Gymnastik- och idrottshögskolan, GIH

Aim. The COVID-19 pandemic initially required sustainable behavioural changes to mitigate the spread of the infection. Thus, people were requested to comply with the recommendations given by the authorities. However, adherence to the recommendations varied considerably. Therefore, it is important to understand the driving forces behind such behavioural change. This study aims to investigate how people's willingness to comply with preventive behaviour, including vaccination, during a pandemic is related to the prosocial emotion of benevolence, the inclination to do well.

Subject and methods. An online cross-sectional study was performed (N = 1014).

Result. The result showed a significant correlation for the whole study population between how well they followed the recommendations (M = 4.16, S = 0.92) and the levels of benevolence (M = 3.58, S = 0.74) r = 0.22, p = < 0.001.

Conclusion. Further, there was a significant correlation between altruistic motives and compliance with recommendations, including the view on taking the vaccine. Our findings add to the concept that prosocial orientation during the COVID-19 pandemic increases compliance with preventive behaviour.

Vi lever i en tid då kriser avlöser varandra och vi översköljs av information om hur vi ska bete oss för att minska dess negativa effekter. Att främja prosocialt beteende visar sig minska negativa effekter av kriser och därför är det viktigt att undersöka vad som främjar prosocialitet under pågående kriser. Denna explorativa litteraturstudie omfattar tolv artiklar publicerade inom ämnesområdet psykologi mellan år 2021-2023, där olika faktorer som kan främja pro-socialt beteende under COVID-19 krisen identifieras. Resultatet av denna genomgång visar att social identitet, kunskapsöverföring och förväntad effekt av en beteendeförändring, med avseende på inre drivkrafter och kontexter, var viktiga faktorer som var associerade med prosocialt beteende under COVID- 19 krisen. Dessa resultat kan ge nya insikter om hur vi kan främja prosociala beteenden och förbereda oss för eventuella framtida kriser.

We live in a time where recurring crises, surrounded with information about how to behave to reduce the negative effects of the crises. Encouraging pro-social behavior has been shown to reduce the negative effects, therefore, it is important to examine what promotes prosociality when disaster strikes. This exploratory study examines twelve articles, published in the field of psychology during the period 2021-2023, to identify which factors promote prosocial behavior during the COVID-19 crisis. The result shows that social identity, knowledge transfer, and expected efficacy of behavior change, with respect to internal drivers and the context, were all important factors for improving prosocial behavior during the COVID-19 crisis. This can provide insights into how we can promote prosocial behavior and prepare for future crises.  

Intresset för forskning, utbildning och utveckling inom social hållbarhet, inte minst under kriser, fortsätter att öka. Covid-19 pandemin, kriget i Ukraina, klimatförändringarna, den minskade biologiska mångfalden och potentiella hot såsom politisk polarisering och AI påverkar området social hållbarhet. För tio år sedan etablerades ”Centrum för social hållbarhet” (CSS) på Karolinska Institutet och olika forskare med sina perspektiv på ”Socialt hållbar utveckling – fokus på empati, compassion och altruism” bidrog till ett temanummer av Socialmedicinsk tidskrift 2013. För fem år sedan gav vi också ut temanumret ”Social hållbarhet” i Socialmedicinsk tidskrift 2018, och konstaterar att området är minst lika aktuellt idag. Vi har bjudit in forskargrupper som är intresserade av social hållbarhet, och tillsammans har vi skapat ett nytt temanummer där flera bidrag handlar om yttre och inre hållbarhet i relation till kriser.

Interest in research, education and development in social sustainability, not least during crises, continues to increase. The Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, climate change, reduced biodiversity and potential threats such as political polarization and AI, affect the area of social sustainability. Ten years ago, the ”Centre for Social Sustainability” (CSS) was established at Karolinska Institute and various researchers shared their perspectives on ”Socially sustainable development - focus on empathy, compassion and altruism” in a themed issue of Social Medicine Journal 2013. Five years ago, we also published “Social sustainability” in Social Medicine Journal 2018, and note that the area is at least as relevant today. We have invited research groups interested in social sustainability, and together created a new themed issue on external and internal sustainability in relation to crises.

Background: Music listening can improve acquisition of new knowledge.Purpose: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the emotional and cognitive effects of a knowledge concert on the attending audience. Methodology: The audience was asked to complete a Visual Analogue Scale (10 cm) before and after listening to the concert, along five variables: Arousal, Degree of happiness, Degree of worry, Daily worries and Benevolence. Follow-up qualitative interviews gathered narratives from the participants. Findings: 228 concert attendees took part in the study by completing the questionnaires (51 percent of the whole audience). Statistically significant changes were observed in the outcome measures for: Arousal (p=0.002), Daily worries (p<0.001) and Degree of happiness (p=0.01). Degree of worry interacted with age (p<0.001). No changes were found for Benevolence (p=0.93). Gender and previous music experiences did not make a difference to feelings evoked by the music. Age, however, was important since younger participants became more worried by the concert than older. Originality: We discuss the potential role of future knowledge concerts that comprise qualities explored, such as mitigating a variety of embodied psychological capacities, including reflection and agency in audiences, facilitating learning about sensitive issues, and potentially also transformation towards prosocial mindsets and behavior.