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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

From personality types to social labels: the impact of using mbti on social anxiety among chinese youth.

• School of Journalism and Communication, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China

Introduction: As the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) gains popularity among Chinese young people, it has undergone a gradual transition from being perceived as a personality assessment tool to being regarded as a social label. The objective of this study was to ascertain whether the use of the MBTI as a social label has an impact on social anxiety among Chinese youth groups.

Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted on social media platforms to recruit Chinese youth aged 18 to 35. A total of 247 males and 222 females participated in the study, and the data was analyzed quantitatively using SPSS software and the Process macro plugin.

Results: The study found no strong correlation between MBTI as a social label and social anxiety. Moreover, this study introduced ego identity, belonging, and impression management as mediating variables and found that, under the influence of ego identity and impression management, the use of MBTI has a significant impact on social anxiety.

Discussion: The research reveals the complex role of MBTI among Chinese youth and provides a new perspective for understanding the impact of online social labels on the mental health of youth groups. Of course, this study also has limitations in terms of sample size and variable control. Future research should expand the sample size, introduce more potential influencing factors, and further validate and expand the existing conclusions.

1 Introduction

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a measurement tool for psychological type theory proposed and developed by Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother Katharine Cook Briggs. It has gained widespread international influence and application prospects, particularly in areas such as leadership potential ( Pestana and Codina, 2019 ; Pestana and Codina, 2020 ), management behavior ( Furnham and Stringfield, 1993 ; Wu et al., 2011 ), and career planning ( McCaulley and Martin, 1995 ). The design of MBTI is primarily based on the psychological type theory proposed by Jung (1971) , who believed that people’s psychological tendencies can be divided into two basic attitudes: extraverted [E] and introverted [I], which further extend to four psychological functions, namely thinking [T], feeling [F], sensing [S], and intuition [N]. Twenty years after Jung proposed the psychological type theory, Myers and Briggs introduced the fourth dimension: judging [J] and perceiving [P] ( Quenk, 2009 ). The MBTI test separates human personality types into four dimensions and ultimately combines them into 16 personality types.

Although the MBTI still has limitations in psychological measurement aspects such as reliability and usefulness ( Boyle, 1995 ), it remains popular among Chinese youth. As of December 16, 2023, the real-time popularity of MBTI-related topics on the Xiaohongshu app (China’s version of Instagram) in the past 180 days has reached 31.2817 million. Discussions on this topic mainly revolve around interpersonal communication, indicating that MBTI has transformed from a personality type test to a means of interpersonal interaction. Recent studies have also found that some researchers have begun to focus on the importance of MBTI personality types in online social activities ( Zhang, 2024 ) and how the spread of MBTI has become a social culture ( Wang et al., 2024 ). However, their research lacks a quantitative perspective to explain this issue. With the popularity of online social media, people can communicate with others through social software (such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) anytime and anywhere without leaving their homes. However, as the frequency of social media use increases, people are gradually experiencing more intense social anxiety ( Yang et al., 2023 ).

Therefore, this study, using MBTI as an entry point, will explore its impact on social anxiety among Chinese youth through a survey method. Additionally, the use of MBTI may promote ego identity and further trigger group identity, which will also affect impression management made by individuals to conform to MBTI traits ( Zhang, 2024 ). Therefore, this study will also explore “ego identity,” “belonging” and “impression management” as mediating variables.

2 Literature review

2.1 using mbti as a social label and social anxiety.

Social Anxiety (SA) differs from general anxiety symptoms; it primarily occurs during interpersonal interactions and is characterized by intense fear of others’ evaluations in social situations ( Morrison and Heimberg, 2013 ; Counsell et al., 2017 ). When social anxiety escalates to a certain degree, it can lead to Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). People with SAD often feel shy when encountering strangers and may want to withdraw from unfamiliar social environments. They are often ambivalent in nature, desiring social interaction while avoiding it due to fears of being disliked, perceived as stupid, or boring ( Stein and Stein, 2008 ). With China’s economic, cultural, and social development, social anxiety among Chinese youth is also increasing ( Xin et al., 2022 ). Some scholars argue that urbanization and employment pressures have, to some extent, reduced interpersonal connections, disrupting China’s traditional acquaintance society and thereby increasing the likelihood of social anxiety ( Chi and Xin, 2020 ; Xin et al., 2021 ).

The internet has become a crucial platform for interpersonal communication, and posting daily updates online has become a common habit among contemporary Chinese youth. Among these practices, the use of MBTI is gradually replacing the previous 12 astrological types, becoming an important social label for Chinese youth on the internet. There is a difference between social tags and social labels on the internet. Social tags mainly emphasize the technical aspects of social media, fulfilling various user needs such as information classification, search and navigation, and information extraction ( Suchanek et al., 2008 ). However, as social media evolves, more people are starting to label themselves and others, referred to as social labels. Social label theory focuses on the role of these labels in criminal and deviant behavior; once labeled, individuals are prone to eliciting negative stereotypes from themselves and others ( Becker, 1963 ). Social label theory emphasizes how societal environments, by defining or stereotyping individuals as deviants, can trigger a series of deviant behaviors ( Bernburg, 2009 ). In other words, labels are essentially constructs of social norms; they do not inherently exist ( Becker, 1963 ). In social label theory, once labeled as a norm-breaker, individuals are tagged as “deviants.” In practice, MBTI personality types also serve as a form of social label; when individuals exhibit personality traits differing from their MBTI type, they may be labeled as “deviants” by the MBTI-using community, leading to gradual isolation. This intensification may increase social anxiety as they are tagged with undesirable labels ( Stein and Stein, 2008 ). Therefore, to embody their MBTI personality type, individuals must conform to behaviors aligned with this type, driving themselves to integrate into the group and gain acceptance. It can be argued that to cater to group needs, individuals may experience social anxiety. However, this theoretical derivation remains untested. To fill this gap, the study attempts to validate this derivation. Thus, the first hypothesis of the study is:

H1 : Using MBTI as a social label positively influences social anxiety.

2.2 Using MBTI as a social label, ego identity, and social anxiety

The concept of ego identity was proposed by Erikson (1956) , who discussed the formation of self-identity within the framework of personality development. Although Erikson did not provide a clear definition of ego identity, it is generally understood that it needs to be discussed within a psychoanalytic perspective ( Bourne, 1978 ). The formation of ego identity is a crucial aspect of personality development. To further measure it, Marcia (1966) proposed the dimensions of exploration and commitment, categorizing ego identity into four types based on whether exploration leads to commitment: achievement, moratorium, foreclosure, and diffusion. Marcia’s theory provided the possibility for empirical research on Erikson’s ego identity theory, leading to the development of many semi-structured interview techniques and standardized measurement techniques, and transitioning Erikson’s identity theory into a clearly verifiable theory. Previous research has demonstrated a positive correlation between using MBTI and ego identity ( Hua and Zhou, 2023 ), suggesting that external personality information can influence ego identity to some extent. When MBTI serves as a social label, it provides a clear symbol for achieving ego identity. These symbols from the external world enable individuals to better achieve ego identity ( Brown, 1998 ).

In the context of the internet, there is research on the relationship between ego identity and social anxiety. The findings reveal that for male youth, there is a positive correlation between immature identity status, frequent internet use, and social anxiety, while no such relationship is found for female youth ( Mazalin and Moore, 2004 ). Once a mature identity status is achieved through MBTI among youth, is there still a positive correlation with social anxiety? Perhaps achieving ego identity through MBTI may reduce social anxiety, but if confined within the MBTI social label, will ego identity still reduce social anxiety? Based on theoretical derivations and the emergence of new questions, the study suggests the following hypotheses:

H2: Using MBTI as a social label positively influences ego identity.

H3: Ego identity achieved through MBTI positively influences social anxiety.

H4: Ego identity plays a mediating role between using MBTI as a social label and social anxiety.

2.3 Using MBTI as a social label, belonging, and social anxiety

Belonging is considered a subjective sense of value and respect, established on the basis of shared experiences, beliefs, or personal characteristics ( Mahar et al., 2013 ). Belonging is primarily understood from the perspective of interpersonal relationships as an important measure of whether there is a lack of mental health ( Anant, 1966 ). When belonging is lacking, it is likely to trigger anxiety in individuals ( Baumeister and Tice, 1990 ). Belonging, as a universal human need, serves to establish bonds with others. Achieving belonging involves two criteria: the need for frequent and enjoyable interactions with a few others and the requirement for these interactions to occur within a temporarily stable, enduring, and mutually beneficial emotional framework ( Baumeister and Leary, 1995 ). Using MBTI as a social label has the potential to enhance belonging, primarily due to MBTI’s classification function, which divides people into 16 personality types. Classification helps individuals understand their social environment and plays a positive role in guiding individual behavior within it ( Bruner, 1957 ; Bodenhausen et al., 2003 ). Classification also facilitates understanding the relationships between one’s own group and other groups and promotes the search for shared values among groups ( Galinsky et al., 2003 ). Through MBTI personality types, people can more easily distinguish themselves from others and ultimately achieve group categorization based on personality types. Because this categorization is based on personality types, there is similarity or proximity among group members, which helps people establish a bond and form relatively stable and enjoyable interactions ( Baumeister and Leary, 1995 ). Furthermore, classification defines a common social identity for individuals, which helps foster a sense of belonging and unity, promoting trust and cooperation among people ( Claridge, 2020 ). Groups formed by shared identities prevent individuals from being isolated, but this also means that individuals must commit to group expectations and obligations, strive to serve group interests, and avoid actions that undermine group goals ( Ellemers et al., 2002 ; Claridge, 2020 ). Therefore, individuals who use MBTI as a social label are compelled to behave in accordance with group expectations and obligations to avoid being detached from the group, which indirectly leads to social anxiety. It can be argued that while belonging may alleviate social anxiety to some extent, when assigned a social label, this belonging may lead to deeper social anxiety. To further validate the above theoretical derivation, the study proposes the following hypotheses:

H5: Using MBTI as a social label positively affects belonging.

H6: The belonging obtained from using MBTI positively affects social anxiety.

H7: This belonging plays a mediating role between using MBTI as a social label and social anxiety.

2.4 Using MBTI as a social label, impression management, and social anxiety

Humans have a universal and ongoing concern about self-presentation, sometimes acting to leave a particular impression on others ( Leary, 1995 ). In interpersonal relationships, impression management controls the formation of others’ impressions by creating an image that others expect to see Leary and Kowalski (1990) . Through interpersonal interactions, impression management can establish, maintain, or refine an individual’s image in the minds of others ( Tedeschi, 2013 ). Impression management consists of two processes: the motivation for impression management and impression construction. The former emphasizes the extent to which people want to control others’ perceptions of them, while the latter refers to the type of impression people try to construct ( Leary and Kowalski, 1990 ). There are mainly five strategies of impression management: ingratiation, self-promotion, exemplification, supplication and intimidation, which may not necessarily yield positive effects ( Jones and Pittman, 1982 ; Turnley and Bolino, 2001 ). When MBTI is used as a social label, it is likely to generate motivation for impression management during interpersonal interactions ( Zhang, 2024 ). The motivation for impression management arises from the goal relevance of the impression, the value of the desired goal, and the discrepancy between the desired image and the current image ( Leary and Kowalski, 1990 ). Past understandings of impression management were often based on the need to deceive others or meet social expectations, but research has confirmed that impression management in social interactions is not for deception but rather self-control oriented towards interpersonal relationships ( Uziel, 2010 , 2014 ). Previous studies have shown that individuals with high levels of social anxiety tend to have stronger self-control abilities during interactions with others ( Kashdan et al., 2011 ). When self-control weakens during or after social interactions, it is positively correlated with social anxiety ( Kashdan et al., 2011 ; BlaCkhart et al., 2015 ). If individual self-control is for the sake of impression management, it will bring additional burdens to social anxiety ( Finkel et al., 2006 ; BlaCkhart et al., 2015 ). However, when focusing on MBTI as a social label, is it also the case that self-control in impression management, within the context of interpersonal relationships, mediates social anxiety? This question remains unclear. Therefore, the study proposes the following hypotheses:

H8: Using MBTI as a social label positively affects self-control in impression management.

H9: The self-control in impression management obtained from using MBTI positively affects social anxiety.

H10: This self-control in impression management plays a mediating role between using MBTI as a social label and social anxiety.

See Figure 1 for the research model diagram.

Figure 1 . Hypotheses proposed in the study.

3 Research methods and data collection

3.1 research design.

In summary, ego identity, belonging, and impression management are the research dimensions that may lead to social anxiety among youth groups during the use of MBTI. This study adopts the questionnaire survey method, which utilizes questionnaires as a tool to collect data and is widely used in current social surveys ( Moser and Kalton, 1971 ). The study employs ego identity, belonging, and impression management as mediating variables to explore the direct and indirect relationships between MBTI use and social anxiety among youth groups through questionnaire surveys. The survey targets young social media users aged 18 to 35. Since there is no unified standard for defining the age range of youth groups, and according to the World Health Organization’s definition of youth aged 18–44, this study selects participants aged 18–35 based on China’s national conditions and previous research on youth groups ( Liu et al., 2022 ).

Participants in the study were mainly recruited through the dissemination of information on social media platforms widely used in China, such as WeChat, Weibo, QQ, Xiaohongshu, Douban, etc. After eliminating invalid questionnaires with obvious indications of minimal MBTI use, short response times, and low answer discrimination, a total of 469 valid questionnaires were obtained, with an effective rate of 84.01%. The sample mainly covers relatively economically developed regions in China, such as Shanghai, Guangdong, and Zhejiang, and includes 247 males (52.7%) and 222 females (47.3%). Their age groups are 18–25 years old (29.2%), 26–30 years old (43.7%), and 31–35 years old (27.1%). The study also investigated their educational background. Specific demographic variables are shown in Table 1 .

Table 1 . Basic information of participants.

3.2 Measurement scales

3.2.1 mbti usage measurement.

We adopted the Contagion-Behavioral Response (CBR) scale to measure the usage of MBTI among Chinese youth groups. The CBR scale measures reporting behaviors related to reading and basic application of MBTI information ( Lopez et al., 2021 ), without covering a deeper understanding of MBTI information. Therefore, this study modified some items to measure individuals’ understanding of MBTI and the frequency of usage behaviors such as liking, following, and sharing, to better understand participants’ MBTI usage. Participants were required to indicate their level of agreement with each item on a five-point Likert Scale (1 = Never, 5 = Always), and the degree of MBTI usage was assessed by averaging all scores.

3.2.2 Ego identity measurement

Adolescence is a critical juncture for establishing cognition of ego identity and social identity. Currently, MBTI has become a widely influential personality analysis model. Although its reliability and validity are questioned in academic circles, as a new form of social label, it has a significant impact on adolescents’ social ego identity, further affecting social anxiety among youth. Serafini and Adams (2002) constructed an identity scale based on Loevinger (1957) test method to measure the five identity functions proposed by Adams and Marshall (1996) , and verified the validity of the scale from internal consistency, structural validity, and external functionality. We adopted this scale in this study to explore whether participants’ self-cognition changed after using MBTI (1 = Never, 5 = Always).

3.2.3 Belonging measurement

This study references the social connection scale and social assurance scale developed by Lee and Robbins (1995) based on self-psychology theory. These two scales can measure the social belonging of youth groups in MBTI usage from different dimensions such as psychological distance and group consciousness (1 = Strongly agree, 6 = Strongly disagree). The reliability estimates of the scales are 0.91 and 0.82, respectively, indicating good reliability.

3.2.4 Impression management measurement

In the process of labeling MBTI among youth groups, basic social needs often stimulate their motivation for impression management. The two-component model of impression management suggests that impression management is a two-stage process, including impression management motivation and impression construction. Impression management motivation is defined as “the extent to which people are motivated to control how others perceive them” ( Leary and Kowalski, 1990 ). In the process of using MBTI labels for social interaction, youth groups are likely to experience social anxiety based on the need for impression management. This study drew on the self-control measurement scale developed by Tangney et al. (2004) , which improves upon the self-control questionnaire proposed by Brandon et al. (1990) by incorporating individual difference factors into the measurement of self-control, demonstrating good reliability. Participants in this study were required to make internal judgments and choices related to impression management dimensions based on their true thoughts after using MBTI (1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agree).

