Desensitization to hate speech: Examination using heart rate measurement.

Exposure to hate speech (HS) leads to desensitization of listeners. Yet, most evidence of this process has been obtained using self-report measures. In this paper, we examined desensitization to HS using an unobtrusive, psychophysiological measure. In an experimental electrocardiogram study (N = 56), we observed heart rate (HR) deceleration after reading comments that contained HS. This suggested a substantive psychophysiological reaction of participants to hateful comments. However, such HR deceleration was not observed among participants preexposed to HS. People exposed to hateful comments thus appeared to show different HR responses to HS compared to people who were not previously exposed to such comments. Consequently, not only does frequent exposure to HS influence an individual's beliefs as observed in earlier studies, but it also impacts psychophysiological reactions to derogatory language.

Psychological toll of hate speech: The role of acculturation stress in the effects of exposure to ethnic slurs on mental health among Ukrainian immigrants in Poland.

[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported online in Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology on Jul 27 2023 (see record 2023-95267-001). In the original article, , the following information about the funding of data collection was missing from the second paragraph of the Participants section: "The data collection process was supported by a Foundation for Polish Science TEAM grant ("Language as a Cure: Linguistic Vitality as a Tool for Psychological Well-Being, Health, and Economic Sustainability") cofinanced by the European Union under the European Regional Development Fund, led by Michal Bilewicz and Justyna Olko." In addition, there were errors in the correlations in Table 1. All versions of this article have been corrected.] Objectives: Exposure to hate speech can have serious consequences for the mental health of immigrants and minority groups. However, not much is known about the process by which this effect takes place and to what extent it is independent of the effects of other forms of discrimination on health. The present study aimed to investigate whether acculturation stress mediates the relationship between exposure to hate speech and mental health and whether the effect would hold after controlling for experienced discrimination. METHOD: An online survey was conducted among Ukrainian immigrants living in Poland (N = 726) in order to investigate the relation between exposure to hate speech, acculturation stress, and mental health. Mediation analyses were used to test whether exposure to hateful language predicts posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms and whether these effects are mediated by acculturation stress while controlling for experiences of other forms of discrimination. RESULTS: Exposure to hate speech predicted PTSD and depression symptoms. Both effects were mediated by acculturation stress and were significant after controlling for experienced discrimination. CONCLUSIONS: The study provides evidence for the existence of a relation between exposure to hate speech among migrants and mental health problems. The study also provides support for a potential mechanism of this effect: acculturation stress and evidence for the fact that the effect holds over and above the effect of discrimination. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Artificial intelligence against hate: Intervention reducing verbal aggression in the social network environment.

This article presents a quasi-experimental intervention study designed to reduce the level of verbal aggression on a social networking service (Reddit). The interventions were based on three psychological mechanisms: induction of a descriptive norm, induction of a prescriptive norm, and empathy induction. Each intervention was generated using a communicating bot. Participants exposed to these interventions were compared with a control group that received no intervention. The bot-generated normative communications (both the ones priming descriptive and the ones priming prescriptive norms), as well as the empathizing intervention, reduced the proportion of verbal aggression posted by Reddit accounts. All three interventions proved effective in reducing verbal violence when compared with the control condition.

Cleansing and separating: From modern agriculture and genocide to post-separation era.

We propose that the metaphor of cleansing was a by-product of modernization processes. Based on cultural and historical evidence, we claim that the activation of cleansing metaphor triggered positive associations in times when separation was a positively regarded element of human culture and agriculture, but it should not exert the same effect in times when separation became culturally anachronistic.

Explaining illness with evil: pathogen prevalence fosters moral vitalism.

