Ankica Kosic
Biographic Data
| ID | 118487 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Ankica Kosic |
| GIVEN NAMES | Ankica |
| FAMILY NAME | Kosic |
| SIGNATURE | KOSIC A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Sapienza University of Rome |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0114-1879 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 30 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 156 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 30 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2003 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Virtual Reality and Implicit Bias
The present study explores the potential of Virtual Reality (VR) to address implicit racial prejudice by immersing participants in an asylum interview scenario. A sample of 160 Italians, who embodied either a Burkinabé (Black) or a Ukrainian (White) asylum seeker, completed the Implicit Association Test before and after the VR experience. Results showed no significant change in bias after embodying the Burkinabé avatar, but a significant increase…
Reducing Implicit Prejudice Through Virtual Reality
This study explores whether exposure to positive (vs. basic) interactions with a migrant through an immersive 360° video with partial embodiment—where participants viewed the scene from a first-person perspective and observed only their virtual hands—can reduce implicit prejudice, attitudes, and emotions toward migrants. A total of 207 Italian participants were involved in the study. Approximately two weeks before the immersive video session, par…
Italian adaptation and psychometric analysis of the moral foundations questionnaire 2
Within the framework of Moral Foundations Theory (MFT; Haidt & Graham, Social Justice Research , 20 (1), 98–116, 2007; Haidt & Joseph, Daedalus , 133 (4), 55–66, 2004), the aim of the present study is to adapt and discuss the psychometric features of the Moral Foundations Questionnaire 2 (MFQ-2; Atari et al., Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 2023) in the Italian context. Utilizing a sample of 947 Italian adults, a Confirmatory Facto…
Predicting Individual Residential Engagement
This paper builds on place theory and the psycho-social approach to the study of perceived residential environmental quality to examine the relationship between environmental perceptions and residential action in the neighborhood. An exploratory study on (N = 185) Italian respondents assessed the role of perceived residential environmental quality (i.e., perceived quality of green areas and perceived maintenance levels within the neighborhood), a…
The relationship between populism and attitudes on vaccine against Covid‐19
The aim of this study is to examine whether the relationship between populist orientation and attitudes towards the anti‐COVID vaccine and government measures is mediated by conspiracy beliefs and health risk perceptions, and whether these relationships are moderated by trust in institutions. Data were collected in Italy using a questionnaire ( N = 390). The results largely supported our hypotheses of moderated mediation. Basically, while previou…
Meaning in Life and Care for the Environment
This article discusses the role of meaning in life (meaningfulness and crisis of meaning) and various sources of meaning in predicting and explaining people’s commitment toward enhancing the environmental quality at both the global (ecological) and local (residential) levels. An online questionnaire, including measures of meaningfulness, crisis of meaning, and multiple sources of meaning from the Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life Questionnai…
Secondary Transfer Effect and Natives' Acculturation Behaviours
The increase in migration and cultural diversity across various Western regions has highlighted the need to promote harmonious coexistence between those who migrate from other countries and the native populations. Promoting social harmony is the primary objective in both acculturation and intergroup contact research. Particularly relevant to this aim is the secondary transfer effect (STE), consisting in the spreading of the effects of contact wit…
The Mediating Role of Binding Moral Foundations and Perceived Realistic and Symbolic Threats on the Relationship between Need for Cognitive Closure and Prejudice against Migrants
Perceiving Migrants as a Threat
As immigration is one of the dominant issues in contemporary public discourse, it is important to explain the mechanism of prejudice against immigrants from a cultural psychology perspective. Several studies in the literature have confirmed a significant relationship between perceptions of the estimated size of the immigrant population and negative attitudes towards them. This study aims to investigate whether this relationship is moderated by sy…
The Effects of Binding Moral Foundations on Prejudiced Attitudes toward Migrants
(1) Background: This study explores how threat perception mediates the relationship between binding moral foundations and prejudice toward migrants. We hypothesized that the relationship between binding moral foundations and prejudice against migrants, which is already established in the literature, is mediated through realistic and symbolic threat perception. (2) Methods: Two separate samples were gathered, in Malta (N = 191) and Italy (N = 189)…
How socio-institutional contexts and cultural worldviews relate to Covid-19 acceptance rates
Covid-19 and prejudice against migrants
