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The role of identity processes in shaping help to war refugees - Behaviour in Crisis Lab

The role of identity processes in shaping help to war refugees

The project examines the processes shaping attitudes that support helping versus not helping war refugees in the context of social identity. In our study, we focused on demonstrating how social identity related processes, namely prospective fear (of Russia’s hostility toward the assisting country), perceived closeness, and group norms of helping, shape assistance for war refugees.

The Institute of Psychology, the Centre for Evaluation and Public Policy Analysis, and the Institute of Religious Studies provided financial support for the project.

Małgorzata Kossowska, Paulina Szwed, Mateusz Blukacz, Ewa Szumowska, Jolanta Perek-Białas, Aneta Czernatowicz-Kukuczka, Zafer Özkan.

We investigate the psychological factors associated with the unprecedented assistance that Poles have offered refugees from Ukraine since the outset of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Building on social identity theory, and examining the current social context in Poland, we focus on three social identity dimensions, i.e., a feeling of closeness towards refugees from Ukraine, anticipatory fears (of a Russian invasion), and a community norm of helping. These three dimensions predict collective helping resulting from a sense of a common fate and a feeling of togetherness with Ukrainians. We tested this hypothesis in a study (N=1066 at Time 1) conducted between 2022 and 2026, and in a seven-wave panel study. The results of the study contribute to the discussion on social identity processes underlying offers of help to people fleeing from war-zones. Thus, they enhance our understanding of the role of citizens in terms of their contribution to helping refugees, and can be used to improve responses to other humanitarian crises.

  • Ozkan, Z., Kossowska, M., Szumowska, E., Perek-Białas, J., & Szwed, P. (2026). Emotional foundations of refugee policy support: The role of threats and emotions towards refugees. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 110, 102326.
  • Özkan, Z., Kossowska, M., Szumowska, E., Perek-Białas, J., & Szwed, P. (2025). Threat perceptions and closeness to refugees: a three-wave longitudinal study. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 01461672251352899.
  • Kossowska, M., Chan, H. W., Hong, Y. Y., & Szumowska, E. (2025). Longitudinal effects of helping war refugees on intergroup threat and fear of war: The role of perceived helping functionality. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 28(3), 648-672.
  • Kossowska, M., Szwed, P., Czernatowicz‐Kukuczka, A., Perek‐Białas, J., Szumowska, E., Kruglanski, A. W., ... & Załuski, W. (2024). Socio‐psychological barriers preventing people from helping in times of crisis: A scoping review. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 34(2), e2775.
  • Kossowska, M., Szwed, P., Szumowska, E., Perek-Białas, J., & Czernatowicz-Kukuczka, A. (2023). The role of fear, closeness, and norms in shaping help towards war refugees. Scientific reports, 13(1), 1465.
  • Kossowska, M., Perek-Białas, J., Blukacz, M., Szwed, P., Szumowska, E., & Czernatowicz-Kukuczka, A. (2023). Mass mobilizations for helping war refugees: The role of fear, closeness, and norms. Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology, 5, 100153.