Giovanni Antonio Travaglino

Royal Holloway, University of London | RHUL · Department of Law and Criminology

This research uses the social banditry framework to propose that voiceless individuals in an unjust context may express their grievances vicariously. Specifically, it holds that individuals who perceive the system as unjust but lack political efficacy, express their anger against the system as support for actors whose behavior disrupts the system’s...

Criminal organizations have a strong influence on social, political, and economic life in Italy and other parts of the world. Nonetheless, local populations display collective passivity against organized crime, a phenomenon known as omertà. Omertà is linked to the concepts of honor and masculinity. That is, in order to fit ideological constructions...

Groups strongly value loyalty, especially in the context of intergroup competition. However, research has yet to investigate how groups respond to members who leave the group or join a competing outgroup. Three studies investigated groups’ reactions to defectors (Experiment 1) and deserting members (Experiment 2 and 3). Experiment 1 used a minimal...

his manuscript situates the papers of this special issue within the broader context of social movement research. It discusses the historical and theoretical significance of the four main perspectives in the field of social movement, namely the collective behaviour paradigm, the resource mobilisation approach, the political opportunity model and the...

This research tested the hypothesis that people forgive serious transgressions by ingroup leaders but not by other group members or outgroup leaders. They apply a double standard in judgments of ingroup leaders. A series of studies (N = 623), using an array of different ingroups and outgroups, tested how group members judged ingroup or outgroup lea...

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Psychological Science Accelerator coordinated three large-scale psychological studies to examine the effects of loss-gain framing, cognitive reappraisals, and autonomy framing manipulations on behavioral intentions and affective measures. The data collected (April to October 2020) included specific measures...

The COVID-19 pandemic has provided the opportunity to investigate factors associated to compliance with public health measures. We analysed cross-country data (k = 121, N = 15,740) collected one year into the COVID-19 pandemic to investigate factors related to compliance with COVID-19 guidelines, including social norms, trust, stress, demographic f...

Contention is everywhere nowadays, permeating the fabric of society and constituting an important element of many different social relationships. It is also a central topic across a wide range of social scientific disciplines. Following the most contentious decade in over a century, scholarship on the topic of “contention” is booming. Nonetheless,...

System Justification Theory posits that individuals are less prone to engage in radical action against a system on which they depend. In the present research, we investigated how the association between system‐justifying tendencies and radical intentions is moderated by individuals' orientation towards power differentials, namely their “power dista...

The embeddedness of criminal groups within communities accrues from their ability to establish legitimacy, particularly among young people. A prototypical example are mafia claims to political authority in Italy. Intracultural Appropriation Theory proposes that embeddedness is partly derived from criminal groups’ ability to embody cultural ideologi...

The COVID-19 pandemic (and its aftermath) highlights a critical need to communicate health information effectively to the global public. Given that subtle differences in information framing can have meaningful effects on behavior, behavioral science research highlights a pressing question: Is it more effective to frame COVID-19 health messages in t...

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased negative emotions and decreased positive emotions globally. Left unchecked, these emotional changes might have a wide array of adverse impacts. To reduce negative emotions and increase positive emotions, we tested the effectiveness of reappraisal, an emotion-regulation strategy that modifies how one thinks about...

During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVIDiSTRESS Consortium launched an open-access global survey to understand and improve individuals' experiences related to the crisis. a year later, we extended this line of research by launching a new survey to address the dynamic landscape of the pandemic. this survey was released with the goal of a...

Significance Communicating in ways that motivate engagement in social distancing remains a critical global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study tested motivational qualities of messages about social distancing (those that promoted choice and agency vs. those that were forceful and shaming) in 25,718 people in 89 countries...

Group-norm succession motivation refers to motivations for passing down group norms to the younger generation. The current study compared the effects of group identity and individualism/collectivism on group-norm succession motivation between Japan and the UK. Eighty-four university students from Japan and 132 university students from the UK were i...

Previous research (Zick et al. 2008) suggested that animosity toward social minorities in Europe is intertwined,forming a syndrome of Group-Focused Enmity (GFE). In the current research, we extended the notion of GFE byidentifying the GFE structure in a non-European context (South Korea). We also tested a novel hypothesis thatstipulates an interpla...

Since late 2019, the coronavirus SARS-COV-2 responsible for the COVID-19 disease has continued to spread across different regions of the world. As a result, governments have been implementing measures for controlling the disease which rely on people's cooperation. In this research, we considered predictors and implications of people's beliefs that...

