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Item Across borders and time : testing the competing perspectives of system justification : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand(Massey University, 2025-08-29) Valdes, Evan ArmandoWhy do people defend societal systems that perpetuate inequality and injustice? This question is increasingly relevant in today’s geopolitical climate, amid growing tensions between calls for progressive social change and maintenance of a traditional, sometimes polarized, status quo. System Justification Theory (SJT) posits that individuals are motivated—due to both dispositional and situational factors—to defend and justify existing social, economic, and political systems, even when doing so may conflict with their self- or group-interests. Competing theories, however, argue that system justification is largely a reflection of those interests. This thesis tests these competing perspectives on system justification across countries and time through four studies, using a consistent four-item measure of general system justification for comparability. Study 1 examined SJT’s status-legitimacy hypothesis in China and the United States, using both subjective and objective indicators of socioeconomic status (SES). Subjective SES consistently positively predicted system justification across cultures and time, aligning with self- and group-interest explanations. Objective SES, however, showed only weak and inconsistent support for SJT in China. Study 2 expanded the scope cross-culturally, comparing SJT to the social identity perspectives and Social Dominance Theory, using data from 42 countries. Results largely favored self- and group-interest explanations over SJT across cultures. Study 3 tested SJT’s claim that system justification provides psychological benefits in the form of enhanced psychological wellbeing using four waves of longitudinal data. Bidirectional cross-lagged panel modeling showed that system justification predicted greater subjective SES via increased life satisfaction over time, but not vice versa, supporting SJT’s claim that system-justifying beliefs can confer psychological benefits independent of materials self-interest. However, when assessing this model using more robust longitudinal techniques, no such effect was observed. Study 4 used a longitudinal quasi-experiment centered around New Zealand’s 2023 general election to compare SJT with the Social Identity Model of System Attitudes (SIMSA). Results showed that system justification generally coincided with self- and group-interests among electoral winners and losers in line with SIMSA. However, among disadvantaged electoral losers, perceived system threat [of SJT] better explained continued system justification than did optimism about the future [of SIMSA], providing stronger support for SJT. Overall, this thesis demonstrates that system justification arises from a complex interplay of individual, situational, ideological, and societal factors. While system justification often reflects self- and group-interests, under certain conditions it functions as an ideological mechanism that can conflict with these very interests to uphold societal structures – especially when those structures are perceived to be under threat. This supports the view of system justification as both an ideological disposition and a palliative mechanism, sustaining societal structures despite inequality. Such insights highlight the challenge of addressing systemic injustice and underscore the need to frame social change in ways that align with psychological motivation and a desire for stability.Item Wisdom of the crowds : developing a social media platform for socially responsible research : a thesis by publication. EMBARGOED to 6 September 2025.(Massey University, 2023) Yu, JiThe recent proliferation of social media and the underlying technical applications have provided important opportunities for researchers to obtain wisdom-of-the-crowds (WoC)-type data to address their research questions for the benefit of society. In particular, complex or wicked social problems, e.g., COVID-19-like issues, may need more attention from researchers. As the contemporary world is filled with uncertainty and highly unpredictable, such kinds of problems are increasingly emerging, which require appropriate attention from researchers as well as new ways to tackle them. However, most currently available social media applications have not been designed with researchers as their primary audience, and issues, such as ethical concerns and data acquisition restrictions, are also of concern with current applications. To better fulfil the needs of researchers, and address the challenges, this study designed and developed an experimental and research-oriented social media platform, Wisenet, for socially responsible research (SRR), which refers to studies that are conducted with consideration for the benefit of society at large. Wisenet is positioned as a specialized platform for researchers, enabling them to generate, collect, and analyze WoC-type data in a research-oriented environment. The mission of the platform is to provide valuable, accessible, ethically sourced data and analysis for researchers and to facilitate participants’ interest, interaction, and cognitive skills while maintaining the values of ethical principles and social responsibility. Wisenet reaches and engages target participants – people over 50 – to obtain their perspectives on current significant social problems. People over 50 have been selected as the target group because their relatively high level of accumulated life experience makes them more likely to be able to provide meaningful insights on current social issues. Further, offering such insights may require them to use, reflect on, and synthesize their wisdom, knowledge, and experience, and these can be a pathway to develop or maintain their cognitive capabilities. Therefore, participating in Wisenet can be beneficial for both people over 50 and researchers. A design science research methodology (DSRM) approach is employed, which includes six stages: problem identification and motivation, defining the objectives of a solution, design and development, demonstration, evaluation, and communication. Socio-technical theory and WoC provide the main theoretical underpinnings of this study, and along with SRR principles, guide both the purpose of the study and the design and development of the platform. Both qualitative and quantitative data can be generated and collected from the platform, and advanced data analytics methods (e.g., sentiment analysis and topic modelling) are employed to analyse data for WoC. The demonstration and evaluation phases provide evidence of the efficacy, effectiveness, usefulness and ease of use of this newly developed platform. For the contributions, this study mainly provides an artefactual contribution, i.e., Wisenet. It is a comprehensive information system artefact, integrating the technology, social, and information artefacts. Additionally, this study contributes to theoretical understanding by applying design principles (i.e., interaction, understanding, trust and ethics, and simplicity) in the design and development of the artefact. While some of these principles may be found discussed in design literature, this study takes a comprehensive approach by integrating them to guide the design and development of the platform, and they can be used to design similar artefacts in the future. For the research implications, Wisenet can be generalized as a class of artefact, which is a type of online platform focusing on generating WoC-type data for various purposes. Future research may develop a corresponding design theory to create this class of artefact. As for practical implications, this study mainly demonstrates a proof-of-concept, which shows the functional feasibility of Wisenet, and partially demonstrates the proof-of-value level implication, in which stakeholders (i.e., researchers) can use Wisenet to create value. In addition, Wisenet could also have important applications for both business and government; for example, in the development of policies and processes that affect people over 50. Wisenet also has practical implications for commercial social media providers. It emphasizes the idea that instead of concentrating solely on profits, providers may also consider promoting ethical, trustworthy, and socially responsible online environments for the benefit of society and their companies.Item The influence of spirituality on social work teaching, practice, and public well-being : an Aotearoa New Zealand research project : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Work at Massey University, Albany, Aotearoa New Zealand(Massey University, 2023) Muhammed Shafi, HairunnisaOver the past two decades, social work education has witnessed positive attitudes from teachers and practitioners towards including spirituality in social work education and practice. Several studies highlighted that spirituality increased the coping of individuals suffering from mental health issues, which expanded the scope of integrating spirituality into the social work profession. Social work teachers’ and practitioners’ spirituality guides their practice behaviours related to the inclusion of spiritual components into social work education programmes and social work practice. However, few qualitative studies have investigated the influence of spirituality on teaching and practice internationally and in Aotearoa New Zealand. Therefore, this study was designed to explore the influence of spirituality on social work teachers, practitioners, and the public and determine how this can be utilised in social work education and practice. This study had five objectives. The first objective was to explore social work teachers’, practitioners’ and the public’s understanding of spirituality. As social work teachers are accountable for teaching their students how to address clients’ diverse religious and spiritual beliefs, addressing students’ beliefs and consequent actions is a significant teaching task and an important requirement for social work teachers and practitioners to achieve cultural competence. Thus, both social work teachers and practitioners need to examine their own beliefs and how these beliefs influence the way they address spirituality in either social work teaching or social work practice. Therefore, the second and third objectives of the study focused on exploring social work teachers’ and practitioners’ experiences and perceptions of the influence of spirituality on social work teachings and practice. As there are relatively few studies around spirituality and social work regarding clients’ perceptions, the fourth objective was to explore the public perspective of the influence of spirituality in their lives and their views about incorporating it into social work practice. The final objective of this study was to develop a conceptual framework that addresses spirituality in social work education and practice in a way that respects diverse spiritual views. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten social work teachers, six social work practitioners and nine members of the public and the data were analysed using grounded theory methods. Findings indicated that social work teachers, practitioners, and members of the public constructed meaning and purpose in unique ways, and their experiences of spirituality also vary. The experience of spirituality for social work teachers and practitioners included awareness of having a personal relationship with God, nature, social work, and family. Public participants showed religious and spiritual pluralism and diverse beliefs about the meaning and purpose of their lives, including self-improvement, listening to people, being creative and holding aspirations. This study suggests that a critical examination of the spiritual beliefs of social work teachers and practitioners is essential to include spirituality in teaching and practice effectively. A conceptual framework for addressing spirituality in social work