Br J Psychol [JOURNAL]
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200 papers
Effects of social exclusion on following the gaze of others.
Yankouskaya A, Salera C, Constantinou M … +1 more , Pecchinenda A
Br J Psychol · 2026 Feb · PMID 41051093 · Full text
Evidence shows that social exclusion motivates to paying attention to the situation to reconnect with others or to protect oneself from further exclusion. However, it is unclear how social attention is affected by who of...
Evidence shows that social exclusion motivates to paying attention to the situation to reconnect with others or to protect oneself from further exclusion. However, it is unclear how social attention is affected by who offers an opportunity to reconnect. Two studies filled this gap by assessing whether being excluded affects our propensity to share attention with another individual (seen or novel) with a happy or a neutral expression. Findings show a significant three-way interaction with differences in gaze cueing between groups only for seen faces with a neutral expression. Gaze-cueing effects for seen (excluders) faces with a neutral expression occurred in 73% of socially excluded individuals - this was 33% for seen (includers) faces for socially included. There were no differences in gaze cueing for novel faces with happy or neutral expressions. In Study 2, social information about faces was learned without direct exclusion. Here, the proportion of participants showing the effect observed in Study 1 and the associations between gaze cueing and emotional expressions differed. In line with the social monitoring system theory, individuals in the immediate aftermath of exclusion remain socially engaged, displaying a dual attentional strategy: vigilance towards the excluder and openness to affiliative signals from novel others.
Moving to wheat-farming regions increases analytic thought, but moving to cities does not: A three-wave longitudinal study.
English AS, Talhelm T, Tong R … +16 more , Wei L, Li X, Ma J, Yu H, Zhou S, Zhang W, Lin T, Zhang M, Hu LJ, Cui P, Hacker E, Ling B, Logterman B, Zeng Z, Huang C, Liu Z
Br J Psychol · 2026 Feb · PMID 41002145 · Publisher ↗
Does moving to a new environment change people's cultural thought style? We tracked the cultural thought style of 1462 university students at 18 sites over time after they moved across China for college. We tested their...
Does moving to a new environment change people's cultural thought style? We tracked the cultural thought style of 1462 university students at 18 sites over time after they moved across China for college. We tested their holistic thought, which is more common in interdependent cultures. One logical prediction is that students would think less holistically after moving to big cities and more economically developed areas, in line with modernization theory. However, moving to bigger cities or more-developed areas did not predict decreases in holistic thought. Instead, regions' history of rice versus wheat farming predicted change in thought style. Within just five months, students who moved to wheat-farming prefectures thought less holistically than people who moved to rice-farming prefectures. This fits with the idea that rice farming required more coordination and interdependence than wheat farming. In a follow-up wave three years later, differences widened between students in rice and wheat areas. This three-wave longitudinal study documents the transmission of cultural differences in cognition, even without personal experience farming. The results suggest that China's farming history is still shaping cultural differences in the modern day.
'Sweet poison' and 'mild medicine': Different effects of collective narcissism and collective self-esteem on ingroup versus outgroup conspiracy beliefs.
Mao JY, Tian CY, Yang SL … +1 more , van Prooijen JW
Br J Psychol · 2026 Feb · PMID 41002120 · Full text
Collective narcissism and non-narcissistic ingroup positivity (notably collective self-esteem) are associated differently with conspiracy beliefs. We conducted three cross-sectional surveys in China and the United States...
