bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Size of smallest coalition as a source of power in coalition bargaining
Authors: Kravitz David A.
Published: May 2007

Six‐person groups of male or female undergraduates played 12 trials of a simple coalition game that varied the sizes of the coalitions available to the players. Results indicated that the size of a player's smallest available coalition was inversely related to the player's outcomes. The most important outcome differences included effects of player position and interactions of position by trial block. The critical implications of these results for minimum power theory, Roth‐Shapley value, weighted probability model, bargaining theory, and equal excess model are discussed, and quantitative tests of these theories are also presented. Minor gender differences were obtained, and it is suggested that future research use both male and female subjects. A description of the bargaining process, based on the subjects' responses to a post‐session questionnaire and our observations, is given.
Superordinate goals and intergroup behaviour: The effect of role ambiguity and status on intergroup attitudes and task performance
Authors: Brown Rupert , Wade Gillian
Published: May 2007

An experiment examined the effects of role ambiguity and relative group status in an intergroup situation where a superordinate goal was salient. One‐hundred‐and‐fifty‐six subjects in groups of three undertook a cooperative task under conditions where the groups' roles were clearly Different, Similar, or not allocated (Control). In addition, the groups' perceived competence at the task was either equally High, equally Low, or unequal. Financial rewards were contingent on successful completion of the joint task. Two contrasting hypotheses were derived from Social Identity Theory: one (H1) predicted most favourable intergroup attitudes in the Control condition where lack of any clear differentiation in group roles might facilitate a superordinate identifcation. In contrast, (H2) predicted least favourable attitudes in this condition on the grounds that groups lacked a distinctive identity. Support for the second hypothesis was found since friendliness towards the outgroup decreased with increasing role ambiguity. The status variable also had consistent effects. As predicted, mutual evaluations tended to reflect the consensually agreed status differences: least bias being shown towards high status outgroups, most by high status ingroups. Task performance was also affected by role ambiguity. Judges' ratings of the group products were found to be more favourable as role ambiguity increased, in contrast to the friendliness data. The implications of these findings for Social Identity Theory, the Contact Hypothesis, and theories of group performance are discussed.
The effects of dichotomous and crossed social categorizations upon intergroup discrimination
Authors: Vanbeselaere Norbert
Published: May 2007

The present study explores the effect of crossing social categorizations upon subsequent intergroup discrimination. In the simple categorization conditions, subjects were divided into groups either on an explicitly random basis or on the basis of a very trivial similarity. In the crossed categorization condition, these two categorizations were criss‐crossed. After performing a perceptual estimation task, subjects had to evaluate the performance of the different groups in this task. Subsequently they had to evaluate the groups on general characteristics less directly related to task performance. There was significant intergroup discrimination favouring the own group in the two simple categorization conditions, but this discrimination was strongly reduced in the crossed categorization condition. This was true for both kinds of evaluations. Subjects of a no categorization condition exhibited no self‐favouritism. The theoretical implications of the data are discussed.
A positivity bias in person memory
Authors: Fiedler Klaus , Fiadung Ulrike , Hemmeter Uli
Published: May 2007

Two experiments demonstrate a positivity bias in person memory. Recall is superior for statements endorsed by a target person than for denied statements. This effect of informational positivity is independent of affective positivity (Experiment 1) and on holds for statements associated with one individual as an organizing category (Experiment 2).
Emotional reactions to ethnic minorities
Authors: Dijker Anton J. M.
Published: May 2007

The present study investigated the role of emotion in the area of intergroup relations. Results showed three ways in which emotions are relevant when Dutch autochthonous people are confronted with members of the three major ethnic minorities in The Netherlands: Surinamers and immigrant workers from Turkey and Morocco. First, four categories of emotions could be identified which appeared to be strongly associated with ethnic attitude‐positive mood, anxiety, irritation and concern‐each related to a specific kind of action readiness. Second, the influence which proximity of an ethnic group appeared to have on ethnic attitude could be explained by the specific kind of emotional experience related to different levels of proximity. The third way in which emotions appeared to be relevant was their ability to differentiate between the qualitative aspects of various forms of ethnic contact. With Surinamers, more personal forms of contact were associated with an increase in positive mood and a decrease in anxiety, irritation and concern. But for Turks and Moroccans, who can be considered to be in more basic respects culturally dissimilar from the Dutch, only negative aspects of close contact were found. The correspondence of the results with several research findings in the field of intergroup relations, is extensively discussed.
Achievement motivation theory and occupational choice
Authors: Janman Karen
Published: May 2007

