Research suggests that approach and avoidance-decreasing or increasing self-stimulus distance, respectively-influence self-evaluation. However, this conclusion typically stems from examining approach and avoidance as a pair, while no empirical research has satisfactorily isolated the unique causal contribution of each behaviour. To address this gap, three experiments (N Total = 1929) used an adapted Manikin Task incorporating a proper control condition (i.e., no distance change) to first isolate the effect of approach, relying on both reaction time and self-report measures. Furthermore, by incorporating avoidance in the last experiment, this task allowed us to oppose model-based theoretical predictions. Results did not reveal any behaviour-specific effects. Nevertheless, the proposed methodology opens new avenues for investigating the behavioural determinants of self-construal.
Dominant social representations of history play a central role in shaping how societies interpret the past and regulate intergroup relations in the present. Yet empirical evidence on how historical narratives causally influence racist beliefs remains limited. Drawing on the Social Representations of History framework, the present research examines how dominant and counter-representations of colonial history relate to the endorsement of biological and cultural racism. Focusing on the Portuguese context, where colonial history is often narrated through a positive and benevolent lens grounded in the ideology of Luso-tropicalism—the belief that Portuguese colonialism was uniquely tolerant and benign—we investigate both correlational and causal pathways linking these representations to racist attitudes. In Study 1 (N = 216), using data from CRONOS-2, part of the European Social Survey Round 10, we show that endorsement of Luso-tropicalist beliefs predicts higher levels of both biological and cultural racism, above and beyond age and education. In Study 2 (N = 220), we experimentally manipulated representations of colonial history using three conditions: a positive representation derived from a textbook, a negative representation, and a neutral control. Results indicate that biological racism was significantly lower when colonial history was presented in a negative frame compared to a combined positive and neutral representation, while no significant differences emerged for cultural racism. Together, findings from Study 1 and Study 2 provide novel evidence that counter, negative representations of colonial history can attenuate racist beliefs. By integrating correlational and experimental evidence, this research contributes to broader debates on social representations of history as political projects with enduring consequences for contemporary intergroup relations.
Prior research revealed a correlation between individual differences in neuroticism (specifically, the component of trait anxiety) and evaluative conditioning (i.e., changes in attitude due to stimulus pairings). In two studies (N = 274 and N = 294), we examined which cognitive biases may explain this relation. In an evaluative conditioning procedure that included either clearly valenced (positive or negative) or ambivalent (positive and negative) stimuli, we used eye-tracking technology to measure attentional bias (dwell time within stimulus areas of interest), valence recollection tests to measure contingency awareness and memory bias, and adjective ratings to assess interpretation bias. In the second experiment, we additionally assessed attentional avoidance strategies. Correlation analyses did not reveal significant associations between any personality variable (neuroticism, anxiety, behavioral inhibition) and evaluative conditioning effects in either experiment. Implications are discussed in terms of methodological and theoretical contributions.
The aim of this study was to explore the Latino American asylum seekers’ acculturation preferences in Spain and their relationship with psychosocial variables (stereotypes, emotions, quality of contact, perceived discrimination and social support), differentiating between public and private domains of the Relative Acculturation Extended Model (RAEM). Ninety-eight asylum seekers (44.9% females) answered a questionnaire. Results show that they prefer assimilation in public domains and integration in private domains, showed positive stereotypes and emotions towards Spaniards, perceived a pleasant contact, a low level of discrimination, and moderate-high social support. Different significant predictors emerged: emotions and family support (in public domains) and family support (in private domains) for maintenance preferences; and competence and quality of contact (in public domains) and friends support (in private domains) for adoption preferences.
