Research Article
When lack of control enhances closeness to others: The case of unemployment and economic threat
Marcin Bukowski,
Soledad de Lemus, Rosa Rodríguez-Bailón, Guillermo B. Willis, Abraham Alburquerque,
Corresponding Author
Marcin Bukowski
Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
Correspondence
Marcin Bukowski, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Ul. Ingardena 6, 30-060 Kraków, Poland.
E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorMarcin Bukowski,
Soledad de Lemus, Rosa Rodríguez-Bailón, Guillermo B. Willis, Abraham Alburquerque,
Corresponding Author
Marcin Bukowski
Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
Correspondence
Marcin Bukowski, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Ul. Ingardena 6, 30-060 Kraków, Poland.
E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorConflict of Interest Statement
There is no conflict of interest related to the manuscript.
Ethical Statement
The authors confirm that the manuscript adheres to ethical guidelines specified in the APA Code of Conduct as well as authors’ national ethics guidelines.
Data Transparency Statement
Data from studies 1–3 is shared in a publicly available repository on OSF: https://osf.io/d7xwa/?view_only=1486867e4ea84b56811dd5f3010789d4.
Abstract
When personal control is threatened, people often turn to their own group and show negativity towards others. In three studies, we tested an alternative prediction that the salient lack of personal control (vs. control) experienced in the context of unemployment can lead to connectedness and more positive perception of similar others (e.g., members of groups affected by unemployment or the economic crisis). In two European countries, we found experimental (Study 1: Poland) and correlational (Study 2: Spain) evidence that a lowered sense of control of unemployed people was related to more favorable intergroup evaluations. Furthermore, when lack of control related to unemployment threat was experimentally induced, participants perceived a Greek outgroup more positively, and this effect was mediated by identification with and similarity to this group (Study 3). We discuss the role of the shared experience of collective uncontrollability in promoting positive intergroup relations.
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