There is evidence that democracies are under threat around the world while the quest for strong leaders is increasing. Although the causes of these developments are complex and multifaceted, here we focus on one factor: the extent to which citizens express materialist and post-materialist concerns. We explore whether objective higher levels of democracy are differentially associated with materialist and post-materialist concerns and, in turn, whether this is related to the wish for a strong leader. Testing this hypothesis across 27 countries (N = 5,741) demonstrated a direct negative effect of democracies' development on the wish for a strong leader. Further, multi-level mediation analysis showed that the relation between the Democracy Index and the wish for a strong leader was mediated by materialist concerns. This pattern of results suggests that lower levels of democracy are associated with enhanced concerns about basic needs and this is linked to greater support for strong leaders.
There is evidence that democracies are under threat around the world while the quest for strong leaders is increasing. Although the causes of these developments are complex and multifaceted, here we focus on one factor: the extent to which citizens express materialist and post-materialist concerns. We explore whether objective higher levels of democracy are differentially associated with materialist and post-materialist concerns and, in turn, whether this is related to the wish for a strong leader. Testing this hypothesis across 27 countries (N = 5,741) demonstrated a direct negative effect of democracies' development on the wish for a strong leader. Further, multi-level mediation analysis showed that the relation between the Democracy Index and the wish for a strong leader was mediated by materialist concerns. This pattern of results suggests that lower levels of democracy are associated with enhanced concerns about basic needs and this is linked to greater support for strong leaders. ; peerReviewed ; publishedVersion
In: Lima , M E O , de França , D X , Jetten , J , Pereira , C R , Wohl , M J A , Jasinskaja-Lahti , I , Hong , Y , Torres , A R , Costa-Lopes , R , Ariyanto , A , Autin , F , Ayub , N , Badea , C , Besta , T , Butera , F , Fantini-Hauwel , C , Finchilescu , G , Gaertner , L , Gollwitzer , M , Gómez , Á , González , R , Jensen , D H , Karasawa , M , Kessler , T , Klein , O , Megevand , L , Morton , T , Paladino , M P , Polya , T , Renvik , T A , Ruza , A , Shahrazad , W , Shama , S , Smith , H J , Teymoori , A & van der Bles , A M 2021 , ' Materialist and Post-Materialist Concerns and the Wish for a Strong Leader in 27 Countries ' , Journal of Social and Political Psychology , vol. 9 , no. 1 , pp. 207-220 . https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.6213
There is evidence that democracies are under threat around the world while the quest for strong leaders is increasing. Although the causes of these developments are complex and multifaceted, here we focus on one factor: the extent to which citizens express materialist and post-materialist concerns. We explore whether objective higher levels of democracy are differentially associated with materialist and post-materialist concerns and, in turn, whether this is related to the wish for a strong leader. Testing this hypothesis across 27 countries (N = 5,741) demonstrated a direct negative effect of democracies' development on the wish for a strong leader. Further, multi-level mediation analysis showed that the relation between the Democracy Index and the wish for a strong leader was mediated by materialist concerns. This pattern of results suggests that lower levels of democracy are associated with enhanced concerns about basic needs and this is linked to greater support for strong leaders.
In: Sprong , S , Jetten , J , Wang , Z , Peters , K , Mols , F , Verkuyten , M , Bastian , B , Ariyanto , A , Autin , F , Ayub , N , Badea , C , Besta , T , Butera , F , Costa-Lopes , R , Cui , L , Fantini , C , Finchilescu , G , Gaertner , L , Gollwitzer , M , Gómez , Á , González , R , Hong , Y Y , Jensen , D H , Jasinskaja-Lahti , I , Karasawa , M , Kessler , T , Klein , O , Lima , M , Mégevand , L , Morton , T , Paladino , P , Polya , T , Renvik , T A , Ruza , A , Shahrazad , W , Shama , S , Smith , H J , Torres , A R , van der Bles , A M & Wohl , M J A 2019 , ' "Our Country Needs a Strong Leader Right Now" : Economic Inequality Enhances the Wish for a Strong Leader ' , Psychological Science , vol. 30 , no. 11 , pp. 1625-1637 . https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797619875472
Societal inequality has been found to harm the mental and physical health of its members and undermine overall social cohesion. Here, we tested the hypothesis that economic inequality is associated with a wish for a strong leader in a study involving 28 countries from five continents (Study 1, N = 6,112), a study involving an Australian community sample (Study 2, N = 515), and two experiments (Study 3a, N = 96; Study 3b, N = 296). We found correlational (Studies 1 and 2) and experimental (Studies 3a and 3b) evidence for our prediction that higher inequality enhances the wish for a strong leader. We also found that this relationship is mediated by perceptions of anomie, except in the case of objective inequality in Study 1. This suggests that societal inequality enhances the perception that society is breaking down (anomie) and that a strong leader is needed to restore order (even when that leader is willing to challenge democratic values).
