Concern with COVID-19 pandemic threat and attitudes towards immigrants: The mediating effect of the desire for tightness

Mula, Silvana, Di Santo, Daniela, Resta, Elena, Bakhtiari, Farin, Baldner, Conrad, Molinario, Erica, Pierro, Antonio, Gelfand, Michele J., Denison, Emmy, Agostini, Maximilian, and others. (2021) Concern with COVID-19 pandemic threat and attitudes towards immigrants: The mediating effect of the desire for tightness. Current research in ecological and social psychology, 3 . Article Number 100028. (doi:10.1016/j.cresp.2021.100028) (KAR id:100486)

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cresp.2021.100028

Abstract

Tightening social norms is thought to be adaptive for dealing with collective threat yet it may have negative consequences for increasing prejudice. The present research investigated the role of desire for cultural tightness, triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, in increasing negative attitudes towards immigrants. We used participant-level data from 41 countries (N = 55,015) collected as part of the PsyCorona project, a cross-national longitudinal study on responses to COVID-19. Our predictions were tested through multilevel and SEM models, treating participants as nested within countries. Results showed that people's concern with COVID-19 threat was related to greater desire for tightness which, in turn, was linked to more negative attitudes towards immigrants. These findings were followed up with a longitudinal model (N = 2,349) which also showed that people's heightened concern with COVID-19 in an earlier stage of the pandemic was associated with an increase in their desire for tightness and negative attitudes towards immigrants later in time. Our findings offer insight into the trade-offs that tightening social norms under collective threat has for human groups.

Item Type:	Article
DOI/Identification number:	10.1016/j.cresp.2021.100028
Uncontrolled keywords:	COVID-19, Threat, Desire for tightness, Negative attitudes
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions:	Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Psychology
Funders:	University of Kent (https://ror.org/00xkeyj56)
Depositing User:	Cassidy Rowden
Date Deposited:	15 Mar 2023 14:10 UTC
Last Modified:	16 Mar 2023 11:54 UTC
Resource URI:	https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/100486 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Chobthamkit, Phatthanakit.

Creator's ORCID:
CReDIT Contributor Roles:

Douglas, Karen.

Creator's ORCID:	https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0381-6924
CReDIT Contributor Roles:

Sutton, Robbie M..

Creator's ORCID:	https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1542-1716
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