Two studies are reported which aimed to answer several questions relating to Atkinson's model of achievement motivation. Firstly, how successfully the theory can predict the occupational choices of two different populations and what changes, if any, need to be made to the model to make it more suited to such predictions. Several conceptual errors were found in the theory which make it unsuitable in its present form for predicting occupational choices and suggestions are made as to the possible correction of these. Secondly, a comparison is made between Atkinson's model and the expectancy‐valence models currently utilized to describe and predict occupational decision‐making. In particular Atkinson's incentive component is contrasted with the valence measure described by expectancy‐valence models, and the possible influences of the motive factors (motive to succeed and motive to avoid failure) are considered since these are typically omitted by other models of career choice. Finally, the existence of sex differences in career choice, as well as in the various components of the model are studied and discussed. The changing conceptualization of ‘fear of success’ is also included in this consideration.
The lost postcard technique: Formal aspects of the message as legibility indices of social perception
Authors: Gillièron Christiane
Published: May 2007

The return rate of lost postcards was hypothesized to depend upon the precision of the image that the finder can form of the relationship sender‐recipient, Signature and length of the message were taken as indices and confirmed this role in two studies using a representative design.
Bias in the use of base rates: Racial prejudice in decision‐making
Authors: Hewstone Miles , Benn William , Wilson Andrew
Published: May 2007

Two studies investigated biases in the use of base rate information when assessing the probability of a witness' accurate identification of a white or West Indian as a burglar. An adapted version of the Kahneman‐Tversky cab problem was used, to provide a social decision in which biases could be measured against some normative standard. Ethnicity of youth (white/West Indian) and nature of base rate (incidental/causal) were manipulated in a 2 × 2 between‐subjects design. A significant interaction effect revealed that subjects took no account of the base rate for a West Indian subject, but used the base rate only when it was causal and the youth was white. This ‘prejudice effect’ against a West Indian youth and ‘exoneration effect’ for a white youth were replicated in a second study, using a microcomputer and chronometric analyses. Results are discussed in terms of heuristic decision‐making, social schemata, and the cognitive versus motivational bases of bias in the use of base rates.
Testing Ajzen and Fishbein's attitudes model: The prediction of voting
Authors: Echabe A. Echebarria , Rovira D. Paez , Garate J. F. Valencia
Published: May 2007

Ajzen and Fishbein 's attitudes model was applied to the prediction of voting in the Autonomous Basque Parliament Elections held on the 30th November 1986. On the whole, the model's predictive power was acceptable. Nevertheless, the model's predictive power was found to improve considerably when past experience was taken into account.
Close relationships and acting for self‐set goals
Authors: Zaleski Zbigniew
Published: May 2007

The study addressed the influence of a close relationship with a partner. The hypothesis that stronger interpersonal bonds (partner's support, cohesiveness, emotional ties) lead a goal pursuer to expand greater effort and to feel greater satisfaction in working toward self‐set goal was tested.

The data were collected from 200 Ss involved in a close relationship by means of a Goal Questionnaire referring to goal properties (importance, expectancy, conflict), to action dimensions (effort, persistence, satisfaction) and to interpersonal relations between a goal pursuer and his partner (support, dependence, emotional control).

The data analysis (ANOVA) revealed that the high support (vs. low) was significantly related to greater effort, persistence and satisfaction. Also high emotional control was related to higher persistence and high dependence resulted in stronger satisfaction from goal‐related activity. The path analysis showed that partner's support influences the goal‐related activity in two ways, directly through enhancing persistence and satisfaction and indirectly by increasing individual's expectancy of successful goal attainment.
Modelling courage: The role of dissent in fostering independence
Authors: Nemeth Charlan , Chiles Cynthia
Published: May 2007

While dissent has been construed in terms of social support and informational influence, this paper hypothesizes that exposure to dissenting minority views, even when they are wrong, stimulates resistance to conformity and increased adherence to one's own views. In this study, individuals in groups of four judged the colour of a series of blue stimuli and were exposed to one individual who consistently judged the stimuli to be ‘green: inconsistently judged them to be 'green' or expressed no dissent. In a subsequent setting, when judging a series of red slides; subjects were exposed to a majority who repeatedly judged them as 'orange’. Exposure to dissent, whether it was consistent or inconsistent, substantially reduced the level of conformity. In fact, exposure to the consistent dissent led to almost complete independence.
Self‐image bias and the perception of other persons' skills
Authors: Hill Thomas , Smith Nancy D. , Hoffman Hunter
Published: May 2007

Previous research on the Self‐image bias' has demonstrated a defensive tendency to overestimate the importance of positive general self‐attributes (e.g. warm, patient) when forming impressions of other people. The current research replicates and extends the self‐image bias findings in an area of theoretical as well as applied relevance: The evaluation of other peoples specific skills, and resulting social preferences.
The role of social categorization and perceived source credibility in minority influence
Authors: Clark Russell D. , Maass Anne
Published: May 2007