Collective narcissism and non-narcissistic ingroup positivity (notably collective self-esteem) are associated differently with conspiracy beliefs. We conducted three cross-sectional surveys in China and the United States that distinguished between ingroup and outgroup conspiracy beliefs, to explore the intricate relationships and underlying mechanisms of these variables. Studies 1 (N = 800) and 2 (N = 385) showed that, in China, collective narcissism was positively associated with outgroup conspiracy belief (partially mediated by increased perceived threat from the outgroup) and with ingroup conspiracy belief (partially mediated by increased instrumental treatment of ingroup members); collective self-esteem was positively associated with outgroup conspiracy belief (fully mediated by increased victim consciousness), but negatively with ingroup conspiracy belief (fully mediated by increased system-justifying belief). Study 3 (N = 397) only replicated the significant positive relationship between collective narcissism and outgroup conspiracy belief in a US sample, and the partial mediating effect of increased perceived threat from the outgroup in it, while the other three paths were not statistically significant. These findings suggest that the association between different forms of ingroup positivity (narcissistic versus non-narcissistic) and conspiracy beliefs is influenced both by the identity of the conspirators (ingroup versus outgroup) and cultural context.
Sampling and processing of climate change information and disinformation across three diverse countries.
Rahmani Azad Z, Spampatti T, Gluth S … +2 more , Tam KP, Hahnel UJJ
Br J Psychol · 2025 Sep · PMID 40999711 · Publisher ↗
In the media, accurate climate information and climate disinformation often coexist and present competing narratives about climate change. Whereas previous research documented detrimental effects of disinformation on cli...
In the media, accurate climate information and climate disinformation often coexist and present competing narratives about climate change. Whereas previous research documented detrimental effects of disinformation on climate beliefs, little is known about how people seek climate-related content and how this varies between cross-cultural contexts. In a preregistered experiment, we studied how individuals sequentially sample and process Pro- and Anti-climate statements across 15 rounds. Participants from the United States, China, and Germany (N = 2226) freely sampled real-world climate-related statements, retrieved from Twitter and validated in previous studies. Overall, reading both Pro- and Anti-climate statements influenced climate concern in all countries. Participants preferred statements that were better aligned with their initial climate beliefs, and this confirmatory tendency intensified the more information had been sampled. Moreover, participants' confirmatory evaluation (i.e., accepting aligned and rejecting opposing messages) increased over time. While climate concern was mostly stable, in the United States, climate concern levels and box choices mutually reinforced each other, leading to greater polarization within the sample over the course of the experiment. The paradigm offers new perspectives on how people process and navigate conflicting narratives about climate change.
Conceptual trait associations predict impressions of highly variable faces.
Illithova B, Young AW, Chu M … +1 more , Sutherland CAM
Br J Psychol · 2026 Feb · PMID 40991311 · Full text
People form consequential trait judgements from seeing others' faces. The influential dynamic interactive theory suggests that trait judgements reflect the combined use of visual cues from faces (e.g. smiling looks trust...
People form consequential trait judgements from seeing others' faces. The influential dynamic interactive theory suggests that trait judgements reflect the combined use of visual cues from faces (e.g. smiling looks trustworthy) with individuals' own conceptual trait associations (e.g. believing trustworthy people are also kind), thus far supported for impressions of highly constricted neutral faces in the US cultural context. Here, we provide a stringent new test of the dynamic interactive theory by examining whether conceptual trait associations predict impressions of highly variable everyday faces, within and across cultures and individuals. Study 1 shows that conceptual trait associations predict impressions of highly variable everyday faces in British perceivers. Study 2 demonstrates that British and Chinese perceivers' conceptual trait associations (expressed in English and Mandarin, respectively) predict impressions of highly variable White and Asian faces similarly. Study 3 finds that individuals' conceptual trait associations predict their impressions of highly variable face images. Together, we show for the first time that conceptual trait associations predict impressions even when faces provide rich visual cues and extend this understanding beyond Western perceivers, faces and languages. Our findings thus offer independent support for dynamic interactive theory in naturalistic impressions across cultures.
Self-directed speech and attention deficit hyperactive disorder-like behaviours.
Benfield E, Cole GG
Br J Psychol · 2026 Feb · PMID 40971241 · Full text
One of the behaviours associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) is talking in a manner considered to be socially inappropriate. It follows, therefore, that self-directed speech, including inner dialog...
