This chapter explores the complexities of understanding and discussing vaccination amidst uncertainty, emphasizing the role of trust in both scientific and personal contexts. It argues that both advocates and skeptics of vaccination operate within a framework of belief, shaped by subjective interpretations of scientific data rather than direct access to objective facts. The author highlights the psychological barriers individuals face when deciding to vaccinate, including the challenge of prioritizing long-term health benefits over immediate discomfort. Furthermore, the chapter examines the polarization of opinions surrounding vaccination, illustrating how social dynamics and perceived consensus among close contacts influence attitudes. It concludes with strategies for crafting empathetic, consensus-building pro-vaccine messages that acknowledge the concerns of vaccine-hesitant individuals, aiming to foster understanding and reduce polarization.
This study examines the role of perceived low cultural distance in the acculturation process of Ukrainian women (aged 22–31) who voluntarily migrated to Poland prior to 2019. Through qualitative analysis of 17 in-depth interviews, we explored how perceived cultural similarity between Poland and Ukraine is associated with the experiences of these migrants. Using reflexive thematic analysis, we found that while a perceived low cultural distance is associated with a sense of familiarity that may ease certain aspects of acculturation, it does not fully mitigate sociocultural challenges and acculturative stress these women experience. A notable and novel finding is the identification of the phenomenon we propose to call the “Minimization trap,” a theme suggesting that cultural and linguistic differences may be downplayed, potentially complicating sociocultural adaptation and psychological adjustment. Despite perceived similarity, significant cultural differences were reported, highlighting the need for targeted interventions such as intercultural training and language acquisition support. Our findings stress the importance of culturally sensitive policies that recognize both the opportunities and challenges associated with low cultural distance in the acculturation process.
Pozostałe osiągnięcia naukoweArtykuły (zamknięty dostęp)Journal article
This chapter examines attitudes toward vaccination through the lens of moral psychology, focusing on how moral convictions shape vaccine acceptance or resistance. While vaccines are a proven tool for preventing disease, hesitancy remains widespread and increasingly moralized. Drawing on theories of moral conviction, the chapter explains how individuals perceive vaccination not just as a personal choice but as a moral issue—seen as objective, universal, and independent of authority. Three studies conducted in Poland (N > 3,700) reveal that moralized attitudes toward vaccination reinforce both support and opposition, increase distrust or trust in institutions, and predict greater acceptance of coercive measures in line with one’s stance. The chapter also evaluates the effectiveness of moral reframing—presenting pro-vaccine messages in a way that aligns with the audience’s moral values (e.g., purity, care, social norms). Results show that reframing is effective, particularly among individuals who do not strongly moralize their views. However, strong moral convictions can render individuals resistant to persuasion. The chapter concludes with practical recommendations for crafting public health messages that appeal to diverse moral foundations, highlighting the importance of matching message content to audience values for greater communication effectiveness.
Verbs, as the conventional linguistic category for expressing action and motion, possess meta-semantic associations specifically with action-orientation—associations not typically found in other grammatical classes (e.g., nouns). The central aim of this research was to examine whether the proposed association between verbs and action manifests in shorter response times for verbs compared to other grammatical forms. In Studies 1a and 1b (N1a = 136, N1b = 323), we examined the impact of exposure to verbs versus nouns on overall completion time for a complex questionnaire survey. In Studies 2a and 2b (N2a = 92, N2b = 96), we employed a syntactic classification task to investigate behavioral responses to verbs and nouns, using a pseudoword paradigm in which carefully constructed lexical stimuli were devoid of semantic meaning but clearly conveyed grammatical class through suffixes. Across all four experiments, we consistently observed shorter response times for verbs and pseudoverbs compared to nouns and pseudonouns, suggesting that grammatical class exerts meta-semantic effects on behavior.
Construal-level theory (CLT) proposes that psychological distance influences the level of abstraction at which something is mentally construed: Things perceived as less probable (likelihood) or further away from the here (spatial distance), now (temporal distance), or self (social distance) are thought about more abstractly. In this international multilab study, we tested four basic hypotheses derived from core assumptions of CLT and explore potential moderators and boundary conditions of the effects. Participants (N = 11,775) from 27 countries and regions were randomly assigned to one of four experimental protocols focused on different types of psychological distance (temporal, spatial, social, or likelihood), and each experiment manipulated psychological distance (close vs. distant). The protocols for temporal distance (n = 2,941) and spatial distance (n = 2,973) were direct replications of Liberman and Trope (Study 1) and Fujita et al. (Study 1), respectively. The remaining two protocols were paradigmatic replications, applying to social distance (n = 2,926) and likelihood (n = 2,936). The effects of psychological distance on construal level for the four present studies were as follows (positive effects are consistent with hypotheses): temporal, d = 0.08, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.003, 0.16] (effect in original study: d = 0.92); spatial, d = 0.04, 95% CI = [−0.03, 0.11] (effect in original study: d = 0.55); social, d = −0.27, 95% CI = [−0.34, −0.19]; and likelihood, d = 0.03, 95% CI = [−0.05, 0.11]. Pretests indicated that valence and abstraction were confounded in response options on the outcome measure. Controlling for this confound eliminated the hypothesis-inconsistent effect of social distance, d = 0.006, 95% CI = [−0.05, 0.07]. These findings provide limited evidence for the predictions of the theory and present a critical challenge for CLT.
