Dominic J Packer
Biographic Data
| ID | 5082575 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Dominic J Packer |
| GIVEN NAMES | Dominic J |
| FAMILY NAME | Packer |
| SIGNATURE | PACKER D J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Lehigh University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8420-6548 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 22 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 233 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 22 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2004 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Strong Leaders, Not Strongmen: How Concern for Polarization and Collective Nostalgia Shape Leader Preference
Political polarization is widely seen as a growing threat to democratic cohesion, yet little is known about how concern about polarization shapes citizens’ preferences for political leadership. Across four studies in the United States and Canada, we examined whether concern about polarization predicts support for strong leaders, and whether this association is mediated by the content of collective nostalgia (i.e., what aspect of the national past…
Shifting evaluative construal: Common and distinct neural components of moral, pragmatic, and hedonic evaluations
People generate evaluations of different attitude objects based on their goals and aspects of the social context. Prior research suggests that people can shift between at least three types of evaluations to judge whether something is good or bad: pragmatic (how costly or beneficial it is), moral (whether it is aligned with moral norms), and hedonic (whether it feels good; Van Bavel et al., 2012). The current research examined the neurocognitive c…
Examining the role of Donald Trump and his supporters in the 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol: A dual-agency model of identity leadership and engaged followership
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 …
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…
Of Pandemics and Zombies: The Influence of Prior Concepts on Covid-19 Pandemic-Related Behaviors
We use a concepts and categories research perspective to explore how prior conceptual knowledge influences thinking about a novel disease, namely COVID-19. We collected measures of how similar people thought COVID-19 was to several existing concepts that may have served as other possible comparison points for the pandemic. We also collected participants' self-reported engagement in pandemic-related behaviors. We found that thinking the COVID-19 p…
Conformity and reactions to deviance in the time of Covid-19
We have seen massive global behavioral change as billions of people radically altered their ways of life in response to COVID-19. Here, we review how research on conformity and deviance can inform understanding of and effective responses to the pandemic. Group identities are critical for understanding who is influenced by whom, as well as how partisan divisions can obstruct cohesive and coordinated action. We identify several questions highlighte…
Using social and behavioural science to support Covid-19 pandemic response
The COVID-19 pandemic represents a massive global health crisis. Because the crisis requires large-scale behaviour change and places significant psychological burdens on individuals, insights from the social and behavioural sciences can be used to help align human behavior with the recommendations of epidemiologists and public health experts. Here we discuss evidence from a selection of research topics relevant to pandemics, including work on nav…
Using social and behavioural science to support Covid-19 pandemic response
Benefiting from Diversity: How Groups’ Coordinating Mechanisms Affect Leadership Opportunities for Marginalized Individuals
Research suggests that prototypical group members often exert stronger social influence and thus have greater leadership opportunities relative to members of marginalized or underrepresented social categories. This article offers a new model for understanding and promoting leadership diversity by focusing on the mechanisms by which a group or organization coordinates behavior among its members. We predict that means‐focused groups (in which socia…
In Defense of Tradition: Religiosity, Conservatism, and Opposition to Same-Sex Marriage in North America
Arguments opposing same-sex marriage are often made on religious grounds. In five studies conducted in the United States and Canada (combined N = 1,673), we observed that religious opposition to same-sex marriage was explained, at least in part, by conservative ideology and linked to sexual prejudice. In Studies 1 and 2, we discovered that the relationship between religiosity and opposition to same-sex marriage was mediated by explicit sexual pre…
Intergenerational Contact Predicts Attitudes Toward Older Adults Through Inclusion of the Outgroup in the Self
This suggests that interventions aimed at improving ageist attitudes through intergenerational contact should focus primarily on disconfirming incompetence stereotypes instead of merely increasing warmth perceptions, which could be done in part by increasing cognitive overlap with older adults
To dissent and protect: Stronger collective identification increases willingness to dissent when group norms evoke collective angst