Pathogens represent a significant threat to human health leading to the emergence of strategies designed to help manage their negative impact. We examined how spiritual beliefs developed to explain and predict the devastating effects of pathogens and spread of infectious disease. Analysis of existing data in studies 1 and 2 suggests that moral vitalism (beliefs about spiritual forces of evil) is higher in geographical regions characterized by historical higher levels of pathogens. Furthermore, drawing on a sample of 3140 participants from 28 countries in study 3, we found that historical higher levels of pathogens were associated with stronger endorsement of moral vitalistic beliefs. Furthermore, endorsement of moral vitalistic beliefs statistically mediated the previously reported relationship between pathogen prevalence and conservative ideologies, suggesting these beliefs reinforce behavioural strategies which function to prevent infection. We conclude that moral vitalism may be adaptive: by emphasizing concerns over contagion, it provided an explanatory model that enabled human groups to reduce rates of contagious disease.

Too humanlike to increase my appetite: Disposition to anthropomorphize animals relates to decreased meat consumption through empathic concern.

People who exclude meat from their diets are not only devoid of situational pressures to disengage morally and deny humanlike mental states to animals but also they may be dispositionally more inclined to ascribe human-like qualities to non-human animals than omnivores. The aim of this research was to test whether individual differences in anthropomorphism are related to empathic connection with non-human animals and hence decreased meat consumption. In two studies (N = 588) we confirmed that decreased meat consumption was associated with both increased recognition of human features of animals and increased empathy to animals. Most importantly, our data support a model in which animals' anthropomorphism predicts empathy. Empathy, in turn, increases the importance that potential animal harm plays in dietary choices regarding meat, leading to reduced meat consumption.

Personal control decreases narcissistic but increases non-narcissistic in-group positivity.

OBJECTIVE: We examined the effects of control motivation on in-group positivity. Past research suggests that people compensate for low personal control by increasing support for social in-groups. We predicted that the effect of personal control on in-group positivity would depend on the type of in-group positivity. Low personal control should increase compensatory, narcissistic in-group positivity, whereas high personal control should increase secure, non-narcissistic in-group positivity. METHOD: These hypotheses were tested in a cross-sectional survey (Study 1 N = 1,083, 54% female, Mage = 47.68), two experiments (Study 2 N = 105, 50% female, Mage = 32.05; Study 3 N = 154, 40% female, Mage = 29.93), and a longitudinal survey (Study 4 N = 398, 51% female, Mage = 32.05). RESULTS: In all studies, personal control was negatively associated with narcissistic in-group positivity but positively associated with non-narcissistic in-group positivity. The longitudinal survey additionally showed that the positive relationship between personal control and non-narcissistic in-group positivity was reciprocal. Moreover, both types of in-group positivity differentially mediated between personal control and out-group attitudes: Narcissistic in-group positivity predicted negative attitudes, and non-narcissistic positivity predicted positive attitudes. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the role of individual motivation in fostering different types of in-group positivity and intergroup outcomes.

Exposure to hate speech increases prejudice through desensitization.

In three studies (two representative nationwide surveys, N = 1,007, N = 682; and one experimental, N = 76) we explored the effects of exposure to hate speech on outgroup prejudice. Following the General Aggression Model, we suggest that frequent and repetitive exposure to hate speech leads to desensitization to this form of verbal violence and subsequently to lower evaluations of the victims and greater distancing, thus increasing outgroup prejudice. In the first survey study, we found that lower sensitivity to hate speech was a positive mediator of the relationship between frequent exposure to hate speech and outgroup prejudice. In the second study, we obtained a crucial confirmation of these effects. After desensitization training individuals were less sensitive to hate speech and more prejudiced toward hate speech victims than their counterparts in the control condition. In the final study, we replicated several previous effects and additionally found that the effects of exposure to hate speech on prejudice were mediated by a lower sensitivity to hate speech, and not by lower sensitivity to social norms. Altogether, our studies are the first to elucidate the effects of exposure to hate speech on outgroup prejudice.

Self-sacrifice for in-group's history: A diachronic perspective.

The problem of extended fusion and identification can be approached from a diachronic perspective. Based on our own research, as well as findings from the fields of social, political, and clinical psychology, we argue that the way contemporary emotional events shape local fusion is similar to the way in which historical experiences shape extended fusion. We propose a reciprocal process in which historical events shape contemporary identities, whereas contemporary identities shape interpretations of past traumas.