This study was conducted in order to compare the influence of ingroup and outgroup minorities and to assess the role of perceived source credibility in minority influence. The subjects were exposed to the simultaneous majority/minority influence paradigm. Ingroup minorities were more influential than outgroup minorities. Subjects moved toward the minority position in private and toward the majority position in public when the minority was represented by members of the ingroup. On private responses subjects were not affected by outgroup minorities who argued for abortion, and they became more positive toward abortion when outgroup minorities opposed abortion. Final &, ingroup minorities were perceived as more credible than outgroup minorities and greater credibility of minority source was associated with greater attitude change toward the minority position. The superior influence of ingroup minorities held when controlling for source credibility. Overall, the results were highly supportive of social identity theory.
Social categorization and attitude change
Authors: Van Knippenberg Ad , Wilke Henk
Published: May 2007

Two experiments were carried out investigating the effect of categorization on attitude change. It was predicted that the division of a number of individuals into two subgroups (categorization), in such a way that initial attitudes correlate with subgroup membership, would lead to accentuation of attitudinal differences between subgroups. It was further predicted that an identical distribution of initial attitudes without superimposed categorization would lead to convergence of attitude positions.

In experiment 1, the effect of a male‐female classification on attitude change was studied. It was indeed found that subjects changed their attitudes in the direction opposite to the position of the outgroup (intergroup attitude differentiation), but only for groups who were initially more extreme than the comparison group. In the control condition (no categorization), conformity effects were observed. In experiment 2, an antagonistic intergroup setting was induced. In this situation, strong intergroup attitude differentiation effects were observed, which were not affected by the magnitude of the initial intergroup discrepancy. In the control condition, subjects did not show conformity to the overall group mean, but maintained their initial noncentral attitude position.
Minority Influence and ‘Trivial’ Social Categorization
Authors: Martin Robin
Published: May 2007

This experiment examines ingroup and outgroup minority influence when group membership was determined by a trivial categorization. The results show that ingroup minorities had more public influence than outgroup minorities when the categorization was trivial and when subjects also believed that they were similar to their ingroup. However, no differences were found when group membership was not associated with similarity. These results are interpreted as supporting the social identification model of social influence.
Perceptions of and by minority groups: The case of women in academia
Authors: Brown Rupert , Smith Amanda
Published: May 2007

Thirty seven academics participated in a field study in which perceptions of the size and attributes of a majority and minority group were obtained. (The groups concerned were male and female academics at a British university). These observations were used to examine the phenomenon of illusory correlation, and to test hypotheses concerning the perceived homogeneity and competence of ingroup and outgroup in majority‐minority contexts. To test for the illusory correlation effect estimates of the numbers of male and female senior staff were elicited. These estimates were consistently inaccurate, producing a lower perceived correlation between gender and seniority than actually existed. Measures of intragroup homogeneity revealed that, as predicted from previous research, members of the minority group saw their own group as more homogeneous than the outgroup. For majorty group members the reverse was true. The intergroup evaluations generally favoured the minority group; this was especially evident in the evaluations from the minority group members themselves. Possible explanations of these findings and their correspondence with those obtained from laboratory research are discussed.
Displaced aggression: Frustration or impression management
Authors: Melburgm Valerie , Tedeschi James T.
Published: May 2007

An experiment is reported testing an impression management interpretation of previous research demonstrating displaced aggression effects. It was found that superior performance by a confederate and not annoyance was related to increased use of shocks by subjects. Path analyses provided additional support for an impression management interpretation of these results, and disconfirmed frustration‐aggression theory.
Köhler rediscovered: The anti‐ringelmann effect
Authors: Witte Erich H.
Published: May 2007

A current focus of research on individual versus group performance is social loafing, the decrease in individual effort that occurs when the individual works within a cooperative group rather than alone. This result is also referred to as the ‘Ringelmann effect’. But what has been ignored until now is the increment in group performance through systematic variation of individual performance rates within the group, although this effect was reported by Moede (1927) in the same article which influenced research on the Ringlemann effect. Within a narrow range of performance rates from 4.5 to 3.5 in dyads Kohler found an increase in group performance to a level above that of the individual performances. Kohler obtained comparable results from 3–person, and 4–person groups using the experimental procedure of weight lifting and winch turning. This phenomenon should be called the ‘Kohler effect’; although it is still to be replicated with modern ergometers.
The ingroup bias as a function of differences in resources within groups
Authors: Martinez James C.
Published: May 2007