3.2.5 Social anxiety scale

The use of MBTI among youth groups is influenced by social anxiety to some extent. Different personality classifications can easily lead to phenomena such as social group division and individual isolation. Schlenker believes that people’s concern about receiving unfavorable evaluations from others is related to many social psychological phenomena, including conformity, prosocial behavior, self-presentation, self-serving attribution, social anxiety, self-handicapping, attitude change, etc. ( Schlenker and Leary, 1982 ). The Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE) scale proposed by Watson and Friend (1969) is the most commonly used measure to determine the degree of fear of receiving negative evaluations from others, with social anxiety being an important indicator. However, the utility of this scale is limited by its length. Therefore, Mark R proposed a short version of the scale ( Leary, 1983 ), which has only 12 items but is highly correlated with the original scale. This study borrows from this scale and modifies the items according to the participants’ context, measuring the degree of social anxiety in MBTI usage from the perspective of the influence of others’ evaluations on self-evaluation (1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agree).

3.3 Data analysis

The data organization tool for this study was Excel, while the data analysis tools were SPSS 27.0 and the Process 4.1 macro plugin developed by Hayes (2013) . Due to inconsistencies in the scales of individual variables, the data were first standardized using z-score normalization in SPSS 27.0 before analyzing. Subsequently, all items underwent reliability and validity tests. Based on the standardized item data, the average value of different variables were calculated, followed by the computation of correlations between variables. Finally, model 4 in the Process 4.1 macro plugin was used for parallel mediator variable analysis. For all mediator variables, the Bootstrap test was employed to further verify their mediating effects.

3.3.1 Reliability and validity tests

The items selected for the study were validated in the researcher’s papers and exhibited good reliability and validity ( Leary, 1983 ; Lee and Robbins, 1995 ; Serafini and Adams, 2002 ; Tangney et al., 2004 ; Lopez et al., 2021 ). To further examine the reliability and validity of the survey data, Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient, KMO value, and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity were calculated using SPSS 27.0. The results showed that the Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients for all dimensions ranged from 0.867 to 0.955, all higher than the threshold of 0.7, indicating high internal consistency and ideal reliability of the scales in the questionnaire. The KMO values for all dimensions ranged from 0.888 to 0.977, all exceeding the threshold of 0.7, and the sig. Values for Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity were all 0.000, indicating high data validity. Meanwhile, due to the diverse sources of data in this study, a Harman’s single-factor analysis of variance was also conducted on the data. The results showed that the eigenvalues of 12 factors were greater than 1, and the variance explained by the first common factor was 26.23%, less than the standard value of 40%. Therefore, there was no common method bias, and the results were valid for subsequent data analysis. The results of reliability and validity analysis for each variable are shown in Table 2 .

Table 2 . Reliability and validity of each dimension of the scale.

3.3.2 Correlation analysis

To further investigate whether there were correlations between the dimensions, Pearson correlation coefficient measurements were conducted on all dimensions. As shown in Table 3 , there were significant and positive correlations between Using MBTI, Ego Identity, Belonging, Impression Management, and Social Anxiety. Among them, Ego Identity had the highest correlation with Using MBTI ( r = 0.754), followed by Belonging ( r = 0.533), Social Anxiety ( r = 0.324), and Impression Management ( r = 0.295). It is evident that all variables were positively correlated, and both Ego Identity and Belonging had r values >0.5, indicating significant correlations with Using MBTI.

Table 3 . Correlation analysis between variables.

3.3.3 Regression analysis of the mediation model

The study used the Process macro program 4.1 developed by Hayes to perform regression analysis on the variables, selecting model 4. The regression analysis is shown in Table 4 ( Hayes, 2013 ). The results indicated that Using MBTI had a significant positive effect on Ego Identity ( β = 0.705, p < 0.001), Belonging ( β = 0.530, p < 0.001), and Impression Management ( β = 0.332, p < 0.001). Ego Identity ( β = 0.272, p < 0.01) and Impression Management ( β = 0.600, p < 0.001) had a significant positive impact on Social Anxiety. This suggests that Ego Identity and Impression Management partially mediate the relationship between Using MBTI and Social Anxiety. Therefore, hypotheses H2, H3, H5, H8, and H9 were supported, while H4 and H10 received initial support and required further testing. Hypotheses H1, H6, and H7 were not supported.

Table 4 . Regression analysis of variable relationships.

To further estimate the performance indicators of the model, a Bootstrap test was conducted on the mediator variables, as shown in Table 5 . In the process where Using MBTI affects Social Anxiety through Ego Identity, Belonging, and Impression Management, both Ego Identity and Impression Management did not include 0 in the Bootstrap 95% confidence interval, indicating significant mediating effects of these two variables. Belonging included 0, further confirming that hypothesis H7 was not supported. Therefore, hypotheses H4 and H10 were supported. According to the research data, the mediation model effect is shown in Figure 2 .

Table 5 . Analysis of mediation effects.

Figure 2 . Model diagram of the association between using MBTI and social anxiety. Solid lines indicate supported hypotheses, and dashed lines indicate unsupported hypotheses. ** p  < 0.01, *** p  < 0.001.

4 Discussion and conclusion

4.1 analysis of research findings, 4.1.1 the relationship between using mbti and social anxiety.

The correlation between using MBTI as their social label and social anxiety in Chinese youth is weak, and the results from the Process 4.1 macro plugin are also insignificant. This outcome roughly confirms that the relationship between the two is not close, and it is clear that using MBTI as a social label does not lead to social anxiety. In previous research, scholars measured whether using MBTI by adolescent groups would bring mental health issues, and their results showed that it could enhance the level of subjective well-being, thereby reducing anxiety and depression ( Hua and Zhou, 2023 ), but they did not discuss it in social interactions. The results of this study further indicate that using MBTI as a social label may not bring any harm. The possible reason for this outcome is that during the long-term use by Chinese youth, MBTI has primarily served to further strengthen self-cognition, without excessive focus on whether interactions with others would bring adverse consequences. This is also an important reason why social anxiety is difficult to arise. In other words, simply acquiring and using a social label may not impact social anxiety.

4.1.2 Differences in the mediating effects of ego identity, belonging, and impression management

Due to the insignificance of the direct effect, the mediating effects influencing social anxiety become crucial. Next, we discuss several mediating effects proposed in the research hypothesis.

4.1.2.1 Significant mediating effect of ego identity

Previous research clearly indicates that using MBTI will have a positive impact on ego identity, and immature self-cognition is more likely to trigger social anxiety ( Mazalin and Moore, 2004 ; Ruth, 2013 ; Hua and Zhou, 2023 ). Does this mean that acquiring ego identity through MBTI will alleviate social anxiety to some extent? The survey data suggests that this may not be the case. The emergence of MBTI has gradually clarified ego identity. The past self may have been relatively chaotic, with greater interpretive space, where different viewpoints would be seen as individual differences rather than linked to personality types. However, after ego identity is clarified, it may not immediately bring excessive harm, but long-term interactions could potentially disrupt this relatively stable state. Chinese youth primarily use MBTI as a social label on social media, engaging in frequent and prolonged interactions with others. It is highly likely that some personality traits proposed by MBTI cannot fully explain individual behavior, even leading to doubts about MBTI. Ultimately, MBTI still has limitations in reliability and usefulness ( Boyle, 1995 ). Individuals in this state may experience a relatively contradictory state: Can MBTI as a social label truly help me understand myself and others? Is my interaction with others based on MBTI still meaningful? Or, having roughly figured out this person through MBTI, will they not have a good outcome with me? Is it necessary to socialize with them? Is judging a person through MBTI too one-sided? The emergence of these questions will influence the generation of social anxiety to some extent.

4.1.2.2 Significant mediating effect of impression management

From the perspective of interpersonal relationships, impression management is more about self-control. When self-control weakens, it is unsurprising that social anxiety arises ( Uziel, 2014 ). The data clearly shows that impression management has a relatively large impact on social anxiety, and its mediating effect is the strongest. This is primarily because, while MBTI serves as a social label, it also becomes a shackle in interpersonal interactions. People need to self-control according to the impressions that most people have of this personality label. Even if these impressions are stereotypes, prejudices, and discriminations, they have to do so ( Gilbert et al., 1998 ; Fiske et al., 2009 ). This is because those who hold these impressions do not think there is anything wrong with them, as they avoid cognitive dissonance by constantly denying new cognition ( Aronson, 1969 ; Jonas et al., 2001 ). However, from a personal perspective, these impressions will exert greater pressure on individuals. They may not be like what is described in MBTI but are forced to become someone with that personality trait. Individuals with stronger self-cognition may think, “This is not the real me, but I have to abide by these so-called ‘rules’ when socializing with others.” In this case, the increasing social pressure will further lead to social anxiety. That is, in social interactions with others, the mask needs to be present all the time. Once self-control weakens and the mask breaks, it will lead to others’ dislike. It is out of this concern that people have to pretend and control themselves, which also reflects the impact of impression management on social anxiety.

4.1.2.3 Insignificant mediating effect of belonging

In traditional Chinese beliefs, social interaction is a process of gaining energy. It helps individuals seek solace from groups and feel happiness and joy. That is, people desire to socialize with others and acquire a sense of belonging ( Baumeister and Leary, 1995 ). By using MBTI as a social label, people can quickly find their unique groups, thereby alleviating the possibility of social anxiety to some extent. The research hypothesis, when proposing this question, focused on people’s desire to maintain social interactions and the subsequent induction of social anxiety under a strong sense of belonging. However, the research hypothesis may have neglected the factors of accelerated urbanization and increased personnel mobility in China. A large number of Chinese youth, due to work, study, life, and other needs, have to leave familiar societies and enter unfamiliar ones. This has also led to relatively weak connections between people. Using MBTI can establish a sense of belonging, thereby escaping the state of being a relatively isolated individual. This also makes people more urgent to find suitable organizations or groups than to worry about social anxiety. Organizations formed based on personality labels also achieve a sharing of responsibilities to some extent. When individuals feel disliked, even foolish or boring, people are likely to attribute it to this personality label group rather than criticize the individual. In other words, by finding a group that provides a sense of belonging, individual responsibilities are shared by group members, leading to the “Diffusion of Responsibility” phenomenon ( Darley and Latané, 1968 ). The above analysis clarifies the important reason for the insignificant mediating effect of belonging.

4.2 Research value

4.2.1 theoretical value.

This research considers MBTI as a social label and explores its impact on social anxiety and the underlying mechanisms. Past research on MBTI at the social level mostly remained at theoretical speculation, often lacking empirical data support ( Wang et al., 2024 ; Zhang, 2024 ). This study further explores the association mechanisms between using MBTI in social interactions and ego identity, belonging, impression management, and social anxiety from an empirical perspective. However, does frequent use of MBTI as a social label bring harm? To further investigate this issue, this research explores social anxiety as the dependent variable. This is primarily due to the increasing prevalence of social anxiety among Chinese youth ( Xin et al., 2022 ). Will using MBTI become a new factor contributing to social anxiety among Chinese youth? Although the results do not support the hypothesis that directly using MBTI as a social label impacts social anxiety, they confirm that the mediating effects of ego identity and impression management will influence social anxiety. This research also contributes to viewing MBTI from different perspectives and provides a theoretical foundation for research on the social mental health of youth groups. Furthermore, the proposition of the impact of MBTI-based social interactions on social anxiety further confirms the strong external validity of different variables and dimensions.

4.2.2 Practical value

Since MBTI as a social label may exacerbate or alleviate social anxiety in specific contexts, this helps mental health professionals and social media platforms formulate more precise intervention measures. Mental health professionals can provide more personalized psychological guidance to youth groups, thereby guiding them to correctly understand and use MBTI and reduce unnecessary psychological pressure. Social media platforms can optimize content recommendation and user interaction mechanisms to reduce social anxiety caused by the abuse of social labels.

4.3 Limitations and research prospects

Although this research has achieved certain outcomes, there are also some limitations. First, the diversity and representativeness of the sample may be insufficient. Future research should strive to expand the sample scope to enhance universality. Second, variable control may not be sufficient. The labeled social interaction mode of MBTI is regulated by many factors. In the future, more factors that may affect social anxiety should be introduced for deeper research. Looking ahead, a combination of multiple methods, cross-cultural comparative studies, and long-term tracking studies will help more comprehensively reveal the impact of using MBTI on social anxiety.

Data availability statement

The datasets presented in this study can be found in online repositories. The names of the repository/repositories and accession number(s) can be found in the article/ Supplementary material .

Ethics statement

Written informed consent was obtained from the individual(s) for the publication of any potentially identifiable images or data included in this article.

Author contributions

WW: Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, Conceptualization, Data curation, Validation. WH: Funding acquisition, Investigation, Writing – review & editing. GZ: Data curation, Validation, Writing – review & editing. WD: Date curation, Methodology, Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Writing – review & editing.

The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Acknowledgments

We are very grateful to Professor Weijia Deng of Shanghai International Studies University for her guidance on this manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary material

The Supplementary material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1419492/full#supplementary-material

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Keywords: MBTI, social labels, personality types, social anxiety, Chinese youth

Citation: Wu W, Hao W, Zeng G and Du W (2024) From personality types to social labels: the impact of using MBTI on social anxiety among Chinese youth. Front. Psychol . 15:1419492. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1419492

Received: 23 April 2024; Accepted: 19 August 2024; Published: 04 September 2024.

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Copyright © 2024 Wu, Hao, Zeng and Du. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Weiyi Du, [email protected]

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Reference Books

Oxford Companion to the Mind - Ref. BF31 .O94 2004 (also available electronically )

Encyclopedia of Psycological Assessment - Ref. BF39 .E497 2003  v.1-2

Comprehensive Handbook of Psychological Assessment – Ref. BF176 C654

Test Critiques – Ref. BF176 T419

Mental Measurements Yearbook – Ref. BF431 M46

Directory of Unpublished Experimental Mental Measures - Ref. BF431 .J29 2001

Tests in Print – Ref. BF431 T47 19XX

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Psychology as a Science of Subject and Comportment, beyond the Mind and Behavior

Marino pérez-Álvarez.

Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain

The turn of qualitative inquiry suggests a more open, plural conception of psychology than just the science of the mind and behavior as it is most commonly defined. Historical, ontological and epistemological binding of this conception of psychology to the positivist method of natural science may have exhausted its possibilities, and after having contributed to its prestige as a science, has now become an obstacle. It is proposed that psychology be reconceived as a science of subject and comportment in the framework of a contextual hermeneutic, social, human behavioral science. Thus, without rejecting quantitative inquiry, psychology recovers territory left aside like introspection and pre-reflective self-awareness, and reconnects with traditions marginalized from the main stream. From this perspective psychology might also recover its credibility as a human science in view of current skepticism.

A certain spirit of the times seems to require a review of psychology as a science of the mind and behavior as most established definition (American Psychological Association 2016 ; Gerrig 2014 ; Schacter et al. 2015 ; Stanovich 2012 ). Two important movements have arisen independently, one in the heart of the American Psychological Association itself with Division 5 recently renamed Quantitative and Qualitative Methods, including the Society for Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology and the Journal of Qualitative Psychology (Gergen et al. 2015 ) and the other in the European tradition with The Yokohama Manifesto for a Psychology as the Science of Human Being (Valsiner et al. 2016 ). Both assume an open pluralistic turn toward the Psyche as “complex, subjective, meaningful, and mysterious” (Valsiner et al. 2016 , p. v) and as Gergen et al. say, “no practice of inquiry is ruled out a priori; multiple goals of inquiry are rendered plausible and multiple pathways may claim a situated legitimacy” (Gergen et al. 2015 , p. 2).

