Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2023-09-27
Abstract： In recent years, social transformation and economic development in China have changed people’s behaviour, lifestyles, and values and have directly affected individuals’ mental state and behaviour. However, due to the limitations of research methods, previous studies have explored target variables from a single dimension. They have lacked exploration of the multidimensional structure of complex variables and have been unable to directly compare cross-scale data. Therefore, social and cultural psychology research needs to incorporate a systems science perspective to study and understand the structure and pattern of social changes.
This study introduces a new approach for exploring social change from the perspective of pattern-representational similarity analysis (RSA). Based on the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS)-Longitudinal Data (1998～2018), we demonstrate the process of the construction of representation similarity matrices and provide examples of multivariable-unidimensional pattern analysis (time, space, mental space), multivariable cross-dimensional pattern analysis (mental space-time, mental space-space, mental space-time-space), cross-scale model analysis (region-country), conceptual model analysis, and coupling analysis between RSA and traditional methods.
This study finds that the pattern and level of economic development moderates the similarity between regional mental health change patterns and the overall pattern of elderly individuals. In addition, the cultural looseness-tightness concept model and the interregional pattern of mental health among elderly individuals have significant similarities. These results show that RSA analysis can explore the relationship between variables from the perspective of patterns and can make direct quantitative comparisons of cross-scale data.
Overall, this study introduces different methods for the application of RSA in social change research through demonstrative examples. The exploration of psychological and behavioural changes in social change from a pattern perspective paves the way for future exploration.
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2023-03-27 Cooperative journals: 《心理学报》
Abstract： Ecology can shape the formation of a particular culture through individual natural adaptive behavior. In different cultures, culturally contextualized behavior can also modify the environment. In the present ecological environment, the spread of COVID-19 represents a global public health crisis. However, some nations appear to be more effective at limiting the spread of the virus and decreasing mortality rates. The purpose of this study was to explore cross-cultural differences in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, thereby substantiating the influence of culture on the ecological natural environment. We hypothesized that an independent society-oriented culture was not conducive to a successful pandemic response. Study 1 explored the correlation between individualism and the total number of deaths, deaths per million, and morality rates in 73 countries. In Study 2, we further modeled the cumulative confirmed cases of COVID-19 over time in 31 provinces in China, using a logistical model to obtain indicators of efficiency of epidemic control, and we explored the relationship between independent self-construal and the speed of pandemic control. In Study 3, we simulated the pandemic process through agent-based modeling (ABM), which verified the influence of individualism and determined how government norms regulated the controlling speed of the pandemic. Based on ABM in Study 3, in Study 4, we used a hierarchical linear model to further explore how culture influenced escape behavior, which violated government regulations in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic with, and then we tested the mediating role of fear of death. In Study 1, individualism scores were positively correlated with cumulative COVID-19 deaths, cumulative deaths per million, and mortality. In Study 2, independent self-construal was negatively correlated with the controlling speed in the early stage of the pandemic in China. However, there was no significant relationship between interdependent self-construal and COVID-19 pandemic control speed. Study 3 simulated the process of the pandemic through an agent-based model and found that individualism was positively correlated with the number of confirmed cases and deaths and was negatively correlated with the speed of the early controlling stage, which was regulated by government norms. In Study 4, we found that individualism can increase the degree of escape behavior when individuals are facing the COVID-19 pandemic. This process was mediated by fear of death. This paper revealed the influence of culture on the ecological environment from the perspective of pathogen prevalence, thereby verifying the nature-behavior-culture coevolution model. It also provides important predictors for countries to respond to the global public health crisis. In a more complex dynamic interaction network combining nature, culture, behavior, brain and genes, culture interacts with other factors and may help to explain ecological changes in history, as well as the course of human history, social development and human behaviors.
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