In: Sprong , S , Jetten , J , Wang , Z , Peters , K , Mols , F , Verkuyten , M , Bastian , B , Ariyanto , A , Autin , F , Ayub , N , Badea , C , Besta , T , Butera , F , Costa-Lopes , R , Cui , L , Fantini , C , Finchilescu , G , Gaertner , L , Gollwitzer , M , Gomez , A , Gonzalez , R , Hong , Y-Y , Jensen , D H , Jasinskaja-Lahti , I , Karasawa , M , Kessler , T , Klein , O , Lima , M , Megevand , L , Morton , T , Paladino , P , Polya , T , Renvik , T A , Ruza , A , Shahrazad , W , Shama , S , Smith , H J , Torres , A R , van der Bles , A M & Wohl , M J A 2019 , ' "Our Country Needs a Strong Leader Right Now" : Economic Inequality Enhances the Wish for a Strong Leader ' , Psychological Science , vol. 30 , no. 11 , pp. 1625-1637 . https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797619875472 ; ISSN:0956-7976
Societal inequality has been found to harm the mental and physical health of its members and undermine overall social cohesion. Here, we tested the hypothesis that economic inequality is associated with a wish for a strong leader in a study involving 28 countries from five continents (Study 1, N = 6,112), a study involving an Australian community sample (Study 2, N = 515), and two experiments (Study 3a, N = 96; Study 3b, N = 296). We found correlational (Studies 1 and 2) and experimental (Studies 3a and 3b) evidence for our prediction that higher inequality enhances the wish for a strong leader. We also found that this relationship is mediated by perceptions of anomie, except in the case of objective inequality in Study 1. This suggests that societal inequality enhances the perception that society is breaking down (anomie) and that a strong leader is needed to restore order (even when that leader is willing to challenge democratic values).
Relative deprivation (RD) is the judgment that one or one's ingroup is worse off compared with some relevant standard coupled with feelings of dissatisfaction, anger, and resentment. RD predicts a wide range of outcomes, but it is unclear whether this relationship is moderated by national cultural differences. Therefore, in the first study, we used national assessments of individual-collectivism and power distance to code 303 effect sizes from 31 different countries with 200,578 participants. RD predicted outcomes ranging from life satisfaction to collective action more strongly within individualistic nations. A second survey of 6,112 undergraduate university students from 28 different countries confirmed the predictive value of RD. Again, the relationship between individual RD and different outcomes was stronger for students who lived in more individualistic countries. Group-based RD also predicted political trust more strongly for students who lived in countries marked by lower power distance. RD effects, although consistent predictors, are culturally bounded. In particular, RD is more likely to motivate reactions within individualistic countries that emphasize individual agency and achievement as a source of self-worth.
Societal inequality has been found to harm the mental and physical health of its members and undermine overall social cohesion. Here, we tested the hypothesis that economic inequality is associated with a wish for a strong leader in a study involving 28 countries from five continents (Study 1, N = 6,112), a study involving an Australian community sample (Study 2, N = 515), and two experiments (Study 3a, N = 96; Study 3b, N = 296). We found correlational (Studies 1 and 2) and experimental (Studies 3a and 3b) evidence for our prediction that higher inequality enhances the wish for a strong leader. We also found that this relationship is mediated by perceptions of anomie, except in the case of objective inequality in Study 1. This suggests that societal inequality enhances the perception that society is breaking down (anomie) and that a strong leader is needed to restore order (even when that leader is willing to challenge democratic values). ; info:eu-repo/semantics/published
