Abstract Empathy is the ability to understand and resonate with the emotions of others, typically requiring individuals to infer others' emotional status through the information around them. However, this information is often ambiguous and it is unknown whether individuals with high empathy have a bias in interpreting contextual information. Therefore, this study investigated how individuals with low and high empathy interpret other‐relevant scenarios in Study 1 (N = 98) and self‐relevant scenarios in Study 2 (N = 95), by using the scenarios task and the Sentence Word Association Paradigm (SWAP) separately. Study 1 observed that, for interpretations of other‐relevant scenarios, the high‐empathy group showed greater likelihood ratings for negative interpretations than those with low‐empathy in both social and non‐social scenarios. Study 2 found that, for interpretations of self‐relevant scenarios, the high‐empathy group differed from the low‐empathy group only on non‐social scenarios but not on social scenarios. Specifically, individuals with high empathy were more likely to report a relationship between a negative word and an ambiguous scenario compared to those with low empathy in self‐relevant non‐social scenarios. The study first revealed a bias for highly empathetic individuals to regard the ambiguous scenarios as negative in other‐relevant and self‐relevant scenarios, except for self‐relevant social scenarios.

Abstract Research on the backlash effect predominantly investigated penalties men and women incurred when they violate gender norms in the domain of achievement‐oriented aggressiveness. We investigated backlash reactions towards female versus male leaders' attempts to manage follower emotions using one of two gender‐stereotypic interpersonal emotion management strategies, cognitive change or expression suppression, in a 2×2 vignette experiment in which undergraduate students as participants acted as followers (N = 206). We hypothesized that followers high in explicit or implicit prejudice towards female leadership would be motivated to show backlash in the form of negative attitudes and anger when female leaders use an expression suppression strategy and when male leaders use a cognitive change strategy, violating gender norms. We also explored the role of followers' gender as a boundary condition of backlash reactions towards leaders of the same versus opposite sex. Male participants with negative explicit attitudes towards women leaders in general expressed higher levels of anger towards a female leader who utilized a suppression strategy. Female participants holding implicit stereotypes reported negative attitudes for both female and male leaders who utilized a gender‐incongruent emotion management strategy. We discuss the implications of our findings for theory and research on the backlash effect.

Abstract Research on skin tone bias (i.e., bias against members of the same racial group with different skin tones) has been conducted mostly with Black/White targets. We tested skin tone bias with East Asian (Korean) targets and investigated its possible mechanisms. In Study 1, comparisons of impressions between targets with different skin tones (darker‐, medium‐, and lighter‐skinned) showed statistically significant differences in warmth, competence, morality, cleanliness, dangerousness, strongness, and social status. Study 2 revealed that lighter‐skinned Koreans were perceived to be more similar to Whites (vs. Blacks or South Asians), but this perceived similarity did not explain the effect of skin tone on impression ratings. In Study 3, participants showed associations of darker (vs. lighter) skin with rural (vs. urban) areas and with blue‐collar (vs. white‐collar) jobs. However, these associations explained only the skin tone effects on dangerousness. This research demonstrated skin tone bias with East Asian participants and targets.

Abstract The cross‐cultural universality of people's pursuit of positive self‐esteem is frequently disputed. Most research in this area has contrasted cultures of dignity (Western) and face cultures (East Asian), but less attention has been given to other cultures' views of self‐esteem. In the present work, we examined Pakistan as uniquely influenced by honour culture and South Asian argumentation culture principles, and we contrasted it with Canada (a Western culture of dignity). Across two studies, Pakistanis had less positive self‐esteem discrepancies (i.e., Pakistanis had minimal or no desire for higher self‐esteem) compared to Canadians (who desired much higher self‐esteem than they actually had). Pakistanis also believed less in the agentic benefits of high self‐esteem but more in the communal benefits of high self‐esteem than did Canadians. Differences in each cultures' beliefs about self‐esteem's causal powers partially accounted for the differences in self‐esteem discrepancies. These findings suggest unique conceptualizations of the value of self‐esteem in distinct cultures.

