irsp.469

Cited by 37 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 91 publications

(100 reference statements)

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“…When faced with collective danger and threat (e.g. shared enemy), people sometimes demonstrate a tendency to seek affiliation and proximity, express mutual aid, and act collaboratively, suggesting that one possible collective response to the pandemic may also be alliance when under threat ( Adam-Troian and bagci 2020 ; Bodenhausen et al 2000 ).…”

Section: Intergroup Conflicts In the Face Of Covid19mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although these approaches appear to imply contradictory responses towards outgroups in the face of external threats, they also converge on the adaptive functions of socio-psychological responses to pandemics; with one serving the avoidance of the spread of disease, and the other encouraging group level aid and cooperation against a common threat ( Smith and Gibson 2020 ). Indeed, recent findings from Turkey have revealed that the COVID-19 threat has increased both negative (through perceptions of immigrant threat) and more positive attitudes (through a sense of common identity) towards Syrian immigrants ( Adam-Troian and Bagci 2020 ).…”

Section: Intergroup Conflicts In the Face Of Covid19mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although various models of reaction to threats predict higher levels of ingroup social cohesion and identification, they rarely specify which ingroup is targeted by these mechanisms. For instance, responding to threat via increased identification as residents of a certain city or country, could extend to inhabitants with an immigrant background ( Adam-Troian and bagci 2020 ). This aforementioned point alludes to the necessity of incorporating other group-level aspects of pandemics that may predict changes in intergroup attitudes.…”

Section: The Constructive Path: Covid-19 Induces Common Ingroup Identitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Dual Effect of COVID-19 on Intergroup Conflict in the Korean Peninsula

Nir

Halperin

Park

2022

Journal of Conflict Resolution

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The coronavirus pandemic has fundamentally shifted the way human beings interact, both as individuals and groups, in the face of such a widespread outbreak. This paper seeks to investigate the effects of COVID-19 on intergroup emotions and attitudes within an intractable intergroup conflict, specifically, through the lens of the Korean conflict. Using a two-wave, cross-sectional design, this study was able to track the profound psychological changes in intergroup emotions and attitudes both prior to the pandemic and during its onslaught. Results of these two wave representative samples show that South Korean citizens demonstrated higher levels of fear of their neighbors in North Korea after the outbreak of COVID-19 than before. In turn, this led to increased societal support of hostile government policies towards North Koreans. Conversely, the same participants exhibited higher levels of empathy towards North Koreans during the pandemic, which led to a higher willingness to collaborate with their outgroup. This dual effect on intergroup emotions within intractable conflicts brings forth new avenues from which societies may be able to restrain the destructive influence of the COVID-19 threat on intergroup relations — as well as harvesting its constructive potential for reconciling warring intergroup relations.

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Section: Intergroup Conflicts In the Face Of Covid19mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Intergroup Conflicts In the Face Of Covid19mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Constructive Path: Covid-19 Induces Common Ingroup Identitymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Dual Effect of COVID-19 on Intergroup Conflict in the Korean Peninsula

Nir

Halperin

Park

2022

Journal of Conflict Resolution

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“…Three items adapted and modified from prior research (see Adam-Troian et al, 2021c) were used to assess the extent experienced precarity related to the COVID-19 outbreak: I am "worried about losing my job," "worried that I will not have enough money for my family needs," and "concerned that my financial situation may be adversely affected" (5-point Likert, from 1 'completely disagree' to 5 'completely agree,' M = 3.05, SD = 1.06, α = .86).…”

Section: Study 2b (Italy)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Of Precarity and Conspiracy: Introducing A Socio-Functional Model of Conspiracy Beliefs