What mitigates prejudice against migrants in situations of uncertainty? Addressing this question, we explored how individuals with greater COVID-19 concern perceive migrants as a greater threat and show prejudice against them, indirectly through the mechanism of need for cognitive closure and binding moral foundations.This study was conducted in two European countries: Malta and Italy. Six hundred and seventy-six individuals participated in this …
A Cross-Cultural Study of Distress during Covid-19 Pandemic
Previous studies on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in different countries found an increase in anxiety, stress, and an exacerbation of previous mental health problems. This research investigated some of the protective and risk factors of distress during the COVID-19 pandemic, among which were the perception of receiving social support from family members and friends, and a chronic tendency to worry. The study was conducted i…
The mediating role of national identification, binding foundations and perceived threat on the relationship between need for cognitive closure and prejudice against migrants in Malta
What mitigates the relationship between need for cognitive closure and prejudice against migrants? Addressing this question, we explored how national identification, endorsing binding moral foundations and the perception of threat mediate the relationship between need for cognitive closure and prejudice against migrants in Malta. It was hypothesized that individuals with a high need for cognitive closure are more prone to identify with being Malt…
Need for Closure, Morality, and Prejudice
Several studies demonstrated that a high need for closure (NFC) is associated with higher prejudice toward the out-group. This study aims to investigate how this effect can be moderated by attributions of morality to the in-group and the out-group. A questionnaire was administered to 725 participants. The results showed a positive relationship between NFC and prejudice when the in-group was evaluated as more moral than the out-group. This relatio…
Forming impressions of in-group and out-group members under self-esteem threat
Intended Self-Presentation Tactics in Job Interviews
Intended self-presentation in job interviews was examined among university students in 10 countries ( N = 3,509). The aim was to assess cross-cultural differences in the endorsement of self-presentation tactics, and whether such differences could be explained by cultural values and socioeconomic variables. The Cultural Impression Management Scale-Applicant Scale (CIM-A) was used that measures assertiveness, individual excellence, accommodation, a…
Being prepared for acculturation
We hypothesized that perceived communication effectiveness at arrival and initial friendships with members of the receiving society during the first months after arrival in a new country have a long-term effect on the development of acculturation orientations and that this effect is pronounced for individuals with a high need for cognitive closure (NCC). We examined the hypotheses in a study with Spanish-speaking immigrants in Switzerland (n = 14…
The propensity toward reconciliation among young people in Northern Ireland and Croatia
Two studies, conducted in Northern Ireland ( N = 266) and Croatia ( N = 261), examined the role of constructive adolescents-parents conflict management style (CAPCMS) in predicting inter-group reconciliation attitudes. We hypothesized that CAPCMS would be a unique and positive predictor of reconciliation attitudes over and above other common predictors of reconciliation attitudes, such as inter-group contact quantity and quality, and the experien…
Promoting reconciliation through youth
This paper provides a conceptual framework for mapping cross-community work and projects that have been designed in more recent years to assist the process of reconciliation among young people in the city of Vukovar (Croatia), and to analyze underlying socio-psychological assumptions of these interventions. The nature of initiatives is examined through the prism of some socio-psychological theories, and in particular through the Need-Based Model …
Community Relations Work with Young People in Vukovar, Croatia
This article discusses the role of non-governmental organizations in promoting peace education, coexistence, reconciliation and dialogue among young people in Vukovar, Croatia. We argue that reconciliation cannot be imposed from above, but must be built, nurtured and sustained from the bottom-up. Much of this work of dialogue building is carried out at the community level by grassroots organizations. We describe the types of civic organizations, …
Unsettling Accounts
Ethnic categorization of immigrants
Self-monitoring
The role of majority attitudes towards out-group in the perception of the acculturation strategies of immigrants
The role of majority attitudes towards out-group in the perception of the acculturation strategies of immigrants
The Social Cognition of Immigrants' Acculturation
Three studies found support for the notion that immigrants' acculturation to the host culture is interactively determined by their need for cognitive closure (A. W. Kruglanski & D. M. Webster, 1996) and the reference group they forge on their arrival. If such reference group is fashioned by close social relations with coethnics, the higher the immigrants' need for closure, the weaker their tendency to assimilate to the new culture and the stronge…
Acculturation strategies, coping process and acculturative stress