Addressing ongoing intergroup conflicts remains a major challenge for social psychologists. The present vignette-based experiment (N = 178) examined a historical conflict between Romanians (the majority group) and Romas (the historically disadvantaged group), exploring the effects of intergroup apologies issued by the disadvantaged group, intergroup contact, and their interaction on forgiveness and trust toward the Romas. The perceived sincerity of the apology and the perceived typicality of the apologizing representatives were examined as potential factors shaping the relationship between the apology and these outcomes. Results show that intergroup contact was positively associated with both forgiveness and trust, while apologies led to increased trust. Perceiving the apology as sincere was associated with greater forgiveness, whereas perceiving the apologizing representatives as typical of their group predicted higher levels of both forgiveness and trust, highlighting the central role of recipients’ perceptions. Present findings emphasize that low-power groups can actively contribute to reconciliation processes and provide practical insights for practitioners working in conflict-affected societies.
This pre-registered study presents the French-language validation of the Social Dominance Orientation scale7 (SDO7), originally developed by Ho et al. (2015). The SDO is a key variable in research on intergroup relations. Over the past two decades, a bidimensional conceptualization has emerged, distinguishing between SDO-Dominance (SDO-D) and SDO-Egalitarianism (SDO-E). These subdimensions enhance our understanding of the legitimizing myths that sustain social hierarchy. According to the original work of Ho et al. (2015), and across three independent samples (N = 1121), we found that a four-factor model (SDO-D; SDO-E; Pro-trait; Con-trait) provided the best fit to the data compared to three alternative models. Additionally, we examined the concurrent validity of the subscales using partial correlations. Results indicate that the subscales are differentially associated with attitudes and endorsement of ideological beliefs. Specifically, SDO-D is more strongly associated with attitudes and ideologies that directly oppress disadvantaged groups, whereas SDO-E is more closely linked to subtle legitimizing myths that justify social inequalities. A short version of the scale is provided in the supplementary materials.
People's tendency to perceive groups they do not belong to as potentially threatening, even when no actual threat exists, aligns with the fact that humans are social beings who highly identify with their groups. However, the perception of threat can severely damage social relationships, making it crucial to understand why and how it occurs in specific contexts. Hence, the aim of this study was to examine the longitudinal interplay between ethnic identity and ethnonationalism as different types of ingroup identification, along with various forms of intergroup threat. We also examined the moderating role of majority/minority group status and post-conflict/non-conflict multiethnic research contexts. The study was carried out at two time points, a year apart, and involved 852 adolescents (age range: 12-20; M age = 15.69, SD age = 1.77) from Croatia. The structural equation modeling (SEM) results suggest a reciprocal relationship between identity and the perception of threat. We found that experienced intergroup anxiety at T1 has a strong positive effect on ethnonationalism at T2. Furthermore, participants with a stronger ethnonationalism at T1 experienced higher levels of symbolic threat at T2, and a stronger perception of symbolic threat at T1 led to greater ethnic identification at T2. Contrary to our expectations, the relationships between variables operate in the same way across groups, regardless of group status and intergroup context. We discuss how this interplay between ingroup identification and intergroup threat affects the intergroup relations of adolescents in multiethnic contexts.
The role of perceiver differences in impression formation remains relatively poorly understood. One line of research has tried to understand these differences by exploring the role of perceivers’ needs and motivations, reasoning that perceivers should form more positive impressions of targets who appear more likely to address their needs. For example, a perceiver with a stronger affiliation motive might have a more positive impression of someone who looks more (vs. less) extraverted. We conducted two preregistered replication studies of proposed associations between three individual difference variables and likeability impressions of individuals varying in perceived extraversion. Using the original stimuli and study design (Study 1, n = 273) and two additional stimulus sets and an improved study design (Study 2, n = 367), we did not find that individual differences in (a) affiliative needs, (b) pathogen concern, or (c) sociosexual orientation were associated with likeability impressions of individuals varying in perceived extraversion. Bayesian analyses supported this conclusion. Our findings highlight the need for additional research to understand how individual differences shape social perception.
