Isabella Giammusso
Biographic Data
| ID | 189268 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Isabella Giammusso |
| GIVEN NAMES | Isabella |
| FAMILY NAME | Giammusso |
| SIGNATURE | GIAMMUSSO I |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Palermo |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8784-8810 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 7 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 10 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2020 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
When Confidence in Institutions Backfires: Power‐Distance Orientation Moderates the Relationship Between Institutional Trust and Civic Honesty Across Eight Countries
Confidence in institutions is a key predictor of civic honesty, yet evidence shows that this relationship varies across contexts and individuals. This study examined whether power‐distance orientation (PDO)—the extent to which individuals accept hierarchical power relations—moderates this association. High‐PDO individuals tend to view institutional authorities as entitled to privilege, inclined to engage in patronage relationships and potentially…
Justice beyond the State: The Mafia as Avengers and the Legitimization of Criminal Governance
This research examines how individuals’ beliefs that criminal groups such as the Mafia act as community avengers are associated with the legitimization of criminal systems. Results from our study (N = 414) demonstrated that perceiving the Mafia as an efficient protector was linked with a tendency to romanticize this criminal organization and justify its connivance practices, which facilitates its activities. Furthermore, this belief was associate…
The Geopolitics of Civic Honesty: The Role of Interpersonal and Political Trust Amid Varying Degrees of Mafia Influence and State Resilience
Civic honesty—the moral standards that define citizens’ commitment to the public good—serves a fundamental role in societal functioning. Prior research has emphasized the role of vertical trust (trust in institutions) and horizontal trust (trust in fellow citizens) in predicting the endorsement of such standards among citizens. However, this research has mainly focused on the political conditions typical of the Global North while neglecting envir…
(In)Alienable Worth? Cultural Logics of Dignity, Honor, and Face and their Links to Prosociality Across the World
Cultural logic is a set of cultural scripts and patterns organized around a central theme. The cultural logics of dignity, honor, and face describe different ways of evaluating a person’s worth and maintaining cooperation. These cultural logics vary in prevalence across cultures. In this study, we collaboratively develop and validate a measure capturing these cultural logics, which will allow us to map world cultures based on the prevalence of th…
The psychology of criminal authority: Introducing the Legitimacy of Secret Power Scale
The state’s monopoly on sovereignty can be challenged by criminal systems capable of gaining legitimacy within communities. Understanding the psychological basis of such legitimacy requires broadening traditional conceptualizations of authority to consider how it operates without legal backing and outside formal channels. This research introduces the Legitimacy of Secret Power (L-SP) Scale, a tool measuring individuals’ appraisal of illegal group…
National identification weakens, and territorial identification strengthens, the relationship between masculine honor values and the justification of practices of connivance with the mafia
Organized crime's governance raises questions about mechanisms facilitating the exercise of illegal authority in society. The present research tested the association between masculine honor ideology and the justification of connivance practices facilitating criminal groups' activities. We examined the novel idea that national identification would attenuate and territorial identification would strengthen such a relationship, reflecting different s…
Predictors of enhancing human physical attractiveness: Data from 93 countries
People across the world and throughout history have gone to great lengths to enhance their physical appearance. Evolutionary psychologists and ethologists have largely attempted to explain this phenomenon via mating preferences and strategies. Here, we test one of the most popular evolutionary hypotheses for beauty-enhancing behaviors, drawn from mating market and parasite stress perspectives, in a large cross-cultural sample. We also test hypoth…
Situational factors shape moral judgements in the trolley dilemma in Eastern, Southern and Western countries in a culturally diverse sample
Multilingualism and Ethnic Prejudice: The Mediating Role of Intergroup Contact
This study explored the relationship between the ability to talk to others in more than one language and ethnic prejudice, considering the quality and quantity of intergroup contact. A structural equation model analysis was carried out on a sample of 631 Italian citizens. The results showed that multilingualism led to an increase of acceptance of intergroup differences and positive attitudes toward Moroccans and that the quality (but not quantity…
The Effect of Perspective-Taking on Linguistic Intergroup Bias
In this experiment, we examined the effect of perspective-taking-actively contemplating others' psychological experiences-on linguistic intergroup bias. We asked some participants to adopt the perspective of a character (an Italian or a Maghrebian), while others did not receive similar instructions, and complete a short dialogue comprised of a series of vignettes, resulting in a 2 (perspective-taking: presence vs. control) × 2 (group: ingroup vs.…
Situational factors shape moral judgements in the trolley dilemma in Eastern, Southern and Western countries in a culturally diverse sample
The Geopolitics of Civic Honesty: The Role of Interpersonal and Political Trust Amid Varying Degrees of Mafia Influence and State Resilience
Civic honesty—the moral standards that define citizens’ commitment to the public good—serves a fundamental role in societal functioning. Prior research has emphasized the role of vertical trust (trust in institutions) and horizontal trust (trust in fellow citizens) in predicting the endorsement of such standards among citizens. However, this research has mainly focused on the political conditions typical of the Global North while neglecting envir…
The psychology of criminal authority: Introducing the Legitimacy of Secret Power Scale
