Escuela de Ciencias Jurídicas y Sociales

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Browsing Escuela de Ciencias Jurídicas y Sociales by Author "Alfaro-Beracoechea, Laura"

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    Sociopolitical consequences of COVID-19 in the Americas, Europe, and Asia: A multilevel, multicountry investigation of risk perceptions and support for antidemocratic practices
    (2023-10-17) Pizarro, José J.; Cakal, Huseyin; Méndez, Lander; Zumeta, Larraitz N.; Gracia- Leiva, Marcela; Basabe, Nekane; Navarro-Carrillo, Ginés; Cazan, Ana-Maria; Keshavarzi, Saeed; López- López, Wilson; Yahiiaiev, Illia; Alzugaray-Ponce, Carolina; Villagrán, Loreto; Moyano-Díaz, Emilio; Petrović, Nebojša; Mathias, Anderson; Techio, Elza M.; Wlodarczyk, Anna; Alfaro-Beracoechea, Laura; Ibarra, Manuel L.; Michael, Andreas; Mhaskar, Sumeet; Martínez-Zelaya, Gonzalo; Bilbao, Marian; Delfino, Gisela; Carvalho, Catarina L.; Pinto, Isabel R.; Zehra Mohsin, Falak; Espinosa, Agustín; Cueto, Rosa María; Cavalli, Stefano; da Costa, Silvia; Amutio, Alberto; Alonso-Arbiol, Itziar; Páez, Darío
    Although different social crises may eventually favor undemocratic and authoritarian forms of governance, at some point, such antidemocratic practices require the support of a significant part of the population to be implemented. The present research investigates how and whether the COVID-19 pandemic might have favoured greater support for antidemocratic governmental practices, on the premise of regaining control and security. Using data from 17 countries (N = 4364) and national-level indicators (i.e., real number of contagions and deaths, and sociopolitical indicators), we test how the risk of contagion and death from COVID-19, along with personal orientations (i.e., social dominance orientation [SDO], right-wing authoritarianism [RWA], and perceived anomie) motivate authoritarian and antidemocratic practices. Results from multilevel models indicate that risk perception and perceptions of political instability predict a wish for stronger leadership, agreement with martial law, and support for a controlling government especially when SDO and RWA are high, while more egalitarian and less conservative people agree less with these authoritarian measures in spite of the levels of risk perception. We discuss the implications for these findings for future research on similar but also dissimilar external events (natural disasters, war, or terror incidents) and the consequences for societies with higher authoritarian tendencies.
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    Tell me what you are like and I will tell you what you believe in: Social representations of COVID-19 in the Americas, Europe and Asia
    (2020-11-04) Pizarro, José; Cakal, Huseyin; Méndez, Lander; Da Costa, Silvia; Zumeta, Larraitz; Gracia-Leiva, Marcela; Basabe, Nekane; Navarro-Carrilo, Ginés; Cazan, Ana María; Keshavarzi, Saeed; López-López, Wilson; Yahiiaiev, Illia; Alzugaray-Ponce, Carolina; Villagrán, Loreto; Moyano-Díaz, Emilio; Petrovic, Nebojsa; Anderson, Mathias; Techio, Elza; Wlodarczyk, Ana; Alfaro-Beracoechea, Laura; Ibarra, Manuel; Psaltis, Charis; Michael, Andreas; Mhaskar, Sumeet; Martínez-Zelaya, Gonzalo; Bilbao, Marian; Delfino, Gisela; Carvalho, Catarina; Pinto, Isabel; Zehra-Mohsin, Falak; Espinosa, Agustín; Cueto, Rosa; Cavalli, Stefano
    This study analyses the range and content of Social Representations (SSRRs) about the COVID-19 pandemic in 21 geographical zones from 17 countries of the Americas, Europe and Asia (N = 4430). Following the theoretical framework of Social Representations Theory, as well as psychosocial consequences of pandemics and crises, we evaluate the perceptions of severity and risks, the agreement with different SSRRs, and participants’ Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) and agreement with Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA). Different sets of beliefs as SSRRs are discussed and their prevalence and association with contextual variables (e.g., new contagions and deaths during data collection). Results show that severity and risk perceptions were associated with different SSRRs of the pandemics. In specific, to SSRRs focusing on Emerging Externalizing zoonotic and ecological factors, to Polemic Conspiracies, a view of Elite and Masses Villains, as well as Personal Responsibility in the pandemic. Further, these effects are replicated in most geographical areas. Additional meta-analyses and multi-level regressions show that Risk Perception was a consistent explanatory variable even after controlling demographics and ‘real risk’ (i.e., actual number of contagious and deaths), suggesting that, while coping and making sense of the pandemic, there is a shift to more authoritarian-alike responses.