A synthesis of evidence for policy from behavioural science during COVID-19.

Scientific evidence regularly guides policy decisions1, with behavioural science increasingly part of this process2. In April 2020, an influential paper3 proposed 19 policy recommendations ('claims') detailing how evidence from behavioural science could contribute to efforts to reduce impacts and end the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we assess 747 pandemic-related research articles that empirically investigated those claims. We report the scale of evidence and whether evidence supports them to indicate applicability for policymaking. Two independent teams, involving 72 reviewers, found evidence for 18 of 19 claims, with both teams finding evidence supporting 16 (89%) of those 18 claims. The strongest evidence supported claims that anticipated culture, polarization and misinformation would be associated with policy effectiveness. Claims suggesting trusted leaders and positive social norms increased adherence to behavioural interventions also had strong empirical support, as did appealing to social consensus or bipartisan agreement. Targeted language in messaging yielded mixed effects and there were no effects for highlighting individual benefits or protecting others. No available evidence existed to assess any distinct differences in effects between using the terms 'physical distancing' and 'social distancing'. Analysis of 463 papers containing data showed generally large samples; 418 involved human participants with a mean of 16,848 (median of 1,699). That statistical power underscored improved suitability of behavioural science research for informing policy decisions. Furthermore, by implementing a standardized approach to evidence selection and synthesis, we amplify broader implications for advancing scientific evidence in policy formulation and prioritization.

A world together: Global citizen identification as a basis for prosociality in the face of COVID-19.

How do global citizens respond to a global health emergency? The present research examined the association between global citizen identification and prosociality using two cross-national datasets-the World Values Survey (Study 1, N = 93,338 from 60 countries and regions) and data collected in 11 countries at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (Study 2, N = 5,427). Results showed that individuals who identified more strongly as global citizens reported greater prosociality both generally (Study 1) and more specifically in the COVID-19 global health emergency (Study 2). Notably, global citizen identification was a stronger predictor of prosociality in response to COVID-19 than national identification (Study 2). Moreover, analyses revealed that shared ingroup identity accounted for the positive association between global citizen identification and prosociality (Study 2). Overall, these findings highlight global citizenship as a unique and promising direction in promoting prosociality and solidarity, especially in the fight against COVID-19.

Life Change, Social Identity, and Health.

Life change affects health. Research aimed at understanding the consequences of life change has primarily focused on the important roles played by stress, social support, individual differences, and broader socioeconomic factors in shaping health outcomes, most notably mental health decline. In this review we extend these accounts by exploring social identity-based determinants of adjustment to life change. We do so by drawing on social identity theorizing and, in particular, the Social Identity Model of Identity Change (SIMIC). This points to the importance of multiple, maintained, new, and compatible group memberships as determinants of people's responses and adjustment to life change. We apply this model to understand the health consequences of adjustment to life change in four diverse areas: pursuit of higher education, migration, trauma and resilience, and recovery from illness and injury. Finally, we provide direction for future research on SIMIC and the health consequences of life change.

Group? What group? A computational model of the group needs a psychology of "us" (not "them").

Groups are only real, and only serve as a basis for collective action, when their members perceive them to be real. For a computational model to have analytic fidelity and predictive validity it, therefore, needs to engage with the psychological reality of groups, their internal structure, and their structuring by (and of) the social context in which they function.

Experiments make a good breakfast, but a poor supper.

Cesario's analysis has three key flaws. First, the focus on whether an effect is "real" (an "effects flaw") overlooks the importance of theory testing. Second, obsession with effects (a "fetishization flaw") sidelines theoretically informed questions about when and why an effect may arise. Third, failure to take stock of cultural and historical context (a "decontextualization flaw") strips findings of meaning.

How economic inequality affects prosocial behavior in children across development.

Research has linked economically unequal environments to lower prosocial behavior in adults. However, we know little about how inequality affects children's prosociality. Here, 4- to 9-year-old children (N = 128) played a series of games with several puppets where points were awarded. The distribution of points was characterized by either high inequality or low inequality. Children's donation behavior (i.e., the number of stickers they donated to a poor child), resource division behavior (i.e., how they divided extra points among poor and rich puppets), and fairness perceptions (i.e., how fair they perceived the game to be) were measured in response. Although the experimental manipulation of inequality did not affect children's donations, exploratory analyses revealed that higher inequality in children's home suburb was linked to lower donation rates. Furthermore, with age, children distributed points with increasing concern for poorer individuals, and negative judgments of the inequality were linked to distributing resources to poorer individuals. Here we present the first comprehensive analysis of children's prosocial reactions to high and low inequality across development.