education and practice was developed considering findings obtained from social work teachers, practitioners, and members of the public.Item Aotearoa-New Zealand Public Responses to Covid-19 and Climate Change(School of Communication, Journalism & Marketing, Massey Business School, Massey University, 2020-08-05) Thaker J; Menon VThis report is based on findings from a national survey conducted by the School of Communication, Journalism & Marketing—Te Pou Aro Kōrero, Massey University and fielded by Qualtrics. Interview dates: June 26 to July 13, 2020, after New Zealand moved to Alert Level 1. Interviews: 1040 adults (18+). Average margin of error: +/- 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. The research was funded by the Massey University.Item Using market research methodologies to advance public engagement with emerging climate technologies : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy via publication in Marketing at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand(Massey University, 2022) Carlisle, DanielThe world is facing an unprecedented climate emergency that threatens humanity and global ecosystems. To help avoid some of the worst impacts, scientists are developing innovative technologies for addressing rising greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. However, in the early stages of research and development, the effectiveness, consequences, and desirability of implementing these technologies remains highly uncertain. Early public engagement is therefore critical for ensuring research and development pathways are acceptable to society. Currently, it remains unclear how best to engage the public on a global scale; an issue addressed in this thesis by drawing on theories and methodologies applied in the marketing discipline to advance the field of public engagement. The core methodology draws on marketing theories and measurement metrics by drawing on associative network theories of memory (ANTM) to model cognitive associations (i.e., public perceptions) with unfamiliar concepts. Study One is a replication and extension of work by (Wright, Teagle, & Feetham, 2014) and uses qualitative and quantitative methods to measure public perceptions of six climate engineering technologies across countries and over time. The results show strong perceptual differences between technologies, but remarkable consistency between countries and over time. This consistency validates the cognitive association method as a robust tool for rapid public engagement and tracking perceptions as they evolve. Study Two builds on Study One by drawing on additional dual processing theories and using an experimental design to test how citizens form opinions about emerging climate technologies. Contrary to concerns that survey methods elicit insufficiently considered responses, the study finds that citizens rely on rapid, snap judgements to form opinions, and that encouraging more thorough consideration does not affect their responses. Thus, the research further validates the use of survey methodologies for public engagement. Study Three shifts focus, measuring perceptions of alternative fuels for decarbonising the shipping industry – a previously unresearched topic. The study is also the first to use a mixed-method approach to modelling cognitive associations in academic literature. Again, the quantitative findings showed strong, previously-unknown differences in perceptions between alternative fuels. Furthermore, the qualitative analysis supplemented these findings with rich insights into the drivers behind differing public perceptions. This thesis makes several notable contributions: Practically, the results demonstrate the public’s consistent preference for Carbon Dioxide Removal over Solar Radiation Management, their cautious support for carbon capture technologies, a strong distaste for stratospheric aerosol injection and ammonia as a shipping fuel, a striking preference for nuclear propulsion over heavy fuel oil, support for hydrogen and biofuel powered shipping, support for local implementation of alternative shipping fuels, and conditional support for small-scale research into acceptable emerging technologies. Theoretically, the research advances ANTM and dual processing theories in the context of emerging technologies, yielding results that are broadly applicable to not only public engagement with science, but also market research, brand tracking, and consumer judgement. Methodologically, the research validates cognitive association methods for cross-country public engagement, demonstrates the ability to track perceptions over time, and demonstrates a mixed-method approach to modelling cognitive associations. Finally, the research demonstrates the importance of conducting early and ongoing public engagement to identify acceptable decarbonisation pathways, guide research trajectories, and inform climate policy.Item Factoring community welfare estimates into freshwater allocation decision making in New Zealand : a common good case study : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Natural Resource Management at Massey University, New Zealand(Massey University, 2020) Walker, HumphreyThe study recognises the centrality of the ‘common good’ by working to improve the intergenerational well-being of all people in society. The research adopts the Tukituki River catchment in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand as a case study to demonstrate how community welfare estimates can be factored into freshwater allocation planning and decision-making. The Tukituki catchment faces water pollution and allocation challenges that are typical of agricultural landscapes with summer water scarcity. A survey measured both current and future perceptions of the catchment, focussing on comparing perceptions of anglers and gamebird hunters with other recreational users. A second survey estimated the marginal welfare benefits generated by improved water quality and the welfare associated with trust in freshwater advocates and policy-oriented organisations. Most