Using structural equation modeling, this study examines the influences of motivational factors (Need for Cognitive Closure--NCC--and Decisiveness), coping strategies and acculturation strategies on levels of acculturative stress. Two groups of immigrants in Rome (Croatians n= 156 and Poles n= 179) completed a questionnaire that included scales for the various factors. Although our initial hypothesized model was not confirmed, a modified model sho…
Albanian and Polish Migration to Italy
This article examines how undocumented immigrants take advantage or react to the windows of opportunity opened to them by immigration policy design and implementation practices in the country of destination. The study concentrates on the case of Albanian and Polish immigrants in Italy. Looking into the policy provisions regarding entry, stay and immigrant employment in Italy, as well as the practices of implementation adopted by the public admini…
Being prepared for acculturation
We hypothesized that perceived communication effectiveness at arrival and initial friendships with members of the receiving society during the first months after arrival in a new country have a long-term effect on the development of acculturation orientations and that this effect is pronounced for individuals with a high need for cognitive closure (NCC). We examined the hypotheses in a study with Spanish-speaking immigrants in Switzerland (n = 14…
Ethnic categorization of immigrants
Representations of the European Union and the nation(-state) in Italian party discourse
Research on party attitudes towards European integration has concentrated on the relationship between party ideology and positions related to European integration as an economic and/or political process, ignoring the representational aspect of party discourse. This study aims to contribute towards filling this gap by examining how Italian parties represent the European Union, the nation(-state) and the relationship between the two in their electo…
Albanian immigrants in Italy
This paper studies the adaptation and survival strategies that immigrants develop from the beginning of their migration project through to their establishment in the host country. We are particularly interested in how immigrants make sense of the host country social and institutional environment and the related immigration policy measures and implementation practices, and their strategies for coping with it. More specifically, the study examines …
How socio-institutional contexts and cultural worldviews relate to Covid-19 acceptance rates
Promoting reconciliation through youth
This paper provides a conceptual framework for mapping cross-community work and projects that have been designed in more recent years to assist the process of reconciliation among young people in the city of Vukovar (Croatia), and to analyze underlying socio-psychological assumptions of these interventions. The nature of initiatives is examined through the prism of some socio-psychological theories, and in particular through the Need-Based Model …
Self-monitoring
Need for Closure, Morality, and Prejudice
Several studies demonstrated that a high need for closure (NFC) is associated with higher prejudice toward the out-group. This study aims to investigate how this effect can be moderated by attributions of morality to the in-group and the out-group. A questionnaire was administered to 725 participants. The results showed a positive relationship between NFC and prejudice when the in-group was evaluated as more moral than the out-group. This relatio…
Forming impressions of in-group and out-group members under self-esteem threat
The propensity toward reconciliation among young people in Northern Ireland and Croatia
Two studies, conducted in Northern Ireland ( N = 266) and Croatia ( N = 261), examined the role of constructive adolescents-parents conflict management style (CAPCMS) in predicting inter-group reconciliation attitudes. We hypothesized that CAPCMS would be a unique and positive predictor of reconciliation attitudes over and above other common predictors of reconciliation attitudes, such as inter-group contact quantity and quality, and the experien…
Community Relations Work with Young People in Vukovar, Croatia
This article discusses the role of non-governmental organizations in promoting peace education, coexistence, reconciliation and dialogue among young people in Vukovar, Croatia. We argue that reconciliation cannot be imposed from above, but must be built, nurtured and sustained from the bottom-up. Much of this work of dialogue building is carried out at the community level by grassroots organizations. We describe the types of civic organizations, …
Perceiving Migrants as a Threat
As immigration is one of the dominant issues in contemporary public discourse, it is important to explain the mechanism of prejudice against immigrants from a cultural psychology perspective. Several studies in the literature have confirmed a significant relationship between perceptions of the estimated size of the immigrant population and negative attitudes towards them. This study aims to investigate whether this relationship is moderated by sy…
The mediating role of national identification, binding foundations and perceived threat on the relationship between need for cognitive closure and prejudice against migrants in Malta
What mitigates the relationship between need for cognitive closure and prejudice against migrants? Addressing this question, we explored how national identification, endorsing binding moral foundations and the perception of threat mediate the relationship between need for cognitive closure and prejudice against migrants in Malta. It was hypothesized that individuals with a high need for cognitive closure are more prone to identify with being Malt…