The state’s monopoly on sovereignty can be challenged by criminal systems capable of gaining legitimacy within communities. Understanding the psychological basis of such legitimacy requires broadening traditional conceptualizations of authority to consider how it operates without legal backing and outside formal channels. This research introduces the Legitimacy of Secret Power (L-SP) Scale, a tool measuring individuals’ appraisal of illegal group…
National identification weakens, and territorial identification strengthens, the relationship between masculine honor values and the justification of practices of connivance with the mafia
Organized crime's governance raises questions about mechanisms facilitating the exercise of illegal authority in society. The present research tested the association between masculine honor ideology and the justification of connivance practices facilitating criminal groups' activities. We examined the novel idea that national identification would attenuate and territorial identification would strengthen such a relationship, reflecting different s…
The Effect of Perspective-Taking on Linguistic Intergroup Bias
In this experiment, we examined the effect of perspective-taking-actively contemplating others' psychological experiences-on linguistic intergroup bias. We asked some participants to adopt the perspective of a character (an Italian or a Maghrebian), while others did not receive similar instructions, and complete a short dialogue comprised of a series of vignettes, resulting in a 2 (perspective-taking: presence vs. control) × 2 (group: ingroup vs.…
Multilingualism and Ethnic Prejudice: The Mediating Role of Intergroup Contact
This study explored the relationship between the ability to talk to others in more than one language and ethnic prejudice, considering the quality and quantity of intergroup contact. A structural equation model analysis was carried out on a sample of 631 Italian citizens. The results showed that multilingualism led to an increase of acceptance of intergroup differences and positive attitudes toward Moroccans and that the quality (but not quantity…
Predictors of enhancing human physical attractiveness: Data from 93 countries
People across the world and throughout history have gone to great lengths to enhance their physical appearance. Evolutionary psychologists and ethologists have largely attempted to explain this phenomenon via mating preferences and strategies. Here, we test one of the most popular evolutionary hypotheses for beauty-enhancing behaviors, drawn from mating market and parasite stress perspectives, in a large cross-cultural sample. We also test hypoth…
Situational factors shape moral judgements in the trolley dilemma in Eastern, Southern and Western countries in a culturally diverse sample
(In)Alienable Worth? Cultural Logics of Dignity, Honor, and Face and their Links to Prosociality Across the World
Cultural logic is a set of cultural scripts and patterns organized around a central theme. The cultural logics of dignity, honor, and face describe different ways of evaluating a person’s worth and maintaining cooperation. These cultural logics vary in prevalence across cultures. In this study, we collaboratively develop and validate a measure capturing these cultural logics, which will allow us to map world cultures based on the prevalence of th…
The psychology of criminal authority: Introducing the Legitimacy of Secret Power Scale
The state’s monopoly on sovereignty can be challenged by criminal systems capable of gaining legitimacy within communities. Understanding the psychological basis of such legitimacy requires broadening traditional conceptualizations of authority to consider how it operates without legal backing and outside formal channels. This research introduces the Legitimacy of Secret Power (L-SP) Scale, a tool measuring individuals’ appraisal of illegal group…
National identification weakens, and territorial identification strengthens, the relationship between masculine honor values and the justification of practices of connivance with the mafia
Organized crime's governance raises questions about mechanisms facilitating the exercise of illegal authority in society. The present research tested the association between masculine honor ideology and the justification of connivance practices facilitating criminal groups' activities. We examined the novel idea that national identification would attenuate and territorial identification would strengthen such a relationship, reflecting different s…
When Confidence in Institutions Backfires: Power‐Distance Orientation Moderates the Relationship Between Institutional Trust and Civic Honesty Across Eight Countries
Confidence in institutions is a key predictor of civic honesty, yet evidence shows that this relationship varies across contexts and individuals. This study examined whether power‐distance orientation (PDO)—the extent to which individuals accept hierarchical power relations—moderates this association. High‐PDO individuals tend to view institutional authorities as entitled to privilege, inclined to engage in patronage relationships and potentially…
Justice beyond the State: The Mafia as Avengers and the Legitimization of Criminal Governance
This research examines how individuals’ beliefs that criminal groups such as the Mafia act as community avengers are associated with the legitimization of criminal systems. Results from our study (N = 414) demonstrated that perceiving the Mafia as an efficient protector was linked with a tendency to romanticize this criminal organization and justify its connivance practices, which facilitates its activities. Furthermore, this belief was associate…
The Geopolitics of Civic Honesty: The Role of Interpersonal and Political Trust Amid Varying Degrees of Mafia Influence and State Resilience
Civic honesty—the moral standards that define citizens’ commitment to the public good—serves a fundamental role in societal functioning. Prior research has emphasized the role of vertical trust (trust in institutions) and horizontal trust (trust in fellow citizens) in predicting the endorsement of such standards among citizens. However, this research has mainly focused on the political conditions typical of the Global North while neglecting envir…
Psychology (8 works) · Social Psychology (7 works) · Sociology (5 works) · Cultural Differences and Values (4 works) · Criminology (3 works) · Law (3 works) · Political science (3 works) · Politics (3 works) · Social and Intergroup Psychology (3 works) · Social Psychology (3 works)