Dr Paulina Górska (Warsaw): Intergroup Solidarity in Times of Crisis School of Psychology and Neuroscience Friday seminar series

The School of Psychology and Neuroscience seminar series presents a talk by Dr Paulina Górska (Warsaw), titled “Intergroup Solidarity in Times of Crisis: Insights from the Polish Response to Ukrainian Refugees”, which will be hosted by Dr Anna Stefaniak in Seminar Room 1 and accessible online through MS Teams.

Abstract:
“This talk examines the underpinnings and the dynamics of intergroup solidarity during the refugee crisis following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Drawing on data collected in a 4-wave study of adult Poles conducted between March 2022 and February 2023, three key aspects of intergroup engagement are explored.

First, I investigate why Poles' attitudes towards Ukrainian refugees differed from their attitudes towards African and Middle-Eastern refugees stranded on the Belarus border. Multilevel analyses reveal that this differential treatment stems from ideological beliefs (i.e., right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation) that shape the perception of threat and historical similarity, and by doing so, ultimately influencing policy support.

Next, the drivers of collective action for Ukrainian refugees are identified. Employing a random intercept cross-lagged panel model that separates between- from within-person variance, I show that that within-person changes in moral convictions and cross-group friendship predicted subsequent action intentions. Notably, politicized identity emerged as a consequence rather than a precursor of pro-outgroup engagement, challenging traditional theoretical assumptions.

Finally, the over-time change in group-based emotions is tested as the explanation of the gradual decline in solidarity with the Ukrainian refugees. I differentiate between three classes of group-based emotions: those related to the bystander ingroup (i.e., pride and guilt), those elicited by a disadvantaged outgroup (i.e., empathy and anxiety), and those related to a perpetrator outgroup (i.e., anger and fear). The decline in collective action is primarily explained by reductions in outgroup-directed empathy and ingroup pride, while other group-based emotions play a lesser role. These results suggest that third-group members' engagement for a disadvantaged outgroup may simultaneously depend on outgroup- and ingroup-focused motivations. “