One of the behaviours associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) is talking in a manner considered to be socially inappropriate. It follows, therefore, that self-directed speech, including inner dialogue, will be particularly prevalent among adults who exhibit traits typical of ADHD. In three experiments, we tested this prediction. Participants completed the ASRS-v1.1 together with either the Self-Talk Scale (Experiment 1; N = 198) or the Varieties of Inner Speech Questionnaire (Experiment 2; N = 198). Results from both experiments revealed that participants with behaviours typical of an ADHD diagnosis reported significantly more self-directed speech than those whose behaviours were not typical of ADHD. A third experiment (N = 198) replicated these findings and also found that the effect does not distinguish between overt and covert speech. Overall, these data suggest that self-talking is more prevalent in individuals with relatively high levels of ADHD traits. We speculate that talking to oneself may represent a useful displacement activity or acts as a camouflage technique for those with the condition.
The rhythm of sensory input shapes audio-visual temporal processing.
Zamfira DA, Di Dona G, Marsicano G … +3 more , Battista M, Battaglini L, Ronconi L
Br J Psychol · 2026 Feb · PMID 40956654 · Full text
The temporal relationship between incoming signals is crucial in determining whether multisensory information is integrated into unitary percepts. Temporal binding windows (TBWs) define the time range within which multis...
The temporal relationship between incoming signals is crucial in determining whether multisensory information is integrated into unitary percepts. Temporal binding windows (TBWs) define the time range within which multisensory inputs are highly likely to be perceptually integrated, even if asynchronous. TBWs widen with stimulus complexity and neurodevelopmental conditions (e.g., autism and schizophrenia), yet the key factors underlying their malleability remain unclear. The (quasi)rhythmic properties of sensory inputs, frequently embedded in natural stimuli (e.g., speech), are among the possible exogenous modulators. Indeed, stimulus spectral features can influence the alignment of neural excitability across sensory regions, synchronizing brain rhythms with external rhythmic patterns through phase-reset mechanisms and neural entrainment. In a series of psychophysical studies, we presented simultaneity judgement tasks with pulsing audio-visual (AV) streams amplitude-modulated according to different regular frequencies or following purely rhythmic vs. quasi-rhythmic (speech-like) envelopes. Results show that TBWs decrease as the stimulus frequency increases and that speech-like streams are integrated across larger TBWs. These findings highlight the importance of stimulus spectral structure in shaping multisensory perception. Furthermore, they show that quasi-rhythmic spectrotemporal features of speech-like streams induce more tolerant cross-modal temporal processing even when the leading stimulation frequency is controlled for, putatively reflecting an adaptation to the variable rhythmic structure of natural speech. Our results align with neurophysiological accounts of neural entrainment and motivate future research in clinical populations with multisensory processing deficits.
Not that different after all: Pro-environmental social norms predict pro-environmental behaviour (also) among those believing in conspiracy theories.
Winter K, Pummerer L, Sassenberg K
Br J Psychol · 2025 Sep · PMID 40955062 · Publisher ↗
Social norms are powerful predictors of pro-environmental behaviour. At the same time, conspiracy beliefs are prevalent that can reduce individuals' efforts to act pro-environmentally and might impede the influence of so...
Social norms are powerful predictors of pro-environmental behaviour. At the same time, conspiracy beliefs are prevalent that can reduce individuals' efforts to act pro-environmentally and might impede the influence of social norms. Across three cross-sectional studies in three countries (Germany, UK, US; total N = 1037), we investigated the interplay between different types of social norm perceptions and conspiracy beliefs in predicting everyday pro-environmental behaviour. Against two out of three hypotheses, we found no evidence that conspiracy beliefs moderated the relationship between perceived social norms and self-reported pro-environmental behaviour. Rather, perceiving higher pro-environmental social (especially subjective and injunctive) norms was associated with more frequent pro-environmental behaviour - also among those with stronger conspiracy beliefs. Conspiracy beliefs (especially those related to climate change) were, in turn, related to less pro-environmental behaviour. These findings shed light on the social factors that might influence individuals believing in conspiracy theories and give reason for optimism regarding the possibility to overcome their climate inaction via normative influence.
