Sabahat Cigdem Bagci

Sabancı University · Department of Psychology

Human Library (HL) is a nonprofit community event aimed at increasing awareness and reduction of prejudice toward stigmatized groups in the society. HL implements an unusual methodology in the format of a pretend ‘library’ where HL attendants so-called ‘Readers’ engage in short, face-to-face, direct contact with so-called ‘Books’ who are real indiv...

We investigated whether and how the experience of being tolerated and of being discriminated against are associated with psychological well‐being in three correlational studies among three stigmatized groups in Turkey (LGBTI group members, people with disabilities, and ethnic Kurds, total N = 862). Perceived threat to social identity needs (esteem,...

While extended intergroup contact has been commonly studied in the context of prejudice reduction, less is known about its implications for processes related to the ingroup. Through three correlational and one experimental studies (total N = 897) conducted in two different intergroup contexts (Turkey and United Kingdom), we investigated whether ext...

We investigated whether existing intergroup contact experiences moderated the associations between prejudicial attitudes and behavioral tendencies towards outgroups across five studies in Turkey (total N = 1281). Findings showed that among Turks who reported higher levels of cross‐group friendship quantity (Study 1) and greater positive (but not ne...

The coronavirus pandemic posed a major challenge to mental health. Existing evidence shows that COVID-19 is related to poor emotional well-being, particularly among women. However, most work on the subject uses single-country samples, limiting the ability to generalize the disparity or explain it as a function of societal variables. The present stu...

The current study investigated how contact experiences may be associated with attitudes towards the ingroup and the out-group using a three-wave longitudinal study. We assessed Turkish native children's contact with Syrian refugees (N = 487, Mage = 10.60, SDage = 0.90) and explored relationships between initial contact and later ingroup and outgrou...

Background: Perceiving that society disregards grief after pregnancy loss (disenfranchised grief) elevates bereaved parents’ psychological burden. Objective: In this research, we aimed to compare the disenfranchisement of pregnancy loss with four other loss types considering the bereaved’s gender. Method: We collected data from Turkish participan...

The current study investigated meat‐reducers' (vegan, vegetarian, and flexitarian) dietary identities using an identity process approach. Drawing on identity development theories, we aimed to (i) classify meat‐reducers from the United Kingdom and United States ( N = 375) based on their level of identity exploration and commitment , and (ii) examine...

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic saw a shift toward a more traditional division of labor–one where women took greater responsibility for household tasks and childcare than men. We tested whether this regressive shift was more acutely perceived and experienced by women in countries with greater gender equality. Cross-cultural longitudinal survey d...

Contact between group members enhances intergroup perceptions and attitudes. In a world where people spend more time online, people also engage in digital intergroup contact (mainly through social networking services). The potential outcomes of digital contact, particularly in relation to social well-being, are yet to be fully explored. Using a cor...

The notion of tolerance is widely embraced in plural contexts, but little is known about how majority members interpret the toleration of minorities. With four studies, we investigated majority group members' interpretations of a minority toleration situation (compared to full acceptance and discrimination situations) as a function of outgroup thre...

Virus mitigation behavior has been and still is a powerful means to fight the COVID-19 pandemic irrespective of the availability of pharmaceutical means (e.g., vaccines). We drew on health behavior theories to predict health-protective (coping-specific) responses and hope (coping non-specific response) from health-related cognitions (vulnerability,...

The current study investigates the relationships between essentialism, constructions of national identity, and responses toward Syrian refugees in Turkey. We draw upon the concept of essentialism, which refers to tendencies to view socially constructed categories such as race and gender as fixed, natural, strictly bounded, and informative about peo...

Psychologicalresearchonthepredictorsofconspiracytheorizing—explainingimpor-tant social and political events or circumstances as secret plots by malevolentgroups—has flourished in recent years. However, research has typically examinedonly a small number of predictors in one, or a small number of, national con-texts. Such approaches make it difficult...

In two studies, we investigated how positive and negative mass-mediated contact shape attitudes towards refugees and support for their rights through dehumanization. Study 1 (correlational, N = 193, community sample) demonstrated both positive and negative mass-mediated contact to predict attitudes towards Afghan refugees, as well as support for th...