The problem with the standard conception of psychology as a science of behavior and mental processes is that it has ended up by establishing dualistic ontology and reasoning in the psychological science with feedback from the positivist natural scientific method (Packer 2011 ; Slife et al. 2012 ). The problem with dualism, as could be anticipated, is its two-substance doctrine, res cogitans/res extensa (mental/physical), referring nevertheless to a pluralistic, non-monist universe, (James 1909 /1977), as argued in this article. This traditional dualistic ontology is based on and at the same time receives feedback from an epistemology in itself dualistic in the form of the natural scientific method (today in crisis) with its new subject/object, theory/method and fact/value dualities, as discussed further below.

This conception obviously has its history and raison d'être . Not in vain, the foundation of psychology as a scientific discipline in the late nineteenth century derives from philosophical psychology studied following the positivist method of natural science in conformance with the spirit of the times (Danziger 1990 ; Hatfield 2002 ). As Hatfield says, “The new science that took hold and developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was a transformation of the old science (or old ‘natural philosophy’)” (Hatfield 2002 , p. 212). The best known, signet scientific movements of twentieth century psychology, such as behaviorism and cognitivism, at the bottom of their current conception are along this line.

Adoption of the natural scientific method contributed to the prestige of psychology as a science. However, psychology as a natural science for the sake of the positivist scientific method, which although up to now has represented progress, may have become a limitation if not an obstacle. One obstacle is already the implicit dual reasoning that may be influencing psychological research, as much as it believes itself to be well-fortified by the natural scientific method. But the natural scientific method adopted by the mainstream psychology (Toomela 2007 ), far from being exempt and in itself a guarantee of better science, structures our way of understanding and studying psychological subjects, for example, in a more analytical than holistic manner, mechanist than contextual, causal than mutualist, etc. (Slife et al. 2012 ). The scientific method itself may constitute an “epistemological obstacle” in the sense of the French philosopher Gaston Bachelard, as a trap for scientific knowledge and concepts set by ‘thought-habits’ (Bachelard 1938 /2002), in this case derived from routine teaching of the “method” as “something in itself” (Costa and Shimp 2011 ; Machado and Silva 2007 ).

Historically, the triumphant positivist scientific method marginalized an entire rich holistic tradition which is now being missed (Diriwächter and Valsiner 2008 ; Toomela 2007 ). This resurgence of qualitative inquiry of the human being as a whole does not respond to a supposed psychoanalytical law of “return of the repressed”, but to the limitation of the scientific method itself. Labelling the natural scientific method as a source of dualism (instead of overcoming it) in no way means rejecting the statute of psychology as science. To begin with, there is no science without method. What there is not is the scientific method for making science (Chalmers 2013 ).

The question is whether the natural scientific method is the best for psychology. The assumption of psychology as a natural science may be at the bottom of its credibility crisis as a science (Ferguson 2015 ; Lilienfeld 2012 ) as well as the problem of globalization of indigenous western psychology as universal (Christopher et al. 2014 ; Henrich et al. 2010 ; Watters 2010 ). While the credibility crisis emphasizes low replication of scientific findings of hardly 40% (Open Science Collaboration 2015 ) in contrast to a suspiciously high confirmation of the hypotheses of psychological research on the order of 93% (Fanelli 2010 ), globalization of psychology reveals that subjects on whom psychological knowledge has been established are 96% members of Western societies (12% of the world population), a “weird” subject (WEIRD: Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic; Henrich et al. 2010 ).

The purpose of this article is to pose a relatively new conception of psychology beyond mind and behavior, in terms of subject and comportment. The argument is developed in four parts. First, the ontological and epistemological dualism of the metaphysics implicit in psychology as a science of the mind and behavior is emphasized. Second, the framework of a pluralistic ontology is presented as an alternative. Third, psychology is presented as a science of subject and comportment. The notions of subject with all its subjectivity and comportment as different from behavior are taken in the perspective of phenomenology according to its recent developments. Finally, the scope of the proposal is discussed.

The Metaphysics of Psychology as Science of Mind and Behavior

This refers to the metaphysics implicit in ontological and epistemological philosophical assumptions which still rule in psychology. Adoption of the positivist scientific method of the natural sciences did not free it from philosophical problems, as already warned by Wundt (Lamiell 2013 ). The supposed aseptic methods of empirical research as the typical distinction between “dependent / independent variables” have their implicit metaphysics beginning with the axiomatic acceptance of linear causality (Valsiner and Brinkmann 2016 ). "There is no escape from philosophy—Jaspers says—. The question is only whether [a philosophy] is good or bad, muddled or clear. Anyone who rejects philosophy is himself unconsciously practicing a philosophy" (Jaspers 1954 /2003, p. 12).

Dualistic Ontology: Mental Processes and Behavior as Inner/Outer Dichotomy

Even when a duality does not imply dualism, in the case of the mind and behavior in the definition of psychology, it entails traditional dualism no matter how much it is dressed in new terms and metaphors. The Cartesian dualism does not find better version than in “the view of mind like software running on a physical hardware” (Everett 2016 , p. 37). The definition of psychology as the “scientific study of the behavior of individuals and their mental processes” (American Psychological Association 2016 ; Gerrig 2014 , p. 2) means at least an inner-outer dichotomy. While behavior refers to observable, factual activities in the outside world, mental processes refer to cognitive or neurocognitive activities that occur in the subject’s interior, in his mind, cognitive system or brain (Schacter et al. 2015 ; Westerman and Steen 2007 ).

It might be said that mental processes associated with neural processes may be observable depending on whether evermore refined technologies are available. But this would only pose new questions, beginning with the problem of their connection, which Descartes believed to already have resolved with the pineal gland. Turning psychological realities into physicochemical realities would also be a problem of reductionism and the consequent mereological fallacy of explaining what the whole does through one of its parts (Bennett and Hacker 2003 ) or the double-subject fallacy “me” and “my brain” (Mudrik and Maoz 2014 ). Even if behavior is an indispensable reference, a basic dualism still persists between two substances : a mental, incorporeal, unobservable, hypothetical, latent and another behavioral, material, topographical, observable. The most conspicuous example of mental substance today consists of the so-called cognitive processes as information processing.

Cognitive processes are mental activities postulated by cognitive psychology as top-down and bottom-up, cognitive routines, change-of-task modules, and many others, some of which are already popular, such as central executive and working memory. This renewed conception of the mind does not avoid old well-known problems such as the argument of the homunculus which consists in attributing to a sort of “inner man” what in reality makes the individual as a whole, categorical error by which an activity which is characteristically behavioral is explained by categories of a different order, for example computational or neurophysiological or the ghost in the machine as if a “cognitive demon” working on the inside produced results on the outside (Bennett and Hacker 2003 ; Holt 2001 ; Mudrik and Maoz 2014 ; Logan and Bundesen 2004 ; Weger and Wagemann 2015a ). All these first-cousin problems come to a head in the basic problem: revived dualism. On one hand, the world would be converted into information and on the other into a mental representation. Within would be the cognitive processes or mental “activities”, and outside, the behavioral activities themselves, so that cognitive or mental processes would be duplications of the world and of the behavioral activity itself.

This mental duplication or representation, as much as it is conceived in already familiar terms of processing, computation, codification, storage, recovery, is nonetheless a version of the mind in a tradition that goes from Descartes to Kant. The mind as the construction of representations of the world according to the conception due to Kant has become common sense and the vision dominant in academic psychology (Packer 2011 , p. 143). However, a representational approach is not inevitable. A long tradition from Vygotsky and Gestalt psychology to the ecological psychology of Gibson shows a whole variety of holistic approaches beyond the interior-exterior dichotomy (Westerman and Steen 2007 ). In the mental or cognitive terms themselves, non-representational alternatives may be found in terms of situated-cognition or extended mind – embodied and embedded in the world (Clark 2008 ; Gallagher and Crisafi 2009 ; Rowlands 2010 ; Thompson 2007 ).

Dualistic Epistemology: Dichotomies of the Scientific Method

By antonomasia, the scientific method in psychology is a positivist empirical-rational method taken from the natural sciences (Danziger 1990 , p. 41) and which Popper systematized as the “logic of scientific research.” The scientist, according to Popper, constructs hypotheses – or theory systems – and compares them with experience by means of observations and experiments (Popper 1934 /2002). Thus the “way to think straight about psychology” follows the order: formulate hypotheses or predictions based on prior research, test, get closer to the truth and new approaches (Stanovich 2012 ). The problem is that the scientific method of psychology as a natural science, far from freeing it from philosophical problems, harbors an entire implicit metaphysics expressed in a number of dichotomies (Bishop 2007 ; Mascolo 2016 ; Slife et al. 2012 ; Valsiner and Brinkmann 2016 ; Yela 1987 ) , of which three are referred to here: subject/object, theory/method and facts/values.

The subject/object dichotomy consists of a naïf realism on one hand: the properties of objects perceived as inherent to the objects themselves (Walsh et al. 2014 , p. 34) and on the other, traditional mentalism: the mind as a mirror of nature (Rorty 1979 ). This dualism assumes that there is a reality out there to be discovered (the truth) and a method for doing so (the scientific method) so that the result is objective knowledge (accumulative, replicable). The problem is that the objects in psychology are interactive subjects , not a disinterested, indifferent reality-out there. It refers to the fundamental distinction of the philosophy of science between natural entities and interactive entities (Bishop 2007 ; Hacking 1999 ; Walsh et al. 2014 , p. 474). Natural entities are fixed realities, there-given, such as electrons, chemicals, minerals, animal species or planets, indifferent to our classifications and interpretations of them. As Alan Chalmers says: “The planets do not change their motions in the light of our theories about those motions.” (Chalmers 2013 , p. 137).

Interactive entities, typically human beings, however, far from being indifferent, are susceptible to influence by their classification and interpretation. This interactive nature is based on humans as interpretive and self-interpretive beings, not just scientists. The way we are in-the-world already implies some prior understanding or interpretation of the world around us (Guignon 2012 ; Taylor 1985 ). We already know about the world before discussing and theorizing about it when it appears to us as habitable, friendly, comfortable, gratifying, harsh, hostile, threatening or unsafe. The world is given us “interpreted” somehow, regardless of our awareness as interpreters. Before a child has “theory of the mind” he/she already has intersubjective, perspective, interactive and empathetic understanding (Gallagher and Zahavi 2008 ). More specifically, interactive entities, typically the human psychological categories, are characterized by three criteria (Walsh et al. 2014 , p. 475): 1) They are socially constituted, having had no existence before social life, 2) there is a looping effect (Hacking 1995 ), or reactivity, which falls back on itself (e.g., the reaction of individuals to the classifications assigned to them), and 3) they are value-loaded.

The theory/method dichotomy assumes that there is a theory – constructs, hypothesis – which can be tested using an objective, independent method, which is available out there. However, it may be questioned whether this kind of independence even occurs in physics. As Nobel Prize winner Steven Weinberg says:

The interaction between theory and experiment is complicated. It is not that theories come first and then experimentalists confirm them, or that experimentalists make discoveries that are then explained by theories. Theory and experiment often go on at the same time, strongly influencing each other. (Weinberg 1995 , p. 11).

In the behavioral sciences, method is theory-loaded, even if only to assume that psychological phenomena are a certain way and can be studied with a certain method (Bishop 2007 , p. 50).

In fact, “scientific method” does not really exist as something in itself, universal . What does exist is the “scientific method discourse”. The discourse of scientific method was established to serve two purposes: Mark the limits between what is science and what is not, and give scientific knowledge status in society, particularly in research funding agencies and as reliable evidence in courts of law (Andersen and Hepburn 2015 ; Haack 2010 ). Delimitation and status are especially relevant in medicine with regard to alternative medicine and in psychology, which claims to be a natural science. Far from autonomy as something neutral, the “scientific method” is not exempt from theory: interpretations and subjective judgments. As in subjective tests, the “scientific method” is still equally subjective, as experimental researchers have already made a judgment at one time about what it is important to study. According to Slife and Gantt:

The only difference between so-called objective and subjective tests is the time at which subjective judgments are rendered, with judgments for objective tests rendered before the test and judgments for the subjective tests rendered after the test. This distinction is analogous to so-called objective and subjective methods of science. […] Similar to objective tests in education, experimenters have simply decided beforehand how they intend to subjectively carry out their studies and defend their findings. (Slife and Gantt 1999 , p. 1459).

Its existence as “discourse” rather than true “method” can be seen in scientific publications. The typical IMRAD format (Introduction, Method, Results, Analysis, Discussion) is more a retrospective reconstruction than a reflection of research, which has no single standard model. As the 1963 Nobel Prize winner in Medicine, Peter Medawar, said in reference to biomedical research, scientific papers do not reflect how the results are produced, leading to understand (fraudulently) that they follow a hypothetical-deductive logic (Howitt and Wilson 2014 ; Medawar 1996 ). With regard to psychology, the phenomenon has been defined as HARKing (Hypothesizing After the Results are Known) and consists of (re)formulating the hypothesis after the results are known (Kerr 1998 ).

The facts/values dichotomy forms part of the objectivism which impregnates positivist conceptions of the social sciences, assuming that scientific knowledge is a matter of facts, not values. This dichotomy is a correlate of the subject/object dichotomy where it is assumed that there is a reality of facts out there, like the theory/method dichotomy, but in this case it assumes an objective method which deals directly with data. However, the facts themselves are not independent of theory and methods of research, beginning with the reasons such facts are relevant and merit study (Packer and Addison 1989 ). Facts exempt from this could only be imagined from a conception which takes itself as a natural, positivist-methodologist science. From a conception of psychology as the dialectical-contextual science of being human, there would be no situation indifferent to values, without ethical implications. According to Pedersen and Bang,

There is no non-existential situation; a situation in which a person takes part always has existential qualities. There is always a core dimension of importance; there is no such thing as a neutral situation indifferent to values in a person’s life . (Pedersen and Bang 2016 , p. 473, emphasis in original).

Without denying that there are real facts, what is affirmed is that they are real facts for something and someone, not exempt or indifferent.

Overcoming the “Psychological Complex” of the Method in Favor of Complexity of Psychology

Psychology adopted the positivist “scientific method” to enroll as a natural science. This strategy contributed to its institutional prestige, but did not free it from dualistic metaphysics as has been shown. The “scientific method” is not used in the natural sciences because in fact it does not exist as anything but the “discourse” argued in the social and health sciences. As Weinberg says with regard to physics:

We do not have a fixed scientific method to rally round and defend. I remember that I spoke years ago to a high-school teacher who explained proudly that in her classes they were trying to get away from teaching just scientific facts and instead give the students an idea of what the scientific method was. I replied that I had no idea what the scientific method was, and I thought she ought to teach her students scientific facts. […] I think it does no good for scientists to pretend that we have a clear a priori idea of the scientific method. (Weinberg 1995 , p. 8, 10).

When “science as it is done” is studied in a biology laboratory, the research attitude does not consist of applying the “scientific method” or the findings that come from it, but in an often handcrafted practical material construction process, including operations, equipment, discussions and arguments (Latour and Woolgar 1979 –1986). The testimony of James Watson in his book, The Double Helix , in which he tells about the discovery of the structure of DNA, shows that the process of discovery was anything but straightforward. As he says in the preface:

As I hope this book will show, science seldom proceeds in the straightforward logical manner imagined by outsiders. Instead, its steps forward (and sometimes backward) are often very human events in which personalities and cultura1 traditions play major roles. […] I believe, there remains general ignorance about how science is "done." That is not to say that all science is done in the manner described here. This is far from the case, for styles of scientific research vary almost as much as human personalities. On the other hand, I do not believe that the way DNA came out constitutes an odd exception to a scientific world complicated by the contradictory pulls of ambition and the sense of fair play. (Watson 1968 , Preface).

Skinner’s case is notable in psychology. Far from being a positivist (Smith 1986 ), Skinner offers a radical criticism of the methodologism governing the psychology of the mid-twentieth century represented by methodological behaviorism according to his own distinction with regard to his radical behaviorism (Skinner 1945 ), when he describes his “case within the scientific method” (Skinner 1956 ). In his explanation of his “scientific behavior”, Skinner ridicules the scientific method typically hypothetic-deductive, when he discusses his methodological principles, “When you run onto something interesting, drop everything else and study it”, “Some ways of doing research are easier than others”, “Some people are lucky”, and “Apparatuses sometimes break down” (Skinner 1956 ). As he says,

I never faced a Problem which was more than the eternal problem of finding order. I never attacked a problem by constructing a Hypothesis. I never deduced Theorems or submitted them to Experimental Check. So far as I can see, I had no preconceived Model of behavior—certainly not a physiological or mentalistic one, and, I believe, not a conceptual one. (Skinner 1956 , p. 227).

