Persona:
Vázquez Botana, Alexandra

Cargando...
Foto de perfil
Dirección de correo electrónico
ORCID
0000-0002-6040-9102
Fecha de nacimiento
Proyectos de investigación
Unidades organizativas
Puesto de trabajo
Apellidos
Vázquez Botana
Nombre de pila
Alexandra
Nombre

Resultados de la búsqueda

Mostrando 1 - 10 de 18
  • Publicación
    Does the union always make the force? Group status and recategorization influence the perceived physical formidability of potential coalition groups
    (Wiley, 2024) Dovidio, John F.; Vázquez Botana, Alexandra; Gómez, Ángel
    Coalitions among individuals and between groups, which have had critical evolutionary benefits for humans, play an important role in contemporary life. One key element of the processes of assessing potential allies is how they may contribute to the perceived physical formidability – fighting ability or the capacity to inflict costs on others – of the alliance. In three studies, focused for the first time on inter-group coalitions, we investigated how qualities of the groups such as status (social prestige) and the relationship between them influence the perceived physical formidability of a coalition (i.e., European Union, EU). Study 1 found that the inclusion of a group with higher or similar (but not lower) status increased the perceived formidability of the EU. Studies 2 and 3 showed that learning that ingroup members recategorized a low-status group within a common-group identity increased the perceived formidability of the EU including that group, compared with the conditions in which either outgroup members recategorized or no information was provided. Study 3 also revealed mediation by fusion – a visceral connection – with outgroup members, which has been relatively unexplored. Taken together, these studies reveal that both, status and social identity processes, may significantly affect the estimations of coalitional formidability.
  • Publicación
    Verification of ingroup morality promotes willingness to participate in collective action for immigrants’ rights
    (Sage Journals, 2020-10-20) Vázquez Botana, Alexandra; López Rodríguez, Lucía; Gómez Jiménez, Ángel; Brambilla, Marco; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9153-0220; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4774-3309
    Three experiments tested whether verification of ingroup morality increases engagement in collective action in favor of immigrants’ rights. To that end, participants were exposed to (a) verifying, (b) negatively discrepant, (c) enhancing, or (d) no feedback about the morality of their group in general (Studies 1–2) or specifically in matters of corruption (Study 3). Results show that those who received verifying feedback of their group’s morality were more willing to engage in collective action than those who received negative or no feedback. These effects seemed to be mediated by increased anger over immigrants’ disadvantage and positive attitudes towards them. Critically, enhancing feedback exerted similar effects as verifying feedback, although the latter yielded more stable and consistent results across the studies. These results suggest that appeals to collective ingroup morality can be effective to promote immigrants’ rights, especially when members of the host society feel that others consider them as moral as they perceive themselves.
  • Publicación
    Can identity fusion foster social harmony? Strongly fused individuals embrace familiar outgroup members unless threatened?
    (Elsevier, 2023-07) Vázquez Botana, Alexandra; Gómez, Ángel; López Rodríguez, Lucía; Swann, William. B
    Past research has established that people whose identities are deeply aligned (“fused’) with a group endorse hostility toward distant outgroups (e.g., foreigners). We propose that identity fusion can have the opposite effect under certain conditions. Specifically, when the outgroup is familiar and non-threatening, strongly fused persons may be positively disposed toward its members. Four studies tested this hypothesis. In the baseline control conditions, strongly fused participants expressed more positive sentiments toward familiar outgroup members than weakly fused participants (Experiments 1–3). Only after any of three distinct forms of negative intergroup contact (direct, extended, and depersonalized extended) did strongly fused persons denigrate familiar outgroup members. This effect replicated in a prospective study (Experiment 4). These findings support Klein and Bastian's (2022) contention that identity fusion can serve as a secure base that encourages cooperation with members of non-threatening familiar outgroups. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
  • Publicación
    Not all ballots should be considered equal: How education-based dehumanization undermines the democratic social contract
    (The British Psychological Society, 2023) Sainz Martínez, Mario; Vázquez Botana, Alexandra
    Less educated people are viewed negatively and their opinions are belittled in our society. Besides, along with other groups, they are underrepresented in the political arena which questions the legitimacy of democratic systems. Despite the existence of education-based devaluation, research on how people dehumanize individuals and groups with lesser education and minimize their democratic rights is scarce. In this project, we provide correlational evidence that less (vs. highly) educated individuals and groups are dehumanized (Study 1a, N = 304) and their democratic rights (voting, running for office) are questioned (Study 1b, N = 504). Furthermore, we identified that dehumanization tendencies of the less (vs. highly) educated targets predict support for denying them voting rights or the capability to run for public candidacies (Study 2, N = 447). Finally, an experimental study confirmed that the target's educational background influences attributions of humanity, which in turn seem to affect the denial of democratic rights to the target (Study 3, N = 470). These findings suggest that education- based dehumanization might undermine the inalienable democratic rights of lesser educated individuals and groups thus endangering the foundations of democratic systems.
