Attachment orientations and humanity attributions to individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

In this contribution, we explored whether secure attachment - operationalized as an individual difference variable - is positively associated with humanizing perceptions of individuals with IDD (intellectual and developmental disabilities). A cross-sectional study was performed. University students filled out a questionnaire including: a self-report scale of attachment orientations (secure, avoidant, and anxious); items assessing emotions toward individuals with IDD (anxiety, empathy, and trust); items measuring the attribution of uniquely human (e.g., reasoning, self-control) and non-uniquely human (e.g., instinct, impulsiveness) characteristics. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and the PROCESS macro to test mediation. Replicating previous research, findings highlighted that a lower human status was generally ascribed to people with disabilities. However, secure attachment was associated with both lower feelings of anxiety and higher attributions of uniquely human traits. No mediation effects of emotions were observed. Practical implications of findings were discussed. Interventions based on security priming should lead people to endorse humanizing evaluations of individuals with IDD, and to help them

Leaders\u2019 competence and warmth: Their relationships with employees\u2019 well-being and organizational effectiveness

The aim of this work was to investigate competence and warmth \u2014 the two basic dimensions of social judgment \u2014 as dimensions employees use to evaluate their supervisors. A mediation model was tested in which supervisor\u2019s perceived competence and warmth were associated with relevant outcomes (lower burnout, weaker turnover intentions, more frequent citizenship behaviors) through the mediation of affective organizational commitment (AOC). In Study 1, data were collected from employees of a company in the water service sector. In Study 2, participants were financial promoters. In Study 3, the sample included employees from different organizations. As hypothesized, the perception of one\u2019s supervisor as competent (Studies 1-3) and warm (Study 3) was related to employees\u2019 lower burnout, weaker turnover intentions, more frequent prosocial behaviors through the mediation of AOC. Theoretical and practical implications of findings are discussed

Intergroup contact and outgroup humanization: Is the causal relationship uni- or bidirectional?

The attribution of uniquely human characteristics to the outgroup may favor the search for contact with outgroup members and, vice versa, contact experiences may improve humanity attributions to the outgroup. To explore this bidirectional relationship, two studies were performed. In Study 1, humanity perceptions were manipulated using subliminal conditioning. Two experimental conditions were created. In the humanization condition, the unconditioned stimuli (US) were uniquely human words; in the dehumanization condition, the US were nonuniquely human and animal words. In both conditions, conditioned stimuli were typical outgroup faces. An approach/avoidance technique (the manikin task) was used to measure the willingness to have contact with outgroup members. Findings showed that in the humanization condition participants were faster in approaching than in avoiding outgroup members: closeness to the outgroup was preferred to distance. Latencies of approach and avoidance movements were not different in the dehumanization condition. In Study 2, contact was manipulated using the manikin task. One approach (contact) condition and two control conditions were created. The attribution of uniquely human traits to the outgroup was stronger in the contact than in the no-contact conditions. Furthermore, the effect of contact on humanity attributions was mediated by increased trust toward the outgroup. Thus, findings demonstrate the bidirectionality of the relationship between contact and humanity attributions. Practical implications of findings are discussed

Reducing prejudice in the society at large: a review of the secondary transfer effect and directions for future research

The secondary transfer effect (STE) constitutes the generalization of the effects of intergroup contact from the outgroup one has contact with to uninvolved outgroups. In this article, we provide a review of the research on the STE. After presenting evidence on the robustness of the phenomenon, we discuss relevant mediating processes and outline a model that distinguishes them in three categories: mediators referring to the outgroup, mediators referring to the ingroup, and mediators referring to the self. We then present moderators of the STE, and recent evidence of the STE from indirect contact (extended, vicarious, and imagined contact) and from negative contact. By relying on our distinction in three sets of mediators, we suggest directions for future research, largely pointing to the importance of integrating the STE with research on generalized prejudice and of exploring contact as an agent of cognitive liberalization

Gruppo e identit\ue0\ua0sociale come fattori di adattamento

In questo lavoro saranno analizzate alcune teorie dell\u2019identificazione con il proprio gruppo (ingroup), in cui \ue8 implicito il significato adattivo dell\u2019appartenenza; sar\ue0 considerata una prospettiva recente nella psicologia evoluzionistica; saranno riportati dati che verificano la validit\ue0 delle teorie analizzate

Personal identity and social identity: A comparison between self-categorization theory and the model of egocentric social categorization

In this study the different hypotheses deriving from self-categorization theory (Turner et al., 1987) and from the model of egocentric social categorization (Simon, 1993) were tested. These hypotheses concern ingroup bias and the outgroup homogeneity effect. Using the paradigm of the minimal groups, three experimental conditions were created. In all of them, participants (n = 74) were informed that both the members of the ingroup and the members of the the outgroup, subjects included, would have to solve problems of a cognitive nature: cultural, linguistic, mathematical. In the first condition, quasi-intergroup, the ingroup was presented as an aggregate and the outgroup as a group; there was, moreover, intragroup competition. In the second, mixed, ingroup and outgroup were both groups; in this condition there was both intragroup competition and intergroup competition. In the third condition, intergroup, the only competition present was that between the two groups. The main factors of the experimental design, between subjects, were: relations (quasi-intergroup, mixed, intergroup) and target (ingroup, outgroup). Before proceeding to the solution of the problems, which were anticipated but never presented, the participants received information, sequentially, on the 50 members of the ingroup or on the 50 members of the outgroup, regarding their IQs. Participants were then submitted to free recall tests; they evaluated the mean IQs of the two groups and judged their homogeneity. Results confirm the principle of functional antagonism between personal and group levels of self-categorization. Moreover, they demonstrate the validity of the hypothesis that ingroup bias is revealed only when the more salient identity is social identity. The results confirm the hypotheses derived from self-categorization theory, not those derived from the model of egocentric social categorization

Motivational, emotional, and cultural influences in social identity processes

No description supplie

Examining Group-Based Trust with the Investment Game

Group-based trust was investigated by considering the relationship between 2 groups withdiffering socioeconomic status. High-status (Northern Italians) and low-status (SouthernItalians) group members played a modified version of the investment game (Berg, Dickhaut,& McCabe, 1995), paired with an ingroup or an outgroup member. Results showed that forlow-status group members, trust was higher in the outgroup than ingroup condition, whilehigh-status group members did not prefer the ingroup over the outgroup. These findingshighlight the importance of studying the effects of status in research on group-based trust