As you will recall, Skinner’s “radical” behaviorism means “total” in the sense in which a psychology which prides itself in being a science should not leave anything out for methodological reasons, precisely as methodological behaviorism does when it rejects private events (feelings, thoughts) as unobservable, to later reintroduce them as intermediate variables and hypothetical constructs. To Skinner, private events can and must be studied “in their own right” (not as hypotheses), because they are observable, with the particularity of being so for a single person: oneself. The question for Skinner is then to study how society (“verbal community”) manages to teach one, starting with children, to account for the subjective world (“private world”). The question lies, has its roots, another sense of radical, in the language (“verbal behavior”). The subjective world has its roots in the verbal community through language. To Skinner, development of the private world and verbal behavior are contemporary (Skinner 1945 ).

With the scientific method, a certain “psychological complex” in psychology might be spoken of, in which the fear of not being seen as science leads it to fixation with method as if that were something in itself. In fact, “scientific method” is a term that should be avoided as inaccurate and misleading (Lilienfeld et al. 2015 ). Instead, methodological pluralism is proposed (Slife and Gantt 1999 ), beginning with the framework of a pluralistic ontology.

An Ontological Framework for Psychology as a Radically Human Science

Following this argument, certain implicit metaphysics consisting of a dualistic ontology with feedback from the natural scientific method would be at the basis of the persistent dualism in psychology. It is understood that the identification of psychology as a natural science was probably due more to its prestige than to its own complexity as implied by its study. It is time to reconceive psychology as a human science (social, cultural, behavioral), without a “complex”. In order to do so, an ontological question should be raised concerning the place of psychology in a pluralistic ontology, not dualistic or monistic.

The Place of Psychology in a Pluralistic Ontology

The alternative to dualism is not monism, in reality a variant of dualism itself, but pluralism, as already proposed by William James in James 1909 in A Pluralistic Universe . James’s thesis is a defense of the pluralistic against the monistic view (James 1909 /1977; Wendt and Slife 2009 ).

A pluralistic ontology does not reduce reality to two substances (dualism) or to one (monism). Realities have many forms: experiential (pain, feelings, thoughts), physical (electrons, atoms, cells, organisms, typewriters, planets), institutional (languages, cultures, family relationship systems, collective imaginaries, world views) and abstract (mathematics, theorems, theories, geometry). Not all of them are related to all the others, nor are some reduced to others. A toothache is as real as the typewriter out there (Skinner 1945 ). The distance between two bodies is not in itself corporeal. There is no way to do geometry without drawing lines, but for example, the structure of the polyhedron is not reduced to or deduced from the lines drawn. Although all reality has an aspect or physical moment (the damaged tooth in the case of the tooth ache , straight lines forming a two-dimensional polyhedron perceived , however, like a three-dimensional cube), matter must not be confused with physical corporeity. “Matter” here has a sense similar to real whether physical, experiential or conceptual. But without physical materiality of some type nothing would exist either, so materialism is privileged as philosophical doctrine instead of, for example, idealism, spiritualism or mere pragmatism. The primacy of physical materialism may be accepted without being the final word.

Materialism, in the long tradition referred to here, is the philosophical materialism developed by the Spanish philosopher Gustavo Bueno ( 1972 , 1990 , 2016 ). Philosophical materialism is based on an idea of matter and distinguishes three genres of materiality, as specified below.

The idea of matter is not a scientific idea, but philosophical. The fact that a science, typically neuroscience, declares itself monistically materialist (everything is physico-chemical) is not a neuroscientific finding, but a philosophical idea. The idea of ontological-general matter replaces the idea of Being one and immaterial of the ontological (Eleatic-Aristotelian) tradition. Contrary to the tradition, philosophical materialism denies the pure immaterial spirit. In this sense, the idea of matter is negative (denial of the immaterial), but positive in the sense of affirming an infinite plurality " for which the denomination of ontological-general Matter is more fitting than Being " (Bueno 2016 , p. 45). Consequently, the idea of matter does not necessarily imply “physical matter”, but in the end, just one of the genres of materiality.

The notion of matter is characterized by three attributes: plurality, discontinuity and co-determination. The plurality of matter was already referred to when its heterogeneity was compared to monism. Discontinuity obeys Plato’s principle of symploke ( Sophist , 251e 253e).

The idea of symploke by which “nothing is isolated from everything else, but not everything is connected to everything else, otherwise, nothing could be known”, is taken by Bueno as the beginning of his pluralistic ontology. This principle argues for the irreducibility between different categories of reality, even when they share elements, such as, for example, neurobiology and psychology or sociology and history. Thus, the triumphal march of Napoleon into Jena on 14 October 1806, may serve as an example. Even when certain neurophysiological and psychological conditions of Napoleon as an individual form part of his actions, neither his hormonal nor psychological state (for instance, self-esteem), explain the historical fact. Historical reasons emphasized by historians account for this rather than any physiological or psychological reason. Hegel said he saw “The World Spirit on horseback” in Napoleon’s entry. Co-determination refers to relationships of influence between parts of reality. Co-determination is at the root of the continuous evolution of the world and historical-cultural change.

Ontological plurality is organized in the philosophical tradition into three planes, kingdoms or worlds: World, Soul, God, which philosophical materialism rework respectively as genera of materiality, M 1 , M 2 and M 3 . M 1 refers to physical-body, from electrons to planets, M 2 refers to the subject with its subjectivity and behavioral activity, and M 3 refers to the objective world (abstract, such as mathematics and supraindividual such as social institutions and material culture). The “Necker cube” offers an example involving the three genres of materiality (Bueno 2016 , pp. 233–244). To begin with, the ambiguous perception which the phenomenon consists of would be a clear example of M 2 : a cube perceived , incorporeal, three-dimensional solid. M 1 would be the straight lines drawn on a two-dimensional plane. M 3 would be the geometric laws that organize the structure of polyhedrons with their transformations, rotations, etc. The “Necker cube” perceived is thus, above all, an incorporeal M 2 content, but at the same time material with M 1 parts consisting on one hand of the many connected lines drawn in it, and on the other the neurophysiological correlates involved. Similarly, within its subjectivity as a perceptual phenomenon, it is still objective (M 3 ), as the same figure (and no other) can be imposed at any given moment, for example, on a group of individuals in an experimental session. However, the “Necker cube” as psychological reality (M 2 ) not only is not reduced to, nor deduces from M 1 or M 2 , but constitutes the phenomenon that it is.

The doctrine of the three genres of materiality has similarities with tripartite ontologies occurring throughout the twentieth century, especially, Simmel, Popper and Penrose. The purpose of a tripartite ontology comes from the need for a third genre or world along with the two most obvious of subject and object (soul, world). The role represented by God in traditional metaphysics having fallen, its position now falls back on the postulation of abstract, supraindividual realities, immanent to the world.

Thus, George Simmel in his 1910 work Hauptprobleme der Philosophie ( Main problems of philosophy ) needs to recur to a “third kingdom” of ideal contents (objective, suprapersonal) to understand and sustain a nonreductive relationship between subject and object (Simmel 2006 ). Karl Popper introduces World 3 as the third world relatively autonomous from the other two worlds, physical (World 1) and mental (World 2) with regard to the mind-body problem (Popper and Eccles 1977 ). World 3 is also in coherence with Popper’s own predisposition “to objectivity, and to individuals’ engaging, in their work, with something beyond themselves, and thereby transcending themselves, whether in art or science or thought.” (Boyd 2016 , p. 17). Roger Penrose, also discussed three worlds: the Platonic world of mathematical forms, the physical world and the mental world (Penrose 1994 ).

A tripartite ontology, compared to a dualistic one, is necessary for three reasons. In the first place, because of the problematic dichotomies of dualism referred to above. In the second, because of reductionist monism (typically physicalist) to which dualism seems headed toward when a pluralistic ontology is not assumed, and in the third place, because of the abstract objective statute of scientific knowledge (M 3 ). The third genre, M 3 , also represents culture as a supraindividual institutional reality, considered from this perspective as a condition of possibility of psychological realities themselves.

Philosophical materialism opposes all reification or hypostasis, as well as all reduction, in favor of dialectical co-determining relationships between the various materialities, not mere interactions (Bueno 1972 ). Co-determination with regard to the notion of catalysis refers to a relationship of mutual reciprocity given propitious contexts (catalysts), such as for example, the discriminative stimulus in relation to operant behavior (see below). Co-determination is offered as an alternative to linear causality. The place of psychology (“World 2”, M 2 ) is in media res of the physical-corporal (“World 1”, M 1 ) and supraindividual institutional (“World 3”, M 3 ) realities. Psychology, as subjective-behavioral material, far from being reducible on one hand to biophysical or on the other to cultural or “objective spirit”, participates in both realities and mediates between them. Not in vain is psychology characterized as a liminal science (Valisner 2013 , p. 137; Valsiner 2014b , p. 6). It is important to recognize the liminal character of psychology with a view to perceiving its mediating role as a science of intentional interactive processes.

Psychological materiality would thus have an inter-mediator role, configuring the human world. This refers above all to a behavioral mediation characteristic of an operant subject whose “operant behaviors” are understood as inherently intentional and significant. Behavioral mediation is pointed out to emphasize the practical-effective instrumental aspect of human action (versus “mental”). This mediation, put forward by Popper, may be identified as “bio-psychological” (Doria 2012 ). “Semiotic-material mediation” would be equally conceivable (Doria 2012 ).

The idea of mediation – behavioral, biopsychological, semiotic – implies a dialectic, two-way and mutually constitutive relationship between culture (World 3, M 3 ) and the subject (mental world, M 2 ), including the corporal subject (M 1 ). In a conventional manner (deceptive), it might be said that culture is inscribed on the mind and brain and in turn, the mind and brain act in the world. But it cannot be said that the mind or the brain act and think without incurring in the mereological fallacy (Bennett and Hacker 2003 ), which consists of attributing to a part functions which pertain to a whole, in this case, the individual, the person or the subject. Mediation assumes a holistic subject which does not carry the world inside (coded or represented), or act from inside (mind, brain), but is a subject situated -in-the-world. It refers to a subject constantly changing within its permanence, always in media res , on the border of irreversible time (Valsiner 2016 ).

Mediation operates on the border between the subject and the world, a boundary which is also temporal between the here-present and a co-present future, suspected and foreshadowed. Internalization finds reconsideration beyond the overused external/internal dichotomy. According to Zittoun and Gillespie:

Internalization is not putting “in” what has been “out”: first, semiotic guidance operates at the boundary of self and the world; and second, it allows guiding one’s inner flow of experience through semiotic configuration now self-initiated. […] strictly speaking, there is nothing that becomes internalized, rather, there is an external world that produces an experience. The experience is called ‘internal’ merely because it is not accessible to observers, it has private qualia that cannot be captured from an observers’ perspective. (Zittoun and Gillespie 2015 , p. 484).

Psychology not only mediates, but participates constitutively in both the physical-material (physiological) and cultural and abstract (“objective spirit”) ontological genres. It refers to a three-dimensional ontology of psychological phenomena.

Three-Dimensional Ontology of Psychological Phenomena

Given the place of psychology (M 2 ) in the middle of and in relation to other realities (M 1 , M 3 ) according to the ontology of three genres followed, it is worth mentioning a triple dimensionality of psychological phenomena. It is important to do this at all in order to recognize that not everything is psychological (which would be a type of reductionism), nor is what is precisely psychological separate from the physical (M 1 ) or institutional (M 3 ). This refers to how psychological phenomena participate more or less conspicuously or relevantly in non-psychological aspects (M 1 and M 3 ). Several trilogies suggest this triple dimensionality in their own way. They are found in Ortega y Gasset as vitality, soul and spirit (Ortega y Gasset 1924 /1966), in Merleau-Ponty as physical, vital (virtual) and human order (Merleau-Ponty 1942 /1963; Thompson 2007 , p. 74), in Binswanger as umwelt (“around world”), eigenwelt (“own world”) and mitwelt (“with world”) (Binswanger 1958 ; Sullivan 2015 , pp. 28–31) and in Strasser as bios, pathos and logos (Strassers 1977 ).

Freud and Skinner also have their version. In Freud it would be the trilogy id, ego, superego . Skinner, who refers to Freud in this respect emphasizes that, “Human behavior is the joint product of 1) the contingencies of survival responsible for the natural selection of the species and 2) the contingencies of reinforcement responsible for the repertoires acquired by its members, including 3) the special contingencies maintained by an evolved social enviromental” (Skinner 1981 , p. 502).

It is worth mentioning the recent recovery of this trilogy in its classic terms body, soul and spirit (Weger and Wagemann 2015b ), along a line similar to Ortega y Gasset ( 1924 /1966). Needless to say, the notions of soul and spirit are far from any Cartesian or spiritualist connotation. On the contrary, they agree well with the conception under discussion here, even when not thought of within the coordinates of philosophical materialism. Insofar as we are concerned, the conception of Ortega y Gasset is going to be taken up again with respect to the ontological aspects we wish to show.

Ortega y Gasset proposed making a “person’s tectonics” describing his topography in terms of vitality , soul , and spirit . Vitality refers to that “portion of our psyche which lives infused in the body,” the “intrabody” or lived body, with its vital force and often unclear latent reasons. The soul refers to the “region of feelings and emotions, desires, impulses and appetites.” The spirit is understanding and will, “rational operations” abiding by “norms and objective requirements.”

This tectonics of the human psyche is important for three reasons. In the first place, because it emphasizes the double bodily-vital (bios) and objective-conceptual (logos) root of the psyche (pathos). In the second place, it makes it possible to go beyond the inner-outer dichotomy and its implicit dualism by conceiving private events as nested processes that form a constituent part of our activity in the world. Cognitions would not be a separate reality, but partial processes that mesh with other parts of what a person is doing and with aspects of the present situation (Westerman and Steen 2007 ). In the third place, it provides a structure of the person on which psychological reductionism transcends. Not considering a pluralistic ontology (trigeneric) would easily lead to reductionist psychologism, and more frequent today, to cerebrocentrism, as if everything emerged from bottom up in an assumed (unexplained) growing neural complexity.

Allow me two quotes from Ortega y Gasset on the interplay of these three dimensions, how all of them are intimate, but the most personal is the experiential (soul, pathos). The other two dimensions may become impersonal either because they are objective activities that all of us would do the same because they form part of a shared normativity (spirit, logos) or else by “falling” into generic bodily processes (vitality, bios).

I think to the extent that I allow the laws of logic to be met in myself and I mold the activity of my intelligence to the being of things. Therefore, pure thought is in principle identical in all individuals. The same is true of our will. If it functioned strictly, accommodating itself to what “must be”, we would all want the same thing. Our spirit, then, does not differentiate us from others, to the point that some philosophers have suspected that there might be a single universal spirit, of which our own is only a moment or pulsation. When we think or desire, we abandon our individuality and start to participate in a universal world into which all other spirits flow and participate as ours does. So that even as the most personal part of us – if person is understood as the origin of one’s own acts – the spirit, strictly speaking, does not live on itself, but from the Truth, Law, etc., of an objective world which supports it, and from which it receives its particular contexture. In other words, the spirit does not rest on itself, but has its roots and principle in that universal, extrasubjective world. A spirit which functioned for itself and unto itself, in its own way, taste and temperament, would not be a spirit, but a soul (Ortega y Gasset 1924 /1966, p. 86)

Our body, Ortega y Gasset says, does not live on itself and from itself either. Species and inheritance are extraindividual powers that act on the body of each individual. Thus individual vitality would still be a participant in a torrent of supraindividual, “cosmic” vitality to the extreme that there would be no lack of circumstances in which the body, so to speak, predominates over individuality. In this respect, Ortega y Gasset cites situations of maximum bodily exaltation, such as inebriation, orgasm and orgiastic dances, as “bringing with them the dissolution of individual awareness and a delicious annihilation in cosmic unity.” Laughter and crying could be included here as limits of human behavior where the body itself seems to take control and respond for one, according to the study by German anthropologists and philosopher Helmuth Plessner ( 1970 ).

