Michał Bilewicz | University of Warsaw (original) (raw)

Papers by Michał Bilewicz

People who do not eat meat are not only devoid of situational pressures to disengage morally and ... more People who do not eat meat are not only devoid of situational pressures to disengage morally and deny humanlike mental states to animals but also they may be dispositionally inclined to ascribe humanity 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 thus decreased meat consumption. In two studies (N = 588) we confirmed that decreased meat consumption was associated with both increased recognition of humane features in animals and increased empathy toward animals. Most importantly, our data support the model in which anthropomorphism of animals predicts empathy., empathy, in turn, leads to increased importance of animal harm in dietary choices regarding meat, which in the end affects decreased meat consumption.

Usually, national identification is negatively related to intergroup forgiveness, but several stu... more Usually, national identification is negatively related to intergroup forgiveness, but several studies found no relation between these variables. In order to examine this inconsistency, we conducted a study on a nationwide sample of Polish adults (N = 1006). We analyzed two ways in which national identification is connected to reconciliation: a general sense of belonging and openness to others (shared with supranational identifications, e.g., human) positively predicting intergroup forgiveness, and the more specific sense of ingroup distinctiveness and superiority (shared with collective narcissism and other defensive forms of identification), negatively predicting willingness to forgive. The results confirmed the dual character of national identification in relation to intergroup forgiveness and showed that collective narcissism and human identification are parallel suppressors of the relationship between national identification and intergroup forgiveness. Blind patriotism played only a minor role in this relationship, and constructive patriotism was unrelated to intergroup forgiveness.

A relationship between individualism and happiness has been observed in many studies, with collec... more A relationship between individualism and happiness has been observed in many studies, with collectivist cultures having lower indices of happiness. It is often argued that this effect arises because people in individualist countries have greater independence and more freedom to pursue personal goals. It appears, however, that the association is much more complex than this as many collectivist countries suffer from more basic problems, such as social conflicts, discrimination, and prejudice. We hypothesized that global differences in happiness could be the result of ingroup bias and its consequences, rather than of collectivism itself. To test our hypotheses, we applied a country-level design, where a country is considered a unit of analysis. We found that individualism predicted various aspects of a country's aggregated level of happiness, but was only a marginal predictor of happiness when ingroup favoritism and group-focused enmity were controlled for. We discuss the implications of these findings from evolutionary and social psychological perspectives.

Aversion to loanwords may express itself in various ways: deliberate and motivated by ideology of... more Aversion to loanwords may express itself in various ways: deliberate and motivated by ideology of linguistic purism or more implicit and motivated by the strength of one's national identification and ethnolinguistic vitality. A study of Polish philology students assessed their tendency to choose loanwords versus synonymous native words. The results supported a two-path model of linguistic purism. Social identity (strength of identification) directly predicted avoidance of loanwords, whereas ideological concerns (conservative political views) predicted it indirectly, through purist ideology. Some individuals treat loanwords as a factor enriching lexicon of a language, others as a necessary evil, still others as a threat that can and should be combatted. These evaluations run along a scale between extreme liberalism and extreme purism, with both liberals and purists frequently voicing their views in emotional ways. This applies not only to discussions among nonspecialists but also to the stances adopted by linguists (Mańczak, 1970; Nieckula, 1987). Studies more descriptive than evaluative in nature consider purism as a historical and cultural phenomenon, seeing its causes as lying in the social and political situation

In the aftermath of violent conflicts, victim groups tend to perceive perpetrator group members a... more In the aftermath of violent conflicts, victim groups tend to perceive perpetrator group members as homogeneously immoral, which may hinder intergroup forgiveness. In the present paper, we examine whether exposure to narratives about historical moral exemplars could alter perceived morality of the former perpetrator group and, as an effect, increase willingness to forgive. In the pilot study, an exposure to stories about moral behavior of perpetrator group members led to an increase of perceived morality of their descendants. Two studies performed in the post-genocide context of Armenian-Turkish relations showed that this change in perceived outgroup morality following an exposure to moral ex-emplars manipulation resulted in greater willingness to forgive the perpetrator group for past misdeeds. These effects were observed only when moral exemplars were presented as typical of the outgroup and they cannot be explained by inducing a general positive view of intergroup relations.