During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVIDiSTRESS Consortium launched an open-access global survey to understand and improve individuals’ experiences related to the crisis. A year later, we extended this line of research by launching a new survey to address the dynamic landscape of the pandemic. This survey was released with the goal of a...

To tackle the spread of COVID‐19, governments worldwide have implemented restrictive public health behavioural measures. Whether and when these measures lead to positive or negative psychological outcomes is still debated. In this study, drawing on a large sample of individuals (Ntotal = 89,798) from 45 nations, we investigated whether the stringen...

The concepts of crime and politics continuously redefine each other’s boundaries. Crime has been used as an expression of dissent against power. The actions of bandits, pirates, smugglers and – more recently – urban gangs, mafias and hackers have been construed, not without controversy, as acts of resistance against predatory appropriation, institu...

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased negative emotions and decreased positive emotions globally. Left unchecked, these emotional changes might have a wide array of adverse impacts. To reduce negative emotions and increase positive emotions, we tested the effectiveness of reappraisal, an emotion-regulation strategy that modifies how one thinks about...

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased negative emotions and decreased positive emotions globally. Left unchecked, these emotional changes might have a wide array of adverse impacts. To reduce negative emotions and increase positive emotions, we tested the effectiveness of reappraisal, an emotion-regulation strategy that modifies how one thinks about...

Norm enforcement may be important for resolving conflicts and promoting cooperation. However, little is known about how preferred responses to norm violations vary across cultures and across domains. In a preregistered study of 57 countries (using convenience samples of 22,863 students and non-students), we measured perceptions of the appropriatene...

The worldwide spread of a new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) since December 2019 has posed a severe threat to individuals' well-being. While the world at large is waiting that the released vaccines immunize most citizens, public health experts suggest that, in the meantime , it is only through behavior change that the spread of COVID-19 can be controlled...

Norm enforcement may be important for resolving conflicts and promoting cooperation. However, little is known about how preferred responses to norm violations vary across cultures and across domains. In a preregistered study of 57 countries (using convenience samples of 22,863 students and non-students), we measured perceptions of the appropriatene...

The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented health crisis. Many governments around the world have responded by implementing lockdown measures of various degrees of intensity. To be effective, these measures must rely on citizens’ cooperation. In the present study, we drew samples from the United States (N = 597), Italy (N = 606), and Sout...

The COVIDiSTRESS global survey collects data on early human responses to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic from 173 429 respondents in 48 countries. The open science study was co-designed by an international consortium of researchers to investigate how psychological responses differ across countries and cultures, and how this has impacted behaviour, copin...

The COVIDiSTRESS global survey collects data on early human responses to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic from 173 429 respondents in 48 countries. The open science study was co-designed by an international consortium of researchers to investigate how psychological responses differ across countries and cultures, and how this has impacted behaviour, copin...

This research seeks to expand our knowledge of what underlies group performance in Hidden Profile decision tasks, adopting a mixed methods approach. We created a new mental simulation intervention designed to improve group decision outcomes and information exchange and tested it across two studies. We supplemented our quantitative statistical analy...

Six experiments examined responses to groups whose attitudes deviated from wider social norms about asylum and immigration (in the United Kingdom), or about taxation levels (in the U.S.). Subjective group dynamics (SGD) theory states that people derogate in-group individuals who deviate from prescriptive in-group norms. This enables members to sust...

The COVIDiSTRESS global survey collects data on early human responses to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic from 173,429 respondents in 48 countries. The open science study was co-designed by an international consortium of researchers to investigate how psychological responses differ across countries and cultures, and how this has impacted behaviour, copin...

This N = 173,426 social science dataset was collected through the collaborative COVIDiSTRESS Global Survey-an open science effort to improve understanding of the human experiences of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic between 30th March and 30th May, 2020. The dataset allows a cross-cultural study of psychological and behavioural responses to the Coronavir...

Previous research has shown that positive intergroup contact among disadvantaged group members may predict a so‐called sedative effect according to which positive contact is associated with reduced support for social change. Conversely, positive contact is associated with increased support for social change toward equality among advantaged group me...

Health psychology shows that responses to risk and threat depend on perceptions as much as objective factors. The present study focuses on the precursors of perceived threat of COVID-19. We draw on political and social psychology and use the aversion amplification hypothesis to propose that subjective uncertainty and political trust should interact...

The cultural dimension of power distance refers to individuals’ acceptance of power inequalities in society. Countries characterized by high power distance at the collective level face more domestic extremism. However, research has yet to examine how individual differences in power distance orientation may affect individuals’ intentions to engage i...