The predominance of spirit and body tends to deindividualize us, and at the same time, suspend the life of our soul. Science and orgy empty us of emotion and desire and throw us out of the enclosure in which we all lived, confronting all others, lost in ourselves, and turns us out into extraindividual regions, whether the superiority of the Ideal, or the inferiority of the Vital and cosmic. The soul or psyche is then the center of the individual, the private enclosure against the rest of the universe, which is somehow a public region. As it does not coincide fully with either cosmic vitality or objective spirit, the soul or psyche represents individual eccentricity. We feel like individuals because of that mysterious eccentricity of our soul. Because against nature and spirit, the soul is just that: eccentric life (Ortega y Gasset 1924 /1966, p. 88-90).

The essential human eccentricity – always taking position on oneself without coinciding fully with itself – is equally emphasized by Plessner’s adualistic anthropology (Plessner 1970 ).

Beyond Mind and Behavior, Subject and Comportment

On the basis of a pluralistic ontology, not dualistic or monistic, but three genres of reality (physical-corporal, subjective-comportmental, objective-supraindividual), a three-dimensional ontology of psychological phenomena themselves has been emphasized. As psychological phenomena, far from being reducible, are mediators (behavioral, semiotic) between the various planes of reality, they themselves share in both “objective spirit” and physiological corporality. These psychological phenomena being located in media res of the rest of realities, they are not well captured following the standard conception of psychology as behavioral science and of mental processes. This conception remains prisoner of an implicit dualism due to the basic dualistic ontology fed back in turn by an equally dualistic epistemology (“scientific method”), in accordance with what was said.

In this critical appreciation, the problem is not in psychology as science , but what kind of science psychology is . The problem would be in psychology attempting to be a natural science instead of a human, cultural, social, or behavioral science. Neither is the problem the duality. A double subjective-interactive aspect is imposed on the nature of psychological phenomena as experiences and ways of acting. The problem would be in its delineation in inner mental and external behavioral terms, more sewn together than interwoven. In this respect, the new well-known framework of subject and comportment are proposed, instead of mind and behavior, as the duality which best captures the place and role of psychology in the whole of a “pluralistic universe”.

The Operant Intentionality Inherent in Comportment

The notions of subject and comportment are taken up again in the phenomenological perspective (Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Ortega y Gasset). Not in vain is phenomenology a radically adualistic philosophy of great interest for the renovation of psychology (Dreyfus 1992 ; Gallagher and Zahavi 2008 ; Thompson 2007 ). Taking up phenomenology again in the context of the pluralistic ontology of philosophical materialism, there is no risk of subjectivism and transcendentalism, as phenomenology seems at times to fall into idealism and talk about sub specie aeternitatis .

While subject refers to an embodied, embedded, and enacted subject, comportment refers to a constitutive relationship of subject with the world, different from the notion of behavior as the instrument of the mind (Jacobs et al. 2014 ; Merleau-Ponty 1942 /1963; Thompson 2007 ; Yela 1987 ). The concept of comportment introduced captures the “ unifying structure of embodied affective (and cognitive) engagement with the world , as the most general term to refer to all-encompassing changes.” (Jacobs et al. 2014 , p. 90). The subject and the world are mutually constituted in a circular structure in which each of the terms exists and is logical with regard to the other. The way we are positioned is characterized by a phenomenical from-to structure (perceptive and operative), from which we perceive something and we operate on it, which always presumes tacit knowledge (Polanyi 1983 , p. 11). The human biophysical structure itself propels both forward and outward, opening a way for itself on a temporal and spatial horizon. Self-transcendence of the organism and immanent purposefulness of life may be spoken of as well as going beyond the given condition of oneself (Tateo 2014 ; Thompson 2007 ).

This essential way of being in the world already implies, in Husserl’s terms, an operant intentionality ( fungierende intentionalität ) followed by Merleau-Ponty ( intentionalité opérant ), before any mental or representational intentionality (Merleau-Ponty 1945 /1962; Thompson 2005 ). According to Merleau-Ponty following Heidegger, the relationship between one and the world is not primarily a relationship of subject to object or the reverse, but a mutually constitutive relationship expressed as being-in-the-world.

The world is inseparable from the subject, but from a subject which is nothing but a projection of the world, and the subject is inseparable from the world, but from a world which the subject itself projects. (Merleau-Ponty 1945 /1962, p. 430).

Belonging to the world this way means that our essential way of relating to things is not purely sensorial and reflection, nor cognitive or intellectual, but rather corporeal and practical, articulated by a “motor intentionality.” This body motor intentionality-environment constitutes what Merleau-Ponty calls the “intentional arch” which subtends our relationship with the world integrating sensitivity and motility, perception and action (Merleau-Ponty 1945 /1962, p. 136). The intentional arch and being-in-the-world are not exactly subjective or objective, or mental or physical. They are existential structures previous to and more basic than those abstractions (Thompson 2005 , p. 410). From this perspective, the mind ceases to be something interior and is conceived as a relationship, and the world ceases to be something exterior and is conceived as the medium.

Operant intentionality is inherent in comportment. It refers to a notion of comportment which involves implicit knowledge and understanding of the world, not a mere behavioral action, but meaningful comportment (Yela 1987 ). Comportment incorporates both bodily subjectivity and normative objectivity, according to the three-dimensional ontology noted above (Ortega y Gasset 1924 /1966; Weger and Wagemann 2015b ). It is a sense of comportment which captures the single structure of our bodily, affective and cognitive articulation with the world (Jacobs et al. 2014 , p. 90). This notion of comportment ( Verhaltung ) is found in Heidegger’s Being and Time with reference to “know-how” having to do with concrete situations. In English it is translated as “ways of behaving/behavior”, “ways in which Dasein comports itself” (Jacobs et al. 2014 , p. 108, nota 1) or “comportment” (Sembera 2007 , p. 233). This notion of comportment is the same as developed by Merleau-Ponty in his Merleau-Ponty 1942 work entitled in French La Structure du comportement , translated into English as The Structure of Behavior (Merleau-Ponty 1942 /1963). “Structure” here means the gestalt form or unit of sense (Thompson 2007 , p. 67). Like the bridge described stone by stone or by the arch it forms, comportment defines not some stones or others (“behaviors”, “cognitions”), but the arch they form.

Three-Term Contingency, Affordance, Affording of Standards

In spite of prevention in associating the term behavior with behaviorism (Sembera 2007 ), the notion of operant behavior in Skinner’s radical behaviorism is offered here as a prototype of comportment as an intentional subject-world arch ( fungierende intentionalität, intentionalité opérant, Verhaltung ), not without specifications and extensions. Within the well-known, but not emphasized strongly enough, affinity between radical behaviorism and phenomenology (Fallon 1992 ; Pérez-Alvarez and Sass 2008 ; Scharff 1999 ), it is important to stress an essential aspect of operant behavior: its configuration as a functional unit of three terms called the three-term contingency .

The terms of the contingency are behavior (typically a manipulative action or verbal act), a possible effect to occur (reinforcer) and a present situation that makes the action propitious for such effect (discriminative stimulus). The effects given reorganize the situation and following actions. The simplest notation of contingency is: S D : R o ➔ S R (S D  = discriminative stimulus, R o  = operant class, S R  = reinforcer), which is read: in the presence of or given stimulus (S D ) a certain behavior (R o ) probably has a certain effect (S R ). Without this discriminative aspect, or in presence of another, that behavior does not work, and another may even do so. In turn, S D may depend on the presence of another event (conditional discrimination). The S D -R o relationship does not describe a linear causal relation, but discriminative , which might indeed be conceived as catalyzing one or another possibility or trajectory (Valsiner 2014a ), in this case, operant behavior. The R o -S R relationship describes a final causality (Pérez-Álvarez 2009 , 2017 ). The final cause is not explained as much by a handy mental representation within oneself ( petitio principii , begging the question), as the fact of one’s being within a configuration of sense, context or situation. Driving a vehicle offers an example of complex operant behaviors. Manipulative operations at the steering wheel, of the legs on the pedals and perceptive on the road and rearview mirrors constitute constantly changing contingencies, catalyzed by the successive configurations of the situations that arise. Notice the intentionality inherent in forward-oriented, operant-behavior.

The three-term contingency constitutes a unit of sense, far from its apparently linear schema, as Spanish philosopher Juan B. Fuentes has shown. The three-term contingency constitutes a functional, temporal, dynamic, gestalt unity. Discriminative aspects of a present situation are functionally co-related with possible future events by means of molded behaviors put into play by a subject in such a situation. The behavior is the relationship between present situations and possible co-present situations leading to new present situations and so forth (Fuentes 2011 ; Fuentes and Quiroga 1999 ). In a more general manner, psychology is revealed as a “science of the zone between the existing and the possible ” (another sense of its liminal nature), “where what is observable here-and-now is oriented towards some future occurrence” (Valsiner 2014b , p. 9).

The notion of comportment introduced here with reference to operant-behavior is inscribed on the border of irreversible time, within a process continually interdependent on the situation, typically in a social context (Valsiner 2016 ). Situating comportment (human psyche ) on the border of time between the past and the future is fundamental against the hypostasis of psychological phenomena and capture instead its irreversibility.

Beyond the letter of Skinner, the comportmental properties of the environment would have to be discussed, affording comportment of the subjects. The notion of affordance introduced by James Gibson accounts for environmental properties related to perceiver-actor. According to Gibson:

An affordance cuts across the dichotomy of subjective-objective and helps us to understand its inadequacy. It is equally a fact of the environment and a fact of behavior. It is both physical and psychical, yet neither. An affordance points both ways, to the environment and the observer. (Gibson 1979 , p. 129).

Now beyond Gibson, affordances are not limited to their functional role, but may also have an aesthetic value. According to Jaan Valsiner:

The affordances of objects afford the construction of semiospheres around the objects, which would link the mundane action with cultural meaning systems far beyond the immediacy of action object. (Valsiner 2014b , p. 144).

Along this line, the notion of affordance can be extended to “affording of social standards” related to collective practices and in gerund form indicative of the dynamic process of person-environment transactions. Affording of standards refers to the point where a person meets and deals with society through a great variation of standards, which guide collective practices as well as a person’s sense-making and development (Pedersen and Bang 2016 , p. 474). Affording of standards leads to the process of subjectification.

From Subjectified Subjectivity to Objectified Subjectivity

The operant-behavior perspective of radical behaviorism (radical = total and root) finds the roots of the subjective world (“private”) in social practices: how the “verbal community” teaches individuals starting as children to account for a part of the world only observable of oneself (Skinner 1945 ). Thus Skinner refers to at least four ways others teach children and they learn to extend and call what they feel, for example, by the connection between private stimuli and public stimuli which produce them (others say “hurts” and call what the child feels an “ouch” when observing that he has been hit). To Skinner, there is no ontological or epistemological problem here of the “truth of correspondence”, but only the ambiguity inherent to psychological terms due to the unsystematic contingencies which constitute the “private world” (Skinner 1945 ).

In relation to subjectified subjectivity, an objectified subjectivity process may now be conceived consisting of “coming into contact” with the pre-verbal feelings through the handle, focusing-type words of Eugene Gendlin. More particularly, it refers to the new conception of validity of introspection in the dynamic terms of a process of becoming aware of it and describing it (Bitbol and Petitmengin 2013 ; Weger and Wagemann 2015a ). This process consists of an enlargement of the field of attention and contact with re-enacted experience, rather than ‘looking within’ (Bitbol and Petitmengin 2013 ). A new consideration of unconsciousness as “dark matter of the mind” (infallible and unspoken), is opened to post-Cartesian psychoanalysis (phenomenological contextualism; Storolow 2013 ) and a non-nativist conception of language and the mind (Everett 2016 ).

In contrast to the dualist, mental/behavior (mind/world, internal/external) dichotomy, the subject-comportment duality makes it possible to understand subjectivity as an extended part of the world (not a world apart) and the world-of-life as an extension of subjectivity with its comportmental properties (affordances, affording of standards), co-evolved from a history of mutual constitution, always open and running.

Conclusions and Discussion

It has been shown that psychology as a science of the mind and behavior suffers from a dualistic ontology consisting of the distinction between two substances, one mental, inner, unobservable, and the other behavioral, outer, observable (Schacter et al. 2015 ; Westerman and Steen 2007 ; Yela 1987 ). It is believed that this dualism has been overcome by adopting the scientific method from the natural sciences. However, the scientific method itself shelters an implicit dualistic metaphysics which contributes to that dualism (Packer 2011 ; Slife et al. 2012 ). The distinction between two planes of epistemological order, one hypothetic-deductive and the other empirical-observational, along with subject/object, theory/practice and value/fact dichotomies, ends up as feedback to the dualism which it has supposedly overcome (Bishop 2007 ; Yela 1987 ).

This article proposes an alternative pluralistic ontology with epistemological implications for the scientific status of psychology. Based on these two conclusions, it discusses a series of hot points in psychology concerning its scientific particularity, its mediating role with regard to the other sciences and others, as well as the proposal’s capacity for integration.

Placing Psychology on an Ontological Map

As an alternative to rocking back and forth between dualism-monism, a pluralistic ontology is proposed which distinguishes three broad genres of materiality or realities. The genre of psychological realities or phenomena (typically subjective and behavioral events) situates it between and in relation to biophysical and supraindividual realities (cultural, abstract), without being reduced to them. According to this ontology, psychological phenomena would have a triple ontological dimension, more or less conspicuous or relevant depending on the case. The Necker’s cube offers an example of how an essentially psychological phenomenon (ambiguous perception) can have biological (neurophysiology of perception) and objective, in this case geometric-abstract (laws of polyhedrons) dimensions at the same time. Without these non-psychological dimensions, the psychological phenomenon itself would not exist, but neither is it reduced to or deduced from them.

Even when all the psychological phenomena involve a neuronal biological dimension, the neurophysiological process may be irrelevant. In the classic example of the “wink”, the neuromuscular innervation involved (undoubtedly complex) does not allow a simple blink to be distinguished from a wink. In any case, the wink is lost in the subpersonal neurophysiological explanation and on the contrary, makes sense in the context of an interpersonal relationship. Furthermore, even when certain phenomena, such as crying, have a conspicuously psychological aspect, crying may in some cases end up “falling” into a generic bodily process (Plessner 1970 ) or in another be more than anything else the correct way to participate in an event (wailer). In both cases, the intimate personal psychological aspect would yield to impersonal functions where in the first case, the body takes it over and in the second, it dissolves into a collective event.

Epistemological Implications for the Scientific Status of Psychology

The location of psychological phenomena on an ontological map has implications related to the type of science psychology is. The options are reduced to two: whether psychology is a natural or a human science. However, in spite of dealing with non-natural phenomena, psychology has been institutionalized as a natural science. This is for the expediency of applying a supposed natural scientific method which cannot even be said to exist in the natural sciences. The problem of a psychology based on the supposed natural scientific method, is that, in addition to the dualism which it feeds instead of overcoming, the marginalization of a variety of traditions without that problem or “complex” of the method and the scientific credibility crisis it has arrived at (Ferguson 2015 ; Lilienfeld 2012 ).

Without the natural science label, psychology does not stop being a science, as a type of human science, perhaps more humble, but more worthy and real. As its identification as science is nonetheless not trivial, the problem here is not the lack of options, but their variety, such as human, cultural, social, hermeneutic, contextual or behavioral. Each of these options is both applicable to psychology and shared with a group of sciences that have the human being as their subject. Each “descriptor” has its history, aspect and tone which should be kept in mind whenever it is “chosen”. Insofar as we are concerned, in keeping with the emphasis placed on the subject’s behavior, psychology would be spoken of as a behavioral science (in the compartmental sense), focusing on the human subject (person), as a hermeneutic subject with all its subjectivity always situated within a cultural context (semiotic, normative, historic).