Despite the social nature of generalized political attitudes such as conspiracy mentality, right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), and social dominance orientation (SDO), dyadic phenomena concerning these attitudes have not been comprehensively investigated. Employing Response Surface Analysis on two longitudinal samples of couples in romantic relationships (N1;T1 = 249 couples, N1;T2 = 76, N2;T1 = 312, N2;T2 = 263), this research examined a) couple similarity in generalized political attitudes, b) whether similarity concurrently and longitudinally predicted relationship satisfaction, and c) whether couples converged in their attitudes over time. Partners exhibited substantial similarity in all attitude dimensions. However, there was only little support that similarity predicted relationship satisfaction. Finally, romantic partners did not converge in their attitudes over time, indicating that couple similarity reflected initial assortment rather than convergence. The wide prevalence of ideologically congruent relationships may restrict the range of political views that individuals are exposed to, potentially playing a role in political polarization.
This Registered Report pertains to the face-name matching effect (Zwebner et al., 2017) according to which people can match the first name to an unknown target face above chance level. The purpose of the Registered Report was twofold: (i) to perform an independent conceptual replication of the face-name matching effect, and (ii) to establish the nature of the effect. To this end, undergraduate students were presented with uniform pictures of unfamiliar faces of similar age and ethnicity and asked to select these targets’ first names among two alternatives that were equated for length. Half of the trials constituted target trials, in which a face was accompanied by the true name of the depicted person and a filler name. The other half constituted sibling trials, in which a face was accompanied by the name of the same-sex sibling of the depicted person and a filler name. The target trials were meant to establish the generalizability of the face-name matching effect. If participants could reliably match a person’s true name to their face with these homogeneous materials, it would indicate that it is a pervasive effect that extends obvious ethnic, cultural, and zeitgeist differences. The sibling trials were meant to establish whether the effect extends to sibling names. If participants could also reliably match a face and the name of the depicted person’s sibling, it would indicate that we entertain stereotypes for types of names, of which individual names could be regarded tokens. Such a finding would be in line with predictions from the field of socio-onomastics, according to which names are vehicles for social meaning creation that are systematically governed by the socioeconomic characteristics of the name givers. If the face-name matching effect for target trials were to exceed that of sibling trials, this would constitute evidence that names also carry additional, individuating information. Our results provided no conclusive evidence in support of either the face-name matching effect or an analogous effect involving sibling names. Although participants’ accuracy in identifying true names and sibling names slightly exceeded chance, these effects were not statistically significant, and Bayesian analyses yielded inconclusive evidence. Moreover, no significant difference was found between performance on target versus sibling trials, and Bayesian analysis provided evidence in favor of the null hypothesis of no difference. These findings indicate constraints on the generalizability of the face-name matching effect and suggest that its emergence depends on the heterogeneity of the stimulus materials.
We examine the mechanisms by which interviewees in investigative interviews mentally organize information when deciphering what an interviewer wants to know. The overarching idea is that such a process stems from the extent to which an interviewer's question specifies an objective. Our initial test (i.e., Neequaye & Lorson, 2023) suggested two competing mechanisms: High-specificity questions lead interviewees to focus on particularly relevant details to the exclusion of other information, while low-specificity questions make interviewees focus on a broader range of information items (Mechanism-1)-versus-Interviewees generally assume that interviewers want to know all the information at their disposal, irrespective of question specificity (Mechanism-2). We conducted two conceptual replications to gain clarity (Replication 1, N = 318; Replication 2, N = 292). The results were similar across the board. The more specific the questions an interviewer posed, the more likely interviewees homed in on the details that should provide a pragmatic response to those questions. And interviewees' disposition, whether cooperative, semi-cooperative, or resistant, had no effect on information-item designations. Contrary to our expectations, interviewees remained confident that they had identified what their interviewer wanted to know, irrespective of Question-Specificity. This result held irrespective of whether the interviewer mixed high-and low-specificity questions (Replication 1) or consistently asked high-versus low-specificity questions (Replication 2). Thus, at this point in the research program, we lean more toward Mechanism-1.
