People’s perceptions of climate change represent a growing concern, especially when these perceptions entail the denial of climate change. Past studies have highlighted the detrimental role of conspiracist beliefs concerning climate change regarding people’s perceptions on this matter. However, the effects of generic conspiracy beliefs and the different types of beliefs determining skepticism about climate change, as well as that of an individual’s personality, are still an open area of inquiry. Our cross-sectional study (N = 842) explored the relationships between the degree to which people hold different generic conspiracy beliefs, their personality characteristics (as defined within the Big Five taxonomy), and climate change beliefs (i.e., in its occurrence and anthropogenic causation). Results indicated common predictors of these dimensions of climate change beliefs, specifically three of the five types of generic conspiracy beliefs, extraversion, agreeability, and intellect/imagination as personality factors. While conspiracy beliefs related to personal well-being emerged as related to climate change skepticism, those in government malfeasance and information control were found to be associated with more acceptance of climate change and its anthropogenic causation. These findings reveal a mixed pattern of relationships between different conspiracist beliefs and climate change perceptions and suggest the complex psychological and ideological underpinnings of the attitudes towards climate change.

The need to protect and preserve the environment is an important concern, and the behavioral change in order to obtain behaviors positively oriented towards the environment is sometimes difficult to achieve. There are multiple factors that influence people’s actions against the environment, but individualistic and egocentric tendencies (i.e., grandiose and vulnerable narcissism) may negatively impact pro-environmental behavior. This article expands existing research by providing a closer look at the mechanisms by which individuals with grandiose and vulnerable narcissistic tendencies self-monitor, make attributions about environmental problems, and embrace the new ecological paradigm, as well as their pro-environmental behaviors. Using a convenience sample (N = 945), two mediation models were tested to assess the effect of narcissism on pro-environmental behavior, mediated by self-monitoring, environmental control, and environmental attitudes. Results indicated that both grandiose and vulnerable narcissism negatively correlated with environmental control, but only grandiose narcissism negatively correlated with environmental attitudes and pro-environmental behavior. Furthermore, mediation analyses results revealed that only environmental control significantly mediated the relationship between narcissism types and pro-environmental behavior. The discussion focuses on the implications of narcissistic features on pro-environmental behavior. Ecological campaigns should aim to increase individual control and include strategies that stimulate narcissistic individuals to self-enhance and recognize their responsibility when they produce significant changes in the environment.

Since the introduction of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 regarding responsible production and consumption, numerous researchers have tried to uncover the psychological mechanisms that stimulate sustainable and eco-friendly living. One particular area of interest is related to increasing environmentally responsible food choices. In recent years, multiple psychological theories have been used to explain and support sustainable food consumption, with the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) being one of them. The theory states that each sustainable behavior is preceded by intention, which, itself, is preceded by attitudes, social norms and perceived behavioral control. With this study framed by TPB, we proposed a systematic review of the literature presenting the psychological factors related to and/or influencing sustainable food consumption. We were interested in both associative studies and experimental interventions that target food choices and habits. Systematic searches were made on Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed. The results were reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). In total, 98 studies covering a variety of sustainable food practices were included in the review. From the components of TPB, attitudes and intentions were almost universally associated with sustainable behaviors. Optimism, autonomy and openness were positively related to intentions and behaviors towards sustainable food, while skepticism or prudence were negatively related to them. Cognitive, moral, normative, emotional, sensory, social and contextual factors were also related to the components of TPB, with more studies taking into account the first two sets of factors. Moreover, some extensions of the theory were also discussed, especially those using the Value–Belief–Norm Theory and the Norm Activation Model. Finally, from a practical standpoint, the review showed that clearer and more consistent labeling standards, support for affordable and accessible sustainable options, and strategies that reduce uncertainty regarding novel food products and their adaptation to the specific food practices of the target population would be useful.

Groups are not simple task-solving machines, they are complex entities that have a specific dynamic depending on the features of the members that compose them. The multiple interactions based on various emerging or contextual constructs form a system that can produce multiple benefits as long as it works efficiently and positively affects members. This paper explores representative research that has provided evidence related to specific group processes that lead to several outcomes (e.g., task performance, group conflict). The main factors described in this theoretical review are group atmosphere, familiarity between members, group conflict (task, relational, and process), member satisfaction, minority influence, and the composition of the personality of the group members. The conclusion highlights the challenges of studying group dynamics and the relevant factors that can maximize the success in group functioning.

Background: Bullying represents a complex problem affecting students of all ages. Among the factors that influence it, appraisals of the transgressions and bystanders’ responses play a very important role. The present study examined adults’ emotional, evaluative, and behavioral responses to hypothetical bullying scenarios varying by bullying type and victim ethnicity. It also explored whether psychological distress was associated with bystanding behaviors as well as previous bullying experiences. Methods: The study used a mixed 3 × 4 vignette-based design. Victim ethnicity (i.e., Romanian, Roma, or Hungarian) was manipulated between participants, while bullying type was manipulated within participants through four scenarios describing physical, verbal, indirect, and cyberbullying. The final sample included 477 adults aged between 18 and 52 years. Participants appraised each transgression (i.e., empathic reactions, unacceptability), reported their likely bystander behavioral intentions (i.e., defend, ignore, report or join the aggression), completed the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and reported previous bullying experiences as victim, witness, and aggressor. Results: Bullying type was the most consistent factor shaping participants’ appraisals as well as bystander reactions. The most tolerated forms were indirect bullying (e.g., highest probability to join the aggression) and verbal bullying (e.g., lowest unacceptability) the least accepted was physical bullying (e.g., lowest probability to join the aggression) while cyberbullying elicited specific patterns (i.e., lower empathy but higher willingness to report the incident). Victim ethnicity had a very limited effect, only concerning reporting intentions: lower for Hungarian targets compared to Romanian. Psychological distress was mainly associated with previous victimization and witnessing, while associations with scenario-based responses were smaller and more specific. Conclusions: The findings suggest that bystander responses are differentiated across bullying forms and prevention efforts should address subtle, indirect, verbal, and online forms of bullying, as these may be more easily normalized or less directly confronted.