Misophonia symptom severity is linked to impaired flexibility and heightened rumination.
Black VK, Allen KJD, Aazh H … +2 more , Johnson SL, Erfanian M
Br J Psychol · 2026 Feb · PMID 40944383 · Full text
Misophonia is a disorder involving sensitivity to certain sounds and related stimuli. Here, we explore the relationship between misophonia and affective flexibility, which describes cognitive shifting abilities in the fa...
Misophonia is a disorder involving sensitivity to certain sounds and related stimuli. Here, we explore the relationship between misophonia and affective flexibility, which describes cognitive shifting abilities in the face of emotion-evoking stimuli. The secondary aim of this study is to test the potential association between misophonia and cognitive flexibility, building upon findings from previous research. The third objective is to examine the relationship between misophonia and rumination. One hundred and forty participants completed the Memory and Affective Flexibility Task (MAFT), designed to assess affective flexibility, as well as a battery of self-report measures to evaluate misophonia severity, cognitive flexibility, and rumination. Results suggested an inverse relationship between affective flexibility as measured by switch accuracy, but not reaction time, and misophonia severity. Cognitive flexibility was also inversely associated with misophonia severity, but was not attributed to task-based affective flexibility, suggesting two independent constructs both involved in misophonia manifestation. Rumination associated positively with misophonia severity and inversely with cognitive flexibility, but not affective flexibility. Taken together, these findings highlight a unique cognitive profile of misophonia, characterized by rigidity at the psychological level through cognitive inflexibility and rumination, as well as at the executive function level in terms of affective switching difficulties.
Individual and community post-traumatic growth: A data-driven examination of person, process, and contextual factors.
Black S, Kunst JR
Br J Psychol · 2026 Feb · PMID 40937860 · Publisher ↗
This study investigated factors associated with post-traumatic growth (PTG) after severe traumatic societal events. Utilizing a quota-representative sample of 931 Israeli Jews, we assessed individual and community PTG fo...
This study investigated factors associated with post-traumatic growth (PTG) after severe traumatic societal events. Utilizing a quota-representative sample of 931 Israeli Jews, we assessed individual and community PTG following the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023, alongside a range of factors guided by Bronfenbrenner's Process-Person-Context-Time (PPCT) model. Using data-driven techniques, we identified three distinct growth profiles: relatively high individual and collective PTG (n = 354), high PTG on all dimensions (n = 273), and secular growth showing high PTG in general but not in spiritual terms (n = 322). Higher levels of religious identification, involvement, and coping, altruistic behaviour, social support, optimism, and mindfulness, as well as lower levels of pessimism, were found in the group(s) with the highest PTG. This research highlights the potentially high societal resilience reported after a large-scale traumatic event, identifying factors that may be tested for their potential to maximize growth in the aftermath of trauma.
Advice-taking in carbon footprint assessments: How psychological and cultural factors shape reliance on experts' advice.
Sancar I, Nera K, Schöpfer C … +1 more , Tomas F
Br J Psychol · 2025 Sep · PMID 40926337 · Publisher ↗
In this pre-registered experiment conducted in the Netherlands and Türkiye (N = 550), we investigated how the source of advice (peer vs. expert) influences people's decision-making when assessing the carbon footprint of...
In this pre-registered experiment conducted in the Netherlands and Türkiye (N = 550), we investigated how the source of advice (peer vs. expert) influences people's decision-making when assessing the carbon footprint of a flight between two cities. We also examined whether this effect was influenced by their conspiracy mentality, collective narcissism, epistemic individualism, and climate change scepticism. Our findings suggest that people overall rely more on experts' advice than peers', especially in the Netherlands compared with Türkiye. Moreover, individuals high in conspiracy beliefs, epistemic individualism, and collective narcissism reduced the weight advantage typically given to expert advice over peer advice. Only a specific form of climate change scepticism (i.e., trend scepticism) showed similar effects. Overall, our results indicate that individuals who value their own opinion and harbour distrust towards experts or science tend to discount expert advice.
