This thematic Special Issue is the second in a five-year series on social psychology of social change that aims to feature the science and practice of interventions for social change. But, current work in the social psychology of social change still focuses on theoretical analysis of social problems; the action-oriented approach to social psychology research is not yet a strong movement in social psychology in the region. This is reflected in the research features in the Special Issue, where only one exemplifies the action research approach. Nevertheless, there is progress towards applying the theoretical lenses and methodological tools of social psychology to develop sharper understanding of particular social problems and the theoretical analysis that draws from close social contextual analysis and from indigenous concepts plays an important role in this progress. Even as we reflect on the challenges for moving towards action-oriented social psychology research, we note how social psychologists in the Asian and Pacific region are focusing their attention on local social concerns.

The Virtue Existential Career Model (VEC) is a Chinese career development model based on the Classic of Changes. It is designed to supplement the person-environment fit paradigm of Taiwan's 12-Year Basic Education for junior high school students. We adopted an action research approach with two parts, reflection-on-action and critical-emancipatory. An easy-to-use VEC career curriculum and a career information system (Career Genesis; CG) were developed by a team of staff members from government agencies (Tainan Department of Education and Student Counseling Centers), junior high schools, and the Chinese Career Research Center of National Changhua University of Education, Taiwan. The outcome of this project was strong on fostering interconnectedness. Implementing our VEC curriculum and CG to 30 junior high school students received statistically significant immediate increases in resilience, adaptation, and liking of career decision. The feedback and reflections suggest that mandating, attracting, and simplifying are useful strategies to promote our VEC model as well as to facilitate social change and create a multiple-win situation for all parties involved. This approach also follows the tao (道) of the Classic of Changes to provide new knowledge.

The conflict between economic development and environmental protection has been made salient by increasingly severe air pollution in China, a visible consequence of the costs of rapid economic progress. How does air pollution affect people's psychological experiences? How are newly rich Chinese beginning to think about this social dilemma and are they willing to take any action to deal with the problem? Are there individual differences that contribute to the effect of air pollution on mental experience and concern for environmental protection? The present work explores answers to these questions through two studies among convenience samples of participants residing in Beijing, which is the capital of China and plagued by toxic haze. Study 1 recruited 50 undergraduates and applied a 10-day experience sampling method. Results revealed that the real-time objective air pollution index was negatively associated with immediate subjective wellbeing (SWB) but positively associated with eudaimonic wellbeing (EWB). Study 2 investigated a sample of 288 working adults living in Beijing for their perceptions of air quality, wellbeing, pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) intentions, future orientation, and place attachment. Results revealed that perceived air pollution could not predict general SWB but improved the sense of purpose and meaning in life (i.e., EWB). Furthermore, this association was heightened in individuals who were future-orientated. In addition, perceived air pollution increased PEB intentions, partially through the promotion of EWB, and this effect was stronger in those who were more emotionally attached to Beijing.

Despite ongoing controversies regarding possible directions for the nuclear plants program throughout Japan since the Fukushima disaster, little has been researched about people's belief structure about future society and what may affect their attitudes toward different policy options. Beyond policy debates, the present study focused on how people see a future society according to the assumptions of different policy options. A total of 125 students at Japanese universities were asked to compare a future society with society today in which one of alternative policies was adopted (i.e., shutdown or expansion of nuclear reactors) in terms of characteristics of individuals and society in general. While perceived dangerousness of nuclear power predicted attitudes and behavioural intentions to make personal sacrifices for nuclear power policies, beliefs about the social consequences of the policies, especially on economic development and dysfunction, appeared to play stronger roles in predicting those measures. The importance of sociological dimensions in understanding how people perceive the future of society regarding alternative nuclear power policies, and the subtle discrepancies between attitudes and behavioural intentions, are discussed.

Tolerance of transgressions can influence the social cognitive and moral development of children and adolescents. Given the prevalent tolerance for bribery throughout the developing world and in China, the present research identified bribery as a serious transgression and investigated the various effects of moral evaluations and descriptive norms on transgression tolerance with increasing age. Thus, two studies examined these effects among primary, middle, and high school students (N = 972, 10-, 13-, and 16-year-olds). In Study 1, students’ transgression tolerance was negatively influenced by moral evaluations, and no age trend emerged. However, students reported more transgression tolerance with age owing to their increasing understanding of descriptive norms. In Study 2, the descriptive norms were manipulated: individuals in the high descriptive norm condition showed greater transgression tolerance than those in the low descriptive norm condition. An increasing tolerance of transgressions was observed only for those in the high descriptive norm condition. The effect of descriptive norms was found to contribute to the transgression tolerance trend.

This study examined the impact of media use on political engagement among South Korean voters. The two major strengths of the current study were the examination of multiple dimensions of media use and citizen communication, and the consideration of mediating variables. Multigroup structural equation modelling was used to examine the direct and indirect effects of media use on political engagement via mediator online citizen communication. The present study used data from the 19th General Election Survey in Korea conducted by the Korean Social Data Center. A nationally representative sample of 829 Korean voters (age range: 21–59) was included for analysis. Results indicated: (1) for those in the 20–30 year age group, political efficacy positively predicted online media use and this, in turn, was related to political engagement via mediator online citizen communication; and (2) for those in the 40–50 year age group, political efficacy positively predicted both offline and online media use, with online media use affecting political engagement directly.

In order to check whether (un)civilised behaviour can be a valid indigenous intergroup comparison dimension for Chinese people, three studies were conducted based on stereotypic explanatory bias (SEB). Study 1 examined the media representation of Chinese and Western (un)civilised behaviours, and the SEB results suggested ingroup derogation of Chinese people regarding civilised behaviour. Study 2 aimed to use a more empirical approach to further analyse Chinese intergroup bias for civilised behaviour at both implicit and explicit levels. Chinese participants’ SEB results indicated ingroup derogation and outgroup favouritism were at the implicit level; however, ingroup favouritism and outgroup derogation were at the explicit level. Study 3 was designed to examine how stereotypes that were verified in Study 2 would be changed by manipulating the presentation of extreme, stereotype-relevant information in the form of an internet blog. These findings suggest that (un)civilised behaviour can be a valid indigenous intergroup comparison dimension for Chinese people who perceive themselves as a disadvantaged group compared to Westerners on this dimension. Finally, theoretical contribution and practical implications for social change are discussed.

Background: Depression is a commonly studied mental disorder affecting Chinese internal (i.e., rural-to-urban) migrants. Social resources effectively reduce depression for many communities experiencing adversities. This study evaluated social-level risk factors for depression between internal migrant and non-migrant Chinese living in mainland China. Method: We conducted a random population-level survey among migrants and local residents living in Guangzhou, China. Data were collected using face-to-face interviews. We used items from the Social Support Rating Scale to measure social resource dimensions, including social network size, emotional support, structural social capital, and one (self-developed) item that measured belonging (an element of social cohesion). The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 measured depression. Correlation and regression analyses of the partial sample (n = 678) were conducted to estimate the association between social resources and depression for migrants (n = 383) and non-migrants (n = 295). Results: Stratified regression analysis demonstrated that for migrants, greater belonging was associated with less depression, while age and larger friendship social network size was related to less depression among non-migrants. Conclusion: Differences emerged in our sample with regard to the types of social resources that are protective against depression between migrants and non-migrants. Interventions that provide opportunities for migrants to better integrate and feel welcomed into their new communities may reduce their depression symptoms.