A recent study published in Political Psychology provides new insights into how cultural values and social identities influence attitudes toward criminal organizations like the Sicilian Mafia. The research found that individuals who strongly endorse values of masculine honor are more likely to justify practices that indirectly support the Mafia’s authority in communities. However, this relationship shifts based on social identity: stronger identification with regional identities enhances this link, while stronger national identification weakens it.
Masculine honor refers to a set of cultural values and beliefs that emphasize male strength, aggression, and the defense of personal or familial reputation through violence if necessary. It reflects an ideal of manhood centered on respect, dominance, and self-reliance. These values often position men as protectors and enforcers of social order within their communities.
In communities where masculine honor is deeply ingrained, these values can create a cultural distance from state institutions. This gap can open the door for other entities, like criminal organizations, to fill the void by providing alternative governance that aligns with the local culture.
The Sicilian Mafia, or Cosa Nostra, is a well-known criminal organization with deep roots in Sicily. More than a syndicate of crime, the Mafia operates as a shadow authority, wielding control over local communities. It enforces its own rules, resolves disputes, and provides “protection” in exchange for payments like the infamous pizzo—a form of extortion targeting businesses.
This dual role as a criminal entity and an alternative power structure allows the Mafia to entrench itself in the social and cultural fabric of Sicilian communities. Through practices like omertà—a code of silence—and other forms of connivance, the Mafia maintains its influence. Connivance refers to the act of knowingly allowing or tolerating wrongful or unethical behavior without actively participating in it. It involves turning a blind eye to misconduct, remaining silent, or subtly cooperating in ways that enable the behavior to continue.
“Criminal organizations, such as the mafia, primarily seek profit, but their influence also significantly affects the behaviors and relationships of citizens,” said study authors Alberto Mirisola (an associate professor at the University of Palermo) and Giovanni Travaglino (a professor at Royal Holloway, University of London), who are both members of the Secret Power research group.
“In certain communities in Italy, as well as in other countries, these organizations can become the unofficial authority in the area. Our interest in this topic arises from the need to develop a psychological model that explains how individuals navigate the presence of conflicting power systems in their daily lives.”
“In our research, we explore the question of why individuals comply with the rules and norms imposed by criminal organizations while also responding to legal institutions. We feel that the complexity of people’s conduct in these circumstances is not well accounted by current models, which typically only examine citizens’ relationship with the state.”
The researchers focused on understanding the relationship between masculine honor, social identity, and the justification of connivance practices within two Sicilian cities: Palermo and Catania. These cities were chosen due to their historical ties to the Mafia, providing a relevant context for the study. The researchers recruited a total of 813 participants (398 in Palermo and 399 in Catania) using a chain-referral sampling method. This approach began with local contacts who were asked to complete a survey and invite others from their communities.
Participants completed a survey containing measures for three key variables. First, masculine honor was assessed using the Honor Ideology for Manhood (HIM) scale, which asked participants to rate their agreement with statements like “A real man never backs down from a fight.” Responses were measured on a 7-point scale, and the scale showed high reliability across both samples.
Second, social identity was assessed at two levels: territorial and national. In Palermo, territorial identity was measured by participants’ connection to their neighborhoods, while in Catania, it referred to their regional identity as Sicilians. National identity, representing Italian identification, was measured with similar items focused on pride and belonging.
Finally, justification of connivance practices was measured using a novel scale presenting eight scenarios of behaviors that indirectly supported the Mafia. Participants rated the justifiability of these actions on a 7-point scale.
In both Palermo and Catania, individuals who strongly endorsed masculine honor values were more likely to justify practices that indirectly supported Mafia activity. These practices included refusing to report crimes, turning a blind eye to criminal activities, or seeking help from Mafia members rather than institutional authorities.
This relationship was moderated by participants’ social identities. Specifically, stronger identification with territorial groups (neighborhoods in Palermo and the regional identity of Sicilians in Catania) intensified the link between masculine honor and connivance justification. For instance, individuals who identified strongly with their territorial identity were more likely to view behaviors supporting Mafia influence as justifiable. This suggests that territorial identity fosters a sense of shared values with local groups, including the Mafia, which positions itself as a protector of these values.
In contrast, stronger identification with the national group weakened the relationship between masculine honor and connivance justification. Participants who identified more strongly as Italians were less likely to justify behaviors aligned with Mafia activity, reflecting a stronger alignment with state authority and national-level norms. These findings were consistent across both cities.
To build upon these findings, the researchers conducted an experiment to explore how the salience of different social identities influenced the relationship between masculine honor and connivance justification. The researchers recruited a new sample of 383 participants from various Sicilian cities and provinces, ensuring a diverse group in terms of age, education, and employment. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions: territorial identity salience, national identity salience, or personal identity salience (the control condition).
In the territorial identity condition, participants were asked to think about and list three traits that described them as Sicilian. Similarly, participants in the national identity condition were prompted to focus on traits that represented their Italian identity. In the control condition, participants considered traits that made them unique individuals. This identity priming aimed to make specific social identities more salient, influencing how participants perceived themselves and their relationships with larger social structures.
After the priming task, participants completed the same measures of masculine honor and justification of connivance practices used in the earlier studies. The researchers then analyzed how the relationship between masculine honor and connivance justification varied across the three identity conditions.
The results showed that when territorial identity was made salient, the link between masculine honor and connivance justification became stronger. On the other hand, priming national identity weakened this relationship, suggesting that individuals aligned more with the state and its authority in this condition.
“Addressing organized crime requires more than just law enforcement or punitive measures, although these remain essential,” Mirisola and Travaglino told PsyPost. “Our study highlights the importance of understanding the psychological and cultural factors that can lead communities to view organized crime more favorably. For instance, we found that individuals who value traits like reputation, violence, and self-reliance are more likely to legitimize collusion with criminal organizations.”
“These values can provide an ideological justification for the actions of organized crime, especially when individuals feel a strong attachment to their local territory, where these groups often wield significant influence. Conversely, when people identify more closely with the nation as a whole, the ability of criminal groups to legitimize their actions diminishes. This suggests that effective strategies to combat organized crime should focus on improving people’s relationship with legal institutions while also tackling the belief systems that make these groups seem admirable or legitimate.”
The study highlights the importance of cultural and psychological factors in shaping public attitudes toward organized crime. However, as the studies were conducted in Sicily, a region with unique historical and cultural dynamics, the findings may not fully generalize to other regions or countries where criminal groups operate differently.
“We believe it is important to explore these dynamics in other cultural and geographical settings, where the values supporting the influence of criminal groups might differ,” the researchers said. “Additionally, criminal organizations are not the only entities that can exert power over people outside the constraints of legal institutions. These models could also be applied and tested in the contexts of paramilitary or even terrorist groups.”
“We are working to understand how people’s beliefs, perceptions, and social orientations can influence criminal groups’ ability to control territories and wield power. Our goal is to contribute to effective educational interventions and policies that aim to reduce the influence of criminal groups in various settings and contexts.”
The study, “National identification weakens, and territorial identification strengthens, the relationship between masculine honor values and the justification of practices of connivance with the mafia,” was authored by Alberto Mirisola, Giovanni A. Travaglino, and Isabella Giammusso.