Research has shown that collective angst (i.e., concern for a group’s future vitality) triggers ingroup protective responses. The current studies examined whether group members seek to protect their group by dissenting from collective angst-inducing group norms. We hypothesized that strong (vs. weak) identifiers holding non-normative opinions would be more willing to dissent, but only when the normative opinion elicited collective angst. In Study…
Statistical and methodological advances for a science of group processes and intergroup relations
This special issue of Group Processes and Intergroup Relations consists of eight articles that review recent statistical and methodological advances relevant to a science of social groups. Each article is purposely written to be accessible, and with an emphasis on practical details to facilitate application and integration into varied research programs
The Motivational Dynamics of Dissent Decisions: A Goal-Conflict Approach
We propose that dissent decisions involve a tension between shorter term group stability goals and longer term group change goals. Strongly identified members may be animated by either goal, and their behavior with respect to group norms is influenced by which is currently dominant. In two experiments, we manipulated construal level, a factor that affects goal selection, such that people are more likely to make decisions that further long-term go…
Rebels with a cause: A goal conflict approach to understanding when conscientious people dissent
At the first sign of trouble or through thick and thin? When nonconformity is and is not disengagement from a group
Sunny Side Up: The Reliance on Positive Age Stereotypes in Descriptions of Future Older Selves
This research investigates processes underlying selective self-stereotyping in the context of a future group membership. In two studies a narrative coding methodology allowed us to investigate the spontaneous use of positive and negative stereotypic content in young adults' descriptions of future aged selves. In Study 1, young adults relied more on positive than negative age stereotypes to construct older possible selves. In Study 2, participants…
On Being Both With Us and Against Us: A Normative Conflict Model of Dissent in Social Groups
Although past research has demonstrated a positive relationship between collective identification and normative conformity, there may be circumstances in which strongly identified members do not conform but instead choose to challenge group norms. This article proposes a normative conflict model, which distinguishes between nonconformity due to dissent (challenging norms to change them) and nonconformity due to disengagement (distancing oneself f…
The Neural Substrates of In-Group Bias: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Investigation
Classic minimal-group studies found that people arbitrarily assigned to a novel group quickly display a range of perceptual, affective, and behavioral in-group biases. We randomly assigned participants to a mixed-race team and used functional magnetic resonance imaging to identify brain regions involved in processing novel in-group and out-group members independently of preexisting attitudes, stereotypes, or familiarity. Whereas previous research…
The Iterative Reprocessing Model: A Multilevel Framework for Attitudes and Evaluation
Dual–process models of attitudes highlight the fact that evaluative processes are complex and multifaceted. Nevertheless, many of these models typically neglect important interactions among processes that can contribute to an evaluation. In this article, we propose a multilevel model informed by neuroscience in which current evaluations are constructed from relatively stable attitude representations through the iterative reprocessing of informati…
Increasing Implicit Self-Esteem Through Classical Conditioning
Implicit self-esteem is the automatic, nonconscious aspect of self-esteem. This study demonstrated that implicit self-esteem can be increased using a computer game that repeatedly pairs self-relevant information with smiling faces. These findings, which are consistent with principles of classical conditioning, establish the associative and interpersonal nature of implicit self-esteem and demonstrate the potential benefit of applying basic learnin…
Using social and behavioural science to support Covid-19 pandemic response
Intergenerational Contact Predicts Attitudes Toward Older Adults Through Inclusion of the Outgroup in the Self
This suggests that interventions aimed at improving ageist attitudes through intergenerational contact should focus primarily on disconfirming incompetence stereotypes instead of merely increasing warmth perceptions, which could be done in part by increasing cognitive overlap with older adults
Conformity and reactions to deviance in the time of Covid-19
We have seen massive global behavioral change as billions of people radically altered their ways of life in response to COVID-19. Here, we review how research on conformity and deviance can inform understanding of and effective responses to the pandemic. Group identities are critical for understanding who is influenced by whom, as well as how partisan divisions can obstruct cohesive and coordinated action. We identify several questions highlighte…
