I hate you when I am anxious: Anxiety during the COVID-19 epidemic and ideological hostility.

Most previous studies that examined the effect of anxiety on hostility towards a distinct group have focused on cases in which we hate those we are afraid of. The current study, on the other hand, examines the relationship between anxiety in one domain and hostility towards a distinct group that is not the source of that anxiety. We focus here on symptoms of anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic, which have become increasingly frequent, and show that the implications of such mental difficulties are far-reaching, posing a threat to relationships between ideological groups.

I Care About Your Plight, But Only If I Like Your Leader: The Effect of National Leaders' Perceived Personality on Empathy and Pro-Social Behavior Towards Their Citizenry.

People's default levels of empathy toward members of a distant group tend to be low. The current research shows that favorable perceptions regarding the personality of a group's leader can stimulate empathy and pro-social behavior toward his or her countrymen. In four experimental studies ( = 884), we found that exposure to a news article that positively (vs.