W trakcie zajęć będziemy się zajmować procesami międzygrupowymi zachodzącymi w organizacjach, dot... more W trakcie zajęć będziemy się zajmować procesami międzygrupowymi zachodzącymi w organizacjach, dotyczącymi takich kwestii jak konflikt międzygrupowy, relacje władzy, postrzeganie międzygrupowe (np. stereotypizacja), dehumanizacją, dyskryminacją i tożsamością społeczną. Stosunkami międzygrupowymi będziemy zajmować się w różnych kontekstach: organizacjach typowo politycznych (partie, ugrupowania, państwo), instytucjach publicznych (np. szkolnictwo, policja), związkach zawodowych, społecznych ( ...

My i oni: INterdyscyplinarne obrazy wielokulturowsci, 2010

Page 1. The following ad supports maintaining our CEEOL service Contents «Contents» by Editors Ps... more Page 1. The following ad supports maintaining our CEEOL service Contents «Contents» by Editors Psychologia Społeczna Source: Social Psychology (Psychologia Społeczna), issue: 23(14) / 2010, pages: , on www.ceeol.com. Page 2. Contents 113 Advanced statistical methods. An introduction Tytus Sosnowski 117 Multivariate Analysis of Variance – MANOVA Elżbieta Aranowska, Jolanta Rytel 142 Discriminant analysis. Basic assumptions and applications in social research Piotr Radkiewicz ...

This article examines why people cooperate with the silencing and censorship efforts of authoriti... more This article examines why people cooperate with the silencing and censorship efforts of authorities that deprive them of historical knowledge. We analyze two motivational factors that account for people's adherence to the " official " historical narrative and their willingness to serve as lay censors silencing and suppressing alternative historical narratives of the group. The first factor is epistemic conformity which is the motivation to believe in the veridicality of the consensual ingroup's historical narrative. The second factor is a defensive form of identification with the group in glorifying and narcissistic ways. Polish and Israeli examples are discussed to illustrate societal backlash to historical discoveries that present the national ingroup in a negative manner.

Secondary traumatic stress has been intensively studied among survivors’ therapists, family membe... more Secondary traumatic stress has been intensively studied among survivors’ therapists, family members, and trauma researchers. We claim that people who are exposed to reminders of past traumatic experiences when visiting places of memory or museum exhibitions could also develop secondary trauma symptoms. Thus, scholars and practitioners must better understand how such places related to historical traumatization (e.g., Holocaust memorial sites) can affect the psychological well-being of visitors. The main aim of this quantitative longitudinal study was to assess the scale of secondary traumatization among visitors to such places. The study found that the syndrome of secondary traumatic stress was observed among 13.2% of high school visitors to the Auschwitz memorial museum. Longitudinal analysis revealed that empathic reactions to the visit in Auschwitz (e.g., a greater inclusion of victims into the self) were associated with higher levels of secondary traumatic stress levels one month after the visit. This study suggests that visits to places related to traumatic past events should be preceded by a more intense elaboration of Holocaust history and by proper psychological preparations.

In three studies (two representative nationwide surveys, N = 1,007, N = 682; and one experimental... more 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.

Analyzing the contempt as an intergroup emotion, we suggest that contempt and anger are not built... more 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.

Both historians and lay people attempt to explain national histories. However, psychological rese... more Both historians and lay people attempt to explain national histories. However, psychological research, to date, focused predominantly on the patterns of those explanations with regard to negative historical behaviors. In this article, we assess ethnocentrism of people's explanations of both negative and positive historical behavior of ingroup members (own nation) and outgroup members (other nation). Two studies analyze how Poles explain crimes and heroic acts committed in the General Government, as well as diverse behaviors during the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. The studies confirm an ethnocentric pattern of explanation: positive historical actions of ingroup members were explained more dispositionally than positive actions of outgroup members—negative historical actions of ingroup members were explained less dispositionally than negative historical actions of outgroup members. Furthermore, we found that this effect is more pronounced among individuals who highly identify with their nation. Apart from the influence of the strength of ingroup identification, we found that people who cling to structured knowledge (i.e. a high ability to achieve cognitive closure) tend to explain well-established historical facts (e.g. the Holocaust) but not little known facts (e.g. intervention in Czechoslovakia) in a more ethnocentric way.

People who do not eat meat are not only devoid of situational pressures to disengage morally and ... more People who do not eat meat are not only devoid of situational pressures to disengage morally and deny humanlike mental states to animals but also they may be dispositionally inclined to ascribe humanity 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 thus decreased meat consumption. In two studies (N = 588) we confirmed that decreased meat consumption was associated with both increased recognition of humane features in animals and increased empathy toward animals. Most importantly, our data support the model in which anthropomorphism of animals predicts empathy., empathy, in turn, leads to increased importance of animal harm in dietary choices regarding meat, which in the end affects decreased meat consumption.