Subjects were led to believe that two sub‐groups were created according to similarity. Then they were assigned resources, received bogus offers, and asked to negotiate a mutually acceptable reward division. It was found that low resource members negotiated payoffs approximately equally. In contrast, high resource members negotiated larger payoffs to themselves when paired with outgroup members.
Reciprocity: Choice shift in a social trap
Authors: Wilke Henk A. M. , Braspenning Jozé
Published: May 2007

In the present study it was investigated if choice behaviour in a social trap situation was affected by feedback about the choice of others. On top of the social trap reward structure investigated by Schroeder, Jensen, Reed, Sullivan and Schwab (1983) a bonus was added. In the individual bonus condition subjects were promised an unspecified bonus if they would obtain more points than any other group member of one's group. In the group bonus condition subjects would obtain a bonus if the own group acquired more points than the other group.

As expected, in the group bonus condition one took fewer points than in the individual bonus condition. As suggested by the reciprocity explanation of choice behaviour (Liebrand, Wilke, Vogel and Wolters 1986; Liebrand, Jansen and Rijken 1986) it appeared that first choice corresponded strongly with one's expectations about the choices of others. Before the second choice and also before the third choice one received purported feedback about the choices of other members of one's group. In the conserving condition one learned that all others made a conserving choice, whereas in the consuming condition one learned that all others made a consuming choice. According to the reciprocity explanation it was found that when choice behaviour was in agreement with own previous expectations and previous choice, no choice change did occur. Shifts took place in conditions in which own previous expectations about the choices of others and own choice were disconfirmed by information about choices of others.
Proposal for a heuristic quasi‐social analysis of social behaviour: The case of Harlow's ‘Nature of Love’
Authors: Nuttin Jozef M.
Published: May 2007

Social psychology traditionally studies conspecific (homosocial) determinants of human behaviour. This suggests that an adequate understanding of (human) conspecific influence and interaction presupposes research on uniquely social psychological processes, effects and theories that lay beyond the reach of standard psychological concepts, procedures and theories.

A fundamental and cumulative science of behaviour (homosocial or not) might profit from a heuristic quasi‐social analysis, as a research tool for a more parsimonious conceptual screening of homosocial phenomena. Whenever the phenomenon under study is experienced, at the pre‐scientific level, as genuinely social, one of three quasi‐social contrast filters can be superposed upon it: (1) a heteroquasisocial contrast in which the homosocial determinant is substituted by a member of another species (e.g. man‐dog); (2) an object‐quasisocial contrast in which the other becomes an inanimate object (e.g. woman‐P. C.); (3) an auto‐quasisocial contrast in which the organism interacts with or influences itself (dog chasing her own tail).

Theories and processes whose essential features are masked by any of the three quasi‐social filters, should be considered as only quasi‐social. They do not justify a separate homosocial science of behaviour. The proposal is illustrated by a quasi‐social screening of Harlow S classic analysis of the Nature of Love.
Synchronic consistency and psychologization in minority influence
Authors: Papastamou Stamos , Mugny Gabriel
Published: May 2007

The importance of synchronic consistency as a factor facilitating minority influence had not previously been the object of a systematic study. We carried out a 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 experiment aimed at studying the consequences of a) ideological similarity or dissimilarity of two minority sources belonging to b) a single minority or two different ones, on subjects c) ideologically both close and distant from positions defended by the influence sources, d) according to the absence or presence of psychologization. In the main, our hypotheses were confirmed. As expected concerning the ‘close’ subjects, in the absence of psychologization, the similarity and dissimilarity between minority sources take over, respectively, the signification of consistency and inconsistency and, consequently, increase or decrease the influence exerted by the minority sources. Psychologization decreases the benefits of synchronic consistency. Contrariwise, the ‘distant’ subjects did not seem to follow the same ‘logic’: the condition of opinion dissimilarity in the same minority is the most influential; its influence, however, diminishes when the divergence of opinion is explained by means of a psychological dissimilarity. Data related to the image of the sources indicate that the influence process is no longer determined by perceived consistency or inconsistency, but by the objectivity attributed to minorities. Under these circumstances, intra‐minority pluralism became the guaranteer of objectivity.
Minority influence and social categorization
Authors: Volpato Chiara , Maass Anne , Mucchi‐Faina Angelica , Vitti Elisa
Published: May 2007