"Our Country Needs a Strong Leader Right Now": Economic Inequality Enhances the Wish for a Strong Leader.

Societal inequality has been found to harm the mental and physical health of its members and undermine overall social cohesion. Here, we tested the hypothesis that economic inequality is associated with a wish for a strong leader in a study involving 28 countries from five continents (Study 1, N = 6,112), a study involving an Australian community sample (Study 2, N = 515), and two experiments (Study 3a, N = 96; Study 3b, N = 296). We found correlational (Studies 1 and 2) and experimental (Studies 3a and 3b) evidence for our prediction that higher inequality enhances the wish for a strong leader. We also found that this relationship is mediated by perceptions of anomie, except in the case of objective inequality in Study 1. This suggests that societal inequality enhances the perception that society is breaking down (anomie) and that a strong leader is needed to restore order (even when that leader is willing to challenge democratic values).

Social Isolation Predicts Frequent Attendance in Primary Care.

Background: Frequent attenders in primary care have complex physical and mental healthcare needs as well as low satisfaction with their health care. Interventions targeting mental health or psychoeducation have not been effective in reducing attendance. Here, we test the proposition that both frequent attendance and poor health are partly explained by unmet social needs (i.e., limited social group support networks). Methods: Study 1 (N = 1,752) was a large, cross-sectional community sample of primary care attenders in Scotland. Study 2 (N = 79) was a longitudinal study of a group of young people undergoing a life transition (moving countries and commencing university) that increased their risk of frequent attendance. Study 3 (N = 46) was a pre-post intervention study examining whether disadvantaged adults who joined a social group subsequently had reduced frequency of primary care attendance. Results: All three studies found that low social group connectedness was associated with a higher frequency of primary care attendance. This was not attributable to poorer health among those who were socially isolated. In Study 3, joining a social group led to reduced primary care attendance to the extent that participants experienced a (subjective) increase in their social group connectedness. Conclusions: Unmet social needs among frequent attenders warrant closer consideration. Interventions that target social group connectedness show promise for reducing overutilization of primary care services.

Identity fusion "in the wild": Moving toward or away from a general theory of identity fusion?

Whitehouse's focus on two causes of identity fusion (evolution and shared experiences/biology) deepens understanding of these specific topics. While we applaud his analysis, in his efforts to elaborate these two causes, he has - perhaps unavoidably - produced a narrower conceptualization of identity fusion. This is unfortunate because it undermines his stated goal of developing a more general, encompassing theory.

Gossiping About Deviance: Evidence That Deviance Spurs the Gossip That Builds Bonds.

We propose that the gossip that is triggered when people witness behaviors that deviate from social norms builds social bonds. To test this possibility, we showed dyads of unacquainted students a short video of everyday campus life that either did or did not include an incident of negative or positive deviance (dropping or cleaning up litter). Study 1 showed that participants in the deviance conditions reported having a greater understanding of campus social norms than those in the control condition; they also expressed a greater desire to gossip about the video. Study 2 found that when given the opportunity, participants did gossip about the deviance, and this gossip was associated with increased norm clarification and (indirectly) social cohesion. These findings suggest that gossip may be a mechanism through which deviance can have positive downstream social consequences.

A Meta-Analytic Review of Social Identification and Health in Organizational Contexts.

We provide a meta-analytical review examining two decades of work on the relationship between individuals' social identifications and health in organizations (102 effect sizes, k = 58, N = 19,799). Results reveal a mean-weighted positive association between organizational identification and health ( r = .21, T = .14). Analysis identified a positive relationship for both workgroup ( r = .21) and organizational identification ( r = .21), and in studies using longitudinal/experimental ( r = .13) and cross-sectional designs ( r = .22). The relationship is stronger (a) for indicators of the presence of well-being ( r = .27) than absence of stress ( r = .18), (b) for psychological ( r = .23) than physical health ( r = .16), (c) to the extent that identification is shared among group members, and (d) as the proportion of female participants in a sample decreases. Overall, results indicate that social identifications in organizations are positively associated with health but that there is also substantial variation in effect size strength. We discuss implications for theory and practice and outline a roadmap for future research.

Choir singing and creative writing enhance emotion regulation in adults with chronic mental health conditions.

