The Identification With All Humanity (IWAH) scale: its psychometric properties and associations with help-seeking during COVID-19

Abstract

The Identification With All Humanity (IWAH) scale was designed to measure the extent to which an individual identifies oneself with all human beings. The current research aimed to conduct the validation of IWAH in a Chinese population and its convergent validity, as well as test the implications of IWAH in associations with help-seeking behaviour during COVID-19. A serial of three studies was conducted from September 1st 2020 to the end of October 2020. The series of studies included Study 1-Exploring the dimensions of the IWAH scale with a sample of 2,881 participants, Study 2-Confirmatory Factor Analysis for the Chinese IWAH dimensions with a separate sample of 6,667 participants, and Study 3-Role of the IWAH in the COVID-19 pandemic with a sample of 9,046 participants. Study 1 found the Chinese version of the IWAH scale to be a two-dimensional construct, with factor 1 -Bond with Humanity and factor 2 -Human Kinship. Study 2 confirmed the two-factor construct as found in Study 1. It also showed positive relations between IWAH and moral judgement, collectivism, nature connectedness, and negative relations with callousness, and having anxiety and depressive symptoms. Study 3 found that IWAH was negatively related to fear of COVID-19 and positively related to the likeliness of help-seeking. This is the first research to test the factorial structure of the IWAH scale in a Chinese population, with the adaptation showing good psychometric properties. The implication of IWAH on fear of COVID-19 and help-seeking provided further understanding of the possible practical value of IWAH during times of global stressful life events. Furthermore, study 3 is the first to explore how IWAH relates to anxiety, depression, and callousness.

Prosociality and health: Identification with all humanity is a replicable predictor of prosocial motivation for health behaviors

“…Why would this be the case? One possibility is that many participants may seek only to protect themselves, perhaps due to fear of COVID-19 that induces a perception of risk to themselves ( Feng et al, 2022 ). Another related possibility is that perceived high risk for the self may enhance the individual’s proclivity for understanding the risk for others .…”

“…More generally, cross-cultural work has the potential to greatly expand our theoretical perspectives. Research involving identification with all humanity is increasingly being conducted in multiple cultures (e.g., Deng, 2021 ; Hamer et al, 2021 ; Feng et al, 2022 ; Marchlewska et al, 2022 ), and it would be fruitful to examine the generalizability of the effects reported here outside the U.S. context.…”

“…Psychology plays a considerable role in human health ( Taylor et al, 1997 ; Fredrickson, 2001 ), and the present research shows peoples’ identification with all humanity is key to predicting their willingness to contribute to the health of others . That is, while much of social and personality psychology examines the nature and course of prosocial interactions within families, cultures, and societies ( Keltner et al, 2014 ), the work on identification with all humanity is consistently suggesting that there is a portion of the population, across multiple cultures, that strives for showing concern not only for their kin, community, or country, but for all humans ( McFarland and Hornsby, 2015 ; McFarland et al, 2019 ; Sparkman and Hamer, 2020 ; Barragan et al, 2021 ; Deng, 2021 ; Hamer et al, 2021 ; Wang et al, 2021 ; Feng et al, 2022 ; Zagefka, 2022 ).…”