In this article, a theoretical distinction is proposed between representative outgroup minorities (representative of a minority category in the society, e.g. gays) and dissident outgroup minorities (defined as a minority subgroup within a larger outgroup category). Two studies are reported comparing the social influence of dissident outgroup minorities with that of ingroup minorities (belonging to the subject's own social category). It was predicted that a position advocated by a dissident outgroup minority would be more readily accepted than that of an ingroup minority, but that the ingroup minority would be more likely to elicit the generation of new, alternative solutions. A first experiment in which subjects were either exposed to an ingroup minority, an outgroup minority, or no influence source confirmed these predictions. In a second experiment, subjects were either exposed to a majority or to a minority source either belonging to the subject's own social category or to the outgroup. The results indicate that the position of an ingroup majority was readily accepted whereas the otherwise identical message of an outgroup majority was rejected; neither ingroup nor outgroup majority stimulated the development of alternative proposals. Again, in line with Nemeth' (1986a) theory, the position of an ingroup minority was rejected but stimulated the generation of new, alternative proposals. The differential role of social category membership in minority and majority influence and the applicability of Nemeth' (1986a) theory to the attitude change area are discussed.
What people regard as unjust: Types and structures of everyday experiences of injustice
Authors: Mikula Gerold , Petri Birgit , Tanzer Norbert
Published: May 2007

The present research was designed to identify types of events in everyday life that people regard as unjust and to find a meaningful structural representation of these types of events. Two hundred and eighty descriptions of unjust events were collected from various student samples using different methodologies. Interestingly, a considerable proportion of the injustices which were reported did not concern distributional or procedural issues in the narrow sense but referred to the manner in which people were treated in interpersonal interactions and encounters. An intuitive classification of the descriptions by two experts led to 22 different types of unjust events. Subsequently, a sample of 84 descriptions was selected and sorted by naive subjects into similar groupings. The grouping data were then subjected to cluster and multidimensional scaling analyses. A nineteen‐cluster solution reproduced the intuitively defined main types of unjust events very well. An eight‐cluster solution, which provided the most meaningful higher level grouping, and the MDS results indicated that a meaningful structural representation of types of injustices has to consider the particular content of unjust events as well as the social setting where they occur. With regard to the latter aspect, injustices in task‐oriented relationships of unequal power and impersonal short‐term encounters are distinguished from injustices occurring in personal, long‐term, social‐emotional relationships of equal power.
On differentiating embarrassment from shame
Authors: Babcock Mary K. , Sabini John
Published: May 2007

Four experiments were conducted to demonstrate that embarrassment and shame are distinct emotions that result from violations of different types of internalized standards. Embarrassment results from violating one's particular persona; shame results from violating a shared, objective ideal. Subjects vividly imagined themselves in situations and indicated their emotional reactions. In Experiment I, we demonstrate that people differentiate between embarrassment and shame systematically (F(1,27) = 74.4, p < 0.001). In Experiments 2 and 3, we demonstrate that embarrassment results from violating a persona (n = 34, p < 0.001; n = 23, p < 0.001), and shame results from violating an objective ideal (n = 34, p < 0.001; n = 23, p < 0.001). In Experiment 4, we demonstrate that it is the type of standard that is violated (n = 30, p < 0.001), not whether or not the violation was intentional, that determines whether one experiences embarrassment or shame. We argue that both shame and embarrassment play an important role in maintaining personal identity.
Power and status differentials in minority and majority group relations
Authors: Sachdev Itesh , Bourhis Richard Y.
Published: May 2007

Using a variant of the minimal group paradigm (Tajfel and Turner, 1986), this study tested the effects of power, status and group numbers on intergroup behaviours and perceptions. Subjects (N = 160) were categorized into groups that varied on status (high or low), power (dominant or subordinate) and group numbers (majority or minority) variables within a 2 × 2 × 2 experimental design. Based on their evaluations of others' creative products, subjects distributed credit points to ingroup and outgroup others using the Tajfel matrices. Results showed that dominant group members were much more discriminatory and less parity oriented towards outgroup others than subordinate group members. High status group members were more discriminatory and less parity oriented than low status group members. Minority group members who were dominant and of high status were highly discriminatory and were unique in showing no parity whatsoever towards outgroup others. Subordinate low status minorities did not discriminate and were exceptional in showing out‐group favouritism. Relative to group status and group numbers, group power seemed more predictive of actual discriminatory behaviour. Group status accounted for the greatest variance in social identification and intergroup perceptions measures. Results also showed that social categorization was sufficient to elicit more in‐group than outgroup liking amongst all group members regardless of their position in the intergroup structure. Overall, this study indicated that power, status and group numbers independently and in combination, have a strong impact on intergroup behaviours and perceptions.
Social categorization and the formation of group stereotypes: Further evidence for biased information processing in the perception of group‐behavior correlations
Authors: Schaller Mark
Published: May 2007

