Kyle Nash
Biographic Data
| ID | 3817640 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Kyle Nash |
| GIVEN NAMES | Kyle |
| FAMILY NAME | Nash |
| SIGNATURE | NASH K |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Alberta |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4628-1499 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 71 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 19 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Mapping the Pathways: Stigmergy Theory as a Lens for Analyzing e-Participation
This study explores drivers of e-participation using archival data from 145 countries (2012–2020), guided by stigmergy theory. Results show that adult literacy, ICT-based government services, and household Internet access positively influence e-participation. However, Internet access does not sustain long-term global growth. Literacy promotes Internet access but does not impact basic services’ growth, potentially excluding low-literacy population…
Applying process dissociation to self-sacrificial moral dilemmas: Extending the dual-process model
There is considerable evidence linking cognitive reflection with utilitarian judgments in dilemmas that involve sacrificing someone else for the greater good. However, the evidence is mixed on the question of whether cognitive reflection is associated with utilitarian judgments in self-sacrificial dilemmas. We employed process dissociation to extract a self-sacrificial utilitarian (SU) parameter, an altruism (A) parameter, an other-sacrificial (O…
Reactive Risk-Taking: Anxiety Regulation Via Approach Motivation Increases Risk-Taking Behavior
Experimental research and real-world events demonstrate a puzzling phenomenon—anxiety, which primarily inspires caution, sometimes precedes bouts of risk-taking. We conducted three studies to test whether this phenomenon is due to the regulation of anxiety via reactive approach motivation (RAM), which leaves people less sensitive to negative outcomes and thus more likely to take risks. In Study 1 ( N = 231), an achievement anxiety threat caused i…
National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic
Changing collective behaviour and supporting non-pharmaceutical interventions is an important component in mitigating virus transmission during a pandemic. In a large international collaboration (Study 1, N = 49,968 across 67 countries), we investigated self-reported factors associated with public health behaviours (e.g., spatial distancing and stricter hygiene) and endorsed public policy interventions (e.g., closing bars and restaurants) during …
Intolerant of being tolerant? Examining the impact of intergroup toleration on relative left frontal activity and outgroup attitudes
Predicting attitudinal and behavioral responses to Covid-19 pandemic using machine learning
At the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 became a global problem. Despite all the efforts to emphasize the relevance of preventive measures, not everyone adhered to them. Thus, learning more about the characteristics determining attitudinal and behavioral responses to the pandemic is crucial to improving future interventions. In this study, we applied machine learning on the multi-national data collected by the International Collaboration on the Social…
Higher power dynamics: How meaning search and self-transcendence inspire approach motivation and magnanimity
Fidelity with self-transcendent values is hailed as a hallmark of mature and magnanimous character by classic psychological and philosophical theories. Dozens of contemporary experiments inspired by self-affirmation theory have also found that when people are under threat, focus on self-transcendent values can confer magnanimity by improving psychological buoyancy (less anxious and more courageous, determined, and effective) and decreasing bellig…
Examining spread of emotional political content among Democratic and Republican candidates during the 2018 US mid-term elections
Previous research investigating the transmission of political messaging has primarily taken a valence-based approach leaving it unclear how specific emotions influence the spread of candidates’ messages, particularly in a social media context. Moreover, such work does not examine if any differences exist across major political parties (i.e., Democrats vs. Republicans) in their responses to each type of emotional content. Leveraging more than 7000…
Is Social Media Use Changing Who We Are? Examining the Bidirectional Relationship Between Personality and Social Media Use
Social media has changed the way we live. It is now so integral to daily life that it is one of the top activities that people spend their time on each day. Given its ubiquity, it is important to understand what kinds of personality traits draw people toward social media and whether social media changes personality. The present study utilizes a longitudinal design with a large nationally representative sample ( N = 11,629) to examine the bidirect…
Characterizing the Twitter network of prominent politicians and SPLC-defined hate groups in the 2016 US presidential election
We characterize the Twitter networks of the major presidential candidates, Donald J. Trump and Hillary R. Clinton, with various American hate groups defined by the US Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). We further examined the Twitter networks for Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz, and Paul Ryan, for 9 weeks around the 2016 election (4 weeks prior to the election and 4 weeks post-election). We carefully account for the observed heterogeneity in the Twitte…
Threat and Defense
Religious magnanimity: Reminding people of their religious belief system reduces hostility after threat