Fighting fire with fire: Prebunking with the use of a plausible meta-conspiracy framing.
Biddlestone M, Green R, Toribio-Flórez D … +3 more , de Gourville D, Sutton RM, Douglas KM
Br J Psychol · 2025 Sep · PMID 40916900 · Publisher ↗
Prebunking can be used to pre-emptively refute conspiracy narratives. We developed a new approach to prebunking - fighting fire with fire - which introduces a plausible 'meta-conspiracy' suggesting that conspiracy theori...
Prebunking can be used to pre-emptively refute conspiracy narratives. We developed a new approach to prebunking - fighting fire with fire - which introduces a plausible 'meta-conspiracy' suggesting that conspiracy theories are deliberately spread as part of a wider conspiracy. In two preregistered intervention studies, prebunking specific COVID-19 vaccine (Study 1, N = 720) and climate change (Study 2, N = 1077) conspiracy theories (e.g. that climate change is a hoax), with or without this meta-conspiracy framing, did not reduce beliefs in these specific conspiracy theories. However, some notable findings emerged. First, both fighting fire with fire and standard prebunking (Study 2) increased belief in plausible meta-conspiracies that questioned the original specific conspiracy theories. Second, across both studies, specific conspiracy beliefs negatively predicted behavioural intentions, while beliefs in meta-conspiracies positively predicted them. Third, specific conspiracy beliefs were negatively related to belief in plausible meta-conspiracies in both intervention studies (cf: Pilot Study). While this approach did not reduce specific conspiracy beliefs, it increased beliefs that were negatively associated with them and which were positively linked to behavioural intentions. We discuss these null effects and their implications for effective prebunking among conspiracy believers.
Introducing the British Psychological Society Journal's Landmark Issue on digital futures.
Sirois FM
Br J Psychol · 2026 Feb · PMID 40898696 · Publisher ↗
Abstract loading — click title to view on PubMed.
"I got all sorts of solitude, but that solitude wasn't mine": A mixed-methods approach to understanding aloneness during becoming a mother.
Nguyen TV, Konu D, Tetteh D … +3 more , Tshimbalanga P, Weissova J, Xiong M
Br J Psychol · 2026 Feb · PMID 40897386 · Full text
This study examines the evolving experiences of "aloneness" in first-time mothers during their transition to motherhood. While the term is often used to describe new mothers' experiences, it tends to blur distinct yet ov...
This study examines the evolving experiences of "aloneness" in first-time mothers during their transition to motherhood. While the term is often used to describe new mothers' experiences, it tends to blur distinct yet overlapping constructs such as solitude, loneliness, and social isolation. Study 1 involved qualitative interviews with 22 mothers, revealing three themes: the ambivalent companionship of a baby, the multifaceted nature of post-motherhood aloneness, and a shift in priorities that diminished both the quantity and quality of solitude. Although mothers often spent more time physically alone, solitude free from caregiving demands became scarce, contributing to increased loneliness and isolation. Time alone with a baby was perceived variably, depending on interaction level and caregiving demands. Study 2 analysed one-week Ecological Momentary Assessment data from 47 new mothers, tracking daily activities and emotional well-being. Personal time (time spent for oneself) and social time were both linked to improved mood. These findings highlight the challenges of accessing restorative time when under sustained emotional and cognitive demands. Beyond early parenthood, this study extends solitude research by providing empirical evidence that subjective solitude is shaped not only by social presence or absence but also by the psychological load imposed by social demands.
The gateway (mis)belief model: How misinformation impacts perceptions of scientific consensus and attitudes towards climate change.
Logemann HT, Rode JB, Maertens R … +1 more , van der Linden S
Br J Psychol · 2025 Sep · PMID 40890974 · Publisher ↗
Climate change is one of the greatest threats to humanity, necessitating immediate action to combat its consequences. Although there is a nearly unanimous scientific consensus that climate change is human-caused, misinfo...