Previous research has shown that positive intergroup contact among disadvantaged groupmembers may predict a so-called ‘sedative’ effect according to which positive contact isassociated with reduced support for social change. Conversely, positive contact is associatedwith increased support for social change toward equality among advantaged group mem...

People comply with governmental restrictions for different motives, notably because they are concerned about the issue at hand or because they trust their government to enact appropriate regulations. The present study focuses on the role of concern and political trust in people’s willingness to comply with governmental restrictions during the Covid...

The presence of organized crime is a worldwide problem. There is, however, variation in the degree to which nations and societies are susceptible to organized crime’s activities. In the present study, in a sample of one hundred nations, we examined the question of whether cross-national differences in the perceived impact of organized crime are ass...

We conducted two studies examining the factors underlying individuals' legitimization of hackers (digital actors operating on the internet). Drawing on the social banditry framework, and research on political action, we focused on the mediating role of anger in the association between external political efficacy and perceived legitimization of hack...

To convey their adherence to masculine honor dictates, and strengthen the importance of such beliefs within the community, criminal organizations may use a variety of different channels. One such a channel is direct social interaction with community members. In this chapter, we examine the antecedents and consequences of intergroup contact between...

Illegal agents can create alternative systems of governance that displace the state. Their power is grounded in their ability to embody and disseminate cultural values shared within the community. In this volume, we have analyzed these questions in the context of Italian criminal organizations. In this chapter, we discuss future research directions...

To be efficient and function over a long period of time, a system of authority cannot rely exclusively on coercion but needs to be legitimized by individuals. Illegal groups’ secret power is not exempted from this requirement of legitimacy. Whereas official authorities tend to ground their legitimacy in the rule of law, illegal groups must, by defi...

Criminal organizations and organized crime are phenomena that have entered public imagination through media representations and mythologized narratives. In this chapter, we survey both lay and scientific definitions of criminal organization. Although generally portrayed as alien and foreign threats, socio-scientific analyses emphasize the social em...

In this chapter, we apply Intracultural Appropriation Theory (ICAT) to the issue of communities’ perceptions of and intentions to oppose criminal organizations in southern Italy. Specifically, we discuss evidence for the processes of strategic exploitation and social embedding postulated by ICAT. Criminal organizations draw on a set of values and n...

L’indagine COVIDiSTRESS è stata disegnata da un consorzio internazionale di scienziati sociali, denominato COVIDiSTRESS Global Survey Consortium, affiliati ad oltre 50 università e centri di ricerca. Lo studio misura le implicazioni della pandemia da coronavirus (COVID-19) ed ha coinvolto oltre 150.000 partecipanti in più di 50 paesi diversi. Il CO...

This N=173,426 social science dataset was collected through the collaborative COVIDiSTRESS Global Survey – an open science effort to improve understandings of the human experiences of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic between 30th March and 30th May, 2020. The dataset allows a cross-cultural study of psychological and behavioural responses to the Coronavi...

The COVID-19 pandemic is increasing negative emotions and decreasing positive emotions globally. Left unchecked, these emotional changes may have a wide array of adverse impacts. To reduce negative emotions and increase positive emotions, we will examine the impact of reappraisal, a widely studied and highly effective form of emotion regulation. Pa...

The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented health crisis. Many governments around the world have responded by implementing lockdown measures of different degrees of intensity. To be effective, such measures must rely on citizens’ compliance and collaboration. In the present study (N = 1896), we examined predictors of compliance with soci...

Individuals’ engagement with video games and the internet features both social and potentially pathological aspects. In this research, we draw on the social identity approach and present a novel framework to understand the linkage between these two aspects. In three samples (Nstudy1 = 304, Nstudy2 = 160, and Nstudy3 = 782) of young Chinese people f...

This Brief presents a social psychological approach to understanding the reaction of communities to organized crime and illegal groups. Based on a new theoretical framework and the latest empirical evidence, this book explores questions of how criminal organizations are able to gain power and exert governance over entire territories. This book draw...

In the month approaching the 2014 Scottish Independence referendum, we tested the Identity‐Deprivation‐Efficacy‐Action‐Subjective Well‐Being model using an electorally representative survey of Scottish adults (N = 1,156) to predict voting for independence and subjective well‐being. Based on social identity theory, we hypothesized for voting intenti...

Italian mafia-type groups exert governance over the community. To do so, they must engage in contact with community members. Previous research indicates that individuals’ endorsement of masculine honour values is associated to more frequent contact with members of criminal organisations (COs). The present research examines the relationship between...