  • Publicación
    Situational materialism increases climate change scepticism in men compared to women
    (Elsevier, 2021-09) Vázquez Botana, Alexandra; Larzabal Fernández, Aitor; Lois García, David
    Men appear to be more sceptical towards climate change and less pro-environmental than women. On the other hand, priming certain values (e.g., wealth) undermines support for pro-environmental behaviours. Based on these findings, we explored whether situational materialism may amplify the differences between women and men in scepticism towards climate change. In three experiments we presented participants with either images portraying luxury consumption or neutral images, and then we measured scepticism. Study 1 showed that men increased their scepticism over women when they were exposed to luxury consumption, but not to neutral images. Studies 2–3 replicated these results and further explored the influence of gender roles. Conformity to male roles was associated with greater scepticism in both studies, and such association was amplified by situational materialism, but only in Study 2. Thus, situational materialism in men and conformity to male roles, in general, might hamper the fight against climate change.
  • Publicación
    Self-uniqueness increases women's willingness to participate in collective action for gender justice, but not support for sex quotas
    (The British Psychological Society, 2023-03-07) López Rodríguez, Lucía; Vázquez Botana, Alexandra
    Affiliation with certain groups allows to simultaneously satisfy two competing needs: the need to be moderately different from others and the need to belong. We propose that the feminist movement, that has been turning towards individualistic goals based on individual empowerment, may be one of such groups for women. In three studies we examined the relationship between self-uniqueness and women's support for collective action and structural measures (i.e. sex quotas) promoted by the feminist movement. A first correlational study indicated that self-uniqueness need is positively associated with willingness to participate in collective action for gender justice generally, but not with support for sex quotas. Consistently, two experimental studies (Studies 2–3) found that priming self-uniqueness increases collective action intentions, but not quota support. Study 3 also showed that the effect of self-uniqueness on collective action intentions for gender justice may be mediated by greater perceptions of personal discrimination for being a woman and fusion with the feminist movement. These results suggest that appeals to self-uniqueness may attract women to the feminist movement but do not guarantee support for concrete collective measures against gender inequality.
  • Publicación
    Acknowledging that Men are Moral and Harmed by Gender Stereotypes Increases Men’s Willingness to Engage in Collective Action on Behalf of Women
    (Springer, 2024-03-02) López Rodríguez, Lucía; Vázquez Botana, Alexandra; Marco Brambilla; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9153-0220; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4774-3309
    The rise of far-right parties with antifeminist sentiments constitutes a new challenge in the path to gender equality. Here, we aim to identify strategies to promote men’s acceptance of social change towards equality. Thus, we first examined key concerns about gender equality held by far-right supporters through a discourse analysis of 120 men. The findings revealed a focus on male victimhood, the negation and only partial recognition of inequality, and the delegitimization of feminism. Given the centrality of victimhood in the discourse of far-right male supporters and its social relevance, we developed several non-confrontational strategies based on men’s suffering and supposed (im)morality, and then compared the effectiveness of these strategies for getting men to commit more to gender equality. Two experimental studies (n = 417 and 428 men) revealed that recognizing that men are generally moral or that they also suffer because of gender stereotypes led participants to increase their willingness to participate in collective action for women’s rights. In contrast, questioning their morality by denouncing men’s violence against women had no impact on their intentions. We conclude that non-confrontational strategies that address men's concerns about feminist advancement can prevent potential defensive reactions and make them more receptive to social change towards gender equality.
