Avoiding harm, benefits of interpersonal listening, and social equilibrium adjustment: An applied psychology approach to side effects of organizational interventions

Willful ignorance is a pervasive phenomenon with significant consequences for decision-making, belief maintenance, and social polarization. While past research has identified various motivational and contextual factors underlying this behavior, less attention has been paid to attitude characteristics that shape the likelihood of engaging in willful ignorance. Addressing this gap, this paper introduces attitude strength as a critical and heretofore unexplored psychological factor that should affect when and why individuals engage in willful ignorance. We argue that strong attitudes, such as those held with certainty, are highly accessible, or are perceived as morally relevant, are particularly likely to elicit willful ignorance. Drawing on cognitive dissonance theory and motivated reasoning, we synthesize findings across domains, from political partisanship to responses to misinformation and AI-mediated communication.

Social-based learning and leadership (SBL) is an innovative pedagogical approach that centers on enhancing relationships within the educational system to address 21st-century challenges. At its core, SBL aims to help teachers transform into social architects who nurture positive social processes among pupils. Emphasizing prosocial education, SBL lays the foundation for cultivating pro-environmentalism and sustainable behavior by fostering a sense of care and responsibility toward others. SBL’s prosocial education program encompasses social and emotional skills, knowledge, and dispositions to empower pupils to actively engage in and contribute to a more democratic, reciprocal, just, and sustainable society. This approach underscores the importance of education in shaping students’ mindsets and life orientations. By nurturing a sense of interconnectedness and responsibility for the well-being of others, SBL provides a promising avenue to transform education by building more sustainable educational systems, thus contributing to creating a more sustainable future. A qualitative case study, which consisted of 18 in-depth interviews and nine observations, examined the impact of an SBL-based teacher training program at an elementary school from 2020 to 2023. The results point to changes in teachers’ perceptions of their roles as social architects and, more specifically, as facilitators of social, emotional, and cognitive processes. The teachers gained recognition as meaningful adults from their students and transitioned to hold integral positions as part of a supportive and connected school community, associating with colleagues and parents. This study thus showcases patterns of socio-organizational communication that can unfold in a school influenced by the SBL approach. SBL’s emphasis on positive social relationships and empowering teachers as facilitators of holistic student development thus further reinforces its potential to transform education for a sustainable and thriving future.