The present research tested the hypothesis that many people's ambient religious beliefs are non-hostile and magnanimous by assessing whether reminding people of their religious belief systems would reduce hostility after threat. Across religious affiliations, participants reported that their religious belief systems encourage magnanimous behavior. In addition, priming their religious belief systems caused them to act more magnanimously, but only …
The Role of Victim Embarrassment in Explaining Why Apologies Affect Reported (But Not Actual) Forgiveness
This research examines the mediating role of victims' embarrassment in explaining why apologies from transgressors sometimes affect victims' reported forgiveness, but not actual forgiveness toward transgressors. Victims sometimes insincerely communicate forgiveness following a transgressor's apology because they feel put on the spot and embarrassed and try to escape the awkwardness of such situations. The results of an online experiment supported…
Anxious Uncertainty and Reactive Approach Motivation (RAM) for Religious, Idealistic, and Lifestyle Extremes
Reactive Approach Motivation (RAM) theory proposes that the personal uncertainty arising from motivational conflict causes anxiety, and that anxiety draws people to extremes because extremes activate approach‐motivated states that automatically downregulate anxiety. Five new studies consolidate existing evidence for the RAM view of uncertainty‐related threats and reactive extremism. In Studies 1–3, religious, idealistic, and RAM reactions after a…
Threat and defense as goal regulation: From implicit goal conflict to anxious uncertainty, reactive approach motivation, and ideological extremism
Four studies investigated a goal regulation view of anxious uncertainty threat (Gray & McNaughton, 2000) and ideological defense. Participants (N = 444) were randomly assigned to have achievement or relationship goals implicitly primed. The implicit goal primes were followed by randomly assigned achievement or relationship threats that have reliably caused generalized, reactive approach motivation and ideological defense in past research. The thr…
Religious Belief as Compensatory Control
The authors review experimental evidence that religious conviction can be a defensive source of compensatory control when personal or external sources of control are low. They show evidence that (a) belief in religious deities and secular institutions can serve as external forms of control that can compensate for manipulations that lower personal control and (b) religious conviction can also serve as compensatory personal control after experiment…
Reactive approach motivation (RAM) for religion
In 3 experiments, participants reacted with religious zeal to anxious uncertainty threats that have caused reactive approach motivation (RAM) in past research (see McGregor, Nash, Mann, & Phills, 2010, for implicit, explicit, and neural evidence of RAM). In Study 1, results were specific to religious ideals and did not extend to merely superstitious beliefs. Effects were most pronounced among the most anxious and uncertainty-averse participants i…
Anxious uncertainty and reactive approach motivation (RAM)
In 4 experiments anxious uncertainty threats caused reactive approach motivation (RAM). In Studies 1 and 2, academic anxious uncertainty threats caused RAM as assessed by behavioral neuroscience and implicit measures of approach motivation. In Study 3 the effect of a relational anxious uncertainty threat on approach-motivated personal projects in participants' everyday lives was mediated by the idealism of those projects. In Study 4 the effect of…
Threat, high self-esteem, and reactive approach-motivation: Electroencephalographic evidence
Anxious uncertainty and reactive approach motivation (RAM)
In 4 experiments anxious uncertainty threats caused reactive approach motivation (RAM). In Studies 1 and 2, academic anxious uncertainty threats caused RAM as assessed by behavioral neuroscience and implicit measures of approach motivation. In Study 3 the effect of a relational anxious uncertainty threat on approach-motivated personal projects in participants' everyday lives was mediated by the idealism of those projects. In Study 4 the effect of…
Anxious Uncertainty and Reactive Approach Motivation (RAM) for Religious, Idealistic, and Lifestyle Extremes
Reactive Approach Motivation (RAM) theory proposes that the personal uncertainty arising from motivational conflict causes anxiety, and that anxiety draws people to extremes because extremes activate approach‐motivated states that automatically downregulate anxiety. Five new studies consolidate existing evidence for the RAM view of uncertainty‐related threats and reactive extremism. In Studies 1–3, religious, idealistic, and RAM reactions after a…
Threat and defense as goal regulation: From implicit goal conflict to anxious uncertainty, reactive approach motivation, and ideological extremism
Four studies investigated a goal regulation view of anxious uncertainty threat (Gray & McNaughton, 2000) and ideological defense. Participants (N = 444) were randomly assigned to have achievement or relationship goals implicitly primed. The implicit goal primes were followed by randomly assigned achievement or relationship threats that have reliably caused generalized, reactive approach motivation and ideological defense in past research. The thr…
Reactive approach motivation (RAM) for religion
In 3 experiments, participants reacted with religious zeal to anxious uncertainty threats that have caused reactive approach motivation (RAM) in past research (see McGregor, Nash, Mann, & Phills, 2010, for implicit, explicit, and neural evidence of RAM). In Study 1, results were specific to religious ideals and did not extend to merely superstitious beliefs. Effects were most pronounced among the most anxious and uncertainty-averse participants i…
