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La Psicología Social ante el COVID-19: Monográfico del International Journal of Social Psychology (Revista de Psicología Social)
Abstract
En este monográfico se presentan 10 propuestas teóricas sobre la forma en que la Psicología Social puede —potencialmente— ayudar a afrontar la pandemia del COVID-19. En concreto, en estas propuestas se discute: a) cómo se podrían utilizar distintos modelos teóricos para entender mejor la pandemia, sus consecuencias y cómo afrontarlas; b) la importancia de considerar variables —como la clase social o el género— al examinar las causas y consecuencias de la pandemia; c) los retos y las preguntas de investigación que se podrían abordar desde algunos ámbitos de aplicación psicosociales, como la Psicología Ambiental, la Psicología Organizacional y la Psicología Social Comunitaria.
... On the other hand, our results may appear to contradict those of other studies that have highlighted the development of interpersonal intelligence to explain the widespread altruistic, compassionate and socially cohesive behaviours shown by most sectors of society in the last year (Extremera, 2020;Moya et al., 2020;Sabucedo et al., 2020). However, this is far from the case: a person may manifest a highly developed intrapersonal intelligence to empathise with another's suffering, yet not express this intelligence to the same intensity in social relationships with their peers in a virtual learning context. ...
As the Covid-19 pandemic brought most in-person activities to a halt, radical and visible changes were imposed in all social interactions, including teaching and academic activity in general. This challenging setting tested the education system's capacity to successfully address the Sustainable Development Goals. The success of education for sustainable development (ESD) requires training in the specific skills needed to face the highly emotionally demanding post-pandemic context. In this line, this study focuses on university students' capability to understand and manage emotions, an issue considered to be a key factor in ESD. The aim of this study is to show how students' emotional intelligence influenced their resilience, with repercussions on their engagement and subsequent academic performance. The research model was tested through a questionnaire addressed to 340 students from three different universities during the full lockdown of March–May 2020 as a result of the pandemic.
Results show that emotional intelligence was positively related to resilience, which in turn was related to engagement, and consequently, resulted in better academic performance. This finding should spark interest in developing emotional intelligence in education, not only because it produces healthy citizens in the long term, but also because of its short-term positive impacts in the classroom, particularly in such adverse situations as those described here. This study provides a model that links classic variables on educational and positive psychology research with ESD in times of COVID-19.
... Due to the rapid spread and severity of the coronavirus disease 2019 the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded that COVID-19 qualifies as a pandemic on 11 March 2020 (WHO, 2020). Many countries around the world imposed lockdown restrictions and other measures to deal with this health crisis by restricting the behavior and movements of the population, an experience without precedent for most people (Páez & Pérez, 2020). Spain was one of the most affected countries in Europe, especially during the first wave of COVID-19 (Legido-Quigley et al., 2020) and the situation has remained difficult due to recurrent waves of new variants and breakouts (García-Fernández et al., 2021). ...
Objective: This study examined the protective role of self-esteem and perceived emotional intelligence on mental health problems in Spanish adolescents during COVID-19 pandemic.
Design: Participants (N = 139; Mage = 13.83 years, SD = 0.96; 63.8% female) completed measures before the outbreak of COVID-19 (T1) and during the first wave of the pandemic in Spain (T2).
Main outcome measures: Participants self-reported emotional intelligence, self-esteem, mental health problems and suicidal behavior.
Results: Adolescent mental health problems were equally affected by COVID-19 pandemic according to gender, age and lockdown conditions. Adolescents with low levels of emotional intelligence and self-esteem at T1 showed a significant decrease in self-reported anxiety, depression, stress and suicidal behavior at T2. However, adolescents with average or high levels of emotional intelligence and self-esteem at T1 showed no significant changes in mental health problems at T2. Self-esteem at T1 meditated the relationships between emotional intelligence at T1 (clarity and repair) and emotional symptoms at T2 (depression, anxiety and stress). Furthermore, the relationship between self-esteem and anxiety symptoms was moderated by the number of people living together during COVID-19 lockdown.
Conclusion: Our findings highlight the protective role of pre-pandemic development of self-esteem and emotional intelligence in mitigating the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on adolescent mental health during the pandemic.
