Journal of Social and Political Psychology

Constructing Gender Polarisation in Online Interaction: Affective Blame Attributions in Finnish Reddit Discussions

Katarina Pettersson — 2026-09-08

Debates about a growing ideological gender divide have intensified in public discourse, yet little is known about how such polarisation is constructed in everyday interaction. This study addresses that gap by examining how gender polarisation is discursively and affectively produced in online discussions in Finland. Drawing on an affective and critical discursive approach, the analysis focuses on affective blame attributions in two Finnish Reddit threads discussing the perceived gender gap. The findings show that polarisation is not simply asserted but actively explained and negotiated through competing attributions of responsibility – to societal neglect, failed dialogue, media dynamics, ideological extremism, and gendered power relations. These accounts are emotionally charged and often oppositional, reproducing the very divisions they seek to explain. The study contributes to social psychological research by conceptualising gender polarisation as an interactional and affective process, demonstrating how it is constructed and sustained through everyday online discourse.

Uncertain Jobs, Certain Votes? Relations Between Job Insecurity, Union Attitudes, and Political Behavior

Denise Vesper — 2026-09-08

This study explores relations between perceived job insecurity, union attitudes, and voting behavior—particularly support for far-right parties—following the 2024 state elections in Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia (Germany; N = 710). Although job insecurity is often linked to negative individual outcomes, its political effects are less well understood. We examined whether job insecurity relates to identification with or voting for the far-right party Alternative für Deutschland (“Alternative for Germany”; AfD) and other right-wing parties, using a left-right party spectrum. We also investigated whether trust in politicians mediates and whether union attitudes moderate this relationship. Results of structural equation modeling showed that job insecurity did not significantly relate to right-wing political identification or voting. However, low trust in politicians was strongly related to both outcomes. Positive union attitudes were linked to a lower likelihood of voting for far-right parties, but they did not moderate the job insecurity-political outcome relationship. Results were consistent across states, union membership, and employment status. These findings suggest that trust in politicians and union attitudes may be more influential predictors of political behavior than job insecurity, offering new insight into how economic and political concerns shape democratic engagement.

Framing Economic Inequality Through Collective Identities: Confronting or Maintaining Inequality

Ángel del Fresno-Díaz — 2026-08-25

The political context can shape the collective identities through which economic inequality is understood and politicised. Using representative public domain samples from five European countries in Study 1 (N = 5,980) and newly collected samples from the UK and Spain in Study 2 (N = 803), we examine how identity frameworks relate to attitudes toward inequality (intolerance), political participation, and collective action aimed at both confronting inequality and maintaining the status quo. Identification with common people was associated with greater intolerance of inequality and higher political participation in Study 1 but showed a more ambivalent pattern in Study 2. National collective narcissism was linked to lower intolerance and lower political participation (Study 1) and, together with national identity, to a greater support for collective actions that maintain the status quo (Study 2). In contrast, identities centred on inequality (i.e., the 99% and the working class) were more consistently associated with challenging inequality. These findings suggest that the way inequality is framed through identity—whether populist, national, or wealth-based—shape responses that either confront or maintain economic inequality across contexts.

Superordinate Identities and Minority Solidarity: Contrasting Person of Color and American Identification

Wen Bu — 2026-08-18

Can common ingroup identification predict intra-minority solidarity? Common ingroup identification reduces prejudice but could have an “ironic” effect of reducing minority group members’ support for political change. But do ironic effects apply to all common ingroup identities? Using two 3-wave panel studies, I examined whether identification with a common ingroup that includes Whites (American) and with a common ingroup that does not include Whites (person of color) have different relationships with Asian (Study 1), Black (Study 2), and Latino (Study 2) Americans’ attitudes toward policies that benefit minority groups (immigration, criminal justice reform, and affirmative action). American identification was inconsistently negatively associated with attitudes toward these policies, and POC identification was positively associated with attitudes toward these policies, though identification did not consistently predict attitudes later in time. These results suggest inclusion of the majority group matters for how common ingroup identification relates to intra-minority solidarity.

From Self-Interest to Collective Good: How Moral Framing Affects the Justification of Free-Riding Behavior

Raül Tormos — 2026-07-23

Free riding behaviors, such as tax evasion and exploiting public resources, erode societal trust and cooperation. Using a representative survey conducted in Spain (N = 2,000, Catalonia) with an embedded experiment that randomly exposed participants to different moral framings, this study examines how such framings shape attitudes towards free riding, including tax evasion, claiming undeserved benefits or stealing a ride. Drawing on Moral Foundations Theory, we test three framings – social order, pro-community altruism and personal autonomy – based on alignment with Authority, Loyalty, and Liberty moral intuitions, respectively. Results indicate that framing cooperation as a matter of social order significantly reduces justification of free riding, while appeals to pro-community altruism have a weaker but still negative effect. Contrary to expectations, the personal autonomy framing does not increase tolerance for free riding, suggesting limited persuasive power in this context. Mediation analysis indicates that collective orientation functions as a central pathway linking moral framing and attitudes toward free riding. Moderation analysis reveals that political ideology and, to a lesser extent, institutional trust, condition the effects on collective orientation, with right-leaning and low-trust individuals demonstrating greater differences under social order framing as compared to control condition. These findings underscore the role of moral narratives in shaping attitudes toward free riding, with implications for public messaging and policy interventions.