Abstract Previous studies have mainly explored the impacts of social mindfulness on social behaviours (e.g., cooperation), little is known about crucial macro social environment factors that affect social mindfulness, like the market economy. With the development of the market economy, people typically acquire the self‐centred and rational market mindset which may suppress social mindfulness. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine the causal relationship between the market mindset and social mindfulness, as well as the psychological mechanism behind the effect. In Study 1, participants whose market mindset was activated by recalling market experiences showed lower social mindfulness than those whose non‐market mindset was activated by recalling other experiences. Studies 2 and 3 explored the mediation of perspective taking and state empathy behind the detrimental effect. It was found that the relationship between the market mindset and social mindfulness was mediated by perspective taking rather than by state empathy. Together, the present three studies expand the existing literature on the relationship between the market mindset and social mindfulness and remind policymakers to pay attention to the adverse effects of the market mindset on social mindfulness.

Abstract We tested the effect of mask use and other‐race effect on (a) face recognition, (b) recognition of facial expressions, and (c) social distance. Caucasian subjects were tested in a matching‐to‐sample paradigm with either masked or unmasked Caucasian and Asian faces. The participants exhibited the best performance in recognizing an unmasked face condition and the poorest to recognize a masked face that they had seen earlier without a mask. Accuracy was poorer for Asian faces than Caucasian faces. The second experiment presented Asian or Caucasian faces having emotional expressions, with and without masks. The participants' emotion recognition performance decreased for masked faces. From the most accurately to least accurately recognized emotions were as follows: happy, neutral, disgusted, fearful. Performance was poorer for Asian stimuli compared to Caucasian. In Experiment 3 the same participants indicated the social distance they would prefer with each pictured person. They preferred a wider distance with unmasked faces compared to masked faces. Distance from farther to closer was as follows: disgusted, fearful, neutral, and happy. They preferred wider social distance for Asian compared to Caucasian faces. Altogether, findings indicated that during the COVID‐19 pandemic mask wearing decreased recognition of faces and emotional expressions, negatively impacting communication among people from different ethnicities.

Two cross‐sectional studies were conducted with undergraduate and graduate students (mean age = 22 years) in two university campuses in different regions of Turkey to investigate confrontations between conservative religious people and secular‐liberal people and the roles of fundamentalism and authoritarianism for these groups. Study 1 investigated the connections between traditional religiosity and liberties and the impact of religious fundamentalism with a sample of 482 participants. Using hierarchical multiple linear regression and bootstrapping analysis, religiosity was seen as negatively connected to three components of liberties. It was shown that religious fundamentalism had an indirect effect on this connection. In Study 2, with a sample of 260 participants, the negative connection between traditional religiosity with liberties was confirmed. Further, it was found that particularly the conservatism dimension of right‐wing authoritarianism played an explanatory role in this connection. In addition, as an extension of the two studies, it was observed that secular‐liberal participants supported civil liberties in general, but they expressed opposition to freedom of religion in particular, indicating that the antagonism between religious and secular people may also stem from secular‐liberal people. It was found that dimension of aggression of left‐wing authoritarianism played an explanatory role in connection to this aspect.

Several studies have shown that trait self‐control predicts affective instability: higher self‐control is related to lower affective instability (or higher stability). However, these studies have not discriminated between positive and negative affective instability. In this study, we investigated whether self‐control is related to positive and/or negative affective instability. We conducted an experience sampling survey with 79 participants (20 males and 59 females; Mage = 19.16 years, SDage = 1.11) to measure affective instability and a post‐survey session to measure trait self‐control. In the experience sampling survey period, the participants received six emails a day over 7 days (i.e., 42 signals in total) from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at intervals of more than 1 hr and indicated how intensely they experienced positive and negative affect at that time. The results revealed that trait self‐control was related to positive, but not negative, affective instability. We discuss the results and offer some possible explanations for previous findings about the relationship between trait self‐control and affective instability.