At the first sign of trouble or through thick and thin? When nonconformity is and is not disengagement from a group
Benefiting from Diversity: How Groups’ Coordinating Mechanisms Affect Leadership Opportunities for Marginalized Individuals
Research suggests that prototypical group members often exert stronger social influence and thus have greater leadership opportunities relative to members of marginalized or underrepresented social categories. This article offers a new model for understanding and promoting leadership diversity by focusing on the mechanisms by which a group or organization coordinates behavior among its members. We predict that means‐focused groups (in which socia…
To dissent and protect: Stronger collective identification increases willingness to dissent when group norms evoke collective angst
Research has shown that collective angst (i.e., concern for a group’s future vitality) triggers ingroup protective responses. The current studies examined whether group members seek to protect their group by dissenting from collective angst-inducing group norms. We hypothesized that strong (vs. weak) identifiers holding non-normative opinions would be more willing to dissent, but only when the normative opinion elicited collective angst. In Study…
Rebels with a cause: A goal conflict approach to understanding when conscientious people dissent
Increasing Implicit Self-Esteem Through Classical Conditioning
Implicit self-esteem is the automatic, nonconscious aspect of self-esteem. This study demonstrated that implicit self-esteem can be increased using a computer game that repeatedly pairs self-relevant information with smiling faces. These findings, which are consistent with principles of classical conditioning, establish the associative and interpersonal nature of implicit self-esteem and demonstrate the potential benefit of applying basic learnin…
The Iterative Reprocessing Model: A Multilevel Framework for Attitudes and Evaluation
Dual–process models of attitudes highlight the fact that evaluative processes are complex and multifaceted. Nevertheless, many of these models typically neglect important interactions among processes that can contribute to an evaluation. In this article, we propose a multilevel model informed by neuroscience in which current evaluations are constructed from relatively stable attitude representations through the iterative reprocessing of informati…
On Being Both With Us and Against Us: A Normative Conflict Model of Dissent in Social Groups
Although past research has demonstrated a positive relationship between collective identification and normative conformity, there may be circumstances in which strongly identified members do not conform but instead choose to challenge group norms. This article proposes a normative conflict model, which distinguishes between nonconformity due to dissent (challenging norms to change them) and nonconformity due to disengagement (distancing oneself f…
The Neural Substrates of In-Group Bias: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Investigation
Classic minimal-group studies found that people arbitrarily assigned to a novel group quickly display a range of perceptual, affective, and behavioral in-group biases. We randomly assigned participants to a mixed-race team and used functional magnetic resonance imaging to identify brain regions involved in processing novel in-group and out-group members independently of preexisting attitudes, stereotypes, or familiarity. Whereas previous research…
Sunny Side Up: The Reliance on Positive Age Stereotypes in Descriptions of Future Older Selves
This research investigates processes underlying selective self-stereotyping in the context of a future group membership. In two studies a narrative coding methodology allowed us to investigate the spontaneous use of positive and negative stereotypic content in young adults' descriptions of future aged selves. In Study 1, young adults relied more on positive than negative age stereotypes to construct older possible selves. In Study 2, participants…
At the first sign of trouble or through thick and thin? When nonconformity is and is not disengagement from a group
Rebels with a cause: A goal conflict approach to understanding when conscientious people dissent
The Motivational Dynamics of Dissent Decisions: A Goal-Conflict Approach
We propose that dissent decisions involve a tension between shorter term group stability goals and longer term group change goals. Strongly identified members may be animated by either goal, and their behavior with respect to group norms is influenced by which is currently dominant. In two experiments, we manipulated construal level, a factor that affects goal selection, such that people are more likely to make decisions that further long-term go…
Statistical and methodological advances for a science of group processes and intergroup relations
This special issue of Group Processes and Intergroup Relations consists of eight articles that review recent statistical and methodological advances relevant to a science of social groups. Each article is purposely written to be accessible, and with an emphasis on practical details to facilitate application and integration into varied research programs
To dissent and protect: Stronger collective identification increases willingness to dissent when group norms evoke collective angst
