Wiktor Soral

• PhD
• Researcher at University of Warsaw

In three studies (total N = 622), the effects of threat to con- trol on subsequent moral judgement were examined. After recalling a lack-of-control experience, participants evalu- ated the morality of a protagonist's decisions in a series of incongruent moral dilemmas. We found that a control- threatening reminder made moral judgements more utili-...

Although hate speech is one of the crucial challenges of contemporary societies, it is still not obvious which groups will most often become its target. In this article, we apply the stereotype content model to answer this question. In a large cross-national survey (N = 3,135) in Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom, we found that while the use...

Experiences of uncontrollability affect the efficiency of cognitive control. However, the underlying reasons for these cognitive after-effects remain unclear. In this research, we take a motivational perspective and test the hypothesis that uncontrollability leads to avoidance of mental effort. We examined this hypothesis in two preregistered exper...

Introduction: The need for control is a fundamental human motivation, that when deprived can lead to broad and substantial changes in human behavior. We aimed to assess the consequences of control deprivation in a real-life situation that poses a severe threat to personal control: a prolonged unemployment. Methods: Using a sample N = 1055 of unempl...

Exposure to hate speech (HS) leads to desensitization of listeners. Yet, most evidence of this process has been obtained using self‐report measures. In this paper, we examined desensitization to HS using an unobtrusive, psychophysiological measure. In an experimental electrocardiogram study ( N = 56), we observed heart rate (HR) deceleration after...

The widespread ubiquity of hate speech affects people's attitudes and behavior. Exposure to hate speech can lead to prejudice, dehumanization, and lack of empathy towards members of outgroups. However, the impact of exposure to hate speech on empathy and propensity to attribute mental states to others has never been directly tested empirically. In...

Anti-refugee hate speech is one of the largest obstacles to successful acculturation and well-being of people seeking asylum. Two empirical studies tested the hypothesis that empathy-inducing interventions can modify the way majority group members respond to hate speech against refugees. The first study used a prolonged and elaborated direct contac...

Hate speech is a form of communication that targets disadvantaged social groups in a harmful way. It can be seen as a driving force behind the successes of numerous populist politicians and extremist movements. In this chapter, we argue that studying hate speech can be crucial for a better understanding of political mobilisation, intergroup relatio...

This article analyzes the relationship between the relative position of an ethnic group, as measured by its majority/minority status at a subnational level, and attitudes of its members toward immigrants of different origins. Based on the Russian case, it addresses the question whether the effects of in-group majority status within a region on atti...

Three studies investigated the influence of collective threat on the importance of agency- and communion-related traits used in ingroup perception. Study 1 (N = 137) investigated how cues of such threat affect reaction times when individuals are asked to ascribe agentic or communal traits to their ingroup. Study 2 (N = 96) and Study 3 (N = 337) exa...

Ideological convictions are known to shape attitudes and behavior in various life domains. Based on existing psychological analyses of political ideology, we use an ideological dual-process approach to explain people’s vaccine hesitancy, which distinguishes between authoritarian (right-wing authoritarianism [RWA]) and hierarchical (social dominance...

Ideological convictions are known to shape attitudes and behaviour in various life domains. Based on existing psychological analyses of political ideology, we use an ideological dual-process approach to explain people’s vaccine hesitancy, in which distinguish between authoritarian (RWA) and hierarchical (SDO) facets of conservatism as potential ant...

W niniejszym rozdziale dokonujemy przeglądu oraz integracji dwóch różnych perspektyw badania poczucia (braku) kontroli i sprawczości: perspektywy behawiorystycznej oraz fenomenologicznej. Naszym celem jest próba zrozumienia, w jaki sposób doświadczenie obiektywnego braku wpływu na otoczenie kształtuje subiektywne poczucie, że jesteśmy autorami nasz...

The new era of information technology brings new opportunities but also poses new threats. In our paper, we examine whether a shift from traditional print and broadcasting to new online media results in the increased normalization of hate speech towards minorities, and whether this change can subsequently increase prejudice towards minorities. Our...