Discrete Emotions Towards Leaders and Partisan Affect: Evidence From Five Multiparty Democracies

Zoe A. Thomson — 2026-07-09

This study explores the role of five discrete emotions (hope, pride, anger, fear and disgust) towards political leaders in connection with partisan affinities and animosities. Focusing on the under-represented regions of Latin America and Southern Europe, this research examines emotional patterns across five diverse multiparty systems. Findings show that discrete emotions attributed to leaders behave similarly to valence-based measures, but can help nuance interpretation of affective polarisation dynamics. Deeper understanding of the nature of emotional responses may be warranted in order to determine the extent to which affective polarisation constitutes a threat or an asset to democracies.

‘Left-Wing Authoritarianism’ as Situated Rhetoric: Delegitimizing the Political Left in Statements of Greek Right-Wing Politicians on ‘X’

Ioannis Michos — 2026-07-09

Soon after the publication of The Authoritarian Personality, scholars advanced the argument that authoritarianism may also be encountered in the political left, fueling a scientific debate that is far from resolved. Adopting a critical discursive social psychology perspective, we analyzed 3,500 X posts shared by Nea Dimokratia (ND) MPs (Greek political right) between 2018-2024, documenting how conservative politicians mobilize a Left-Wing Authoritarianism (LWA) interpretative repertoire. This repertoire is built around the representational modalities of ‘localized political exceptionalism’, ‘extended ideological contamination’, and ‘state authoritarianism in practice’ and informs three argumentative lines. In the first, the Greek political left is constructed as a local exception to the universal left-wing ideology by, allegedly, adopting practices that deviate from democratic values. The second draws upon a broader representation of LWA, associating the Greek political left with international political figures and practices constructed as prototypical left-wing authoritarian examples. The third equates the 2015-2019 left-wing-led SYRIZA-ANEL coalition government with authoritarian deep-state practices, constructing SYRIZA as a persistent threat to democratic norms, while positioning ND as the defender of institutional integrity. The flexible construction of the Greek political left as both aligning with and deviating from generic left-wing ideology works in the direction of delegitimating the political left locally and globally. Through such constructions, the SYRIZA-ANEL government is portrayed as emblematic of authoritarianism, while ND is positioned as a sound anti-extremist democratic force. The paper discusses how LWA repertoire functions rhetorically and ideologically to police democratic boundaries, delegitimize political adversaries, and justify socio-exclusionary politics as depoliticized.

From Internalized Equality to Tolerance Towards Others: Self-Respect Predicts Tolerance for Minority Groups in Serbia and Syria

Daniela Renger — 2026-07-09

Prior research has shown that self-respect (i.e., a person’s belief of possessing the same rights as others) predicted concern for others’ rights (in terms of positive attitudes towards human rights) and a generally tolerant attitude towards dissenting others. In this research, we go beyond prior research and investigate whether self-respect is associated with tolerance towards minority groups in countries where socio-political (and religious) tensions existing between majority and minority groups are relatively high. For this purpose, we asked Serbians (N = 194) and Syrians (N = 313) to fill out questionnaires including measures of self-respect, tolerance towards three different minority groups (an ethnic, a religious, and a sexual minority) and respective disapproval measures, and tested a hypothesized structural equation model. We found that self-respect predicted tolerance towards Roma, Muslims, and homosexuals in Serbia and towards Palestinian refugees and Christians in Syria. In Syria, no relation was found with tolerance for homosexuals, but statistical variance was limited. We discuss our findings and the limits of self-respect as a predictor of tolerance in the context of highly disapproved outgroups and highlight the overall potential of self-respect for fostering a concern for own and others’ rights and duties.

Misperceptions in Protest Affect and Action Among Resident and Diaspora Activists: Online Versus On-the-Ground in the 2009–2012 Iranian Post-Election Protests

Mostafa Salari Rad — 2026-06-10

Although collective action is typically led by local actors, remote participation by diaspora members has become common with the rise of social media and digital connectivity. However, differences in modes of participation may lead residents and diaspora activists to represent protests differently or to misperceive each other’s experiences. Such gaps may be reflected in how protests feel and how protest actions are interpreted. This study examined these dynamics in the context of Iran’s 2009–2012 post-election protests. A sample of N = 1,254 respondents residing inside or outside Iran completed tasks assessing their own protest representations or predicting the other group’s experiences. Although the two groups responded similarly from their own perspectives, diaspora members predicted residents’ experiences as significantly less positive, while residents underestimated diaspora members’ action identification, perceiving them as lower-level actors focused more on the mechanics of protest (“how”) than on overarching purposes (“why”). Greater activism was associated with more positive and less negative affect in protest representations. Protest attendance and online information sharing were associated with less biased predictions of affective experiences and action construals. The findings highlight the mutual misperceptions between local and remote participants that can hinder transnational collective action even in the absence of actual differences in protest representations.

Toward a Kashmiri Cultural Psychology: Integrating Indigenous Knowledge and Mental Health

Mohammad Asif Sheikh — 2026-05-29

This paper presents a critical theoretical intervention addressing epistemic imbalance in mental health research and practice related to Kashmir. It (a) develops conceptual frameworks elucidating indigenous healing rooted in Sufi mysticism, communal networks, and culturally specific coping strategies; (b) identifies and theorizes culturally derived constructs essential for contextually appropriate mental health infrastructures and interventions, emphasizing epistemic justice and locally situated knowledge; and (c) demonstrates culturally grounded interventions that foreground indigenous epistemologies on their own terms, addressing the limitations and potential dominance of Western clinical models. By centering Kashmiriyat, the Valley’s indigenous cultural ethos that encompasses communal solidarity, shrine-centered spiritual practices, and historically rooted coping strategies guiding everyday communal and spiritual life, this work reconceptualizes resilience as collective and historically situated. The proposed framework enriches global psychological theory and offers innovative models of culturally congruent and socially transformative interventions for conflict-affected societies.