Climate change is one of the greatest threats to humanity, necessitating immediate action to combat its consequences. Although there is a nearly unanimous scientific consensus that climate change is human-caused, misinformation doubting its causes continues to circulate widely. In this study, we test the Gateway (mis)Belief Model (GmBM) which assumes that misinformation affects perceived scientific consensus negatively, which then cascades down to lower support for public action to mitigate climate change via changes in key beliefs about the issue. We present a reanalysis of data from two online studies in which U.S. participants (N = 207, N = 755) were exposed to misinformation using a pre-post mixed design manipulating assessments of the scientific consensus on climate change. Results showed that misinformation indeed leads to lower estimations of scientific consensus, which cascade down to lower support for public action via corresponding beliefs. However, the pattern of significance of direct effects did not exactly replicate those in the original GBM, though misinformation still had negative direct (Experiments 1-2) and indirect effects (Experiment 2) on several downstream climate outcomes. These findings are further affirmed by an internal meta-analysis. Overall, this study highlights the negative impact of misinformation on climate attitudes and policy support.
The longitudinal relationship between family socioeconomic status and students' academic achievement: The mediating roles of learning anxiety-learning engagement profiles and the moderating role of negative parenting styles.
Zhang T, Shao W, Zhang J … +3 more , Zhang Q, Tao Y, Yu X
Br J Psychol · 2026 Feb · PMID 40866327 · Publisher ↗
This study examined the longitudinal relationship between family socioeconomic status (family SES) and students' academic achievement through learning anxiety-learning engagement profiles and the moderating role of negat...
This study examined the longitudinal relationship between family socioeconomic status (family SES) and students' academic achievement through learning anxiety-learning engagement profiles and the moderating role of negative parenting styles. Using longitudinal data from 425 Chinese primary students (200 boys, M = 9.73 ± 0.86 years old) across three seasons (winter, spring and summer) with three-month intervals, latent profile analysis identified three learning anxiety-learning engagement profiles: "High Anxiety-Low Engagement", "High Anxiety-Moderate Engagement" and "Low Anxiety-High Engagement". Mediation analysis revealed that, compared to the "Low Anxiety-High Engagement" group, the "High Anxiety-Moderate Engagement" group significantly mediated the relationship between family SES and academic achievement. Additionally, negative parenting styles moderated the association between family SES and learning anxiety-learning engagement profiles. These findings support both the family stress and investment models, suggesting that interventions should be tailored to families with differing SES levels.
We are what we eat: Cross-cultural self-prioritization effects for food stimuli.
Dalmaso M, Vicovaro M, Saito T … +1 more , Watanabe K
Br J Psychol · 2026 Feb · PMID 40802459 · Full text
Previous research has shown that the concept of self is malleable and can be associated with various arbitrary stimuli. This study explored whether the self could be linked to images of food representative of one's own o...
Previous research has shown that the concept of self is malleable and can be associated with various arbitrary stimuli. This study explored whether the self could be linked to images of food representative of one's own or a different culture. We compared two groups, Italian and Japanese individuals, whose cultures are both characterized by rich and distinctive food traditions. Participants performed a perceptual matching task, associating themselves with either Italian or Japanese food, depending on the block. They also reported their food habits and preferences. The findings revealed that, in both groups, the self could extend to include food stimuli from both cultural categories. However, the self was more strongly associated with food typical of the participant's own culture. Additionally, this association was unrelated to reluctance to try unfamiliar foods, as measured by the Food Neophobia Scale. These results underscore the central role of food in shaping personal identity, supporting the hypothesis of a modulatory effect of valence on the strength of self-association with arbitrary items and suggesting that self-related food associations may influence food preferences.
It's my fault, I should try harder! The narratives of self-made upward mobility sustain belief in meritocracy in low social mobility context.
Deng Y, Wang F
Br J Psychol · 2026 Feb · PMID 40785153 · Publisher ↗
Rags-to-riches narratives are inspiring; however, they may inadvertently perpetuate the meritocratic myth, particularly in contexts of low social mobility. Across five studies, we demonstrate that self-made upward mobili...
