Maja Becker
My research interests are within cross-cultural social psychology. I am particularly interested in self/identity processes and their behavioural consequences. My current research further examines factors and processes underlying the adhesion to attitudes and beliefs in relation to high-stakes issues in contemporary societies (environment, political radicalisation, gender equality, moral judgment, and well-being). Lastly, some of my ongoing research aims to highlight factors and processes that reinforce vs. weaken prejudice and stereotypes in relation to certain social groups.
Primary Interests:
- Attitudes and Beliefs
- Culture and Ethnicity
- Group Processes
- Intergroup Relations
- Motivation, Goal Setting
- Self and Identity
Research Group or Laboratory:
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Journal Articles:
- Bago, B., Kovacs, M., Protzko, J., Kekecs, Z., Nagy ? T., Hoekstra, R., Li, M., Musser, E.D., Arvanitis, A., Tinsley Iones, M., Bayrak, F., Papadatou-Pastou, M., Belaus, A., Storage, D., Thomas, A., Buchanan, E.M., Becker, B., Baskin, E., Kendrick, K., ... Becker, M., … Aczel, B., (2022). Situational factors shape moral judgments in the trolley dilemma in Eastern, Southern, and Western countries in a culturally diverse sample. Nature Human Behaviour. 6, 880-895.
- Baranski, E., Gardiner, G., Shaman, N., Shagen, J., Lee, D., Members of the International Situations Project, & Funder, D. (2024). Personality and Conceptions of Religiosity across the World’s Religions. Journal of Research in Personality.
- Bastian, B., Vauclair, C. M., Loughnan, S., Bain, P., Ashokkumar, A., Becker, M., Bilewicz, M., Collier-Baker, E., Crespo, C., Eastwick, P.W., Fischer, R., Friese, M., Gómez, A., Guerra, V.M., Castellanos Guevara, J.L., Hanke, K., Hooper, N., Huang, L.-L., Junqi, S., … Swann, W. (2019). Explaining illness with evil: pathogen prevalence fosters moral vitalism. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 286(1914).
- Becker, M., Vignoles, V. L., Owe, E., Brown, R., Smith P. B., Easterbrook, M., et al. (2012). Culture and the distinctiveness motive: Constructing identity in individualist and collectivist contexts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102, 833-855. doi: 10.1037/a0026853
- Becker, M., Vignoles, V. L., Owe, E., Easterbrook, M., Brown, R., Smith, P. B., ... Koller, S. H. (2014). Cultural bases for self-evaluation: Seeing oneself positively in different cultural contexts. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40, 657-675. doi: 10.1177/0146167214522836
- Becker, M., Vignoles, V. L., Owe, E., Easterbrook, M. J., Brown, R., Smith, P. B., Abuhamdeh, S., Cendales Ayala, B., Garðarsdóttir, R. G., Torres, A., Camino, L., Bond, M. H., Nizharadze, G., Amponsah, B., Schweiger Gallo, I., Prieto Gil, P., Lorente Clemares, R., Campara, G., Espinosa, A., … Lay, S. (2018). Being oneself through time: Sense of self-continuity across cultures. Self and Identity, 17, 276-293.
- Besta, T., Jurek, P., Olech, M., Włodarczyk, A., Kosakowska-Berezecka, N., Bosson, J. K., Bender, M., Vandello, J. A., Abuhamdeh, S., Agyemang, C. B., Akbaş, G., Albayrak-Aydemir, N., Ammirati, S., Anderson, J., Anjum, G., Ariyanto, A., Aruta, J.J.B.R., Ashraf, M., Bakaityté, A., Becker, M., … & Żadkowska, M. (online first). Measuring Collective Action Intention Toward Gender Equality Across Cultures. European Journal of Psychological Assessment.
- Dejonckheere, E., Rhee, J. J., Baguma, P. K., Barry, O., Becker, M., Bilewicz, M., Castelain, T., Costantini, G., Dimdins, G., Espinosa, A., Finchilescu, G., Friese, M., Gastardo-Conaco, M. C., Gómez, A., González, R., Goto, N., Halama, P., Hurtado-Parrado, C., Jiga-Boy, G. M., … Bastian, B. (2022). Perceiving societal pressure to be happy is linked to poor well-being, especially in happy nations. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 1514.