Some public officials have expressed concern that policies mandating collective public health behaviors (e.g., national/regional “lockdown”) may result in behavioral fatigue that ultimately renders such policies ineffective. Boredom, specifically, has been singled out as one potential risk factor for noncompliance. We examined whether there was emp...

This article contributes to studies on youth in Turkey by exploring gender, sexuality, intimacy, and relationship practices among college students. Our findings show that there is change (a) towards greater gender equality; (b) about attitudes regarding family, sexuality, and romance; and (c) in understanding and experiencing gendered violence in t...

While COVID‐19 implications for prejudice have been investigated among adults in previous research, children's intergroup reactions to the pandemic and specifically how native children's contact behaviours with refugees might have changed after the pandemic has not been examined yet. Drawing on a unique longitudinal school dataset (N = 861, 5th gra...

We investigated how and when individuals transform existing cross‐group interactions into more positive attitudes towards outgroups. Specifically focusing on the context of Syrian immigration to Turkey, we examined whether native children's cross‐group friendship self‐efficacy beliefs—the perception of their abilities about building successful cros...

Despite increasing contact opportunities, prejudice toward refugees persists, especially in mass immigration contexts. We investigated changes in and associations between Turkish early adolescents’ ( N = 687, M age = 11.11 years) positive and negative contact with Syrian refugees and their outgroup approach-avoidance tendencies over 15 months (thre...

Anxiety associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and home confinement has been associated with adverse health behaviors, such as unhealthy eating, smoking, and drinking. However, most studies have been limited by regional sampling, which precludes the examination of behavioral consequences associated with the pandemic at a global level. Further, few s...

People can display negative reactions towards those who challenge their sense of psychological ownership. We tested whether natives would show negativity towards refugees upon perceiving collective ownership threat (COT)—the fear of losing control over a territory that is perceived to be “ours”—in the context of mass immigration (Syrian refugees in...

We investigated whether and how different aspects of ingroup positivity (collective narcissism which is the belief that one's ingroup is exceptional but not sufficiently recognized by the others and ingroup satisfaction which is the belief that the ingroup is of high value) would predict collective action tendencies among LGBTI individuals in Turke...

Intergroup Contact Theory (Allport, 1950; Pettigrew, 1998) has been known to function as a critical prejudice-reduction tool in most intractable conflicts for years. Later research has shown that the implications of intergroup contact do not only involve reduced bias between groups, but also extend to a variety of outcomes beyond prejudice. The cur...

The present paper examines longitudinally how subjective perceptions about COVID-19, one’s community, and the government predict adherence to public health measures to reduce the spread of the virus. Using an international survey ( N = 3040), we test how infection risk perception, trust in the governmental response and communications about COVID-19...

Before vaccines for COVID-19 became available, a set of infection prevention behaviors constituted the primary means to mitigate the virus spread. Our study aimed to identify important predictors of this set of behaviors. Whereas social and health psychological theories suggest a limited set of predictors, machine learning analyses can identify cor...

Anxiety associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and home confinement has been associated with adverse health behaviors, such as unhealthy eating, smoking, and drinking. However, most studies have been limited by regional sampling, which precludes the examination of behavioral consequences associated with the pandemic at a global level. Further, few s...

Understanding the determinants of COVID-19 vaccine uptake is important to inform policy decisions and plan vaccination campaigns. The aims of this research were to: (1) explore the individual- and country-level determinants of intentions to be vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, and (2) examine worldwide variation in vaccination intentions. This cross-s...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0256740.].

The current study examined whether and how national (patriotic versus nationalistic) and global-level identification would predict pro-environmentalism. Study 1, including a large sample of Turkish participants (N = 1121, Mage = 35.79, SDage = 15.33), demonstrated that patriotism as a constructive form of national identification, and global identif...

Objective: Through two correlational studies (Study 1: Turkish majority, Kurdish minority; Study 2: White British majority; Black minority), we examined the implications of social identity threat for majority and minority ethnic group members’ psychological well-being and intergroup bias, using a social identity framework that incorporates the rece...

Tightening social norms is thought to be adaptive for dealing with collective threat yet it may have negative consequences for increasing prejudice. The present research investigated the role of desire for cultural tightness, triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, in increasing negative attitudes towards immigrants. We used participant-level data from...