Rags-to-riches narratives are inspiring; however, they may inadvertently perpetuate the meritocratic myth, particularly in contexts of low social mobility. Across five studies, we demonstrate that self-made upward mobility narratives increase people's meritocratic beliefs and motivate them to exert greater effort, especially in low mobility contexts. Watching such narratives is positively associated with meritocratic beliefs in low social mobility conditions (Pilot Study). Recalling such a narrative (Study 1), being exposed to these narratives in a fictitious society (Study 2) or encountering them in specific scenarios from a first-person (Study 3a) or third-person perspective (Study 3b), leads participants to engage in system justification, blame failure and accept or legitimize exploitation through meritocratic beliefs in low mobility contexts. Interpreting such narratives in a non-meritocratic way can mitigate these effects (Study 4). In summary, we uncover a rather small but robust effect: Even and especially in low mobility contexts, exposure to self-made upward mobility narratives strengthens individuals' belief in the power of personal effort. This, in turn, prompts them to justify the system and push themselves harder.
Measuring the felt sense of dehumanization: A COSMIN systematic review of the psychometric properties of self- and meta-dehumanization measures.
Jenkins TA, Pendlebury H, Smith SL
Br J Psychol · 2026 Feb · PMID 40781781 · Full text
There is increasing awareness of the clinical relevance of self- and meta-dehumanization. With various measures available for use, evidence of robust reliability and validity is essential before implementation. This revi...
There is increasing awareness of the clinical relevance of self- and meta-dehumanization. With various measures available for use, evidence of robust reliability and validity is essential before implementation. This review aimed to evaluate the psychometric strength and methodological quality of self- and meta-dehumanization measures and make recommendations for practice using Consensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) guidance. A systematic search of Web of Science, PubMed, PsycINFO and Scopus was conducted to identify studies reporting on the development or validation of a measure of self- or meta-dehumanization. Of 5190 records, 26 studies containing 29 distinct outcome measures were identified (14 self-dehumanization and 15 meta-dehumanization). In general, there was a lack of involvement from people with lived experience in measure development, leading to very low quality of evidence for content validity. Strength and quality of other psychometric properties varied, with only some measures demonstrating sufficient high-quality ratings. Based on COSMIN guidance, only one measure, the Experience of Dehumanization Measure (Golossenko et al., Br. J. Soc. Psychol., 62, 2023, 1285), can be currently recommended for use. It is recommended that future research looks to: (1) improve efforts to validate existing measures and (2) develop gold standard measures in collaboration with people with lived experience.
Why existential threats increase conspiracy beliefs: Evidence for the mediating roles of agency detection and pattern perception.
Mao JY, Zeng ZX, Yang SL … +3 more , Guo YY, Wang B, van Prooijen JW
Br J Psychol · 2026 Feb · PMID 40760947 · Full text
This research investigates the cognitive mechanisms linking health-related existential threats to conspiracy beliefs within a Chinese context. Study 1 (N = 199) demonstrated that the relationship between perceived existe...
This research investigates the cognitive mechanisms linking health-related existential threats to conspiracy beliefs within a Chinese context. Study 1 (N = 199) demonstrated that the relationship between perceived existential threats and outgroup conspiracy beliefs is mediated by hypersensitive agency detection through an experimental manipulation involving a monkeypox virus threat. Studies 2a (N = 198) and 2b (N = 200) revealed that illusory pattern perception also mediates this relationship. In Study 3 (N = 278, using a manipulation of threatening information about genetically modified foods) and in Study 4 (N = 296, using information about Japan's discharge of nuclear sewage), both hypersensitive agency detection and illusory pattern perception mediated this relationship. Additional mini-meta-analyses further corroborated these findings. We conclude that the effects of existential threats on outgroup conspiracy beliefs are mediated by hypersensitive agency detection and illusory pattern perception.
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