- Dorison, C. A., Lerner, J. S., Heller, B. H., Rothman, A. J., Kawachi, I. I., Wang, K., Rees, V. W., Gill, B. P., Gibbs, N., Ebersole, C. R., Vally, Z., Tajchman, Z., Zsido, A. N., Zrimsek, M., Chen, Z., Ziano, I., Gialitaki, Z., Ceary, C. D., Lin, Y., … Becker, M., … Coles, N. A. (2022). In COVID-19 Health Messaging, Loss Framing Increases Anxiety with Little-to-No Concomitant Benefits : Experimental Evidence from 84 Countries. Affective Science, 3(3), 577‑602.
- Duff, H., Vignoles, V. L., Becker, M., & Milfont, T. L. (2022). Self-construals and environmental values in 55 cultures. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 79, 101722.
- Eriksson, E. L., Becker, M., & Vignoles, V. L. (2011). Just another face in the crowd? Distinctiveness seeking in Sweden and Britain. Psychological Studies, 56, 125-134.
- Félonneau, M.-L., & Becker, M. (2008). Pro-environmental attitudes and behavior: Revealing perceived social desirability. Revue Internationale de Psychologie Sociale, 21, 25-53.
- Gardiner, G., Lee, D. I., Baranski, E., Funder, D. C., Beramendi, M., Bastian, B., Neubauer, A., Cortez, D., Roth, E., Torres, A., Zanini, D. S., Petkova, K., Tracy, J., Amiot, C., Pelletier-Dumas, M., González, R., Rosenbluth, A., Salgado, S., Guan, Y., …Becker, M., … Thi Thu Bui, H. (2023). The economic well-being of nations is associated with positive daily situational experiences. Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology, 4, 100088.
- Hornsey, M. J., Pearson, S., Kang, J., Sassenberg, K., Jetten, J., Van Lange, P. A. M., Medina, L. G., Amiot, C. E., Ausmees, L., Baguma, P., Barry, O., Becker, M., Bilewicz, M., Castelain, T., Costantini, G., Dimdins, G., Espinosa, A., Finchilescu, G., Friese, M., … Bastian, B. (2023). Multinational data show that conspiracy beliefs are associated with the perception (and reality) of poor national economic performance. European Journal of Social Psychology, 53(1), 78-89.
- Kirkland, K., Crimston, C. R., Jetten, J., Rudnev, M., Acevedo-Triana, C., Amiot, C. E., Ausmees, L., Baguma, P., Barry, O., Becker, M., Bilewicz, M., Boonyasiriwat, W., Castelain, T., Costantini, G., Dimdins, G., Espinosa, A., Finchilescu, G., Fischer, R., Friese, M., … Bastian, B. (2023). Moral expansiveness around the world : The role of societal factors across 36 countries. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 14(3), 305-318.
- Kirkland, K., Van Lange, P. A. M., Gorenz, D., Blake, K., Amiot, C. E., Ausmees, L., Baguma, P., Barry, O., Becker, M., Bilewicz, M., Boonyasiriwat, W., Booth, R. W., Castelain, T., Costantini, G., Dimdins, G., Espinosa, A., Finchilescu, G., Fischer, R., Friese, M., … Bastian, B. (2024). High economic inequality is linked to greater moralization. PNAS Nexus, 3(7), pgae221.
- Kirkland, K., Van Lange, P. A. M., Van Doesum, N. J., Acevedo-Triana, C., Amiot, C. E., Ausmees, L., Baguma, P., Barry, O., Becker, M., Bilewicz, M., Boonyasiriwat, W., Castelain, T., Costantini, G., Dimdins, G., Espinosa, A., Finchilescu, G., Fischer, R., Friese, M., Gómez, Á., … Bastian, B. (2022). Social mindfulness predicts concern for nature and immigrants across 36 nations. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 22102.
- Kosakowska-Berezecka, N., Bosson, J. K., Jurek, P., Besta, T., Olech, M., Vandello, J. A., Bender, M., Dandy, J., Hoorens, V., Jasinskaja-Lahti, I., Mankowski, E., Venäläinen, S., Abuhamdeh, S., Agyemang, C. B., Akbaş, G., Albayrak-Aydemir, N., Ammirati, S., Anderson, J., Anjum, G., … Becker, M., … Żadkowska, M. (2023). Gendered self-views across 62 countries: A test of competing models. Social Psychological and Personality Science. 14(7), 808-824.