OBJECTIVES: Adults with mental health conditions commonly experience difficulties with emotion regulation which affect their social functioning. Arts-based groups provide opportunities for shared emotional experiences and emotion regulation. This study explores emotion regulation strategies and the emotional effects of arts-based group participation in adults with mental health problems and in controls. DESIGN AND METHOD: The 62 participants included 39 adults with chronic mental health problems who were members of arts-based groups (ABG) and 23 comparison choir (CC) members who were not specifically experiencing mental health problems. The repeated measures design included self-reports of emotion upon waking (T1), the hour before group (T2), end of the group (T3), and evening (T4), as well as participant notes to explain their emotion ratings at each time. They also completed measures of individual and interpersonal emotion regulation. RESULTS: The ABG participants engaged marginally more in affect worsening strategies than CC (p = .057 and .08), but there were no other group differences. All participants reported a significant increase in positive emotions, F (3, 180) = 28.044, p < .001, np2 = .319; and a decrease in negative emotions during the arts-based activity: F (2.637, 155.597) = 21.09, p < .001, np2 = .263. The influence on positive emotions was short-lived, while the effect on negative emotions lasted until evening. CONCLUSION: Findings show that participation in arts-based groups benefits the emotions of both healthy adults and those experiencing mental health conditions through individual and interpersonal processes. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Individuals with chronic mental health conditions often experience difficulties in emotion processing Participation in arts-based groups was associated with significant increases in positive emotions although these were short-lived Negative emotion was significantly decreased during arts-based group activities, and sustained to the evening assessment Adults with chronic mental health conditions were equally able to derive emotional benefits as healthy adults.

Beyond old dichotomies: Individual differentiation can occur through group commitment, not despite it.

The target article resuscitates an old but outdated dichotomy: a theoretical dualism between group belonging and intragroup differentiation. A convergence of evidence - including that within the social identity tradition - shows that intragroup differentiation is not incompatible with strong group identity. Indeed, when norms encourage autonomy, dissent, and individual freedom, intragroup differentiation occurs through group commitment, not despite it.

Deviance and dissent in groups.

Traditionally, group research has focused more on the motivations that make people conform than on the motivations and conditions underpinning deviance and dissent. This has led to a literature that focuses on the value that groups place on uniformity and paints a relatively dark picture of dissent and deviance: as reflections of a lack of group loyalty, as signs of disengagement, or as delinquent behavior. An alternative point of view, which has gained momentum in recent years, focuses on deviance and dissent as normal and healthy aspects of group life. In this review, we focus on the motivations that group members have to deviate and dissent, and the functional as well as the dysfunctional effects of deviance and dissent. In doing so we aim for a balanced and complete account of deviance and dissent, highlighting when such behaviors will be encouraged as well as when they will be punished.

Pain as social glue: shared pain increases cooperation.

Even though painful experiences are employed within social rituals across the world, little is known about the social effects of pain. We examined the possibility that painful experiences can promote cooperation within social groups. In Experiments 1 and 2, we induced pain by asking some participants to insert their hands in ice water and to perform leg squats. In Experiment 3, we induced pain by asking some participants to eat a hot chili pepper. Participants performed these tasks in small groups. We found evidence for a causal link: Sharing painful experiences with other people, compared with a no-pain control treatment, promoted trusting interpersonal relationships by increasing perceived bonding among strangers (Experiment 1) and increased cooperation in an economic game (Experiments 2 and 3). Our findings shed light on the social effects of pain, demonstrating that shared pain may be an important trigger for group formation.

The Positive Consequences of Pain: A Biopsychosocial Approach.

Pain is mostly thought of as a problem-as debilitating or harmful. Despite its unpleasantness, however, under some conditions pain can be associated with positive consequences. In this review, we explore these positive biological, psychological, and social consequences of pain. We highlight three different domains in which pain may be considered to have positive consequences. First, pain facilitates pleasure by providing an important contrast for pleasurable experiences, increasing sensitivity to sensory input, and facilitating self-rewarding behavior. Second, pain augments self-regulation and enhancement by increasing cognitive control, reducing rumination, and demonstrating virtue. Third, pain promotes affiliation by arousing empathy from others, motivating social connection, and enhancing group formation. Drawing on evidence scattered across a range of academic fields, we provide for reflection on how pain is represented, generate insights into pain-seeking behavior, and draw attention to the role of painful experiences in maximizing positive outcomes.