Implicit Theories of the Marital Institution (ITMI) represent beliefs about whether marriage is a fixed or malleable relationship form. ITMI can influence moderate associations between related constructs such as marital beliefs and mate preferences. The current study tested for associations among certain beliefs about marriage (i.e., that roles should be gendered, that a marriage requires substantial effort), preferred characteristics in long-term mates (i.e., the KASER model of mate preferences), and ITMI. A sample of 588 young adults in Iran completed an anonymous survey focused on the constructs of interest. Gender was accounted for in all analyses given the relevance of gender in predominant mate-selection scholarship. Results indicated that the Fixed and Malleable ITMI were unexpectedly positively correlated. Regression analyses identified several interaction effects between marital beliefs and the preferred mate characteristics and a few marital beliefs by ITMI by gender interactions. Findings are explored in light of cultural context and implications for future research.
Within the framework of network analysis of social representations, attention is directed toward individuals' centrality within an opinion network. The objective is to identify the characteristics of those who occupy central positions, as well as those on the periphery. To illustrate this approach, we present a study conducted with 1,000 American voters affiliated with the Republican Party, who were surveyed regarding five climate change adaptation policies. The findings indicate that central individuals in the studied network provide more accurate estimations of perceived consensus within the group. Interestingly, the most peripheral individuals appear to form an active minority, engaging in a higher frequency of social interactions within the group. These results suggest that identifying both central and peripheral individuals may offer new insights for research on social representations.
Affective polarization-antipathy towards members of one's political out-group-may pose challenges to social cohesion and personal wellbeing. Prior studies have suggested that one's affective polarization may cause intrapersonal harm as well as interpersonal harm. It has been associated with reduced social support, increased stress, and worse physical health. This pre-registered study investigated the intrapersonal harm of affective polarization using a six-wave longitudinal survey (N = 470). Affective polarization, social support, perceived stress, and self-rated health were measured fortnightly for three months preceding the 2024 US presidential election. Random intercept cross-lagged panel models were employed to investigate the within-person effects of affective polarization on these indicators of wellbeing. Contrary to hypotheses, none of the hypothesized cross-lagged effects were significant, suggesting that changes in affective polarization did not predict changes in social support, stress, or health. However, cross-sectional analyses did reflect past findings, showing that higher levels of affective polarization were associated with lower social support, greater stress, and worse health. We additionally found evidence for perceived stress causing moderate increases in affective polarization. Stable differences by political orientation were also observed in our sample, with liberals reporting higher affective polarization and stress, lower social support, and worse health. Despite the lack of significant effects, potentially due to limitations such as sample size and measurement constraints, our findings underscore the importance of further investigations with appropriate robust designs to clarify the relationship between affective polarization and wellbeing. These results challenge the assumption that affective polarization directly drives declines in wellbeing.
The present research investigates when and how contact among ethnic minority groups members is linked with solidarity, as a joint effort aimed at mitigating social inequalities. Two cross-sectional studies in Belgium (Study 1a) and Turkey (Study 1b) with North African immigrants and Iraqi immigrants respectively, were conducted. Convergent results supported the assumptions that having positive inter-minority contact is linked with solidarity with other ethnic minorities and the association is mediated by affective injustice. In addition, across both studies, having positive inter-minority contact attenuated the link between positive contact with the majority group and lower inter-minority solidarity and it enhanced the link between negative contact with the majority group and higher inter-minority solidarity. Inconsistent results were found for negative inter-minority contact. Only in the Turkish context, it was positively associated with affective injustice that in turn showed an indirect effect in the link between negative inter-minority contact and solidarity. Overall, results underscore the pivotal role of positive inter-minority contact in fostering cooperation among ethnic minority groups and highlight for the first time the complex interplay between the valence of majority-minority and inter-minority contact experiences.
Social representations (SRs) emerge from interactions among members of a group. These interactions enable individuals to share beliefs, build consensus, and maintain shared understandings. While interpersonal communication may initially be driven by the unfamiliarity of SR objects, it can also be motivated by the need for group members to cognitively process these objects when they are perceived as threatening or problematic. Thus, emotions elicited by an object in the social environment may prompt interpersonal communication. Two studies were conducted to test this hypothesis using online questionnaires. The first study (N = 294) revealed a correlation between the emotional tone of individuals' content regarding the SR of AIDS and the number of people with whom they discussed the topic. The second study, focusing on the SR of war (N = 246), confirmed these results. It also showed that social sharing related to "war" as an SR object is mediated by epistemic motivation. These findings are interpreted from a dual perspective: SR theory and the social sharing of emotions paradigm. They suggest that when a SR object evokes emotions, those emotions, in turn, drive the motivation to engage in social sharing.