- Manunta, E.*, Becker, M., Easterbrook, M. J., Vignoles, V. L. (2022). Economic distress and populism: Examining the role of identity threat and feelings of social exclusion. Political Psychology, 43(5), 893-912.
- Manunta, E.*, Becker, M., Vignoles, V. L., Bertin, P., Crapolicchio, E., Contreras, C., Gavreliuc, A., González, R., Manzi, C., Salanova, T., & Easterbrook, M. J. (2024). Populism, Economic Distress, Cultural Backlash, and Identity Threat: Integrating Patterns and Testing Cross-National Validity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
- Manzi, C., Adorni, R., Di Cicco, G., Milano, V., Manunta, E.*, Montermini, F., Becker, M., & Steca, P. (2022). Implicit and explicit attitudes towards hearing aids: The role of media language. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 41(2), 171–190.
- Owe, E., Vignoles, V. L., Becker, M., Brown, R., Smith, P. B., Lee, S. W. S., ... Jalal, B. (2013). Contextualism as an Important Facet of Individualism-Collectivism: Personhood Beliefs Across 37 National Groups. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 44, 24-45. doi: 10.1177/0022022111430255
- Psychological Science Accelerator Self-Determination Theory Collaboration (2022). A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(22), e2111091119.
- Smith, P.B., Vignoles, V.L., Becker, M., Owe, E., Easterbrook, M.J., Brown, R. ... & Harb, C. (2016). Individual and culture-level components of survey response styles: A multi-level analysis in terms of cultural models of self-hood. International Journal of Psychology.
- Tanjitpiyanond, P., Jetten, J., Peters, K., Ashokkumar, A., Barry, O., Billet, M., Becker, M., Booth, R. W., Castro, D., Chinchilla, J., Costantini, G., Dejonckheere, E., Dimdins, G., Erbas, Y., Espinosa, A., Finchilescu, G., Gómez, Á., González, R., Goto, N., … Yeung, V. W.-L. (2023). A 32-society investigation of the influence of perceived economic inequality on social class stereotyping. European Journal of Social Psychology, 53(2), 367-382.
- Thomson, R., Yuki, M., Talhelm, T., Schug, J., Kito, M., Ayanian, A., Becker, J., Becker, M., Chiu, C., Choi, H.-S., Ferreira, C. M., Fülöp, M., Gul, P., Houghton-Illera, A. M., Joasoo, M., Jong, J., Kavanagh, C.M., Khutkyy, D., Manzi, C., … Visserman, M. L. (2018). Relational mobility predicts social behaviors in 39 countries and is tied to historical farming and threat. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(29), 7521-7526.
- Tian, Q., Hilton, D., & Becker, M. (2016). Confronting the meat paradox in different cultural contexts: Reactions among Chinese and French participants. Appetite, 96, 187-194. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2015.09.009
- Tian, Q., Pan, Y., Tremolière, B., & Becker, M. (online first). Does knowledge matter? How a target’s knowledge of their COVID-19 infection during a violation of preventive policies affects perceived immorality and dehumanization. Asian Journal of Social Psychology.
- Vignoles, V. L., Owe, E., Becker, M., Smith, P. B., Easterbrook, M., Brown., R., ... Bond, M. H. (2016). Beyond the ‘East-West’ dichotomy: Global variation in cultural models of selfhood. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 145, 966-1000. doi: 10.1037/xge0000175
- Wang, K., Goldenberg, A., Dorison, C.A., Miller, J.K., Uusberg, A., Lerner, J.S., Gross, J.J., Bamikole Agesin, B., Bernardo, M., Campos, O., Eudave, L., Grzech, K., Hausman Ozery, D., Jackson, E.A., Oswaldo, E., Garcia, L., Meir Drexler, S., Penić Jurković, A., Rana, K., Wilson, J.P., … Becker, M. … Moshontz, H. (2021). A multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nature Human Behaviour, 5, 1089-1110.
Courses Taught:
- Basic Social Psychology
- Cross-Cultural psychology
- English for Psychologists
- Group Processes and Dynamics, Intergroup relations
- Research Methods
- Self and Identity
- Statistics
Maja Becker
CLLE
Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès
Maison de la recherche, 5 Allée A. Machado
31058 Cedex 9 Toulouse
France