Prolonged deprivation of personal control induces cognitive, motivational, and affective impairments that can lead to learned helplessness syndrome. Research on cognitive mechanisms involved in responding to uncontrollable events reveals a critical role of lack of contingency between one’s action and outcomes. However, the impact of experienced unc...

Exposure to derogatory language about immigrants and minority groups leads to political radicalization and deteriorates intergroup relations. This article addresses the psychological processes responsible for these effects as well as those involved in hate‐speech proliferation in contemporary societies and discusses the factors that constrain its g...

The importance of various trait dimensions explaining positive global self-esteem has been the subject of numerous studies. While some have provided support for the importance of agency, others have highlighted the importance of communion. This discrepancy can be explained, if one takes into account that people define and value their self both in i...

The functions of the conspiracy theory surrounding the ’89 Round Table in present-day political life are discussed. In the online research conducted in 2018 on a representative sample of Polish citizens, we found that attitudes towards the Round Table are an important marker of the fundamental political division in Poland. Those who supported the c...

Belief in conspiracy theories about Jews is a prototypical example of how a naïve theory can serve as a universal explanation of “all the bad things happening in society.” Such a theory often arises in times of political unrest that tend to breed feelings of uncertainty in politics and a lack of control over politics. As both uncertainty (a sense-m...

Prolonged deprivation of personal control induces cognitive, motivational and affective impairments that can lead to learned helplessness syndrome. Research on cognitive mechanisms involved in responding to uncontrollable events reveals a critical role of lack of contingency between one’s action and outcomes. However, the impact of experienced unco...

The importance of various trait dimensions explaining positive self-esteem has been the subject of numerous studies. While some of these studies have provided support for the importance of agency in self-perception, others have highlighted the importance of communion, especially morality. We are proposing that this discrepancy can be explained if o...

Exposure to derogatory language about immigrants and minority groups leads to political radicalization and deteriorates intergroup relations. This article addresses the psychological processes responsible for these effects, as well as those involved in hate speech proliferation in contemporary societies. We propose that frequent exposure to hate sp...

Background: Experiences of minority stress likely contribute to higher levels of depression and suicidal ideation among LGBT groups. We aimed to examine whether experiencing indirect attacks and exposure to hate speech towards gay people is also related to increased symptoms of depression. Furthermore, we wanted to examine whether family affirmatio...

In recent decades several conspiracy theories became prominent topics of Polish public debate: the Smoleńsk catastrophe, “gender conspiracy” and “Jewish conspiracy” are some examples of such theories. These conspiracy theories can be viewed as manifestations of a collective conspiracy mentality, a collective mental state in which other groups, nati...

Czy w Polsce żyją obok siebie dwa narody? Czy po ponad ćwierćwieczu demokracji nasza mentalność uległa zmianie? Jaki jest jej obecny stan? Jakie cechy odróżniają nas od innych społeczeństw? Odpowiedzi na te pytania udzielają w książce psychologowie społeczni, prowadzący od kilkudziesięciu lat empiryczne badania polskiego społeczeństwa…

Cooperative project of Center for Research on Prejudice, University of Warsaw with Campaing Against Homophobia (NGO), Lamba Association (NGO) and Trans-Fuzja Foundation (NGO) regarding the social situation of LGBTA community in Poland in the years 2015-2016.

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 and Fessler we suggest that many instances of “hate-speech” are in fact instances of “contempt-speech” - being...

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 subse...

The aim of this project was to illuminate a relation between dimensions of agency and communion and general positive self-esteem, depending on whether one‘s individual or collective identity is salient. Based on the existing literature and the model of agent and recipient (Wojciszke i Baryła, 2006), it was hypothesized that self-evaluation on agenc...

A new measure of preference for traditional vs. modern role of a woman in the society was developed with Polish female university students as participants. A 16-item scale was selected in a principal component analysis from the list of 65 normative statements describing desirable features of woman’s character and behavior. Eight items formed the tr...

Two nationwide representative studies (N=653 adolescents; N=1007 adults) investigated the psychological correlates of the intention to penalize public expressions of prejudice in the form of support for hate-speech prohibition. We presented participants with preselected examples of hate speech from the Internet and other mass media and assessed the...