From disgust to contempt-speech: The nature of contempt on the map of prejudicial emotions.

Analyzing the contempt as an intergroup emotion, we suggest that contempt and anger are not built upon each other, whereas disgust seems to be the most elementary and specific basic-emotional antecedent of contempt. Concurring with Gervais & Fessler, we suggest that many instances of "hate speech" are in fact instances of "contempt speech" - being based on disgust-driven contempt rather than hate.

Facing the edible. The effects of edibility information on the neural encoding of animal faces.

Animals perceived as edible are often denied more complex mental capacities or emotions. The process of categorizing and perceiving edible species as distant from humans has been extensively studied on the level of deliberate judgments of animals and humans. In the present study we wanted to determine whether information about the edibility of an artificially created species can affect one of the most automatic processes in humanity ascription: face perception. We focused on early perceptual stages of face processing as manifested in EEG signals by N170 Event Related Potentials. In an experimental study participants were assigned into two conditions, in which they were presented a series of human-animal morphed images. In one of the conditions participants were informed that the images present an edible species. Additionally, we measured participant judgments of the animals' capacity to suffer. Animal faces, which were perceived as non-edible, elicited larger N170 amplitudes than edible animal faces, suggesting that people recognize faces of non-edible animals as a face to a greater extent than edible ones. Importantly, this effect was significant only for those participants who perceived animals' capacity to suffer as relatively low. We discuss the obtained effects as a primary evidence for the very basic and automatic character of the "meat paradox", visible already in the initial stages of face perception.

Is liberal bias universal? An international perspective on social psychologists.

Based on our comparison of political orientation and research interests of social psychologists in capitalist Western countries versus post-Communist Eastern European countries, we suggest that Duarte and colleagues' claim of liberal bias in the field seems American-centric. We propose an alternative account of political biases which focuses on the academic tendency to explain attitudes of lower status groups.

High economic inequality is linked to greater moralization.

Throughout the 21st century, economic inequality is predicted to increase as we face new challenges, from changes in the technological landscape to the growing climate crisis. It is crucial we understand how these changes in inequality may affect how people think and behave. We propose that economic inequality threatens the social fabric of society, in turn increasing moralization-that is, the greater tendency to employ or emphasize morality in everyday life-as an attempt to restore order and control. Using longitudinal data from X, formerly known as Twitter, our first study demonstrates that high economic inequality is associated with greater use of moral language online (e.g. the use of words such as "disgust", "hurt", and "respect'). Study 2 then examined data from 41 regions around the world, generally showing that higher inequality has a small association with harsher moral judgments of people's everyday actions. Together these findings demonstrate that economic inequality is linked to the tendency to see the world through a moral lens.

The paradox of in-group love: differentiating collective narcissism advances understanding of the relationship between in-group and out-group attitudes.

OBJECTIVE: The present studies test the hypothesis that the overlap between collective narcissism and positive in-group identification conceals the opposite relationships these variables have with out-group derogation. METHOD: Five surveys were conducted in different cultural and national contexts, using different samples and different intergroup contexts (Study 1, Polish student sample, N = 85; Study 2, British student sample, N = 81; Study 3, Polish representative sample, N = 979; Study 3, Polish student sample, N = 267 and Study 5, British student sample, N = 241). RESULTS: The results of suppression analyses systematically indicate that when the positive relationship between collective narcissism and in-group positivity is controlled for, the non-narcissistic in-group positivity predicts less out-group negativity, whereas collective narcissism predicts more out-group derogation. CONCLUSIONS: The results advance our understanding of constructive and destructive forms of in-group positivity and their different consequences for intergroup attitudes.

The process of becoming 'we' in an intergroup conflict context: How enhancing intergroup moral similarities leads to common-ingroup identity.