Threat, high self-esteem, and reactive approach-motivation: Electroencephalographic evidence
Religious magnanimity: Reminding people of their religious belief system reduces hostility after threat
The present research tested the hypothesis that many people's ambient religious beliefs are non-hostile and magnanimous by assessing whether reminding people of their religious belief systems would reduce hostility after threat. Across religious affiliations, participants reported that their religious belief systems encourage magnanimous behavior. In addition, priming their religious belief systems caused them to act more magnanimously, but only …
Characterizing the Twitter network of prominent politicians and SPLC-defined hate groups in the 2016 US presidential election
We characterize the Twitter networks of the major presidential candidates, Donald J. Trump and Hillary R. Clinton, with various American hate groups defined by the US Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). We further examined the Twitter networks for Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz, and Paul Ryan, for 9 weeks around the 2016 election (4 weeks prior to the election and 4 weeks post-election). We carefully account for the observed heterogeneity in the Twitte…
The Role of Victim Embarrassment in Explaining Why Apologies Affect Reported (But Not Actual) Forgiveness
This research examines the mediating role of victims' embarrassment in explaining why apologies from transgressors sometimes affect victims' reported forgiveness, but not actual forgiveness toward transgressors. Victims sometimes insincerely communicate forgiveness following a transgressor's apology because they feel put on the spot and embarrassed and try to escape the awkwardness of such situations. The results of an online experiment supported…
Threat, high self-esteem, and reactive approach-motivation: Electroencephalographic evidence
Religious Belief as Compensatory Control
The authors review experimental evidence that religious conviction can be a defensive source of compensatory control when personal or external sources of control are low. They show evidence that (a) belief in religious deities and secular institutions can serve as external forms of control that can compensate for manipulations that lower personal control and (b) religious conviction can also serve as compensatory personal control after experiment…
Reactive approach motivation (RAM) for religion
In 3 experiments, participants reacted with religious zeal to anxious uncertainty threats that have caused reactive approach motivation (RAM) in past research (see McGregor, Nash, Mann, & Phills, 2010, for implicit, explicit, and neural evidence of RAM). In Study 1, results were specific to religious ideals and did not extend to merely superstitious beliefs. Effects were most pronounced among the most anxious and uncertainty-averse participants i…
Anxious uncertainty and reactive approach motivation (RAM)
In 4 experiments anxious uncertainty threats caused reactive approach motivation (RAM). In Studies 1 and 2, academic anxious uncertainty threats caused RAM as assessed by behavioral neuroscience and implicit measures of approach motivation. In Study 3 the effect of a relational anxious uncertainty threat on approach-motivated personal projects in participants' everyday lives was mediated by the idealism of those projects. In Study 4 the effect of…
Threat and defense as goal regulation: From implicit goal conflict to anxious uncertainty, reactive approach motivation, and ideological extremism
Four studies investigated a goal regulation view of anxious uncertainty threat (Gray & McNaughton, 2000) and ideological defense. Participants (N = 444) were randomly assigned to have achievement or relationship goals implicitly primed. The implicit goal primes were followed by randomly assigned achievement or relationship threats that have reliably caused generalized, reactive approach motivation and ideological defense in past research. The thr…
Anxious Uncertainty and Reactive Approach Motivation (RAM) for Religious, Idealistic, and Lifestyle Extremes
Reactive Approach Motivation (RAM) theory proposes that the personal uncertainty arising from motivational conflict causes anxiety, and that anxiety draws people to extremes because extremes activate approach‐motivated states that automatically downregulate anxiety. Five new studies consolidate existing evidence for the RAM view of uncertainty‐related threats and reactive extremism. In Studies 1–3, religious, idealistic, and RAM reactions after a…
Threat and Defense
Religious magnanimity: Reminding people of their religious belief system reduces hostility after threat
The present research tested the hypothesis that many people's ambient religious beliefs are non-hostile and magnanimous by assessing whether reminding people of their religious belief systems would reduce hostility after threat. Across religious affiliations, participants reported that their religious belief systems encourage magnanimous behavior. In addition, priming their religious belief systems caused them to act more magnanimously, but only …
The Role of Victim Embarrassment in Explaining Why Apologies Affect Reported (But Not Actual) Forgiveness
This research examines the mediating role of victims' embarrassment in explaining why apologies from transgressors sometimes affect victims' reported forgiveness, but not actual forgiveness toward transgressors. Victims sometimes insincerely communicate forgiveness following a transgressor's apology because they feel put on the spot and embarrassed and try to escape the awkwardness of such situations. The results of an online experiment supported…