Actualmente, la coyuntura política vivida en El Salvador ha dado luces de un gobierno con matices autoritarios. Esto se justifica con “el bienestar del pueblo” en situaciones de desacuerdos entre los poderes del Estado, y sobre las diversas crisis sociales que enfrenta la población. A partir de esto, surge una necesidad de analizar los mecanismos psicosociales que posibilitan estas prácticas, utilizadas de forma regular al gobernar; y evidenciar cómo no han logrado presentar soluciones a las problemáticas sociales, y por ende, ha puesto en peligro la democracia. Por lo tanto, en este ensayo, a través de la teoría social del fatalismo en la sociedad salvadoreña, se analiza la figura mesiánica del actual presidente, Nayib Bukele, como posibilitadora del uso de prácticas autoritarias para mantener el control en los poderes del Estado, siendo aceptadas ciegamente por parte de los simpatizantes.
This study presents the adaptation and evidence of validity of the Spanish version of the Status Anxiety Scale. This measure evaluates people’s tendency to be concerned with their socioeconomic status. In two correlational studies, one exploratory (N = 270) and one confirmatory (N = 258), the instrument showed good reliability, in addition to a one-factor structure and a positive correlation with relative deprivation, tendency towards social comparison and perception of inequality. Furthermore, a third experimental study (N = 140) found that the participants in the condition of low socioeconomic status experienced greater status anxiety. In short, these studies suggest that the Spanish version of the Status Anxiety Scale can be used in the Spanish population.
Using Social Cognitive Theory as our theoretical framework, we analyse how beliefs about group efficacy among team members, together with transformational leadership are two group-level constructs (aggregated members’ shared beliefs), which predicts individual members self-efficacy over time. We conducted a three-wave longitudinal study with 456 participants that were randomly distributed in 112 groups working in three simulated creative collective tasks. We computed random coefficient models in a lagged-effects design. Findings were as expected and group efficacy beliefs and grouplevel transformational leadership were relevant cross-level predictors of individual selfefficacy over time (even after controlling for baseline levels of individual self-efficacy). Results suggested that these group-level factors are relevant cross-level constructs that explain how individual self-efficacy among group members is developed over time.
In spite of the potential benefits that coaching-based leadership interventions can bring to organizations, basic questions remain about their impact on developing coaching skills and increasing psychological capital (PsyCap), work engagement and in- and extra-role performance. In a controlled trial study, 41 executives and middle managers (25 in the experimental group and 16 in the waiting-list control group) from an automotive sector company in Spain received pre-assessment feedback, a coaching-based leadership group workshop, and three individual executive coaching sessions over a period of 3 months. The intervention program used a strengths-based approach and the RE-GROW model, and it was conducted by executive coaching psychologists external to the organization. Participants (N = 41) and their supervisors (N = 41) and employees (N = 180) took part in a pre-post-follow up 360-degree assessment during the research period. Quantitative data were analyzed using Analyses of Variance (ANOVA) with a 2 × 2 design, paired-samples t-tests, and univariate analyses between groups. Results indicated that the intervention program was successful in increasing the participants’ coaching-based leadership skills, PsyCap, work engagement, and in- and extra-role performance. Qualitative measures were also applied, and results from individual responses provided additional support for the study hypotheses. Regarding practical implications, the results suggest that the Coaching-based Leadership Intervention Program can be valuable as an applied positive intervention to help leaders develop coaching skills and enhance well-being and optimal functioning in organizations.
In spite of the potential benefits that strengths-based coaching can bring to organizations, basic questions remain regarding its impact on work engagement and job performance specially among non-executive employees. In a controlled trial study, 60 employees from an automotive industry company participated in a strengths-based micro coaching program over a period of five weeks. The intervention followed a strengths-based coaching approach, grounded in the identification, development, and balanced use of personal strengths to foster positive outcomes. Mixed methods, using quantitative and qualitative measures, were taken. Both the participants and their supervisors completed pre, post, and follow-up questionnaires, and the results indicated that the intervention program was successful in increasing all the study variables after finishing the program. The results also showed the durability of the effects on the outcome variables over time (follow up). Qualitative data supported the study hypotheses. Through open questions inquiring about the outcomes of the program, the participants stated that it helped them to increase performance and well-being. Practical implications suggest that this program can be a valuable short-term applied positive psychology intervention to help employees increase their work engagement and performance and promote optimal functioning in organizations.