users felt the catchment was in a poor state and wanted a future with improved water quality. There was little or no difference between the perceptions of anglers and other recreational users. Gamebird hunter’s perceptions were different from other recreational users at the p<.05 level. Recreational users were willing to pay a mean $6.67 a month for ten years to improve water quality to a level representative of the successful delivery of current policy goals by 2030. Bayesian trust scores were used to model social capital in the form of a novel social trust economy, which proved to be an effective descriptor of the known political economy. Keywords: Freshwater, Welfare, Perceptions, Trust, Common good, Latent Class Analysis, Best-worst scaling, Non-market valuation, Contingent valuation.Item The socio-psychological aspects of the personalization of politics : examining the process, conditional factors, and implications of parasocial relationships with political figures : a dissertation presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy in Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand(Massey University, 2019) Hakim, Moh AbdulAmidst the growing complexity of modern politics, it has been documented that people tend to focus more on individual candidates instead of parties, developing psychological bonds with them personally. Although this phenomenon has been under much discussion recently, the socio- psychological explanation of political personalization in the literature is still largely scant. In addressing this gap, I advocate for the use of parasocial relationship theory to explain the social psychological aspects of political personalization. According to this theory, people have the ability to develop a one-sided feeling of intimacy with popular figures from a distance, as they repeatedly encounter the figures through media (conceptualized as parasocial relationships). To show the utility of this concept, I present a series of evidence showing the validity as well as generalisability of parasocial relationships with political figures as a psychological construct across Indonesia, New Zealand, and the United States in Chapter 2. Interestingly, our analyses also indicated that the type of political systems (presidential vs parliamentary) and the level of democratic maturity of a country play a crucial role in facilitating the formation of parasocial relationships with politicians. In Chapter 3, I demonstrate that parasocial relationships with political candidates are consistently linked to political news consumption. Moreover, this link was found to be largely mediated by experiences of being in imaginary interactions with the candidates during the news exposure situations. In Chapter 4, our analyses suggest that the presence of social media is likely to amplify the personalization of politics. It was revealed that those who frequently use social media are more likely to engage in social media interactions with political figures, leading to the formation of parasocial relationships with them. Finally, in Chapter 5, I elaborate on the theoretical implications of my findings within the broader context of the political psychology literature on political attachments. The practical implications of the findings are discussed in light of the rising popularity of the use of media technologies to cutivate people’s sense of intimacy with political candidates.Item The contradictions of freedom : freedom camping tensions, tourism governance and changing social relationships in the Christchurch and Selwyn districts of New Zealand : a thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Sociology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand(Massey University, 2019) Aston, ShannonIn 2011, the National led government of New Zealand hastily enacted the Freedom Camping Act (2011) in order to accommodate the bourgeoning number of foreign tourists expected to arrive for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. This was despite opposition concerns that existing public infrastructure, and particularly sanitation facilities, would not be able to meet the growth in demand. In the years since the introduction of FCA (2011), the popularity of freedom camping primarily among budget conscious Europeans has increased and there has been an ever growing number of freedom campers arriving on New Zealand’s shores. Freedom camping is defined in the Act as camping in self-contained and non-self-contained vehicles on public land managed by local governments or the Department of Conservation. Promoted by the national government and tourism industry for its potential to contribute to national tourism revenue, public and political concerns have surfaced around the social, economic, cultural and environmental costs and benefits of freedom camping. Significant points of tension and conflict have come to characterise freedom camping which illuminate multiple contradictions both in its conceptualisation and the way it is experienced by various groups. Freedom camping is embedded in neoliberal governance and discourse and is a policy directive enacted in national legislation. However, its management is devolved to local governments and its effects are highly localised. In this thesis I examine the different management approaches to freedom camping and the effects of these approaches in two neighbouring areas of New Zealand’s South Island: the Christchurch and Selwyn districts. Christchurch is a major urban area and tourism hub and since 2015 has had a freedom camping bylaw in place which restricts freedom camping in its environs. In contrast, Selwyn is a rural district with a rapidly growing urban centre. It has no freedom camping bylaw and manages two large freedom camping areas in its district. Drawing on extensive document analysis and three weeks of qualitative field research involving interviews, observation and site visits in the two districts in late 2018, this thesis speaks to two specific research questions: • How do people in the Christchurch and Selwyn regional districts