A psychology research project led by Prof. Sylvia CHEN, Co-Founder of Mental Health Research Centre (MHRC), Limin Professor in Social and Cultural Psychology, Chair Professor of Social and Cultural Psychology of Department of Applied Social Sciences at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), has received the Second-class Award (Books and Research Papers category) of the 10th Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Awards (Humanities and Social Sciences) conferred by the Ministry of Education. The award recognises the PolyU scholar’s outstanding academic contribution to understanding human psychological and behavioural responses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The award-winning project, “Global Consciousness Predicts Behavioral Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Empirical Evidence From 35 Cultures”, focused on the scientific question of “how individual psychological consciousness influences cross-cultural behavioural responses” in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic as a global public health crisis. Based on the psychological construct “Global Orientation” developed by Prof. Chen and her team, a two-dimensional framework of “Global Consciousness - National Consciousness” was proposed, revealing the dual psychological mechanisms of cooperation and defensiveness that co-exist in humans during crises.
Through large-scale empirical research across 35 countries and regions, this project examined the predictive role of the psychological mechanisms of globalisation in behavioural responses to the pandemic and found the moderating effect of the degree of globalisation, providing evidence for understanding differential social behaviour during the pandemic. The results showed that both global consciousness and national consciousness positively predicted perceived risk of coronavirus and concern about coronavirus. While global consciousness positively predicted prosocial behaviours that benefit others and society as a whole, national consciousness was more likely to drive defensive behaviours, such as cultural exclusion.
The Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Awards (Humanities and Social Sciences) is the most reputable and influential award in the field of philosophy and social sciences across China. Established in 1995, the Award is conferred every three years, targeting higher education institutions nationwide. It aims to motivate researchers in these institutions who have made significant contributions to research in humanities and social sciences, to encourage active exploration into the unknown and innovation, and to promote the development of humanities and social sciences in higher education.
Read the full paper: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10195682/
Online coverage:
Bauhinia - https://polyu.me/4hSHNCO
| Research Units | Mental Health Research Centre |
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