Usually, national identification is negatively related to intergroup forgiveness, but several stu... more Usually, national identification is negatively related to intergroup forgiveness, but several studies found no relation between these variables. In order to examine this inconsistency, we conducted a study on a nationwide sample of Polish adults (N = 1006). We analyzed two ways in which national identification is connected to reconciliation: a general sense of belonging and openness to others (shared with supranational identifications, e.g., human) positively predicting intergroup forgiveness, and the more specific sense of ingroup distinctiveness and superiority (shared with collective narcissism and other defensive forms of identification), negatively predicting willingness to forgive. The results confirmed the dual character of national identification in relation to intergroup forgiveness and showed that collective narcissism and human identification are parallel suppressors of the relationship between national identification and intergroup forgiveness. Blind patriotism played only a minor role in this relationship, and constructive patriotism was unrelated to intergroup forgiveness.

A relationship between individualism and happiness has been observed in many studies, with collec... more A relationship between individualism and happiness has been observed in many studies, with collectivist cultures having lower indices of happiness. It is often argued that this effect arises because people in individualist countries have greater independence and more freedom to pursue personal goals. It appears, however, that the association is much more complex than this as many collectivist countries suffer from more basic problems, such as social conflicts, discrimination, and prejudice. We hypothesized that global differences in happiness could be the result of ingroup bias and its consequences, rather than of collectivism itself. To test our hypotheses, we applied a country-level design, where a country is considered a unit of analysis. We found that individualism predicted various aspects of a country's aggregated level of happiness, but was only a marginal predictor of happiness when ingroup favoritism and group-focused enmity were controlled for. We discuss the implications of these findings from evolutionary and social psychological perspectives.

Aversion to loanwords may express itself in various ways: deliberate and motivated by ideology of... more Aversion to loanwords may express itself in various ways: deliberate and motivated by ideology of linguistic purism or more implicit and motivated by the strength of one's national identification and ethnolinguistic vitality. A study of Polish philology students assessed their tendency to choose loanwords versus synonymous native words. The results supported a two-path model of linguistic purism. Social identity (strength of identification) directly predicted avoidance of loanwords, whereas ideological concerns (conservative political views) predicted it indirectly, through purist ideology. Some individuals treat loanwords as a factor enriching lexicon of a language, others as a necessary evil, still others as a threat that can and should be combatted. These evaluations run along a scale between extreme liberalism and extreme purism, with both liberals and purists frequently voicing their views in emotional ways. This applies not only to discussions among nonspecialists but also to the stances adopted by linguists (Mańczak, 1970; Nieckula, 1987). Studies more descriptive than evaluative in nature consider purism as a historical and cultural phenomenon, seeing its causes as lying in the social and political situation

In the aftermath of violent conflicts, victim groups tend to perceive perpetrator group members a... more In the aftermath of violent conflicts, victim groups tend to perceive perpetrator group members as homogeneously immoral, which may hinder intergroup forgiveness. In the present paper, we examine whether exposure to narratives about historical moral exemplars could alter perceived morality of the former perpetrator group and, as an effect, increase willingness to forgive. In the pilot study, an exposure to stories about moral behavior of perpetrator group members led to an increase of perceived morality of their descendants. Two studies performed in the post-genocide context of Armenian-Turkish relations showed that this change in perceived outgroup morality following an exposure to moral ex-emplars manipulation resulted in greater willingness to forgive the perpetrator group for past misdeeds. These effects were observed only when moral exemplars were presented as typical of the outgroup and they cannot be explained by inducing a general positive view of intergroup relations.

W trakcie zajęć będziemy się zajmować procesami międzygrupowymi zachodzącymi w organizacjach, dot... more W trakcie zajęć będziemy się zajmować procesami międzygrupowymi zachodzącymi w organizacjach, dotyczącymi takich kwestii jak konflikt międzygrupowy, relacje władzy, postrzeganie międzygrupowe (np. stereotypizacja), dehumanizacją, dyskryminacją i tożsamością społeczną. Stosunkami międzygrupowymi będziemy zajmować się w różnych kontekstach: organizacjach typowo politycznych (partie, ugrupowania, państwo), instytucjach publicznych (np. szkolnictwo, policja), związkach zawodowych, społecznych ( ...

