Dangers and Strangers: Pathogenic threat, fear, and perceived vulnerability do not predict ethnocentric orientations during the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe

Kód výsledku v IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216208%3A11310%2F21%3A10436604" target="_blank" >RIV/00216208:11310/21:10436604 - isvavai.cz</a>

Výsledek na webu

<a href="https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=G-ha6umbbn" target="_blank" >https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=G-ha6umbbn</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.22330/he/36/125-137" target="_blank" >10.22330/he/36/125-137</a>

Jazyk výsledku

angličtina

Název v původním jazyce

Dangers and Strangers: Pathogenic threat, fear, and perceived vulnerability do not predict ethnocentric orientations during the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe

Popis výsledku v původním jazyce

Previous research has postulated effects of environmental stress on ingroup/outgroup thinking: The higher the pathogenic risk and the perceived vulnerability to it, the higher the ethnocentric orientation. Here, we examine ethnocentric orientations in Austria, Poland, Spain and Czech Republic in spring 2020, as the spread of SARS-CoV2 was on the rise and lockdown measures were introduced throughout Europe. Critically, these countries were affected differentially by the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 mortality. 333 participants were asked to complete questionnaires assessing identification with all humanity, attachment style, and perceived vulnerability to disease at the beginning and end of the first European curfews. Additionally, they answered questions regarding their social interactions and personal consequences of the crisis. To investigate the relationship between these variables and ethnocentrism, we train two types of machine-learning models to predict ethnocentrism based on the complex interplay of interpersonal variables (psychological traits, interpersonal interactions) and environmental conditions (economic threats, local mortality, viral spread, lockdown measures). We find that identification with all humanity in relation to narrower ingroups and perceived infectability did not systematically change over the course of the first European lockdowns, whereas we observe a slight decrease in germ aversion. Importantly, none of our models could predict any inter-individual differences in identification with narrower versus wider groups based on environmental, psychological, social, and demographic variables. Our results indicate that environmental variables connected to pathogenic and economic threat, perceived vulnerability and other psychosocial variables, all do not contribute to predicting ethnocentric orientations. Cumulatively, our results do not support the hypothesis that higher pathogenic and environmental threat predicts identification with narrower ingroups. Our findings are discussed in the context of the open debate related to the influence of harsh environments on group psychology, and might inspire further research on this topic during this unprecedented global pandemic.

Název v anglickém jazyce

Dangers and Strangers: Pathogenic threat, fear, and perceived vulnerability do not predict ethnocentric orientations during the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe

Popis výsledku anglicky

Previous research has postulated effects of environmental stress on ingroup/outgroup thinking: The higher the pathogenic risk and the perceived vulnerability to it, the higher the ethnocentric orientation. Here, we examine ethnocentric orientations in Austria, Poland, Spain and Czech Republic in spring 2020, as the spread of SARS-CoV2 was on the rise and lockdown measures were introduced throughout Europe. Critically, these countries were affected differentially by the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 mortality. 333 participants were asked to complete questionnaires assessing identification with all humanity, attachment style, and perceived vulnerability to disease at the beginning and end of the first European curfews. Additionally, they answered questions regarding their social interactions and personal consequences of the crisis. To investigate the relationship between these variables and ethnocentrism, we train two types of machine-learning models to predict ethnocentrism based on the complex interplay of interpersonal variables (psychological traits, interpersonal interactions) and environmental conditions (economic threats, local mortality, viral spread, lockdown measures). We find that identification with all humanity in relation to narrower ingroups and perceived infectability did not systematically change over the course of the first European lockdowns, whereas we observe a slight decrease in germ aversion. Importantly, none of our models could predict any inter-individual differences in identification with narrower versus wider groups based on environmental, psychological, social, and demographic variables. Our results indicate that environmental variables connected to pathogenic and economic threat, perceived vulnerability and other psychosocial variables, all do not contribute to predicting ethnocentric orientations. Cumulatively, our results do not support the hypothesis that higher pathogenic and environmental threat predicts identification with narrower ingroups. Our findings are discussed in the context of the open debate related to the influence of harsh environments on group psychology, and might inspire further research on this topic during this unprecedented global pandemic.

Druh

J_ost - Ostatní články v recenzovaných periodicích

CEP obor

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OECD FORD obor

10602 - Biology (theoretical, mathematical, thermal, cryobiology, biological rhythm), Evolutionary biology

Projekt

—

Návaznosti

S - Specificky vyzkum na vysokych skolach

Rok uplatnění

2021

Kód důvěrnosti údajů

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Název periodika

Human Ethology [online]

ISSN

2224-4476

e-ISSN

—

Svazek periodika

36

Číslo periodika v rámci svazku

January

Stát vydavatele periodika

GB - Spojené království Velké Británie a Severního Irska

Počet stran výsledku

13

Strana od-do

125-137

Kód UT WoS článku

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EID výsledku v databázi Scopus

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