Gruplar arası çatışmanın yüksek seviyede hissedildiği toplumlarda, her iki grup da kendi üyelerini çatışmanın haksızlığa uğramış tek kurbanı olarak görür. Bu çalışmanın amacı Türkiye'de yaşayan Türk ve Kürt katılımcılar arasında rekabetçi mağduriyet algısını (Competitive Victimhood Beliefs) gruplar arası temas (Intergroup Contact) bağlamında incele...

During the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. conservative politicians and the media downplayed the risk of both contracting COVID-19 and the effectiveness of recommended health behaviors. Health behavior theories suggest perceived vulnerability to a health threat and perceived effectiveness of recommended health-protective behaviors dete...

During the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. conservative politicians and the media downplayed the risk of both contracting COVID-19 and the effectiveness of recommended health behaviors. Health behavior theories suggest perceived vulnerability to a health threat and perceived effectiveness of recommended health-protective behaviors dete...

The current research examined the role of values in guiding people’s responses to COVID-19. Results from an international study involving 115 countries (N = 61,490) suggest that health and economic threats of COVID-19 evoke different values, with implications for controlling and coping with the pandemic. Specifically, health threats evoked prioriti...

The COVID-19 pandemic, as a global threat to humanity, is likely to instigate a variety of collective responses in the society. We examined, for the first time, whether the COVID-19 threat perception is related to attitudes towards Syrian refugees in Turkey, theorizing a dual pathway whereby pandemic induced threat would relate to both pro- and ant...

Why might some meat-eaters and meat-avoiders express negative attitudes toward each other? We investigated intergroup attitudes and potential underpinnings of these attitudes across three different dietary groups—veg*ans (vegetarians and vegans), flexitarians (people who restrict their meat intake partially), and meat-eaters—in Turkey (NStudy 1 = 3...

This paper examines whether compliance with COVID-19 mitigation measures is motivated by wanting to save lives or save the economy (or both), and which implications this carries to fight the pandemic. National representative samples were collected from 24 countries (N = 25,435). The main predictors were (1) perceived risk to contract coronavirus, (...

While recent research has started to pay more attention to the role of contact strategies on promoting intergroup harmony between Turkish and Kurdish communities, the effectiveness of a novel form of indirect contact strategy, E‐contact—where participants engage in a cooperative and structured online interaction with an individual from the outgroup...

According to health behavior theories, perceived vulnerability to a health threat and perceived effectiveness of recommended health-protective behaviors determine motivation to follow these recommendations. Because the U.S. President Trump and U.S. conservative politicians downplayed the risk and seriousness of contracting COVID-19 and the effectiv...

Despite burgeoning evidence for the effectiveness of intergroup contact on prejudice reduction, relatively less is known about how much individuals’ internal control and active choice is involved in the formation of intergroup contact. Through four correlational studies (Ntotal = 1043, Study 1 in Cyprus and Studies 2‐4 in Turkey), we investigated t...

The Coronavirus is highly infectious and potentially deadly. In the absence of a cure or a vaccine, the infection prevention behaviors recommended by the World Health Organization constitute the only measure that is presently available to combat the pandemic. The unprecedented impact of this pandemic calls for swift identification of factors most i...

In this work, we study how social contacts and feelings of solidarity shape experiences of loneliness during the COVID-19 lockdown in early 2020. We draw on cross-national data, collected across four time points between mid-March until early May 2020. We situate our work within the public debate on these issues and discuss to what extent the public...

According to health behavior theories, perceived vulnerability to a health threat and perceived effectiveness of recommended health-protective behaviors determine motivation to follow these recommendations. Because the U.S. President Trump and U.S. conservative politicians downplayed the risk and seriousness of contracting COVID-19 and the effectiv...

The PsyCorona collaboration is a research project to examine processes involved in the COVID-19 pandemic, such as behavior that curbs virus transmission, which may implicate social norms, cooperation, and self-regulation. The study also examines psychosocial consequences of physical distancing strategies and societal lockdown, such as frustration o...

Mapping the Moods of COVID-19: Global Study Uses Data Visualization to Track Psychological Responses, Identify Targets for Intervention

COVID-19 pandemic, as a global threat to humanity, is likely to instigate a variety of collective responses in the society. We examined, for the first time, whether COVID-19 threat perception is related to attitudes towards Syrian immigrants in Turkey, theorizing a dual pathway whereby threat caused by the COVID-19 pandemic would relate to both pro...