My i oni: INterdyscyplinarne obrazy wielokulturowsci, 2010

Page 1. The following ad supports maintaining our CEEOL service Contents «Contents» by Editors Ps... more Page 1. The following ad supports maintaining our CEEOL service Contents «Contents» by Editors Psychologia Społeczna Source: Social Psychology (Psychologia Społeczna), issue: 23(14) / 2010, pages: , on www.ceeol.com. Page 2. Contents 113 Advanced statistical methods. An introduction Tytus Sosnowski 117 Multivariate Analysis of Variance – MANOVA Elżbieta Aranowska, Jolanta Rytel 142 Discriminant analysis. Basic assumptions and applications in social research Piotr Radkiewicz ...

This article examines why people cooperate with the silencing and censorship efforts of authoriti... more This article examines why people cooperate with the silencing and censorship efforts of authorities that deprive them of historical knowledge. We analyze two motivational factors that account for people's adherence to the " official " historical narrative and their willingness to serve as lay censors silencing and suppressing alternative historical narratives of the group. The first factor is epistemic conformity which is the motivation to believe in the veridicality of the consensual ingroup's historical narrative. The second factor is a defensive form of identification with the group in glorifying and narcissistic ways. Polish and Israeli examples are discussed to illustrate societal backlash to historical discoveries that present the national ingroup in a negative manner.

Secondary traumatic stress has been intensively studied among survivors’ therapists, family membe... more Secondary traumatic stress has been intensively studied among survivors’ therapists, family members, and trauma researchers. We claim that people who are exposed to reminders of past traumatic experiences when visiting places of memory or museum exhibitions could also develop secondary trauma symptoms. Thus, scholars and practitioners must better understand how such places related to historical traumatization (e.g., Holocaust memorial sites) can affect the psychological well-being of visitors. The main aim of this quantitative longitudinal study was to assess the scale of secondary traumatization among visitors to such places. The study found that the syndrome of secondary traumatic stress was observed among 13.2% of high school visitors to the Auschwitz memorial museum. Longitudinal analysis revealed that empathic reactions to the visit in Auschwitz (e.g., a greater inclusion of victims into the self) were associated with higher levels of secondary traumatic stress levels one month after the visit. This study suggests that visits to places related to traumatic past events should be preceded by a more intense elaboration of Holocaust history and by proper psychological preparations.

In three studies (two representative nationwide surveys, N = 1,007, N = 682; and one experimental... more 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.

Analyzing the contempt as an intergroup emotion, we suggest that contempt and anger are not built... more 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.

Both historians and lay people attempt to explain national histories. However, psychological rese... more Both historians and lay people attempt to explain national histories. However, psychological research, to date, focused predominantly on the patterns of those explanations with regard to negative historical behaviors. In this article, we assess ethnocentrism of people's explanations of both negative and positive historical behavior of ingroup members (own nation) and outgroup members (other nation). Two studies analyze how Poles explain crimes and heroic acts committed in the General Government, as well as diverse behaviors during the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. The studies confirm an ethnocentric pattern of explanation: positive historical actions of ingroup members were explained more dispositionally than positive actions of outgroup members—negative historical actions of ingroup members were explained less dispositionally than negative historical actions of outgroup members. Furthermore, we found that this effect is more pronounced among individuals who highly identify with their nation. Apart from the influence of the strength of ingroup identification, we found that people who cling to structured knowledge (i.e. a high ability to achieve cognitive closure) tend to explain well-established historical facts (e.g. the Holocaust) but not little known facts (e.g. intervention in Czechoslovakia) in a more ethnocentric way.

Książka Być gorszymi… podejmuje rzadko poruszany w polskiej literaturze temat zagrożeń pozytywnej... more Książka Być gorszymi… podejmuje rzadko poruszany w polskiej literaturze temat zagrożeń pozytywnej tożsamości społecznej. Zagrożenia tożsamości grupy wywołują wszelkie informacje świadczące, że jest ona gorsza od innych, np. słabsza lub mniej kompetentna. Może je spowodować zarówno porażka reprezentacji w zawodach piłkarskich, jak i wiadomość o zbrodniach dokonywanych przez dany naród na przedstawicielach innych nacji. Autor przedstawia bogaty przegląd literatury oraz serię eksperymentów dotyczących mechanizmów reakcji na zagrożenie pozytywnej tożsamości. Pokazuje, że -wbrew powszechnym przekonaniom -ludzie nie zawsze reagują na takie zagrożenia uprzedzeniami i niechęcią do obcych.

Artykuł na podstawie badań podczas polsko-żydowskich spotkań młodzieży w 2004 roku. "Kultura i Sp... more Artykuł na podstawie badań podczas polsko-żydowskich spotkań młodzieży w 2004 roku. "Kultura i Społeczeństwo" nr 3/2004