Corruption degrades the quality of institutions, increases economic inequality and limits growth. Recent studies indicate that corruption is also associated with lower satisfaction with life. This research examines a potential explanation for this association and investigates the role of institutional trust in mediating the linkage between perceive...

Criminal organisations have the ability to exert secret power – governance over the community and inhibition of opposition (omertà). Traditionally, omertà has been attributed to fear or passivity. Here, a model grounded in different premises, Intracultural Appropriation Theory (ICAT), stresses the central role of culture in sustaining relations of...

Individuals’ cultural tendencies of horizontal/vertical individualism and collectivism interact with their dispositional traits and contextual factors to shape social interactions. A key dispositional trait is social value orientation (SVO), a general tendency toward competition (proself) vs. cooperation (prosocial) in social exchanges. The present...

In this article, we analyse the ideological content of the discursive strategies used by a group of migrant workers subjected to “Caporalato”, a form of illegal hiring and exploitation of farm day workers through an intermediary. Starting from a series of collective open interviews with farm workers, we examine the way in which both dynamics of exp...

The discursive analysis of criminal organizations’ family dynamics and ideological devices may provide important insights into the inner functioning of these groups. In this article, we describe and analyze a specific set of discursive strategies and the thematic narratives emerging from a TV interview with Giuseppe Riina, a member of Cosa Nostra a...

Can imagining contact with anti-normative outgroup members be an effective tool for improving intergroup relations? Extant theories predict greatest prejudice reduction following contact with typical outgroup members. In contrast, using subjective group dynamics theory, we predicted that imagining contact with anti-normative outgroup members canpro...

Italian criminal organizations (COs) engage in contact with community members to assert their control over local populations in Southern Italy. According to intracultural appropriation theory, COs’ presence in these regions is legitimised by values of masculinity and honour. Here, we test the role of these values in drawing people closer to COs, fa...

Leaders often deviate from group norms or social conventions, sometimes innovating and sometimes engaging in serious transgressions or illegality. We propose that group members are prone to be more permissive toward both forms of deviance in the case of ingroup leaders compared to other ingroup members or outgroup members and leaders. This granting...

A few weeks prior to the EU referendum (23rd June 2016) two broadly representative samples of the electorate were drawn in Kent (the south-east of England, N = 1,001) and Scotland (N = 1,088) for online surveys that measured their trust in politicians, concerns about acceptable levels of immigration, threat from immigration, European identification...

Italian criminal organisations (COs) are a serious global threat. Intracultural appropriation theory (ICAT) holds that such groups exploit cultural codes of masculinity and honour to legitimise and lower resistance to their actions. Such codes are an important feature of Southern Italian group membership. A large survey (N = 1,173) investigated the...

Argues that the UK Referendum result reflects the rise of rivalrous cohesion in which different groups become increasingly insular and combative in efforts to cement their social identity and certainty. This fragmentation arises across multiple group boundaries (is not restricted to the immigration issue), representing a risk to overall macro socia...

Restorative justice (RJ) aims to ‘restore harm by including affected parties in a (direct or indirect) encounter and a process of understanding through voluntary and honest dialogue’ (Gavrielides, 2007, p. 139). Many different RJ practices exist; however, typically they involve a meeting between the victim and the perpetrator, and perhaps also comm...

A group may be badly affected if its leader transgresses important rules. Nonetheless, an emerging body of evidence suggests that in intergroup contexts, group members apply a double standard when judging ingroup leaders - They respond less punitively to transgressions by their leader than by non-leaders. In this article, two experiments investigat...

Masculine honor is an important cultural code in the south of Italy. Italian criminal organizations (COs) manipulate and exploit this code to maintain legitimacy among local populations and exert social control in the territory where they operate. This research tested the hypothesis that different levels of identification—the region and the nation—...

Prior research established that when in-group leaders commit serious transgressions, such as breaking enforceable rules or engaging in bribery, people treat them leniently compared with similarly transgressive regular group members or out-group leaders (‘transgression credit’). The present studies test a boundary condition of this phenomenon, speci...

What is the role of culture in establishing young people’s pathways into gang membership? Italian criminal organizations (COs) exhibit adherence to codes of honor and masculinity, important values in the context where they originated. Here it is proposed that the embedding of these values at an individual level may lessen young people’s group-based...

The Genoa G8 Summit of 2001 was marred by violence and conflicts between police and activists. Afterwards, these different groups constructed clashing discourses about the events. In turn, these discourses sustained different types of social representations about the nature of the conflict. Earlier analyses of hegemonic social representations exami...