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Collectivism and the meaning of suffering.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Sullivan, D; Landau, MJ; Kay, AC; Rothschild, ZK
Published in: Journal of personality and social psychology
December 2012

People need to understand why an instance of suffering occurred and what purpose it might have. One widespread account of suffering is a repressive suffering construal (RSC): interpreting suffering as occurring because people deviate from social norms and as having the purpose of reinforcing the social order. Based on the theorizing of Emile Durkheim and others, we propose that RSC is associated with social morality-the belief that society dictates morality-and is encouraged by collectivist (as opposed to individualist) sentiments. Study 1 showed that dispositional collectivism predicts both social morality and RSC. Studies 2-4 showed that priming collectivist (vs. individualist) self-construal increases RSC of various types of suffering and that this effect is mediated by increased social morality (Study 4). Study 5 examined behavioral intentions, demonstrating that parents primed with a collectivist self-construal interpreted children's suffering more repressively and showed greater support for corporal punishment of children.

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Published In

Journal of personality and social psychology

DOI

EISSN

1939-1315

ISSN

0022-3514

Publication Date

December 2012

Volume

103

Issue

6

Start / End Page

1023 / 1039

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Stress, Psychological
  • Social Psychology
  • Social Behavior
  • Self Concept
  • Punishment
  • Psychological Theory
  • Psychological Tests
  • Personality
 

Citation

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Sullivan, D., Landau, M. J., Kay, A. C., & Rothschild, Z. K. (2012). Collectivism and the meaning of suffering. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 103(6), 1023–1039. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030382
Sullivan, Daniel, Mark J. Landau, Aaron C. Kay, and Zachary K. Rothschild. “Collectivism and the meaning of suffering.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 103, no. 6 (December 2012): 1023–39. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030382.
Sullivan D, Landau MJ, Kay AC, Rothschild ZK. Collectivism and the meaning of suffering. Journal of personality and social psychology. 2012 Dec;103(6):1023–39.
Sullivan, Daniel, et al. “Collectivism and the meaning of suffering.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 103, no. 6, Dec. 2012, pp. 1023–39. Epmc, doi:10.1037/a0030382.
Sullivan D, Landau MJ, Kay AC, Rothschild ZK. Collectivism and the meaning of suffering. Journal of personality and social psychology. 2012 Dec;103(6):1023–1039.

Published In

Journal of personality and social psychology

DOI

EISSN

1939-1315

ISSN

0022-3514

Publication Date

December 2012

Volume

103

Issue

6

Start / End Page

1023 / 1039

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Stress, Psychological
  • Social Psychology
  • Social Behavior
  • Self Concept
  • Punishment
  • Psychological Theory
  • Psychological Tests
  • Personality