The concentration of wealth in the hands of a few at the expense of general impoverishment is a major problem in some modern societies. However, there is a general opposition to redistribution policies or to the application of a progressive taxation system. The goal of this research was to explore one factor that might drive the attitudes toward income redistribution: The (de)humanization of high socioeconomic status groups. Previous studies have shown that high socioeconomic status groups tend to be considered as unemotional machines without any concern for others. However, the consequences of mechanizing (vs. humanizing) high socioeconomic status on the interpretation of socioeconomic differences has not been explored yet. We considered that humanizing high socioeconomic status groups might have an unexpected negative effect on attitudes about income inequality and wealth concentration. Specifically, this research aims to determine how humanizing high socioeconomic status groups influences people’s perceptions of the group’s wealth and preferences for income redistribution. We conducted two studies in which we manipulated the humanity (mechanized vs. humanized in terms of their Human Nature traits) of a high socioeconomic status group. Results of these two studies showed that humanizing (vs. mechanizing) high socioeconomic status groups led to lower support for income redistribution/taxation of wealthy groups, through considering that the group’s wealth comes from internal sources (e.g., ambition) rather than external ones (e.g., corruption). These results were independent of the group’s likeability and perceived competence/warmth. The present research provides valuable insight about the possible dark side of humanizing high socioeconomic status groups as a process that could contribute to the maintenance of the status quo and the legitimation of income inequality in our societies.
In addition to the negative effects of economic inequality on a range of health and social outcomes, we propose that inequality should also affect how people perceive the broader normative climate in society. We predicted that people living in a more unequal (versus equal) society are more likely to appraise the social context as one where individualism determines people's behaviour. We tested this idea in three experiments by manipulating the degree of economic inequality in a fictional society. We show that, compared to the low inequality condition, participants in the high inequality condition were more likely to project individualistic norms onto society. Furthermore, Experiments 2 and 3 showed that in the high (vs. low) economic inequality condition, participants inferred more competition and less cooperation between people. Our results are discussed in light of the importance of the perception of a broader normative climate to explain the consequences of economic inequality.
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Optimism and mastery are two cognitive traits that involve positive expectations for the future and that have been demonstrated to be important predictors of reduced anxiety as well as superior coping and physical health in many populations, including cancer survivors. There is limited research, however, examining the unique effects of these traits when examined simultaneously. The present cross-sectional study used structural equation modeling to examine the unique effects of optimism and mastery on emotion, coping, and health in 603 adult cancer survivors, and whether results were consistent in men and women. Results indicated that both optimism and mastery were associated with improved emotion, coping, and health and together accounted for a small to moderate amount of variance. Although the effects of optimism were generally greater, mastery also uniquely predicted most dependent variables and there was some evidence that gender influenced these effects, with optimism predicting health control more so in women and mastery predicting health control more so in men. These results demonstrate that it is important to examine both generalized positive expectancies such as optimism and positive expectancies regarding mastery when investigating resilience and emotional well-being in cancer survivors.
This paper describes the development of the Perceived Economic Inequality in Everyday Life (PEIEL) scale. It is written and validated in Spanish. We first carried out an exploratory study, using a sample of 205 participants (52.2% men and 47.8% women; age: M = 24.69, SD = 8.95). We then conducted a confirmatory study with a sample size of 215 individuals (43.7% men and 56.3% women; age: M = 23.83, SD = 6.46). Results showed that the PEIEL scale is a valid and reliable unidimensional instrument. This scale negatively predicted tolerance of economic inequality over and above perceived inequality measured by wage gap estimates. In addition, perceived economic inequality in everyday life was negatively associated with tolerance of inequality, particularly in individuals with right-wing political ideology.
En este artículo se tratará, en primer lugar, de posicionar la salud, y en concreto la salud en el ámbito del trabajo, y las organizaciones como elemento clave de gestión y desarrollo de los recursos humanos, como un valor estratégico de negocio. Y este posicionamiento se respalda en la investigación científica en un campo novedoso y actual como es la psicología positiva. En segundo lugar, se profundizará en el concepto, significado y alcance de la organización saludable atendiendo a las distintas aproximaciones a su estudio, el concepto mismo de organización saludable, su comprensión como un «buen lugar para trabajar» y el desarrollo de un modelo integrador de organización saludable. En tercer lugar, se atenderá a la cuestión «corazón» de este tipo de organizaciones que es la salud de los empleados entendida como capital psicológico «positivo». Para ello, se parte de la idea de que los empleados son una inversión y una ventaja competitiva, y que se pueden considerar como capital humano, social y psicológico, ateniendo a cada uno de estos conceptos. Finalmente, y desde un planteamiento práctico-aplicado, se intentará responder a la pregunta ¿qué pueden hacer las organizaciones para ser «saludables»? Para ello, se describirán los principales resultados de la investigación científica sobre el desarrollo de recursos saludables en las organizaciones, atendiendo posteriormente a las buenas prácticas desde el desarrollo de recursos relacionados con la tarea, organizacionales y sociales.