Depression and Social Identity: An Integrative Review.

Social relationships play a key role in depression. This is apparent in its etiology, symptomatology, and effective treatment. However, there has been little consensus about the best way to conceptualize the link between depression and social relationships. Furthermore, the extensive social-psychological literature on the nature of social relationships, and in particular, research on social identity, has not been integrated with depression research. This review presents evidence that social connectedness is key to understanding the development and resolution of clinical depression. The social identity approach is then used as a basis for conceptualizing the role of social relationships in depression, operationalized in terms of six central hypotheses. Research relevant to these hypotheses is then reviewed. Finally, we present an agenda for future research to advance theoretical and empirical understanding of the link between social identity and depression, and to translate the insights of this approach into clinical practice.

Gustatory pleasure and pain. The offset of acute physical pain enhances responsiveness to taste.

The idea that pain may serve to produce pleasurable states has been noted by theorists and, more recently, substantiated by empirical findings. We explored the possibility that, beyond producing positive hedonic states, the offset of pain may serve to enhance the capacity for gustatory pleasure. Across three studies we examined whether pain offset may enhance responsiveness to taste. In Study 1 participants enjoyed chocolate more after the experience of pain compared to completing a similar but non-painful task. In Study 2, pain offset increased the perceived intensity of a range of tastes, both pleasant and unpleasant, indicating that the effects of pain offset are not limited to the processing of positive hedonic stimuli. In Study 3, pain offset increased sensitivity to different flavors. The findings suggest that the offset of acute pain increases awareness of, and therefore sensitivity to, gustatory input, thereby enhancing the capacity for gustatory pleasure.

Social isolation schema responds to positive social experiences: longitudinal evidence from vulnerable populations.

OBJECTIVES: Maladaptive schemas are stable cognitive working models of the world, learnt early in life, that interfere with effective functioning and underlie chronic mental illness. A major challenge for cognitive therapy has been how to modify schemas when they are so enduring and stable. We propose that because maladaptive schemas are formed through social experiences (typically abusive or neglectful ones), they might best be corrected through positive social experiences that directly challenge the schema. DESIGN: Two longitudinal studies were conducted, one with patients undergoing group cognitive-behavioural therapy (N = 92) and one with homeless individuals residing in temporary accommodation (N = 76). METHOD: In each study, social isolation schema was measured at Time 1 and again at Time 2 following a group-based social experience (group psychotherapy or temporary residence at a community organization). A positive experience of group life was operationalized as social identification with the therapy group in Study 1 or the community organization in Study 2. RESULTS: In both studies, social identification led to a significant reduction in social isolation schema. Study 2 indicated that these effects were fully mediated by the formation of ties to new social groups, such that social identification scaffolded the development of new group memberships, which in turn decreased the endorsement of maladaptive schema. CONCLUSIONS: Social identification facilitates the correction of socially situated schema such as social isolation. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Maladaptive schemas are modifiable in short-term therapy or even in community settings. The experience of being accepted and belonging to a social group can challenge a person's deep-seated belief that they are socially isolated. Positive social experiences may act as scaffolding to help socially isolated individuals build new social group memberships. Less positively, social isolation schema can also act as a feedback loop, preventing people from identifying with groups, resulting in a negative social experience that may further embed the schema. Further research is needed to determine how clinicians might facilitate social identification.

A mixed-methods approach to understand victimization discourses by opposing feminist sub-groups on social media.

Opposing social movements are groups that have conflicting objectives on a shared social justice issue. To maximize the probability of their movement's success, groups can strategically portray their group in a favourable manner while discrediting their opposition. One such approach involves the construction of victimization discourses. In this research, we combined topic modelling and critical discursive psychology to explore how opposing groups within the feminist movement used victimization as a lens to understand their movements in relation to transgender women. We compiled a dataset of over 40,000 tweets from 14 UK-based feminist accounts that included transgender women as women (the pro-inclusion group) and 13 accounts, that excluded transgender women (the anti-inclusion group). Our results revealed differences in how victimization was employed by the opposing movements: pro-inclusion groups drew on repertoires that created a sense of shared victimhood between cisgender women and transgender women, while anti-inclusion groups invoked a competitive victimhood repertoire. Both groups also challenged and delegitimised their oppositions' constructions of feminism and victimhood. These findings add to our understanding of the communication strategies used by opposing movements to achieve their mobilization goals.