We investigated reactions to the emergence of supplanting subgroups among members of dominant subgroups of a social movement. Supplanting subgroups are ideologically and strategically distinct from dominant subgroups and attract social recognition from the general public; thus, they could be perceived as competitors for the status of the movement’s prototypical subgroup. Across three experimental studies, we investigated reactions to supplanting subgroups in comparison to allied subgroups within the movement and ideologically opposing groups to the movement. Supplanting subgroups triggered less negative reactions than ideologically opposing groups but more than allied subgroups. Moreover, they triggered similar levels of symbolic and realistic threat and as much (Study 3) or more (Study 2) competition over prototypicality than ideologically opposing groups. Symbolic threat and competition over prototypicality mediated some of the effects of the type of group on intergroup relations. These findings suggest that, along with symbolic threat, competition over prototypicality can play an important role in shaping conflicts within social movements.
Weight stigma significantly affects the quality of life for individuals with obesity in Western societies. While previous research has used moral foundations theory to predict attitudes toward stigmatized groups, such as the poor, immigrants, and sexual minorities, its application to weight-related stigma remains underexplored. This research explores the relationship between moral foundations, the moralization of obesity, and weight stigma in an underrepresented European context. In a pre-registered correlational study (Study 1), we found that binding and individualizing foundations differentially predicted the moralization of obesity and weight stigma. A follow-up pre-registered experiment (Study 2) suggested that highlighting the societal benefits of purity, a binding moral foundation, over care, an individualizing moral foundation, may increase the moralization of obesity and heighten weight stigma. These findings contribute to deepening understanding of the moral roots of weight stigma and underscore the importance of considering moral values in efforts to mitigate it.
A large number of studies found that relative deprivation leads to destructive behaviors. However, the effects of relative deprivation on behaviors typically deemed constructive, such as self-improvement, remain uncertain. In four studies, the current research provides robust evidence for the negative effect of relative deprivation (X) on self-improvement (Y) and the mediating role of perceived upward economic mobility (M). Specifically, Study 1 (n = 220) preliminarily provided correlational evidence for the above mediation model with well-established measurements. Study 2a (n = 260) and Study 2b (n = 130) applied double randomization designs to manipulate relative deprivation and perceived upward economic mobility separately and showed that direct causal links of each path (X → M, X → Y, and M → Y) existed. Study 3 (n = 780) applied blockage manipulation and showed that intervening in perceived upward economic mobility is a potential cure for relative deprivation. The theoretical and practical implications of the results in the current study as well as future research directions are discussed.
In the mindfulness field, reviews of its clinical effects prevail, along with critical articles on its applications serving neoliberalism. Conversely, less is known of the psychosocial perspective on mindfulness. To address this question, knowledge needs to be gathered on the applied fields and research topics, theoretical frameworks, study designs and methodologies mobilized, main results and levels of explanation in social psychology. We conducted an integrative review of the literature in February 2022, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses methodology using PsychInfo/PsychArticles. One hundred and nine papers met the inclusion criteria. Applied fields encompass well-being, daily social relationships, health and organizations. Only 21 references were embedded in theories. Forty-two percent of the theories were identified as social psychology theories. Most studies were correlational (46%) or experimental (47%) with quantitative methods. The effects of mindfulness are primarily beneficial, with a strong focus on emotion regulation and stress management at both intra- and inter-individual levels, while less attention is given to group or ideological contexts. We argue that research on mindfulness is predominantly conducted using Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic samples, often without considering participants’ socio-economic backgrounds. Additionally, the prevailing psychosocial perspective on mindfulness tends to adopt a positivist epistemology, largely situated within micro-level contexts, while overlooking the broader macro-social dimensions of human experience.