This paper examines whether compliance with COVID-19 mitigation measures is motivated by wanting to save lives or save the economy (or both), and which implications this carries to fight the pandemic. National representative samples were collected from 24 countries (N=25,435). The main predictors were (i) perceived risk to contract coronavirus, (ii...

Previous studies suggested that public trust in government is vital for implementations of social policies that rely on public's behavioural responses. This study examined associations of trust in government regarding COVID-19 control with recommended health behaviours and prosocial behaviours. Data from an international survey with representative...

With increasing number of immigrants throughout the world and Turkey, it has become critical to examine the role of intergroup contact between majority and minority groups to improve the psychological well-being of immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees who face major difficulties during this adaptational process. The aim of this study is to show...

With massive numbers of immigrant families throughout the world, investigating psychological consequences of immigration among children have become a critical research area in child development literature. Immigrant status leads to a range of divergent outcomes in children, affecting various aspects of their developmental trajectory. While many imm...

Ethnically/racially diverse schools and classrooms form the immediate social contexts for many children and adolescents, providing both ethnic minority and majority children with various challenges and opportunities. In multicultural societies both minority and majority group members often avoid intergroup contact since they anticipate either discr...

Across two studies (N Study 1 = 101; N Study 2 = 262) conducted among children in the UK, we incorporate Bandura's (1986) self-efficacy theory to intergroup contact literature and introduce the new construct of cross-ethnic friendship self-efficacy (CEFSE), the belief that one can successfully form and maintain high-quality cross-ethnic friendships...

We examined the associations between perceived discrimination, social identity need satisfaction, and well-being among a sample of vegetarians and vegans (veg*ns) in Turkey. Drawing on the Rejection Identification Model, Motivated Identity Construction Theory, and the Social Cure approach, we tested whether perceived discrimination was related to t...

We investigated whether associations between perceived discrimination (PD), acculturation orientations (desire for culture maintenance and desire for contact), and well-being (psychological well-being and life satisfaction) were moderated by group efficacy beliefs-the extent to which group members believe in their ability to achieve social change c...

We investigated intergroup contact’s cognitively liberalizing function by testing it’s association with socio‐cognitive skills (perspective‐taking and empathy skills, and cognitive flexibility) and group‐based ideologies (ethnocentrism and social domi‐nance orientation [SDO]) among a majority (Turks) and minority (Kurds) status group (total N = 483...

This study investigated the association between perceived parental positive and negative contact and adolescents' own positive and negative contact experiences and tested perspective-taking, intergroup anxiety, outgroup attitudes, and approach behavioral tendencies as potential mediators. A total of 325 7th and 8th Year Turkish students completed q...

The current studies aimed to reveal the potential role of imagined intergroup contact on collective action tendencies within a context of intergroup conflict. Study 1 (disadvantaged Kurds, N = 80) showed that imagined contact increased collective action tendencies and this effect was mediated by increased perceived discrimination and ethnic identif...

Objective: Imagined intergroup contact has been shown to be an effective tool to improve intergroup relationships in various settings, yet the application of the strategy among minority group members and across cultures has been scarce. The current research aimed to test imagined contact effects on minority group members’ acculturation strategies (...

We investigated the role of positive and negative contact on outgroup attitudes, collective action tendencies, and psychological well-being among minority (Kurds) and majority (Turks) group members in a conflict area (N = 527), testing ingroup identification, relative deprivation, and perceived discrimination as potential mediators in these associa...

We examined perceived ingroup and outgroup victimhood beliefs across group status and how these were uniquely associated with ingroup and outgroup attitudes and attribution of responsibility among majority (Turkish, N = 141) and minority (Kurdish, N = 86) group members in Turkey. We further explored whether the extent to which collective victimhood...

Bu çalışmanın amacı Türkiye’deki yabancı uyruklu öğrencilere karşı tutum ve davranşsal eğilimleri, içgrup kimlik ve sosyal baskınlık kuramları açısından incelemektir. Çalışmanın örneklemi 151 Türk öğrenciden oluşmaktadır (93 Kadın, 58 Erkek, Ort. Yaş = 21.56, SS = 2.21). Katılımcılar, demografik form, ulusal kimlikle özdeşleşme ölçeği, sosyal baskı...