Research has shown that collective angst (i.e., concern for a group’s future vitality) triggers ingroup protective responses. The current studies examined whether group members seek to protect their group by dissenting from collective angst-inducing group norms. We hypothesized that strong (vs. weak) identifiers holding non-normative opinions would be more willing to dissent, but only when the normative opinion elicited collective angst. In Study…
In Defense of Tradition: Religiosity, Conservatism, and Opposition to Same-Sex Marriage in North America
Arguments opposing same-sex marriage are often made on religious grounds. In five studies conducted in the United States and Canada (combined N = 1,673), we observed that religious opposition to same-sex marriage was explained, at least in part, by conservative ideology and linked to sexual prejudice. In Studies 1 and 2, we discovered that the relationship between religiosity and opposition to same-sex marriage was mediated by explicit sexual pre…
Intergenerational Contact Predicts Attitudes Toward Older Adults Through Inclusion of the Outgroup in the Self
This suggests that interventions aimed at improving ageist attitudes through intergenerational contact should focus primarily on disconfirming incompetence stereotypes instead of merely increasing warmth perceptions, which could be done in part by increasing cognitive overlap with older adults
Benefiting from Diversity: How Groups’ Coordinating Mechanisms Affect Leadership Opportunities for Marginalized Individuals
Research suggests that prototypical group members often exert stronger social influence and thus have greater leadership opportunities relative to members of marginalized or underrepresented social categories. This article offers a new model for understanding and promoting leadership diversity by focusing on the mechanisms by which a group or organization coordinates behavior among its members. We predict that means‐focused groups (in which socia…
Using social and behavioural science to support Covid-19 pandemic response
The COVID-19 pandemic represents a massive global health crisis. Because the crisis requires large-scale behaviour change and places significant psychological burdens on individuals, insights from the social and behavioural sciences can be used to help align human behavior with the recommendations of epidemiologists and public health experts. Here we discuss evidence from a selection of research topics relevant to pandemics, including work on nav…
Using social and behavioural science to support Covid-19 pandemic response
Of Pandemics and Zombies: The Influence of Prior Concepts on Covid-19 Pandemic-Related Behaviors
We use a concepts and categories research perspective to explore how prior conceptual knowledge influences thinking about a novel disease, namely COVID-19. We collected measures of how similar people thought COVID-19 was to several existing concepts that may have served as other possible comparison points for the pandemic. We also collected participants' self-reported engagement in pandemic-related behaviors. We found that thinking the COVID-19 p…
Conformity and reactions to deviance in the time of Covid-19
We have seen massive global behavioral change as billions of people radically altered their ways of life in response to COVID-19. Here, we review how research on conformity and deviance can inform understanding of and effective responses to the pandemic. Group identities are critical for understanding who is influenced by whom, as well as how partisan divisions can obstruct cohesive and coordinated action. We identify several questions highlighte…
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 …
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…
Examining the role of Donald Trump and his supporters in the 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol: A dual-agency model of identity leadership and engaged followership
Shifting evaluative construal: Common and distinct neural components of moral, pragmatic, and hedonic evaluations
People generate evaluations of different attitude objects based on their goals and aspects of the social context. Prior research suggests that people can shift between at least three types of evaluations to judge whether something is good or bad: pragmatic (how costly or beneficial it is), moral (whether it is aligned with moral norms), and hedonic (whether it feels good; Van Bavel et al., 2012). The current research examined the neurocognitive c…
Strong Leaders, Not Strongmen: How Concern for Polarization and Collective Nostalgia Shape Leader Preference
Political polarization is widely seen as a growing threat to democratic cohesion, yet little is known about how concern about polarization shapes citizens’ preferences for political leadership. Across four studies in the United States and Canada, we examined whether concern about polarization predicts support for strong leaders, and whether this association is mediated by the content of collective nostalgia (i.e., what aspect of the national past…
Psychology (20 works) · Social Psychology (17 works) · Social and Intergroup Psychology (14 works) · Cultural Differences and Values (10 works) · Political science (10 works) · Social Psychology (9 works) · Cognitive psychology (6 works) · Medicine (6 works) · Politics (6 works) · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment (6 works)