Interactive, Ephemeral and Liminal Events, but with Scientific Objectivity

As behavioral science, psychology is a peculiar science. To begin with, it deals with interactive realities (not naturally fixed), which can be influenced by the research process itself. Objects of the behavioral sciences are themselves interactive subjects, beings if there ever were any. Moreover, psychological phenomena are ephemeral (irreversible), occurring on the boundary between past and future, “the present”. Yet the world of life is relatively stable due to its institutional, normative nature, mediated by signs (“semiosphere”). For this same reason, psychological phenomena are also sufficiently regular to establish a science, psychology, as a liminal science in the intersection of natural and human sciences.

Psychological phenomena, within their uniqueness, are still similar and form structures. Their similarity enables generalization, not as a statistical mean, but as the principles that “govern the emergence of ever new uniqueness” (Valsiner 2014b , p. 257). Structures, on the other hand, involve functional relationships of parts within a whole (Gestalt). The three-term contingency has been shown as a present-future gestalt unit through operant behavior (Fuentes 2011 ), and affordances as functional relationships of actions with daily objects and systems with cultural significance (Valsiner 2014b , p. 144).

Let us take two more examples of structures or gestalts as dynamic units. The structural-systemic notion is constitutive of higher psychological functions “to refer to understanding according to which the world is a system composed from elements or components in specific relationships at different levels of analysis.” (Toomela 2016 , p. 98, note). The notion of structure or Gestalt is being claimed in psychopathology as an alternative to polythetic, criterial classification based on symptoms, as if people had loose symptoms. The “notion of gestalt entails an interplay of factors that extend beyond the subject to include not only a mental state, but also the patient’s engagements with the environment and others. For instance, detecting a delusion involves taking into account not only the patient’s verbal contents but also his experiences, way of arguing, relational style and relevant historical information” (Parnas 2015 , p. 285).

The Mediating Role of Psychology

Like a liminal science in the middle of a tectonic fault between the great plates of natural and human sciences, psychology is always in a critical position, in perpetual crisis, at risk of collapsing to the thread of the reductionist trend of the moment. However, it does not collapse, no matter how many reductionisms close in around it. But neither does it end up standing up and defining its mediating role between both realities and types of science. The fact that it does not collapse in spite of everything speaks more of a firm presence as an ontological entity than of a mere subsistence by inertia or interests. However, its conception as a supposedly natural science of the mind and behavior, or when applicable, as a cognitive neuroscience with its dualism-monism, does not help define its position and role on the map of an ontological and epistemological plurality.

In this respect, psychology has been conceived on the basis of a “tectonics of the person” with its ontological three-dimensionality (Ortega y Gasset 1924 /1966). According to the triple ontological dimension coparticipation of human behavior is conceived in the configuration of biophysical and cultural realities themselves and their relationships. In this sense, psychological activities as constructive and transforming human actions in the world, and psychology as a science among other sciences would have a mediating role, not reducible to them, but not reducing them either. This mediating role, constructive and transforming, of psychology assumes a notion of comportment as a constitutive relationship of the subject with the world different from the notion of behavior as if it were an instrument of the mind, as well as a notion of an embodied, embedded, and enacted subject, practical-manipulative, different from the inner mind or in this case, the brain as information processor (Jacobs et al. 2014 ; Merleau-Ponty 1942 /1963; Thompson 2007 ).

According to this emphasis on the subject and comportment, the constructive and transforming role of human action would be better understood (than in terms of mind and behavior according to the problems mentioned), not only in the “semiosphere” (society, culture, institutions, norms, ways of life), but in the “biosphere” (habitats, niches) and even in the “geosphere” (Anthropocene). Neither is culture alone a transforming agent, but does so through human actions, nor can genes be said today to be the main agents in evolution, but organisms’ behavior. Organisms’ behavior, with its potentially selective construction of niches and ways of life can alter the genome itself and end up having a mediating role in evolution (Laland and Brown 2006 ). In this sense, psychology would become a science mediating between behavioral (“semiosphere”) and natural (“biosphere”) sciences.

Similarly, psychology would also have a mediating role within the behavioral sciences. Thus, for example, as economists acknowledge, psychological “factors” (attitudes, fears, optimism) would be the true “actors” of economic change (inflation, deflation, bubbles). Take irrational exuberance , for example, according to Robert Shiller:

Irrational exuberance is the psychological basis of a speculative bubble. I define a speculative bubble as a situation in which news of price increases spurs investor enthusiasm, which spreads by psychological contagion from person to person, in the process amplifying stories that might justify the price increases and bringing in a larger and larger class of investors, who, despite doubts about the real value of an investment, are drawn to it partly through envy of others' successes and partly through a gambler's excitement. (Shiller 2015 , p. 2).

Furthermore, rather than being blinded by its neuroimages, psychology sheds light on neuroscience. After all, psychology would have to come before and after neuroscientific studies: before by defining the phenomena to be studied in or by the brain and afterwards by making sense of them, because sense is not found in or deduced by the brain. The “wink” mentioned could be a starting point for studying its neurophysiology (if there were no wink as a phenomenon of interest, nobody would study it in the brain), but the correlates involved are not the wink. Its sense is still in the distal relationship with interpersonal phenomena, not in the adjacent neural proximal relationship.

Nothing Psychological outside of Psychology

Within psychology itself, its conception as a science of the subject and comportment has thematic and methodological implications. For one thing, nothing psychological can be outside of psychology because of method, beginning with implicit prereflexive subjective aspects (unconscious, nonverbal, ineffable, “dark matter of the mind”). In this respect, the “new” conception of introspection has already been shown, not as access to a content that is there-in, according to the conception of true correspondence, but as “coming into contact” through a process of becoming aware (Bitbol and Petitmengin 2013 ; Weger and Wagemann 2015a ).

Let us add the “new” conception of schizophrenia as an alteration of the experience itself and of the world, according to the ipseity-disturbance model (Sass 2014 ; see also Pérez-Álvarez et al. 2016 ). Beyond the psychotic symptoms, this focus reveals a characteristic alteration of basic subjectivity and way of being-in-the-world, typically prereflexive aspects, implicit, hard for the dominant positivist natural science conception to highlight. On the contrary, according to a cultural phenomenological focus, in this case, concentrating on the subject and comportment as the “intentional arch” in the above sense, essential structural aspects of schizophrenia are shown (Sass 2014 ). All we need to do is rethink clinical phenomena in terms of the person and his/her circumstances (Pérez-Álvarez et al. 2016 ), including appropriate methods, in this case semi-structured interviews exploring various aspects of subjectivity (Sass et al. 2017 ).

An approach to psychology such as the proposal on explicit ontological and epistemological bases can calibrate the scientific quality of the typically positivist neurocognitive behavioral approach in clinical use. Taking Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as a test bed, it can be shown how standard scientific research creates objective methods with the preconceptions which sustain the “disorder” and receives feedback from the research itself (Pérez-Álvarez 2017 ). As shown, the standard positivist research method itself incorporates implicit metaphysics (typically dualistic-monistic), far from its intended exempt objectivity, conforming to the data. After uncovering the blind points of the ADHD neuroscience, including its rhetoric and self-confirming research, the problem of the person who receives the “ADHD” diagnosis may be no more than a certain style of comportment, not “symptoms”. As such, the supposed best diagnosis would be understood as a “semiotic mediator” at the service of a variety of interests, not a clinical entity (Brinkmann 2014 ; Pérez-Álvarez 2017 ).

Beyond the Dispute of the Scientific Method

The turn of a pluralistic qualitative inquiry pointed out at the beginning (Gergen et al. 2015 ; Valsiner et al. 2016 ) may be seen as a promise awaiting its institutional implementation. It is expected for theoretical inquiry and qualitative research to match the complexity of human phenomena (Gough and Lyons 2016 ) so “psychologists could ask any relevant research question, and use any methodology and technique that was needed in order to adequately address their research question, without much thought as to whether this was a qualitative or a quantitative approach” (Brinkmann 2015 , p. 171). As Brinkmann continues, perhaps the future is one of postqualitative research.

Not because psychologists stop doing interviews, fieldwork, or other kinds of qualitative work (I certainly hope not!), but because they stop defining their research endeavors in terms of a method (Brinkmann 2015 , p. 171; see also Lilienfeld et al. 2015 ).

Then it would be on a level with the natural sciences, which do not have the typical disputes concerning the scientific method as psychology has had up to now. As Michael Mascolo says,

A debate over whether a given discipline is or is not a science would seem to be more of a battle about status and prestige than about identifying alternative pathways to reliable knowledge. A better question might be, given its subject matter, how can we study psychological processes in systematic, reliable and useful ways? If such conditions can be satisfied, the question of whether or not disciplinary practices are scientific would be irrelevant. (Mascolo 2016 , p. 553).

The Problems of Replication, Hypotheses and Globalization Revisited

The problem of replication (Open Science Collaboration 2015 ) would be seen as something inherent to psychological entities due to their interactive nature and depending on the number of “variables”, not as a scientific deficit of psychology. Replication is a problem of and for the positivist scientific method which takes its criterion of truth based on its principle of verification (Loscalzo 2012 ). Without the arrogance of eternity, scientific truth seems more humble, but perhaps more truthful, in particular, because it respects human sciences. However, replication continues being relevant to establishing regularities and generalizations. According to Mascolo:

There is both order and variation. It is to say that if we want to study that order, we must examine what real people actually do in real time and in various times and places. Under such assessment conditions, the complexity of psychological order and variation become clearer, and traits become less trait-like. (Mascolo 2016 , p. 550).

The problem of suspicious hypotheses (Fanelli 2010 ) may have to do with a double particularity of psychological knowledge. One particularity refers to a good deal of technical vocabulary of psychology forming part of ordinary language. The other refers to the interactive and hermeneutic nature of the participants in psychological studies. Human subjects in psychological experiments do not comport themselves like natural objects (Danziger 1990 ). In spite of all this, nothing removes the relevance of hypotheses in psychological research, more so to the extent that they are challenging, not tautological or common sense, if they really test models or theories, and if, in particular, they refute common sense (Lilienfeld 2012 ).

The problem of indigenous Western psychology being taken as universal (Christopher et al. 2014 ; Henrich et al. 2010 ) is understood according to the interactive character of human beings, susceptible to a diversity of ways of being depending on historically given and socially organized ways of life. The problem is really due to the dominant scientific attitude in psychology as a supposedly natural science which is describing how the mind of a universal subject functions. Psychologists would have to recognize “that every psychology, including U.S. psychology, is inevitably indigenous; that is, it is embedded in and a product of the surrounding culture and local societal conditions.” (Christopher et al. 2014 , p. 648). According to Valsiner,

The restoration of focus on the subjective processes of culture human beings in their willful acts of living their lives is the contribution globalization can bring to Psychology.” (Valisner 2013 , p. 257).

For a more Integrative Science of Psychology

Psychology as a science of subject and of comportment further enables integration of other approaches of psychology: behavioral (functional contextualism, radical behaviorism), cognitive (embodied, embedded, enacted, amalgamated mind), ecological-cultural (affordances, affording standards, semiotics), phenomenological-existential (being-in-the-world, hermeneutics, first-person perspective); humanistic-experiential (focusing, person-centered), psychoanalytic (phenomenological contextualism, new introspection), in pursuit of a qualitative psychology as a science of the human psyche (Gergen et al. 2015 ; Valsiner et al. 2016 ). The persons’ own subjective worlds have been distanced from science, leading in our twenty-first century to renewed calls for “bringing the subjective” into the science of psychology (Valisner 2013 , p. 257).

is Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Oviedo. His research topics include the development of a contextual approach to psychology as behavioral science and the phenomenological-existential re-conceptualization of psychopathology. His works are characterized by the approach of psychological issues at the intersection of the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities. He is the author of more than one hundred articles in specialized journals, as well as numerous chapters in books and books. Among the latest books (in Spanish) are The Myth of the Creative Brain: Body, Behavior and Culture, The Roots of Modern Psychopathology: Melancholy and Schizophrenia, Third Generation Therapies as Contextual Therapies, and Returning to Normal: invention of ADHD and infantile bipolar disorder (as co-author).

Compliance with Ethical Standards

Conflicts of interest.

There is no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

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Exploring preservice teachers’ social domination orientation and prejudice toward Syrian refugees: the mediation of empathy

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• Published: 18 September 2024

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• Aylin Kirisci-Sarikaya   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7443-8433 1 &
• Halim Guner   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1537-7655 2  

With the global increase in refugees, understanding and improving the educational experiences of refugees has received more attention in academic research. This study aims to investigate the perspective of preservice teachers (PSTs) towards Syrian refugees, who are one of the largest groups of refugees in Turkey. The study explores the relationship between PSTs’ empathy, their social dominance orientation (SDO), and prejudice against Syrian refugees. The aim is to understand how PSTs’ perspectives on refugees can help prevent discrimination in education and develop targeted interventions and educational strategies. The study analyzed data from 726 PSTs using structural equation modelling. The findings show that there is a positive correlation between SDO and prejudice, and empathy partially mediates this relationship. Moreover, socioeconomic status and ethnicity significantly predict prejudice against refugees. The results are discussed in relation to the understanding of the bases and relations of prejudice, SDO, and empathy. The study suggests some practical implications for those working with PSTs and policymakers.

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1 Introduction

Throughout history, human beings voluntarily or forcibly migrated from one place to another for various reasons, such as political, social, or economic ones. 82.4 million people were displaced globally at the end of 2020 (UN Refugee Agency [UNHCR], 2022a ). The Covid-19 pandemic restrictions did not affect these displacements. They continued and even have grown (Mcauliffe & Triandafyllidou, 2021 ). With 3.7 million refugees and 0.4 million asylum seekers, the majority of whom were Syrians, Turkey has been the leading host country in the world for the past five years, and it is the second-largest migration corridor - from the Syrian Arab Republic to Turkey (UNHCR, 2022a ). Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, thousands of Syrians have been forced to flee and have migrated to Turkey. Turkey has become the country that accepts the most refugees in the world since 2015 by acting with a humanitarian aid reflex and an “open border policy.”

The coexistence of societies of different nationalities brings with it many problems. The interaction between the newcomers and the host or dominant culture involves a complex political, social, and psychological process. Many studies show that migrants are frequently the target of negative attitudes such as prejudice and discrimination (e.g., Allport, 1954 ; Akrami et al., 2009 ; Anderson & Ferguson, 2018 ; Deslandes & Anderson, 2019 ). Recent studies in Turkey also point to negative attitudes towards Syrian refugees Footnote 1 (Aktas et al., 2021 ; Aktas, 2018 ; Erdogan, 2015 ; Istanbul Politik Arastirmalar Enstitusu [IstanPol], 2020 ; Yitmen & Verkuyten, 2018 ). Although Turkish people approached Syrian refugees with a humanitarian and tolerant tendency, especially at the beginning of the civil war (Erdogan, 2015 ), they now mostly feel discomfort, threat (Tasdemir, 2018 ), and social discrimination (Demir & Ozgul, 2019 ; Icduygu, 2015 ; Yitmen & Verkuyten, 2018 ) due to the reasons such as insufficient economic opportunities, unemployment, and increase in house rentals on the Syrian border. Most of them think that the Syrians should go back to their homeland when the war in Syria is over (Demir & Yilmaz, 2020 ; Erdogan, 2015 ).