Research on common-ingroup identity has mainly focused on consequences and potential benefits of inclusive social categorizations. However, very little is yet known about processes and conditions that could facilitate such inclusive social categorizations. In this paper, with four studies (N = 582) set in a post-conflict context of Bosnia and Herzegovina and with members of two ethnic groups (Bosniaks and Serbs), we have demonstrated how perceptions of intergroup moral similarity can act as an important precursor of common-ingroup identity at the national level. We report both cross-sectional as well as experimental evidence demonstrating how perceptions of intergroup moral similarity boost common-ingroup identifications in socially relevant context using members of real adversary social groups. Moreover, we show that learning about outgroups' morally admirable behaviours can facilitate inclusive social categorizations.

Exposure to hate speech deteriorates neurocognitive mechanisms of the ability to understand others' pain.

The widespread ubiquity of hate speech affects people's attitudes and behavior. Exposure to hate speech can lead to prejudice, dehumanization, and lack of empathy towards members of outgroups. However, the impact of exposure to hate speech on empathy and propensity to attribute mental states to others has never been directly tested empirically. In this fMRI study, we examine the effects of exposure to hate speech on neural mechanisms of empathy towards ingroup (Poles) versus outgroup members (Arabs). Thirty healthy young adults were randomly assigned to 2 groups: hateful and neutral. During the fMRI study, they were initially exposed to hateful or neutral comments and subsequently to narratives depicting Poles and Arabs in pain. Using whole-brain and region of interest analysis, we showed that exposure to derogatory language about migrants attenuates the brain response to someone else's pain in the right temporal parietal junction (rTPJ), irrespective of group membership (Poles or Arabs). Given that rTPJ is associated with processes relevant to perspective-taking, its reduced activity might be related to a decreased propensity to take the psychological perspective of others. This finding suggests that hate speech affects human functioning beyond intergroup relations.

The distinct associations of ingroup attachment and glorification with responses to the coronavirus pandemic: Evidence from a multilevel investigation in 21 countries.

While public health crises such as the coronavirus pandemic transcend national borders, practical efforts to combat them are often instantiated at the national level. Thus, national group identities may play key roles in shaping compliance with and support for preventative measures (e.g., hygiene and lockdowns). Using data from 25,159 participants across representative samples from 21 nations, we investigated how different modalities of ingroup identification (attachment and glorification) are linked with reactions to the coronavirus pandemic (compliance and support for lockdown restrictions). We also examined the extent to which the associations of attachment and glorification with responses to the coronavirus pandemic are mediated through trust in information about the coronavirus pandemic from scientific and government sources. Multilevel models suggested that attachment, but not glorification, was associated with increased trust in science and compliance with federal COVID-19 guidelines. However, while both attachment and glorification were associated with trust in government and support for lockdown restrictions, glorification was more strongly associated with trust in government information than attachment. These results suggest that both attachment and glorification can be useful for promoting public health, although glorification's role, while potentially stronger, is restricted to pathways through trust in government information.

Traditional prejudice remains outside of the WEIRD world.

Dixon et al. accurately describe subtle mechanisms of discrimination that inhibit minorities' collective action in modern democratic societies. This commentary suggests that in contemporary non-Western societies, where ethnic conflicts are more violent, traditional overt forms of prejudice still exist and predict discrimination of ethnic and racial minorities. Thus, prejudice reduction models should and do improve intergroup relations in such contexts.

Conspiracy beliefs as an adaptation to historical trauma.

Conspiracy beliefs are often viewed as a form of psychopathology, closely linked to anxiety, paranoia, and maladaptive traits. However, recent research has brought attention to adaptive and functional aspects of conspiracy theories. This article presents a framework for understanding conspiracy beliefs as a paradoxical adaptation to historical trauma. There is vast evidence that three essential aspects of historical trauma (loss of personal and collective control, status devaluation, and victimhood) constitute the key antecedents of conspiracy beliefs. Although conspiracy theories might be adaptive in times of shared trauma (e.g., war, colonization), they become maladaptive in times of peace and prosperity. The popularity of conspiracy theories in historically traumatized societies threatens individuals' health and well-being, social trust, cohesiveness, and intergroup harmony.