feel about freedom camping, the Freedom Camping Act 2011 and its management? • How is freedom camping and the Freedom Camping Act 2011 reshaping social relations within and between the Christchurch and Selwyn regional districts? This thesis locates the FCA (2011) and freedom camping within current discourse on tourism governance in neoliberal government structures and in answering the research questions, explores three key areas. First, I examine the governance of freedom camping, the state of the legislation and how different regional approaches to freedom camping create inconsistency and community stress. Second, I consider freedom camping as a contradictory process of capitalism and interpret economic power over nature through the framework of political ecology. The third area is an analysis of tourist-hosts relations which sets a broader framework to examine tensions over freedom camping’s visibility seen through the cultural lens of the “New Zealand camper identity”. The thesis concludes that freedom camping through the FCA (2011) makes multiple interpretations of freedom compete in, and for, contested public spaces. Four freedoms are identified that emerge from the tensions. Freedom from cost relates to seeking free sites and overusing public space. Freedom of mobility is the legislation encouraging freedom campers to locate themselves in contested public places. Freedom as birthright is New Zealander’s interpretation of freedom in nature as a birthright which is utilized by the national tourism industry. The freedom of regulated responsibility involves the language of freedom being removed from freedom camping by the central government after eight years of significant social and environmental stress due to freedom camping. These freedoms are both interconnected and internally contradictory leaving the future meaning and practice of freedom camping uncertain.Item Interrogating Antipodean angst : New Zealand's non-Muslim majority talk about Muslims : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, New Zealand(Massey University, 2019) Ash, Eileen JayneThis study sought to address Douglas Pratt’s (2010) claim that New Zealand’s non-Muslim majority are experiencing “angst” in relation to a growing Muslim population. To explore this, a discourse analysis was conducted using 12 interviews with non-Muslim New Zealanders to identify how participants construct and maintain ideas surrounding Muslims. Results indicated two discourses, namely, constructing New Zealand society and constructing Muslims. Within constructions of New Zealand society, patterns of talk highlighted that New Zealand was established as a “safe haven”, as well as being tolerant and accepting of different religions and cultures. Tolerance and acceptance were conditional on whether Muslims assimilated, and on participants’ own security and safety. Within constructions of Muslims, gender-based oppression was created as a problematic difference compared with non-Muslims. Further, Muslims were constructed as “not terrorists, mostly” which suggests that there is a default link between Islam and terrorism. Media was also significant in talk, constructed as intentionally presenting a distorted view of Muslims. Also, in relation to media, participants constructed themselves as ignorant. Overall, the major finding of this research was a lack of angst in talk relating to Muslims. Rather, what was found were minor concerns relating to Muslim dress and some concern about safety, as well as conditional acceptance and a desire to retain social and cultural norms of what is considered “Kiwi”. The concept of national identity was used to maintain power relations between those considered New Zealanders, largely Pākehā or New Zealand European, and Muslims. Covert racism, as part of a much broader pattern of talk and not specific to Muslims, was identified in this study.Item The Southern Cross cable : a tour : art, the internet and national identity in Aotearoa-New Zealand : an exegesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Fine Arts, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand(Massey University, 2018) Holloway-Smith, BronwynThis exegesis is the written analytical component of a studio-based Doctor of Philosophy that, as a whole, investigates the influence of international hegemony and power structures on popular notions of Aotearoa-New Zealand’s national identity. Selected histories and locations of New Zealand’s primary international internet connection, the Southern Cross Cable, have been taken and applied within a body of conceptually driven artworks that function as an effective metonymic vehicle to reveal unseen processes, conveyed over a specific infrastructural system, that are influential upon New Zealand’s national identity. The creative works in this thesis comprise the suite of artworks The Southern Cross Cable: A Tour, a multi-platform art project comprising two moving image works, a sculptural work, a published tour guide and its associated web-based work. These sit alongside, and in response to, a historic mid-twentieth century New Zealand mural: Te Ika-a-Maui [sic] by the artist E. Mervyn Taylor. Together, these works encourage public awareness of the jurisdictional limits of the internet, and illustrate ways in which an individual member of the public can respond to the supposedly ‘intangible’ internet in a physical manner. By strategically subverting popular nationalist symbolism, the works raise questions about the relevance of nationalism in an era of expanding globalisation and suggest the internet is increasingly becoming a tool of digital colonialism. By distributing this knowledge in the public sphere, this study challenges and tests the assumption—often asserted and implied by those who control this infrastructure and obscure it from public awareness—that public knowledge is a threat to the cable. Instead, viewers are encouraged to explore what individual agency they do, or do not, have as New Zealand citizens in shaping this dominant influence on contemporary New Zealand culture.