Chayinska¹,

Paladino²,

Uluğ³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Conspiracy Beliefs (CB) are a key vector of violent extremism, radicalism and unconventional political events (e.g. Brexit). So far, social-psychological research has extensively documented how cognitive, emotional and intergroup factors can promote CB. Evidence also suggests that adherence to CB moves along social class lines: low-income and low-education are among the most robust predictors of CB (Uscinski, 2020; van Prooijen, 2017). Yet, the potential role of precarity – the subjective experience of permanent insecurity stemming from objective material strain – in shaping CB remains largely unexplored. In this paper, we propose for the first time a socio-functional model of CB. We test the hypothesis that precarity could foster increased CB because it undermines trust in government and the broader political “elites”. Data from the World Value Survey (n = 21,650; Study 1, electoral CB) and from representative samples from polls conducted in France (n = 1760, Study 2a, conspiracy mentality) and Italy (n = 2196, Study 2b, COVID-19 CB), corroborate a mediation model whereby precarity is directly and indirectly associated with lower trust in authorities and higher CB. In addition, these links are robust to adjustment on income, self-reported SES and education. Considering precarity allows for a truly social psychological understanding of CB as the by-product of structural issues (e.g. growing inequalities). Results from our socio-functional model suggest that implementing solutions at the socio-economic level could prove efficient in fighting CB.

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“…Meleady et al ( 2021 ) for instance, found that higher subjective COVID‐19 infection estimates were associated with greater preferred physical distance from ethnic minorities generally. Similarly, in Turkey, perceived COVID‐19 threat was indirectly associated with higher anti‐immigrant attitudes and lower support for pro‐immigration policies (Adam‐Troian & Bagci, 2021 ). Meanwhile, in Italy, Fuochi et al ( 2021 ) found that perceived COVID‐19 threat was associated with lower perceptions of a shared common identity with both national outgroups (e.g., German, Spanish, French, English), and disadvantaged outgroups (e.g., homeless people, people with mental health problems, drug addicts).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reductions in perceived COVID‐19 threat amid UK’s mass public vaccination programme coincide with reductions in outgroup avoidance (but not prejudice)

Meleady

Hodson

2022

British J Social Psychol

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It has long been proposed that perceptions of threat contribute to greater outgroup negativity. Much of the existing evidence on the threat–prejudice association in the real world, however, is cross‐sectional in nature. Such designs do not adequately capture individual‐level changes in constructs, and how changes in constructs relate to changes in other theoretically relevant constructs. The current research exploited the unique opportunity afforded by the mass COVID‐19 vaccination programme in the United Kingdom to explore whether reductions in pathogen threat coincide with reductions in outgroup prejudice and avoidance. A two‐wave longitudinal study ( N 1 = 912, N 2 = 738) measured British adult's perceptions of COVID‐19 threat and anti‐immigrant bias before and during mass vaccine rollout in the United Kingdom. Tests of latent change models demonstrated that perceived COVID‐19 threat significantly declined as the vaccine programme progressed, as did measures of outgroup avoidance tendencies, but not prejudiced attitudes. Critically, change in threat was systematically correlated with change in outgroup avoidance: those with greater reductions in perceived COVID‐19 threat were, on average, those with greater reductions in outgroup avoidance. Findings provide important and novel insights into the implications of disease protection strategies for intergroup relations during an actual pandemic context, as it unfolds over time.

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The pathogen paradox: Evidence that perceived COVID-19 threat is associated with both pro- and anti-immigrant attitudes

Abstract: During pandemics, people are not only physically affected, but they also tend to experience a variety of changes in their social behavior, since pandemics, even among the non-affected ones, create various negative emotional responses such as fear and anxiety (e.g., Ornell et al.

Cited by 37 publications

References 91 publications

The Dual Effect of COVID-19 on Intergroup Conflict in the Korean Peninsula

The Dual Effect of COVID-19 on Intergroup Conflict in the Korean Peninsula

Of Precarity and Conspiracy: Introducing A Socio-Functional Model of Conspiracy Beliefs

Reductions in perceived COVID‐19 threat amid UK’s mass public vaccination programme coincide with reductions in outgroup avoidance (but not prejudice)

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