An experiment tested the hypothesis that the mere categorization of people into social groups spontaneously instigates a mechanism through which group‐relevant information is perceived and processed in a biased manner. This in turn may result in the erroneous perception of correlation between group and behavior. Subjects were initially assigned to be members of a minority group, a majority group, or were not assigned to a group. They were then presented with a series of statements that described members of the two groups performing either desirable or undesirable behaviors. Results showed that unaffiliated subjects perceived an illusory group‐behavior correlation, indicating the operation of a cognitive bias to associate the minority group with distinctive behaviors. Subjects who were themselves members of the observed groups perceived illusory correlations that favored their own group, indicating a very different sort of bias. The results suggest that a categorization‐based ingroup favoritism guided the manner in which group information was processed. These data lend support to the contention that social categorization spontaneously instigates specific cognitive mechanisms that contribute to group stereotype formation.
Differential effects of priming at the encoding and judgment stage
Authors: Philippot Pierre , Schwarz Norbert , Carrera Pilar , De Vries Nannes , Van Yperen Nico W.
Published: May 2007

Two experiments investigated whether the direction of priming effects depends on the processing stage at which the individual links the prime to a trait that is applicable to the evaluation of an ambiguously described target person. In line with previous research, it is hypothesized that assimilation effects will emerge when primes are processed in terms of a trait concept that is applicable to the encoding task. However, when the primes are not processed in applicable trait terms, they may still affect subsequent Judgments if the individual recalls the prime when judging the target along a trait dimension. In this case, the primes may serve as an anchor, resulting in contrast effects. Two experiments, in which subjects were primed with names of prototypically nice or hostile famous individuals under instructions that did or did not prompt subjects to process the prime in applicable trait terms, supported these hypotheses. Implications for the emergence of priming effects in everyday social interaction are discussed.
Contextual aspects of ethnic stereotypes and interethnic evaluations
Authors: Kleinpenning Gerard , Hagendoorn Louk
Published: May 2007

The existence of context‐specific ethnic stereotypes and their effect on evaluations of contact with ethnic groups is examined in a survey of 1694 Dutch secondary‐school students. Interethnic evaluations and 13 trait attributions towards five ethnic groups were measured in three basic social domains: as neighbours, classmates and (marital) partners. The 13 trait attributions were also measured for ethnic groups in general and for ‘people in general’. The first hypothesis was that stereotypes operationalized as diagnostic ratios were better predictors of interethnic evaluation than stereotypes operationalized as percentage scores. The second hypothesis was that contextual stereotypes are better predictors of interethnic evaluation than general group stereotypes. It was found that diagnostic ratios do not predict interethnic evaluations better than percentage scores. For most ethnic groups contextual stereotypes are better predictors of interethnic evaluations than general group stereotypes.
Differential effects of identification with family and peers on coping with developmental tasks in adolescence
Authors: Palmonari Augusto , Kirchler Erich , Pombeni Maria Luisa
Published: May 2007

Adolescents from three Italian cities responded to a questionnaire concerning the particular peer‐group with which they were associated and identification with their family, aspects of the process of coping with seven developmental tasks, and demographic characteristics. The participants were 1600 male and female teenagers, with a mean age of 16.28 years, who were approached at schools and various meeting places in three Italian cities. The study shows that effective coping with developmental tasks depends largely on the degree of identification with both family and peer‐group. Those who identify with both social groupings show advantages in various critical situations. Adolescents only identifying with either family or peers get emotional and instrumental support from that group but not from the other, thus, they are supported in some critical situations but not in others. Adolescents who are unwilling or unable to identify with their family and/or their peers are less successful in managing the transition to adulthood than others who are close to their parents and peers. Consistent with the findings of previous studies, the type of group adolescents join, be it a formal group or an informal street group, has no significant effect on their coping strategies.
Self‐stereotyping and self‐enhancement in gender groups
Authors: Lorenzi‐Cioldi Fabio
Published: May 2007

This study investigated the effects of sex membership and its salience on individuals' self‐stereotyping and the motivation to define oneself positively (self‐enhancement). Bem's (1981) gender‐schema and Markus's (1977) self‐schema theories were interpreted within the framework of inter group relations, which emphasized their respective bipolar and unipolar structures. The use men and women made of these cognitive schemas, as well as of self‐enhancement, was tested by examining latencies in self‐descriptions on the BSRI attributes (Bem, 1974). Subjects described themselves and rated the stereotypicality and the positiveness of these attributes in one of two situations. A situation stressed a personal level of categorization (the individual setting), another a social level (the group setting). The first hypothesis was that the situations influence individuals' selection of specific self‐defining strategies. Results supported this expectation when considering the motivational strategy and the gender‐schema. Self‐enhancement was slightly more used in the individual than the group setting, and the gender‐schema was salient only in the group setting. The second hypothesis was that distinct self‐stereotyping processes occur as a function of the sex of the subjects. Support for this hypothesis was again found only for the gender‐schema, with women displaying this schema more than men. Sex differences in schematic thinking were interpreted as ensuing from status positions of women and men in the social structure.
Accuracy and bias in estimates of others' knowledge
Authors: Fussell Susan R. , Krauss Robert M.
Published: May 2007