Intended Self-Presentation Tactics in Job Interviews
Intended self-presentation in job interviews was examined among university students in 10 countries ( N = 3,509). The aim was to assess cross-cultural differences in the endorsement of self-presentation tactics, and whether such differences could be explained by cultural values and socioeconomic variables. The Cultural Impression Management Scale-Applicant Scale (CIM-A) was used that measures assertiveness, individual excellence, accommodation, a…
Albanian immigrants in Italy
This paper studies the adaptation and survival strategies that immigrants develop from the beginning of their migration project through to their establishment in the host country. We are particularly interested in how immigrants make sense of the host country social and institutional environment and the related immigration policy measures and implementation practices, and their strategies for coping with it. More specifically, the study examines …
Albanian and Polish Migration to Italy
This article examines how undocumented immigrants take advantage or react to the windows of opportunity opened to them by immigration policy design and implementation practices in the country of destination. The study concentrates on the case of Albanian and Polish immigrants in Italy. Looking into the policy provisions regarding entry, stay and immigrant employment in Italy, as well as the practices of implementation adopted by the public admini…
The Social Cognition of Immigrants' Acculturation
Three studies found support for the notion that immigrants' acculturation to the host culture is interactively determined by their need for cognitive closure (A. W. Kruglanski & D. M. Webster, 1996) and the reference group they forge on their arrival. If such reference group is fashioned by close social relations with coethnics, the higher the immigrants' need for closure, the weaker their tendency to assimilate to the new culture and the stronge…
Acculturation strategies, coping process and acculturative stress
Using structural equation modeling, this study examines the influences of motivational factors (Need for Cognitive Closure--NCC--and Decisiveness), coping strategies and acculturation strategies on levels of acculturative stress. Two groups of immigrants in Rome (Croatians n= 156 and Poles n= 179) completed a questionnaire that included scales for the various factors. Although our initial hypothesized model was not confirmed, a modified model sho…
Representations of the European Union and the nation(-state) in Italian party discourse
Research on party attitudes towards European integration has concentrated on the relationship between party ideology and positions related to European integration as an economic and/or political process, ignoring the representational aspect of party discourse. This study aims to contribute towards filling this gap by examining how Italian parties represent the European Union, the nation(-state) and the relationship between the two in their electo…
The role of majority attitudes towards out-group in the perception of the acculturation strategies of immigrants
Ethnic categorization of immigrants
Self-monitoring
Community Relations Work with Young People in Vukovar, Croatia
This article discusses the role of non-governmental organizations in promoting peace education, coexistence, reconciliation and dialogue among young people in Vukovar, Croatia. We argue that reconciliation cannot be imposed from above, but must be built, nurtured and sustained from the bottom-up. Much of this work of dialogue building is carried out at the community level by grassroots organizations. We describe the types of civic organizations, …
Unsettling Accounts
Promoting reconciliation through youth
This paper provides a conceptual framework for mapping cross-community work and projects that have been designed in more recent years to assist the process of reconciliation among young people in the city of Vukovar (Croatia), and to analyze underlying socio-psychological assumptions of these interventions. The nature of initiatives is examined through the prism of some socio-psychological theories, and in particular through the Need-Based Model …
The propensity toward reconciliation among young people in Northern Ireland and Croatia
Two studies, conducted in Northern Ireland ( N = 266) and Croatia ( N = 261), examined the role of constructive adolescents-parents conflict management style (CAPCMS) in predicting inter-group reconciliation attitudes. We hypothesized that CAPCMS would be a unique and positive predictor of reconciliation attitudes over and above other common predictors of reconciliation attitudes, such as inter-group contact quantity and quality, and the experien…
Being prepared for acculturation
We hypothesized that perceived communication effectiveness at arrival and initial friendships with members of the receiving society during the first months after arrival in a new country have a long-term effect on the development of acculturation orientations and that this effect is pronounced for individuals with a high need for cognitive closure (NCC). We examined the hypotheses in a study with Spanish-speaking immigrants in Switzerland (n = 14…
Forming impressions of in-group and out-group members under self-esteem threat