This study investigated the associations between cross‐group friendships and psychological well‐being among a sample of physically disabled adults. A total of 269 disabled people (Mage = 39.13, SD = 13.80; 114 females, 152 males, 3 unknown) completed questionnaires including the quality of their friendships with non‐disabled people, perceived major...

Previous research has shown that disadvantaged group members cope with the negative effects of perceived discrimination (PD) on mental health using various mechanisms. We examined the potential protective role of two processes—in‐group identification and intergroup contact—on the association between PD and mental health (anxiety and depression) amo...

Bu araştırmanın amacı lise öğrencileri arasında akademik öz-yeterlik ve üniversite sınavına yönelik öz-yeterlik kavramlarının öğrenci, okul ve sosyal çevre odaklı yordayıcılarını saptamaktır. Bu amaçla 9. ve 10. sınıf lise öğrencilerinden oluşan (N = 129) bir örnekleme demografik bilgiler (cinsiyet, sosyo-ekonomik seviye), akademik ve üniversite sı...

Recent contact literature has shown that imagining a positive intergroup encounter improves inter-group attitudes and behaviors, yet less is known about the effects of imagined contact in highconflict settings. We conducted three studies to understand the potential effects of imaginedintergroup contact among ethnic Turks (majority status) and ethni...

We investigated how own ethnic and national identities and perceived ethnic and national identities of close cross-ethnic friends may predict outgroup attitudes and multiculturalism among Turkish (majority status, N = 197) and Kurdish (minority status, N = 80) ethnic group members in Turkey (Mage = 21.12, SD = 2.59, 69.7% females, 30.3% males). Com...

Using a risk and resilience framework and Motivated Identity Construction Theory, we investigated the moderating role of identity needs in the association between social identification and perceived discrimination with mental and physical health among a sample of Syrian refugees (N = 361) in Turkey. Results showed that there were two clusters of in...

Bu çalışmanın amacı Türkiye'de yaşayan iki önemli azınlık grubuna (Kürt ve Ermeni) yönelik dışgrup tutumları ve çokkültürlülüğü yordayan faktörleri incelemektir. Bu bağlamda, her iki grup için de gruplararası tehdit ve kaygı-nın, algılanan çatışma ve gruplararası temas ile dışgrup tutumlar ve çokkültürlülüğe destek değişkenleri arasındaki ilişkiler...

We examined how ethnic discrimination targeting ethnic minority group members would affect majority group members’ attitudes and multiculturalism towards ethnic minority groups in the context of Turkish–Kurdish interethnic conflict. Study 1 (N = 356) demonstrated that the extent to which majorities (Turkish) believed there was ethnic discrimination...

Three experiments were conducted to test whether an imagined contact scenario with friendship potential would be more effective than the standard imagined contact scenario in changing Turkish participants’ attitudes and behaviors towards Syrian refugees. Experiment 1 (N = 99) showed that adding a specific friendship indicator to the contact scenari...

We investigated associations between cross-group friendships, perceived interethnic conflict, and outgroup attitudes in the context of intractable Turkish–Kurdish conflict in Turkey. Measures of cross-group friendship quantity, perceived conflict, outgroup attitudes, multiculturalism, and outgroup responsibility for conflict were completed by Turki...

This study investigated whether perceived goal support from family and friends may moderate the relationship between academic self-efficacy and motivational outcomes among early adolescent students recruited from a low-middle socio-economic status(SES) background school in Turkey (N = 319, X age = 13.13, SD = .80). Self-report questionnaires includ...

We examined whether two interpersonal processes, self-disclosure and affirmation of ideal self, mediated the relationship between cross-ethnic friendships and psychological well-being and academic outcomes. We conducted a cross-sectional survey with 484 secondary school children (243 White European, 241 South Asian British; Mage = 11.10, 220 boys,...

Poster presentation

Past research has demonstrated the negative impact of perceived ethnic discrimination (PED) on psychological well-being among children. Given research demonstrating the benefits of cross-ethnic friendship for children's intergroup attitudes, we examined whether cross-ethnic friendships would attenuate the effects of PED on well-being and resilience...