COVID-19: Insights from group processes and intergroup relations

By Ben Steeden and Victoria Krings

COVID-19 is having a profound and continuing global impact. But while much of the media attention focuses on infection, mortality and morbidity, the effects are also profound at a social psychological level. Approaching the anniversary of WHO’s declaration of a pandemic, there is much to ask about what it means for the relationships between individuals and society, the role and importance of groups and intergroup relations, and the ways that people are understanding what has been happening. What is the new normal? How will prolonged lockdowns affect our societies, our children, our ways of living? How can we best build a fairer post-COVID world? To explore these questions, the GPIR special issue “In the time of COVID” gathers perspectives from a unique group of leading experts to discuss the pandemic through the lens of psychological research on group processes and intergroup relations.

We first explore the pandemic’s impact on societies. Dominic Abrams and colleagues consider how a social identity perspective illuminates the interplay between Intergroup and intragroup dimensions of COVID-19, outlining how the pandemic has catalysed shifts in established identity and highlighted the critical importance of strong, inclusive leadership. John Antonakis develops this theme in Leadership to defeat COVID-19, particularly noting the role of charismatic leadership in addressing the challenges of COVID-19. Anne Templeton looks at Social connectedness and safe collective behavior, sharing insights on research into crowd behavior which are especially relevant as societies start to emerge from lockdown. Yoshihisa Kashima and colleagues explore the Culture and global societal threats presented by COVID-19, including the cultural adaptations that can help societies address this threat effectively. Lindsey Cameron and Harriet Tenenbaum conclude this section by setting out the impact of the pandemic on children’s development, exploring how we can utilize Lessons from developmental science to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 restrictions on social development.

The next section addresses the implications of COVID-19 for prejudice and intergroup inequality. Alexandra Fisher and Michelle Ryan look at Gender inequalities during COVID-19 and its negative impact on women in terms of health, labor at home, relational violence, and economic vulnerability. Hannah Swift and Alison Chasteen focus on Ageism in the time of COVID-19 and how the pandemic has strengthened stereotypes of age and ageing. Victoria Esses and Leah Hamilton explore how the conditions presented by the pandemic have caused a rise in Xenophobia and anti-immigrant attitudes in the time of COVID-19. Christopher Marshburn and colleagues look at Racial bias confrontation in the United States, investigating the cumulative effects of COVID-19 coupled with the police killing of George Floyd on awareness of entrenched racial inequalities.

The third section focuses on the pandemic’s impact on worldviews. Karen Douglas analyses COVID-19 conspiracy theories, and the psychological needs they serve, highlighting how the pandemic has allowed such theories to thrive. Bastiaan Rutjens and colleagues focus on Science skepticism in times of COVID-19, exploring its origins and predicting an association with right-leaning political ideologies. Arie Kruglanski and colleagues address Coping with COVID-19 induced threats to self and how acts of self-affirmation and significance restoration can influence endorsement of conspiracy theories and anti-science beliefs.

The final section examines the pandemic’s impact on behaviours. Anita Blanchard looks at The effects of COVID-19 on virtual working, outlining the difficulties presented by a lack of informal workplace exchanges. Peter Grant and Heather Smith discuss Activism in the time of COVID-19, highlighting the importance of social media in online activism and collective action. Andrew Hales and colleagues take us through Insights from research on social ostracism to explore the implications of lockdowns and social distancing guidelines for mental health. Dominic Packer and colleagues look at Conformity and reactions to deviance in the time of COVID-19, closely examining the messaging strategies informed by social psychology that could promote behaviors that protect people’s health and safety.

We wanted this special issue both to be intellectually exciting and also of practical value for those involved in policy advice and implementation. We are hugely grateful to all of the authors who contributed with such thoughtfulness and at great speed. As we build a new post-COVID world, these contributions highlight how group processes and intergroup relations are central to how we deal with the challenges of COVID-19.

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Issue details

Group Processes & Intergroup Relations

Special Issue: In the time of COVID: Group processes and intergroup relations

Volume 24 Issue 2, February 2021

About the authors

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Ben Steeden is a Lecturer in Occupational Psychology at the University of West of England, UK. He studied for his PhD at the University of Kent with Professor Georgina Randsley de Moura and Dr. Hannah Swift. His research mostly focuses on leadership recruitment and evaluations of leadership potential, investigating the extent to which perceived leadership potential is associated with a pro-youth bias. He is interested in representations of age and ageing in the workplace and the impact of societal age stereotypes on self- and other-evaluations of older workers, in particular older leaders.

https://people.uwe.ac.uk/Person/BenSteeden

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Victoria Krings is a postgraduate researcher at the University of Kent and the senior managing editor of GPIR. Her research focuses on human-animal intergroup relations, more specifically on the conflicting attitudes and beliefs people hold about animals of different social categories. She is interested in the role of ideological factors in outcomes such as speciesism, moral concern for animals and meat consumption. Her research has also focuses on new food technologies, and the factors that lead to an acceptance or rejection of novel innovations replacing meat.