Intended Self-Presentation Tactics in Job Interviews
Intended self-presentation in job interviews was examined among university students in 10 countries ( N = 3,509). The aim was to assess cross-cultural differences in the endorsement of self-presentation tactics, and whether such differences could be explained by cultural values and socioeconomic variables. The Cultural Impression Management Scale-Applicant Scale (CIM-A) was used that measures assertiveness, individual excellence, accommodation, a…
Covid-19 and prejudice against migrants
What mitigates prejudice against migrants in situations of uncertainty? Addressing this question, we explored how individuals with greater COVID-19 concern perceive migrants as a greater threat and show prejudice against them, indirectly through the mechanism of need for cognitive closure and binding moral foundations.This study was conducted in two European countries: Malta and Italy. Six hundred and seventy-six individuals participated in this …
A Cross-Cultural Study of Distress during Covid-19 Pandemic
Previous studies on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in different countries found an increase in anxiety, stress, and an exacerbation of previous mental health problems. This research investigated some of the protective and risk factors of distress during the COVID-19 pandemic, among which were the perception of receiving social support from family members and friends, and a chronic tendency to worry. The study was conducted i…
The mediating role of national identification, binding foundations and perceived threat on the relationship between need for cognitive closure and prejudice against migrants in Malta
What mitigates the relationship between need for cognitive closure and prejudice against migrants? Addressing this question, we explored how national identification, endorsing binding moral foundations and the perception of threat mediate the relationship between need for cognitive closure and prejudice against migrants in Malta. It was hypothesized that individuals with a high need for cognitive closure are more prone to identify with being Malt…
Need for Closure, Morality, and Prejudice
Several studies demonstrated that a high need for closure (NFC) is associated with higher prejudice toward the out-group. This study aims to investigate how this effect can be moderated by attributions of morality to the in-group and the out-group. A questionnaire was administered to 725 participants. The results showed a positive relationship between NFC and prejudice when the in-group was evaluated as more moral than the out-group. This relatio…
Perceiving Migrants as a Threat
As immigration is one of the dominant issues in contemporary public discourse, it is important to explain the mechanism of prejudice against immigrants from a cultural psychology perspective. Several studies in the literature have confirmed a significant relationship between perceptions of the estimated size of the immigrant population and negative attitudes towards them. This study aims to investigate whether this relationship is moderated by sy…
The Effects of Binding Moral Foundations on Prejudiced Attitudes toward Migrants
(1) Background: This study explores how threat perception mediates the relationship between binding moral foundations and prejudice toward migrants. We hypothesized that the relationship between binding moral foundations and prejudice against migrants, which is already established in the literature, is mediated through realistic and symbolic threat perception. (2) Methods: Two separate samples were gathered, in Malta (N = 191) and Italy (N = 189)…
How socio-institutional contexts and cultural worldviews relate to Covid-19 acceptance rates
The relationship between populism and attitudes on vaccine against Covid‐19
The aim of this study is to examine whether the relationship between populist orientation and attitudes towards the anti‐COVID vaccine and government measures is mediated by conspiracy beliefs and health risk perceptions, and whether these relationships are moderated by trust in institutions. Data were collected in Italy using a questionnaire ( N = 390). The results largely supported our hypotheses of moderated mediation. Basically, while previou…
Meaning in Life and Care for the Environment
This article discusses the role of meaning in life (meaningfulness and crisis of meaning) and various sources of meaning in predicting and explaining people’s commitment toward enhancing the environmental quality at both the global (ecological) and local (residential) levels. An online questionnaire, including measures of meaningfulness, crisis of meaning, and multiple sources of meaning from the Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life Questionnai…
Secondary Transfer Effect and Natives' Acculturation Behaviours
The increase in migration and cultural diversity across various Western regions has highlighted the need to promote harmonious coexistence between those who migrate from other countries and the native populations. Promoting social harmony is the primary objective in both acculturation and intergroup contact research. Particularly relevant to this aim is the secondary transfer effect (STE), consisting in the spreading of the effects of contact wit…
Psychology (26 works) · Political science (19 works) · Social Psychology (19 works) · Sociology (18 works) · Social and Intergroup Psychology (17 works) · Social Psychology (17 works) · Cultural Differences and Values (15 works) · Immigration (9 works) · Perception (9 works) · Law (8 works)