  • Publicación
    Why is it so difficult to investigate violent radicalization?
    (Cambridge University Press, 2023-05-01) Gómez Jiménez, Ángel; Vázquez Botana, Alexandra; Chinchilla Calero, Juana Francisca; Blanco Iglesias, Laura; Alba Langreo, Beatriz; Chiclana de la Fuente, Sandra; González Álvarez, José Luis; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9407-4929
    Imagine that you are a researcher interested in disentangling the underlying mechanisms that motivate certain individuals to self-sacrifice for a group or an ideology. Now, visualize that you are one of a few privileged that have the possibility of interviewing people who have been involved in some of the most dramatic terrorist attacks in history. What should you do? Most investigations focused on terrorism do not include empirical data and just a handful of fortunate have made face-to-face interviews with these individuals. Therefore, we might conclude that most experts in the field have not directly met the challenge of experiencing studying violent radicalization in person. As members of a research team who have talked with individuals under risk of radicalization, current, and former terrorists, our main goal with this manuscript is to synopsize a series of ten potential barriers that those interested in the subject might find when making fieldwork, and alternatives to solve them. If all the efforts made by investigators could save the life of a potential victim, prevent an individual from becoming radicalized, or make him/her decide to abandon the violence associated with terrorism, all our work will have been worthwhile.
  • Publicación
    Exposure to Motivational Messages Promotes Meritocratic Beliefs and an Individualistic Perception of Social Change
    (SAGE Publications, 2023-11-28) Vázquez Botana, Alexandra; Reyes Valenzuela, Carlos; Villagrán, Loreto; Lois García, David
    Some critics claim that the self-help industry legitimizes inequality by enhancing individualism and meritocratic beliefs. The present research aims to provide experimental support to these assumptions by exploring the effect of motivational messages on meritocratic beliefs and the perceived effectiveness of individual and collective action to promote social change toward equality and on collective action intentions. Across three experiments, 663 participants were exposed to motivational messages either by copying short quotes or watching a short video containing those same quotes. As compared with a control condition, exposure to motivational messages strengthened meritocratic beliefs and, in turn, increased the perceived effectiveness of individual action in promoting social change and undermined the perceived effectiveness of collective action and subsequently collective action intentions. These findings fuel the debate on the individualistic bias and meritocratic orientation of the self-help industry and highlight the need to analyze its impact on social and economic justice.
  • Publicación
    Transcultural pathways to the will to fight
    (National Academy of Sciences, 2023-06-06) Gómez Jiménez, Ángel; Vázquez Botana, Alexandra; Atran, Scott
    The ‘Will to Fight Act’ was amended to the nation's annual defense bill (FY2023 NDAA) urging attention to assessing will to fight, after debate acknowledging that current evaluation efforts within the political and military establishment remain contentious, fragmented, and meager. This likely will persist, along with attendant policy failures and grievous costs, without awareness of research that the social and psychological sciences reveal on the will to fight [S. Atran, Science 373, 1063 (2021)]. We illustrate such research using converging data from a multimethod and multicultural approach, including field and online studies from the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe. These studies reveal specific psychosocial pathways, within a general causal framework, that predict willingness to make costly sacrifices, including to cooperate, fight, and die in war and sustained conflict. From the continuing strife in Iraq to embattled Ukraine, 31 studies were conducted in 9 countries with nearly 12,000 participants. These include people in longstanding conflicts, refugees, imprisoned jihadists and gangs, US military, studies in Ukraine before and during the current war, and rolling studies with a European ally of Ukraine. Results provide evidence for a mediation model of transcultural pathways to the will to fight. Building on our previous behavioral and brain research, on the battlefield in Iraq, with violent extremists, and with US military, the linear mediation yielding the will to fight involves identity fusion, perceived spiritual formidability, and trust. The model, a variation on “The Devoted Actor Framework,” applies to primary reference groups, core cultural values, and leaders.