Perspective‐taking is central to much social interaction, but the processes by which it is accomplished are poorly understood. The current study examines accuracy and bias in one type of perspective‐taking: inferences about what others know. Twenty‐two New York City landmarks were presented in three conditions: Picture Only, Picture‐+ Name and Name Only. Subjects estimated the proportion of short‐ and long‐term New York City residents who could identify each landmark from its picture. They also rated their subjective recognition of the stimuli. Subjects in all three conditions were good at estimating stimulus identifiability, but their estimates were biased in the direction of their own knowledge. Estimates of the difference in identifications by short‐and long‐term residents were relatively inaccurate, probably because the two groups differed less than anticipated. For most but not all subjects, subjective feelings of recognition were significantly correlated with estimates of identifiability. We conclude that perceptions of the distribution of knowledge are socially shared.
An investigation into the relationship between perceived control, attitude variability and the consumption of two common foods
Authors: Sparks Paul , Hedderley Duncan , Shepherd Richard
Published: May 2007

The study reported here takes its lead from the literatures which emphasize the importance of attitude variability and the role of perceived control over action. Within‐person variability and perceptions of control are investigated in the context of people's attitudes towards the consumption of two common foods. The role of attitude ambivalence is also examined. The findings indicate that higher attitude variability is associated with weaker relationships between the components of the theory of reasoned action and that attitude variability is negatively related to perceived control. Moreover, perceived control is shown to be related to different sorts of control problem for different behaviours. It is advocated that a more in‐depth assessment of attitude variability and the perceived control construct is merited and that recent calls for more serious examination of attitude ambivalence are well‐founded.
Intentionality and fatality during the King's Cross underground fire
Authors: Donald Ian , Canter David
Published: May 2007

Research has shown that the behaviour of people in fires and other emergencies is characterized by internally rational, socially and cognitively structured action. It has not been possible to date to discover whether the victims of fires display similar patterns of behaviour to the survivors, or act in a fundamentally different way. Following the public inquiry into the 1987 King's Cross underground fire in London, data were made available which allowed this issue to be addressed. The data mainly consisted of statements and interviews with survivors and friends of the victims. Examination of this information allowed the likely actions and intentions of 24 of the 31 victims to be pieced together with a good degree of certainty. The results showed that those who died in the fire behaved in a way similar to the survivors. Generally, victims perpetuated actions that were consistent with the normal scripts for the use of the setting, and as shaped by their place‐related roles and schemata. The study shows that virtually all of the victims attempted to leave the station either by the way they had entered, or by their originally intended route. Implications of the findings for the understanding, modelling and researching of behaviour under life‐threatening conditions are discussed.
Context‐dependent variation in social stereotyping 2: The relationship between frame of reference, self‐categorization and accentuation
Authors: Haslam S. Alexander , Turner John C.
Published: May 2007

This paper examines the hypothesis that patterns of stereotypic accentuation reflect the degree to which judged stimuli share the same social category membership as the stereotyper, Following self‐categorization theory, the degree of this shared identity is operationalized in terms of the meta‐contrast ratio as a function of the positions of (a) stereotyper and (b) stereotyped target relative to (c) the stereotyper's frame of reference. Three experiments are reported which sought to manipulate shared category membership either by extension of subjects' frame of reference or by extremitization of target and subject with respect to that frame. As predicted, greater shared identity was associated with stronger assimilation of the target to subjects' own position and with change in stereotype content. Findings are discussed in relation to theories of personality, social judgement and social cognition. Like the accentuation processes which underpin them, it is proposed that stereotypes are sensitive to comparative context and that they reflect veridically the social self‐categorical properties of stimuli.
Preattributional and attributional determinants of emotions and expectations
Authors: Overwalle Frank Van , Heylighen Francis , Casaer Sarah , Daniëls Marleen
Published: May 2007

Explores how preattributional variables describing an event (i.e. consensus, consistency, distinctiveness, and effectuality) as well as dimensions of attributions given to explain the event (i.e. locus, stability, globality, and control) determine subsequent emotions and expectations. In a first pilot study, subjects described actual emotion‐evoking incidents. The results indicated that these free descriptions included preattributional variables more often (43 per cent) than attributional appraisals (13 per cent), and that the hypothesized preattributional cues were used to describe the emotions. In a second experimental study, preattributional or attributional information about an event was presented, and subjects were asked to judge an actor's emotions or expectations. The time needed to make this judgment was recorded. Judgments and response times were not significantly different after preattributional or attributional information, but were different for distinct emotions and expectations in accordance with the hypotheses. The data were interpreted as suggesting that people possess cognitive schemas about the preattributional and attributional determinants of emotions, and that these schemas speed up the processing of diagnostic inputs that shape emotions.
Intragroup differentiation in terms of ingroup and outgroup attributes
Authors: Simon Bernd
Published: May 2007