Characterizing the Twitter network of prominent politicians and SPLC-defined hate groups in the 2016 US presidential election
We characterize the Twitter networks of the major presidential candidates, Donald J. Trump and Hillary R. Clinton, with various American hate groups defined by the US Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). We further examined the Twitter networks for Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz, and Paul Ryan, for 9 weeks around the 2016 election (4 weeks prior to the election and 4 weeks post-election). We carefully account for the observed heterogeneity in the Twitte…
Is Social Media Use Changing Who We Are? Examining the Bidirectional Relationship Between Personality and Social Media Use
Social media has changed the way we live. It is now so integral to daily life that it is one of the top activities that people spend their time on each day. Given its ubiquity, it is important to understand what kinds of personality traits draw people toward social media and whether social media changes personality. The present study utilizes a longitudinal design with a large nationally representative sample ( N = 11,629) to examine the bidirect…
Examining spread of emotional political content among Democratic and Republican candidates during the 2018 US mid-term elections
Previous research investigating the transmission of political messaging has primarily taken a valence-based approach leaving it unclear how specific emotions influence the spread of candidates’ messages, particularly in a social media context. Moreover, such work does not examine if any differences exist across major political parties (i.e., Democrats vs. Republicans) in their responses to each type of emotional content. Leveraging more than 7000…
National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic
Changing collective behaviour and supporting non-pharmaceutical interventions is an important component in mitigating virus transmission during a pandemic. In a large international collaboration (Study 1, N = 49,968 across 67 countries), we investigated self-reported factors associated with public health behaviours (e.g., spatial distancing and stricter hygiene) and endorsed public policy interventions (e.g., closing bars and restaurants) during …
Intolerant of being tolerant? Examining the impact of intergroup toleration on relative left frontal activity and outgroup attitudes
Predicting attitudinal and behavioral responses to Covid-19 pandemic using machine learning
At the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 became a global problem. Despite all the efforts to emphasize the relevance of preventive measures, not everyone adhered to them. Thus, learning more about the characteristics determining attitudinal and behavioral responses to the pandemic is crucial to improving future interventions. In this study, we applied machine learning on the multi-national data collected by the International Collaboration on the Social…
Higher power dynamics: How meaning search and self-transcendence inspire approach motivation and magnanimity
Fidelity with self-transcendent values is hailed as a hallmark of mature and magnanimous character by classic psychological and philosophical theories. Dozens of contemporary experiments inspired by self-affirmation theory have also found that when people are under threat, focus on self-transcendent values can confer magnanimity by improving psychological buoyancy (less anxious and more courageous, determined, and effective) and decreasing bellig…
Reactive Risk-Taking: Anxiety Regulation Via Approach Motivation Increases Risk-Taking Behavior
Experimental research and real-world events demonstrate a puzzling phenomenon—anxiety, which primarily inspires caution, sometimes precedes bouts of risk-taking. We conducted three studies to test whether this phenomenon is due to the regulation of anxiety via reactive approach motivation (RAM), which leaves people less sensitive to negative outcomes and thus more likely to take risks. In Study 1 ( N = 231), an achievement anxiety threat caused i…
Applying process dissociation to self-sacrificial moral dilemmas: Extending the dual-process model
There is considerable evidence linking cognitive reflection with utilitarian judgments in dilemmas that involve sacrificing someone else for the greater good. However, the evidence is mixed on the question of whether cognitive reflection is associated with utilitarian judgments in self-sacrificial dilemmas. We employed process dissociation to extract a self-sacrificial utilitarian (SU) parameter, an altruism (A) parameter, an other-sacrificial (O…
Mapping the Pathways: Stigmergy Theory as a Lens for Analyzing e-Participation
This study explores drivers of e-participation using archival data from 145 countries (2012–2020), guided by stigmergy theory. Results show that adult literacy, ICT-based government services, and household Internet access positively influence e-participation. However, Internet access does not sustain long-term global growth. Literacy promotes Internet access but does not impact basic services’ growth, potentially excluding low-literacy population…
Psychology (16 works) · Social Psychology (15 works) · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion (8 works) · Political science (8 works) · Social and Intergroup Psychology (8 works) · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment (7 works) · Politics (6 works) · Cognitive psychology (5 works) · Cultural Differences and Values (5 works) · Epistemology (5 works)