In all this political, social, and psychological turmoil, education is a significant phenomenon. Education is a universal human right, and several international agreements safeguard the right to education for refugees (e.g., the 1951 Refugee Convention; United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989; New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, 2016). Turkey has ratified the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and the 1951 Convention but with certain reservations. The latest declaration, the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants (UN General Assembly, 2016 ), emphasizes access to quality education. According to this right, which applies to all refugees, refugees must be treated equally with the citizens of the country they are residing in, including access to education. Importance of education has been well established in documents, but there are some gaps regarding effective implementation. Most of the refugees—75%—live in low- and middle-income countries (UNHCR, 2024 ), and although all refugee children have the right to a decent education, this may not always be possible due to a lack of capacity and infrastructure problems for nations with large refugee influxes (Richardson et al., 2018 ). In practice, many face barriers to accessing education. Teachers, without doubt, have a crucial role in meeting refugee children’s learning, social and emotional needs, and integration. Many studies show that teachers are the most critical component in students’ success and learning outcomes (Darling-Hammond, 2000 ; UNHCR, 2022b ). And the role of teachers in refugee education is very significant (Richardson et al., 2018 ; Dryden-Peterson, 2017 ).

Social dominance orientation (SDO) is an integral framework influencing individuals’ inclination toward asserting dominance over perceived inferior groups (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999 ). This orientation is closely linked with endorsing negative stereotypes and prejudicial attitudes (Pratto et al., 2006 ; Sidanius et al., 2016 ). The interplay between SDO and prejudice can differ within the educational environment, where unequal power dynamics exist (Pratto et al., 2013 ; Tesi et al., 2019 ). SDO could lead to many challenges in educational environments. For instance, teachers may approach some students and parents differently by prioritizing their social position and group. The current study focuses on Turkish preservice teachers (PSTs)’ empathy in the relationship between SDO and prejudice toward Syrian refugees and posits that PSTs might display inversely correlated empathy and prejudice levels, resulting in favorable attitudes toward outgroups. In addition, this study seeks to gather insights on preparing PSTs for the educational needs of various migrant groups such as refugees. This exploration would also help identify gaps in their preservice and in-service training that may need attention.

The study differs and gains importance as studies in the Turkish context have mostly been about Syrian students’ adaptation to school, various problems they experience in the education process, their academic success, and the attitudes of Turkish students and teachers towards them (e.g., Sozer & Isiker, 2021 ; Turnuklu et al., 2020 ; Yigit et al., 2021 ). Relatively little is known about Turkish PSTs’ attitudes towards Syrian refugees. Additionally, to our knowledge, no study has explored Turkish PSTs’ attitudes toward Syrian refugees through empathy moderation. Analyzing PSTs’ views regarding Syrian refugees is crucial because it could provide insight into how future teachers would feel about multiculturalism and inclusion within the educational environment. These could affect how PSTs work with and instruct students from different communities, including Syrian refugees. The study also provides practical implications to improve the current situation and enable refugees to lead more satisfying lives.

2 Conceptual background

For many years, the consequences of intergroup interaction and the dynamics of different cultures, nations, and religions togetherness have been a constant and significant research issue. And prejudice has been an essential component in the studies (e.g., Allport, 1954 ; Cowling et al., 2019 ; Fiske et al., 2016 ). Prejudice has also been a popular concept due to the recent influx of refugees to the Northern and Western world. People are more likely to see an outsider as a threat, and it promotes prejudice (Stephan et al., 2005 , 2015 ).

Early theorists tended to define prejudice according to its affective basis, and prejudice was seen as a feeling or expression of hostility derived from inaccurate information (Allport, 1954 ). Over time, researchers began to view prejudice more as a negative evaluation of another stimulus and as an attitude having cognitive, affective, and behavioral components (Dovidio et al., 1996 ; Duckitt, 1992 ; Nelson & Olson, 2024 ). Prejudice could also be positive and favorable (Carver et al., 1978 ); however, as we considered in this study, most studies concentrate on negative prejudice (Nelson & Olson, 2024 ). Prejudice in this regard could be defined as negative attitudes toward members of an outgroup (Aronson, 2012 ; Duckitt, 1992 ; Fiske, 1998 ).

2.1 Social dominance orientation basis of prejudice

Many empirical results in literature (e.g., Rokeach, 1973 ; Inglehart & Baker, 2000 ) indicated the existence of two separate ideological attitude dimensions, represented mainly by the concepts of right-wing authoritarianism (RWO) and SDO, which convey two categories of motivational objectives or values (Duckitt & Sibley, 2010 ). The dual-process motivational (DPM) model of Duckitt and Sibley ( 2010 ) reflects these distinct sets of goals, and SDO is at the one pole that captures the motivational goals of power, hierarchy, and inequality. SDO reveals intergroup dominance and inequality (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999 ; Kteily et al., 2011 ), and it is a powerful predictor of attitudes in intergroup in many aspects (Bratt et al., 2016 ; Pratto et al., 2006 ; Sidanius et al., 2016 ; Sidanius & Pratto, 1999 ). People with high SDO usually view different social groups as belonging to a hierarchy of superiority or inferiority, which leads to a negative attitude such as prejudice toward outgroup members (Ekehammar & Akrami, 2003 ). Regardless of the social standing of one’s group, SDO is the need to create and sustain vertically organized intergroup ties (Sidanius et al., 2016 ). Members of the dominant ingroup could use prejudice to uphold the current situation and rationalize the inequality between ingroup and outgroup members (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999 ). Therefore, intergroup attitudes that increase hierarchies, such as racism, sexism, and conservatism are strongly predicted by SDO (Altemeyer, 1998 ; Pratto et al., 2006 ; Sidanius et al., 2016 ); whereas they are negatively associated with ideologies such as feminism and socialism that reduce hierarchy (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999 ).

People with a high SDO have power, supremacy, and domination tendency, as well as they are primarily anti-egalitarian and anti-humanist (Sibley & Duckitt, 2010 ). These individuals try to retain their privileged societal position and legitimize it through myths (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999 ). They usually use stereotypes and prejudices to justify inequalities, therefore, SDO, as an ideological variable in attitudes towards asylum seekers (Anderson & Ferguson, 2018 ), could predict prejudice towards refugees, asylum seekers and minorities (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999 ; Kteily et al., 2011 ).

2.2 Empathy and prejudicial attitudes

The concept of empathy, which plays an active role in intergroup relations, has many definitions. According to the American Psychological Association ( 2022 ), empathy is understanding someone from their perspective rather than your own or experiencing their feelings and views through a third party. Today psychologists analyze empathy in two basic types: affective or cognitive empathy (Batson & Ahmad, 2009 ). The senses we experience in response to other people’s feelings are known as affective empathy, and it is about experiencing very identical or related emotional responses to the same situation. Cognitive empathy is the ability to identify and comprehend the emotions of another (Batson & Ahmad, 2009 ).

Dividing people as an ingroup or an outgroup member affects how we interact or respond to them. We may behave differently and more cruelly to an outgroup member (Tarrant et al., 2009 ; Vanman, 2016 ). Although there might be several reasons for this, feeling empathy plays a significant role (Vanman, 2016 ). Berthold and colleagues ( 2013 ) conducted three studies on empathy and observed the empathy level. As the empathy level increased, individuals perceived their ingroups less as prototypes, and they perceived the outgroup more positively. Sidanius and colleagues ( 2013 ) investigated the mutual association between SDO and empathy and found that empathy feeling might have a mediator role in relationships against outgroups. In a study, they presented that SDO’s impact on empathy feeling was more robust over a longer time (Kteily et al., 2011 ).

In the research of Pedersen and Thomas ( 2013 ), the prejudice was reduced when participants could see the similarities and shared things with the asylum-seekers. They felt empathy and were more tolerant. Nicol and Rounding ( 2013 ) searched for the mediator role of empathy between SDO and prejudice using racism and sexism as criteria and found that empathy was a mediator for sexism. People owning high levels of SDO tend to have more prejudice and less empathy for outgroups. If there is more contact with the outgroup, the prejudice lessens, and empathy rises (Burke et al., 2015 ).

2.3 The current study

Studies have demonstrated that modelling SDO as a social attitude explains the data well, with SDO mediating most or all the effects of prejudice (Duckitt & Sibley, 2010 ). In their meta-analytic review, Anderson and Ferguson ( 2018 ) also suggested that the factors in Duckitt and Sibley’s ( 2010 ) DPM of prejudice could best account for prejudice towards refugees. For these reasons, in this study, we aimed to reveal SDO that may be related to PSTs’ prejudices against Syrian refugees. In this direction, we formulated the first hypothesis (H1): There is a positive relationship between SDO and prejudice against refugees.

As seen in the literature, studying the mediating effect of empathy in the relationship between SDO and prejudice against refugees is significant because empathy could play a crucial role in reducing prejudice and promoting intergroup understanding and harmony. Empathy helps people comprehend and empathize with others, which may decrease the negative consequences of SDO. Empathy could also be used as a technique to promote intergroup understanding (Stephan & Finlay, 1999 ). In these respects, the second hypothesis of the current study is (H2): Empathy has a mediator effect in the relationship between SDO and prejudice towards refugees.

Related literature has shown that demographic factors predict attitudes towards refugees. Several meta-analytical studies (e.g., Anderson & Ferguson, 2018 ; Cowling et al., 2019 ; Fischer et al., 2012 ) have highlighted that participants’ demographic variables are associated with negative attitudes, such as SDO and prejudice. For instance, men tend to be more socially dominance-oriented than women (Pratto et al., 1994 ) and hold more negative attitudes toward refugees (Anderson, 2018b ; Anderson & Ferguson, 2018 ). Factors such as high national identity (Anderson & Ferguson, 2018 ; Nickerson & Louis, 2008 ), political conservatism (Anderson & Ferguson, 2018 ), religious affiliation (Anderson & Ferguson, 2018 ; Deslandes & Anderson, 2019 ), and lower income (Carvacho et al., 2013 ) are also linked to negative attitudes. At the broader societal level, higher income levels and women empowerment are linked to higher SDO (Fischer et al., 2012 ). The quality and quantity of interactions have also been found to impact attitudes toward outer groups. For example, in their meta-analysis, Pettigrew and Tropp ( 2006 ) revealed that increased contact significantly reduced prejudice. In another study investigating immigrants, positive outgroup contact led to positive attitudes (Fuochi et al., 2020 ). Conversely, negative outgroup contact could reinforce negative attitudes toward Syrian refugees (Bagci et al., 2023 ). Additionally, those interacting with immigrants regularly tend to be more welcoming (Coninck et al., 2021 ; Laurence & Bentley, 2018 ). These findings suggest that demographic variables are essential in understanding individuals’ attitudes toward other social groups. Thus, the current study explored the role of PSTs’ demographic variables of gender, ethnic origin, family socioeconomic status (SES), and their frequency of seeing refugees in attitudes toward Syrian refugees. In this regard, the third hypothesis is as follows (H3): Gender, ethnic origin, SES of the family, and frequency of seeing refugees have a linear relationship to the prejudice against refugees.

3.1 Research design

This study examined the mediation role of empathy in the relationship between SDO and prejudice against refugees. The study also investigated the predictive relationship of certain demographic variables on feeling prejudice towards refugees. The research is a correlational research model, a research design investigating the relationship, direction, and strength of the association among a few variables. Regression analysis studies also fall under correlational studies (Field, 2018 ). As presented in Fig.  1 , we formulated the hypotheses to identify the mediating role of empathy in the relationship between the SDO and prejudice towards Syrian refugees.

3.2 Procedure and data collection

Data was collected among PSTs through a comprehensive procedure that included several processes. First, we created an online survey form consisting of demographic questions and the PAAS, SDO, and TEQ scales. At the outset of the survey, the general purpose of the research, which was to explore PSTs’ attitudes towards Syrian refugees across different variables, was stated, and voluntary participation was asked for. Additionally, we assured the participants that we would not request any information that could reveal their identities, and they were free to quit the survey at any point.

We conducted a convenience sampling strategy and shared the online survey form with the familiar professors of eight different faculties of education- four located in the Marmara, two in Eastern Anatolia, and two in the Aegean region- and collected data online through their assistance. These professors distributed the survey links to approximately 1350 PSTs through WhatsApp groups. About a week after the initial distribution, reminder notices were sent through the same WhatsApp groups, urging participants to complete the survey. This data collection process spanned about three months. After excluding the data of 20 participants due to incomplete responses, the analysis proceeded with a final sample size of 726 participants ( N  = 726).

3.3 Instruments

In this study, we used a form for demographic variables, the SDO Scale (Pratto et al., 1994 ), the Prejudice Against Asylum Seekers Scale (Anderson, 2018a ), and the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (Spreng et al., 2009 ). Demographic variables are information about gender, ethnicity, the SES of the family, and the frequency of seeing asylum seekers. The scales used in the study had been adapted to Turkish by different researchers. Below are the details about these scales:

Social Dominance Orientation Scale

Pratto et al. ( 1994 ) developed the scale, and Akbas ( 2010 ) adapted it to the Turkish language and culture. They collected the data used in the adaptation process from university students. The scale consists of eight items for the group-based dominance (GBD) and eight for the opposition to equality (OEQ) subscales, accounting for 54.13% of the variance. In the adaptation study, Cronbach’s alpha values for the GBD and OEQ subscales were 0.81 and 0.91, respectively. The scale validity and reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) values were re-analyzed in this study because Akbas did not provide the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis results. The EFA analysis showed no change in the number of items and subscales. The item loadings of the eight items in the GBD subscale ranged from 0.396 to 0.692, while those of the eight items in the OEQ subscale ranged from 0.630 to 0.794. The CFA analysis resulted in fit indices of χ2 /df  = 4.3, GFI = 0.91, CFI = 0.90, NFI = 0.88, TLI = 0.88, and RMSEA = 0.07, indicating that the structure of the scale had a satisfactory level of fit. The scale was applied as a 5-point Likert scale. Finally, in this study, Cronbach’s alpha values for the GBD, OEQ, and whole scale were 0.78, 0.89, and 0.88, respectively. Three example items are “Some groups of people are just more worthy than others,” “We should do what we can to equalize conditions for different groups,” and “No group should dominate in society”.

Prejudice against Asylum Seekers Scale (PAAS)

This scale was developed by Anderson ( 2018a ) and adapted to Turkish culture by Kirisci-Sarikaya and Guner ( 2021 ). In the adaptation study, they collected data on university students. The scale, which authentically had 16 items and two sub-dimensions, has 11 items and one dimension in the Turkish adaptation version. The item loads of the 11-item and one-dimensional scale, which explained 47% of the variance, are between 0.489 and 0.788. According to the confirmatory factor analysis results, adequate fit index values are χ2 /df  = 4.7, GFI = 0.92, CFI = 0.92, NFI = 0.90, TLI = 0.90, RMSEA = 0.08, and the Cronbach alpha value is 0.88 in the Turkish adaptation. In this study, the scale was applied as a 5-point Likert. Cronbach’s alpha value of the Prejudice Against Asylum Seekers Scale is 0.86. Three example items are “Asylum seekers need to go back to where they came from,” “Asylum seekers are too dangerous to have in our country,” “Asylum seekers should return to their country once safe to do so”.

Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ)

This scale is a comprehensive single-factor measure reflecting the most inclusive aspect of empathy in general, as Spreng and colleagues ( 2009 ) argued. Consisting of 16 items and developed as a one-dimensional measure by Spreng et al. ( 2009 ), it was adapted into Turkish as a 13-item one-dimensional scale by Totan et al. ( 2012 ). In the adaptation study, they collected data from university students, and the total explained variance was 29%. Item loadings ranged from 0.40 to 0.67. The fit indices in the adaptation study were χ2 /df  = 3.67, GFI = 0.94, CFI = 0.94, NFI = 0.91, TLI = 0.91, RFI = 0.90, and RMSEA = 0.067. Cronbach’s alpha value in the adaptation study was 0.79. In this study, the scale was applied as a 5-point Likert scale, and Cronbach’s alpha value is also 0.79. Three examples include “I have tender, concerned feelings for people less fortunate than me,” “I am not really interested in how other people feel,” “When I see someone being treated unfairly, I do not feel very much pity for them.”

The sample consists of 746 undergraduate students of the Faculty of Education who voluntarily participated from eight universities in Turkey. Demographic information for these 726 PSTs is in Table  1 .

G*Power 3.1.9.7 version was utilized to calculate the sample size in the study. As a result of the analysis made with the values of small effect size f² = 0.02 (using Cohen’s ( 1988 ) criteria), significance criterion of α = 0.05, and power (1-β) = 0.95, it was found that the number of samples N  = 652 was sufficient. The sample size of the current study was N  = 726.