An experiment (n = 36) was conducted to test the hypothesis that attribute typicality moderates intragroup differentiation. The predicted reversal from perceived relative ingroup homogeneity on typical ingroup attributes to perceived relative outgroup homogeneity on typical outgroup attributes was confirmed for both homogeneity measures (standard deviation and probability of differentiation). But the ingroup homogeneity effects were more reliable than the outgroup homogeneity effects. Relative ingroup size (minority versus majority) was included in the experimental design as a between‐subjects factor but did not qualify the reversal of perceived relative homogeneity.
Anticipated bias from an outgroup: An attributional analysis
Authors: Vivian James E. , Berkowitz Norman H.
Published: May 2007

Utilizing a group product evaluation paradigm, a study was conducted to investigate anticipated outgroup evaluations. Specifically, it was proposed that ingroup members view outgroups in a way that leads them to anticipate discrimination. Results indicated, as predicted, that while subjects expected outgroup members to favour their own (outgroup) product, they expected impartial judges to agree with their own more favourable rating of the (ingroup) product. It is thus suggested that while subjects saw outgroup members as biased in their anticipated evaluations, they saw their own evaluations as relatively impartial. The results are discussed as an expression of ethnocentric attribution.
Affect and persuasion: Mood effects on the processing of message content and context cues and on subsequent behaviour
Authors: Bohner Gerd , Crow Kimberly , Erb Hans‐Peter , Schwarz Norbert
Published: May 2007

Two experiments are reported examining the impact of recipients' mood on the processing of simple, everyday persuasive communications and on subsequent behaviour. Consistent with the general assumption that affective states may inform an individual about the state of its current environment, it was found that positive (as compared to neutral or negative) mood reduced subjects' motivation to systematically process both content information and contextual cues. Specifically, Experiment I demonstrated that, in a field setting, the behaviour of subjects who had been put in a good mood was less likely to reflect differences in message content than the behaviour of neutral mood subjects. Experiment 2 replicated and extended these findings, showing that good mood subjects' behaviour was uninfluenced by content as well as context information, whereas bad mood subjects did make use of both types of information. Subject's cognitive responses and evaluations paralleled the behavioural data. The results are discussed in terms of their compatibility with contemporary models of persuasion, and their implications for future research on mood and persuasion and on the interplay of affect and cognition in general are considered.
The ingroup overexclusion effect: Impact of valence and confirmation on stereotypical information search
Authors: Leyens Jacques‐Philippe , Yzerbyt Vincent Y.
Published: May 2007

Investigates an old controversy in ethnic identification from the perspective of information‐gathering strategies. It was hypothesized that people would request a lot of positive information before deciding that someone is a member of the ingroup. First, a questionnaire measuring the typical features of likeable and unlikeable targets issuing from two linguistic groups (Flemish and Walloon) revealed the existence of four distinguishable sets. These sets corresponded to the orthogonal combination of valence and group membership, i.e. they were organized in terms of two independent dimensions, an evaluative one and descriptive one. The dimensional complexity and evaluative extremity of the ‘positive ingroup’ and ‘negative outgroup’ sets were not different. Second, characteristics in each set served to create personality profiles presumably describing real targets. Subjects read these profiles, one feature at a time up to 10 features, and were asked to decide whether the target was a member of their group. They also learned that they could make their decision as soon as they felt confident. In line with Yzerbyt and Leyens' (1991) results, data indicate that subjects requested more information when the evidence was positive or consistent with their ingroup membership than when it was negative or inconsistent. These findings shed new light on earlier work concerning ethnic identification. In the context of the more general question of intergroup relations and their role in person perception, the present results may be interpreted in terms of an ingroup overexclusion effect rather than a vigilance effect or response bias. Thus is added a new effect to the well‐known phenomena of ingroup favouritism and outgroup homogeneity.
Emotion words used in six European countries
Authors: Van Goozen Stephanie , Frijda Nico H.
Published: May 2007

To what extent are the more common emotion words in Western European languages equivalent? Some information on this question, which is relevant for cross cultural emotions research, is collected in the present study. Students from six Western European countries were asked to list all emotion words they could think of in 5 minutes. The most frequently mentioned categories were highly similar across samples. However, considerable differences in relative frequency of presumably equivalent words (close, common translations) in the different languages were also found.