3.5 Data analysis

We used the SPSS program for data analysis. Before the analysis process, we examined the normality, outliers, and missing data. We analyzed the normality of continuous data using skewness and kurtosis values. We evaluated the outliers using Cook’s distance and found that the proportion of outliers was less than 1%.

After confirming the suitability of the data, mediator analysis was performed with AMOS. As stated in the research hypotheses, we searched for the mediator role of empathy in the relationship between SDO and PAAS .

We analyzed the relationship between categorical data and PAAS by simple regression analysis. For this process, we converted the categorical data into dummy data. We coded the reference variables in categorical data as “0” and the variable to be checked for effect as “1”. After the analysis, we presented the findings in the appropriate order.

We began analyzing the collected data by providing mean and correlation information about the scales used in the study. Table  2 indicates that the participants tended to harbor prejudices against refugees. SDO average score suggests that the participants did not see themselves as dominant over other groups. Finally, according to the mean value of the TEQ scale, the PSTs who participated in the study had high levels of empathy.

According to Table  2 , all scales used in the study exhibited a normal distribution. Upon analyzing the correlation relationships among the scales in Table  2 , it is observed that all correlation values are significant. The findings from these analyses suggest that the variables were suitable for mediator role analysis.

Modelling the mediator role of empathy between SDO and prejudice against refugees

We investigated the mediator role of empathy between social dominance and prejudice against refugees with the AMOS program. As seen in Fig.  1 , the fit indices of the model were obtained at sufficient levels (χ2/ SD  = 3.483; RMSEA = 0.059; GFI = 0.998; AGFI = 0.976; CFI = 0.996; IFI = 0.996; TLI = 0.977). The standardized direct and indirect effects in the model are in Table  3 .

As seen in Table  3 , we have found significant relationships between the variables in the mediator role modeling. From the values in the SEM modeling, we see that empathy has a negative relationship with social dominance and prejudice against refugees. And there is a positive relationship between SDO and prejudice against refugees. Hence, participants with a tendency towards social dominance are more likely to approach refugees with prejudice. Conversely, those with high empathy scores tend to have lower SDO and are less likely to exhibit prejudice against refugees.

When we analyze Fig.  1 ; Table  3 together, the total effect of the SDO variable on the PAAS variable is at the level of β = 0.398 ( p  <.001). Considering that the direct effect of the SDO variable on the PAAS variable is β = 0.340 ( p  <.001), we could say that some parts of the effect occur through the mediator role of the empathy variable. As seen in the table, although β = 0.058 ( p  <.001) on the PAAS variable is very low, the SDO variable has a positive and significant effect on the mediator role of empathy. In this case, we understand that 15% (0.058/0.398) of the effect of the SDO variable on the PAAS variable is indirectly through the empathy variable, and the remaining 85% is in the form of a direct effect.

After examining the mediator model, we searched for the predictive/associate effect of the demographic variables on the PAAS variable with simple linear regression. Only the significant regression results are in Table  4 . In the regression analysis performed by transforming the data into Dummy coding, women ( F (1,724) = 0.007, p  =.934, f 2  < 0.001), men ( F (1,724) = 0.007, p  =.934, f 2  < 0.001), low SES ( F (1,724) = 2.232, p  =.136, f 2  = 0.003), seeing refugees rarely ( F (1,724) = 0.156, p  =.693, f 2  < 0.001), seeing refugees occasionally ( F (1,724) = 0.214, p  =.644, f 2  < 0.001) and seeing refugees frequently ( F (1,724) = 0.486, p  =.486, f 2  = 0.001) variables have not significant ANOVA values in predicting prejudice against refugees. As known, models applied in the regression analyses without significant ANOVA values are inconsistent.

Variables with significant ANOVA values (Middle SES ( F (1,724) = 8.475, p  <.01, f 2  = 0.015), High SES ( F (1,724) = 7.783, p  <.01, f 2  = 0.012), Turkish ( F (1,724) = 20.020, p  <.001, f 2  = 0.026), Kurdish ( F (1,724) = 7.660, p  <.01, f 2  = 0.012)) can be seen in Table  4 . In Table  4 , we significantly predict that students whose families have middle SES feel prejudice against refugees ( b =-1.495; p  <.01). Similarly, we see that students whose families have high SES show a significant prediction of prejudice against refugees ( b  = 2.011; p  <.01).

According to ethnic origin, the participants are substantially Kurdish or Turkish. We searched for the prejudice of both ethnic origins against refugees by simple regression analysis. As a result, we have understood from the data in Table  4 that variables of Turkish or Kurdish ethnic origin significantly predict prejudice against refugees ( b Turkish =1,877; p  <.001 and b Kurdish =-1,281; p  <.01).

5 Discussion and implications

As a result of the analyses, the participant PSTs tended to be prejudiced toward refugees. Studies conducted in various countries had similar results (Danilewicz, 2020 ; Schweitzer et al., 2005 ; Scotta & Safdarb, 2017 ; Vallejo-Martín et al., 2020 ). Notably, several studies in the Turkish context addressed prejudice against Syrians (e.g., Aydin & Kaya, 2017 ; Diker & Karan, 2021 ; Icduygu, 2015 ; Yitmen & Verkuyten, 2018 ). The discourses of political parties as they would send refugees home, the increase in house rents due to the growing population of migrants and the duration of their stay, and difficulties in finding a job fed negative attitudes (Icduygu, 2015 ; IstanPol, 2020 ; Stephan et al., 2015 ). Participants expressed low SDO and high empathy. A few studies conducted in Turkey also found low SDO in society and high or moderate empathy (Aktas et al., 2021 ; Erdogan, 2015 ; IstanPol, 2020 ). In addition, research examining Turkish teachers’ attitudes toward refugees and immigrants showed that positive emotions and empathy were common (Boru & Boyaci, 2016 ; Saritas et al., 2016 ; Topkaya & Akdag, 2016 ). Accordingly, it appears that the participants exhibited high empathy and did not view themselves as socially dominant over Syrian refugees. Nevertheless, they still tended to express prejudice. One of the reasons could be that the problems arising from refugees are increasing (Diker & Karan, 2021 ; Icduygu, 2015 ; IstanPol, 2020 ; Yitmen & Verkuyten, 2018 ), and this situation could cause unrest and reaction in society. Political and media rhetoric (Devran & Ozcan, 2016 ; Triandafyllidou, 2018 ) could also affect and worsen social attitudes. It is, therefore, essential to address the underlying circumstances (e.g., economic and social insecurity and political polarization) that lead Turkish PSTs to express prejudice towards Syrian refugees.

Regarding the correlation results between the variables, although relatively low and moderate, they were in the expected direction. Empathy varied negatively with prejudice and SDO, as expected. Many studies similarly displayed that empathy had a negative relationship with conservatism, prejudice, and SDO (Aktas et al., 2021 ; Berthold et al., 2013 ; Burke et al., 2015 ; Sidanius et al., 2013 ). The association between empathy and attitudes toward Syrian refugees has been the subject of various research. According to these findings, empathy could help to lessen prejudice and foster a more welcoming attitude toward migrants. Other-oriented empathy (empathic care) indicated more vital social intimacy and better attitudes toward Syrian refugees (Pawlicka et al., 2019 ). In the Syrian refugee context in Turkey, humanitarian concerns and empathy were interrelated to positive attitudes toward Syrian refugees (Yitmen & Verkuyten, 2018 ); prejudice declined when paired with empathy feeling, and authoritarianism significantly affected the prejudice levels (Uysal & Aydin-Cakir, 2020 ). Students with a high level of empathy had a significantly more favorable view toward refugees (Yelpaze & Guler, 2018 ). High empathy and low SDO of Turkish PSTs could indicate that they are more likely to be inclusive, tolerant, and open-minded toward outgroups in their careers, which is hopeful.

In the current study, PAAS and SDO also showed a positive correlation contrary to empathy. Seeing different social groups inequal and prejudice against them are two interrelated situations. SDO predicted prejudice in many studies (e.g., Altemeyer, 1998 ; Pratto & Lemieux, 2001 ; Snellman & Ekehammar, 2005 ). A few studies also supported the hypothesis that those with high SDO cherish superiority and power (Sibley & Duckitt, 2010 ). Burke and colleagues ( 2015 ), Sidanius and colleagues ( 2016 ), and Sidanius and Pratto ( 1999 ) also indicated evidence for this in their studies. People with a high SDO frequently excuse injustices using stereotypes and prejudice, and they tend to be more prejudiced. However, our findings demonstrated that PSTs did not subscribe to an ideology that favored and perpetuated current power structures and dominance relationships. In other words, they tended not to see Syrian refugees as a risk to their control or community dominance. Nevertheless, they still tended to express prejudice toward Syrian refugees. It could be inferred from this result that PSTs are open-minded and tolerant of different cultures, are not far from inclusive education, and appreciate cultural diversity, all of which are the fundamental elements of quality education. However, the fact that they still expressed slight prejudice against Syrian refugees led us to infer other factors that could cause this. One of the reasons for this situation could be that in Turkey, Syrian migrants are still under temporary protection status (UNHCR, 2023 ). This situation leads to various uncertainties in social and educational policies, and thus, educational planning and coordination for Syrian refugee students could not be carried out effectively, as studies (e.g., Gencer, 2017 ; Sozer & Isiker, 2021 ) revealed. In this sense, we could imply that the introduction of permanent policies and regulations regarding Syrian refugees seems to play a critical role in solving many problems, including educational ones.

The mediator modeling of the current study showed sufficient fit values. Accordingly, empathy showed a small but significant mediator effect between SDO and prejudice against refugees. As a result, SDO significantly predicted prejudice against refugees and highlighted the importance of empathy in reducing prejudice (Batson et al., 2002 ). The studies of Snellman and Ekehammar ( 2005 ) and Visintin and Rullo ( 2021 ) also showed that ethnic and cultural humility effectively mediated the relationship between SDO and prejudice. All these studies shed light on the need to reveal SDO’s role in raising prejudice against refugees and understanding policies and regulations for creating a more equal and inclusive society.

We conducted an analysis using Dummy coding and simple regressions to investigate how various demographic variables could predict prejudice against refugees. Our analysis revealed that two variables, namely SES and ethnicity, significantly predicted prejudice against refugees. Findings indicated that PSTs from families with middle and high-SES tended to exhibit prejudice against refugees. Furthermore, based on the prediction scores, participants from middle-SES backgrounds tended to be slightly more prejudiced against refugees than those from high-SES backgrounds. According to the intergroup contact framework of Allport ( 1954 ) interpersonal communication and friendships might lessen prejudice. Therefore, it could be inferred that PSTs from middle and high-SES backgrounds viewed refugees as an outgroup. In contrast, PSTs from low-SES backgrounds were more likely to encounter Syrian refugees in their everyday lives, establish more contacts, and reside in the same neighborhoods as them. This situation could lead to more social contact, ultimately reducing prejudice.

Similar to the SES, being a member of Turks or Kurds, the two largest ethnic groups living in Turkey, also predicted prejudice towards refugees. Considering the prediction scores, Turkish ethnicity holders were slightly more prejudiced against refugees than Kurdish ethnicity holders. Perry and Sibley ( 2011 ) indicated that the salience of different social identities moderated the relationship between SDO and prejudice. In their research, Sidanius and Pratto ( 1999 ) claimed that those who felt like members of a group or ethnicity could feel social dominance over the other groups. Kurds are one of the ethnic minority groups in Turkey, and the conflict between Turks and Kurds has a long socio-political history (Yilmaz et al., 2018 ). Studies showed that Turks had little trust toward Kurds, were suspicious and prejudiced, and had negative attitudes (Sarigil & Karakoc, 2017 ; Yılmaz et al., 2018 ). Kurds had similar ideas and stated that they experienced discrimination (Duman, 2013 ). PSTs of Kurdish ethnicity could perceive themselves as disadvantaged as Syrian refugees, and this could be a reason why they were less prejudiced compared to PSTs of Turkish ethnicity.

PST training is a crucial phase in which future teachers are prepared for the profession in many aspects. During this period, they need to cultivate an inclusive approach towards teaching, become conscious of any prejudices they might hold, and significantly broaden their experiences through targeted interventions. Accordingly, this study emphasizes the development of future teachers’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes toward other societies and groups, ensuring that they are more tolerant, understanding, inclusive, and culturally responsive. Several studies (Warren, 2015 , 2018 ; Whitford & Emerson, 2019 ) demonstrated that empathy training in undergraduate years positively impacted teachers in cultivating an inclusive understanding in their professional lives. Providing PSTs with training in culturally responsive teaching and encouraging them to participate in community service projects could be another successful strategy for reducing prejudice (Walker, 2023 ; Wilcoxen et al., 2021 ). In addition, providing PSTs with opportunities to explore various cultures, faiths, and histories could foster respect and empathy toward diverse cultures. It is also essential to reconsider and update PST training programs accordingly.

6 Limitations and future directions

This study acknowledges certain limitations and assumptions which must be considered. First, it explored prejudice and its association with SDO and empathy alongside demographic variables such as SES and ethnic background. Further studies could explore other variables (e.g., symbolic and realistic thread, right-wing authoritarianism, educational level) of PSTs, which previous literature (e.g., Cowling et al., 2019 ) has identified as correlated with prejudice. Second, we utilized TEQ to comprehensively measure empathy in general and assumed that the participants responded to the questions, keeping Syrian refugees in mind. Since empathy is crucial for understanding others’ emotions and promoting prosocial behavior, we also assumed that assessing empathy in general provides essential insights into empathy towards Syrian refugees. Third, the study focused on a sample of 726 PSTs from eight universities across three regions, predominantly characterized by their limited age range. Therefore, future investigations involving in-service teachers could provide additional valuable insights for more effective professional development incentives targeted to inclusive classrooms.

Fourth, research could benefit from data collected in areas with a high concentration of Syrian refugees, offering a more nuanced perspective. Fifth, the study specifically concentrated on Syrian refugees due to their significant presence in Turkey. Subsequent research could delve into the SDO, empathy, and prejudice of Syrian refugees towards Turkish citizens.

Finally, numerous studies (e.g., Pawlicka et al., 2019 ; Warren, 2018 ; Yitmen & Verkuyten, 2018 ) have demonstrated the effectiveness of empathy interventions in raising awareness and reducing prejudice. Therefore, future studies could delve deeper into empathy and its potential to reduce prejudice toward refugees in PST education programs.

7 Conclusion

Our study revealed critical findings to explain the mediation role of empathy in the association between SDO and prejudice toward Syrian refugees in the context of Turkish PSTs. With a large sample group ( N  = 726), this study proved a positive correlation between SDO and prejudice, and empathy showed a small but significant mediation effect on this relationship. PSTs, although they felt low SDO and high empathy towards Syrian refugees, tended to express prejudice. In addition, SES and ethnicity significantly predicted prejudice against Syrian refugees. This study underscores the value of knowing PSTs’ attitudes toward Syrian refugees to avoid future interpersonal or intergroup misunderstandings and develop more evidence-based teacher training policies.

Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available at https://figshare.com/s/eaee0a605a8298663f13 (Reserved https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24188967 ).

Syrian nationals who have fled the conflict in Syria are not officially recognized as refugee, a subgroup of migrants, in Turkey. They are rather under temporary protection and seeking refugee status. The temporary protection status granted by the Turkish government allows Syrian nationals to reside and receive support services in the country while their situation is being assessed and a durable solution, such as resettlement in another country or return to their home country, is being sought (UNHCR, 2023 ). However, Syrian migrants are mostly hosted as refugees around the world, and this is mentioned so in the literature. For this reason, in the current study, we preferred to use the term “refugee” to describe Syrians who are temporarily protected in Turkey.

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Kirisci-Sarikaya, A., Guner, H. Exploring preservice teachers’ social domination orientation and prejudice toward Syrian refugees: the mediation of empathy. Soc Psychol Educ (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-024-09938-8

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-024-09938-8

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