Effective ways for reducing dehumanization: interpersonal and intergroup strategies

Up to date, research on dehumanization has widely been explored showing the consequences of the denial of humanity to others, the groups that are affected by this refusal, or even the cognitive and neural networks that are involved when perceiving others as less human. Dehumanization is still so grounded in human nature that it is now fundamental to understand how this phenomenon can be prevented. For this reason, in this paper, we aimed at showing what specific strategies, that can operate and impact at the interpersonal or intergroup level, can be used to avert dehumanization and its consequences

Resilience in children in the aftermath of disasters: a systematic review and a new perspective on individual, interpersonal, group, and intergroup level factors

Disasters can impact upon individuals, families, and communities in multiple ways. Research has mainly focused on risk and protective factors relating to the child (individual level) and the family (interpersonal level), not taking into account the processes at the level of social groups. The present review aims to (a) review psychological research on disasters determined by natural events in childhood, (b) distinguish individual, interpersonal, group, and intergroup levels, (c) emphasize the importance of considering resilience as a key outcome. We reviewed 294 studies (in addition to 28 reviews‐meta‐analyses, and 29 naturalistic interventions), and identified factors at the individual (e.g., demographics, exposure, individual differences), interpersonal (e.g., parent–child relationship, family and school environment), group (e.g., social identity, group membership), and intergroup (relations between different groups) levels. We argue that an integrated model of these factors and their interplay is needed to design interventions to enhance resilience in children and their communities. We extend previous theorizations by providing a wider conceptualization of distress and resilience, and by considering the interplay between factors at different levels. A multidimensional approach to the consequences of disasters in children is crucial to understand their development and well‐being, and to design effective interventions. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement

Comparing story reading and video watching as two distinct forms of vicarious contact: An experimental intervention among elementary school children

Research has shown that vicarious contact, that is observing an interaction between ingroup and outgroup members, can improve intergroup relations. Although vicarious contact has been operationalized in different ways, mainly via story reading or video watching, an experimental comparison of these different strategies is still missing. We conducted a school intervention with the aim of comparing the two most used forms of vicarious contact, namely story reading and video watching. Elementary schoolchildren without disabilities (N = 292) were assigned to one of three different conditions: reading a story; watching a video; control. In the two vicarious contact conditions, participants read or watched the story of a child with disability becoming friends with children without disabilities; in the control condition, participants only completed the dependent measures. Results revealed that, in general, both vicarious contact conditions were equally effective in improving outgroup attitudes and behavioural intentions. In addition, they operated with the same strength through the same underlying processes (IOS, ingroup norms). We discuss theoretical and practical implications in the context of vicarious contact as a prejudice-reduction intervention

Using sport media contact to promote gender equality: counter-stereotypical gender perceptions and 2019 FIFA Women’s world cup

By relying on literature on counter-stereotypes and media contact, we investigated whether media exposure is associated with counter-stereotypical gender perceptions. Focusing on the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, we recruited samples (N = 2,228) from eight competing countries (China, France, Germany, Italy, Scotland, Spain, England, US) across three continents. We hypothesized that exposure to media coverage of the competition’s counter-stereotypical female exemplars would be associated with increased counter-stereotypical perceptions of women. Results revealed that media exposure was associated with greater communion and agency attributed to women. In turn, communion and agency were associated (negatively and positively, respectively) with attribution of stereotypically male abilities (abilities to engage in stereotypically male academic disciplines and jobs) to women compared to men. No effects emerged for perceptions of stereotypically female characteristics. Gender moderated these effects, with associations being stronger among male than among female respondents. Theoretical and practical implications of findings are discussed.Immediate accessThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

IL RUOLO DEL PERDONO NEL CONTESTO DELLA VIOLENZA DOMESTICA CONTRO LE DONNE

Studi epidemiologici hanno dimostrato che oltre il 30% delle donne, nel mondo, ha riportato esperienze di violenza fisica e/o sessuale dal proprio (ex) partner (Devries et al., 2013; Stöckl et al., 2013). Diverse teorie hanno cercato di spiegare le cause della violenza e la vastità del fenomeno (Ali & Naylor, 2013) e, in particolare, una vasta gamma di ricerche si è concentrata sui motivi che spingono una donna a rimanere o a lasciare un partner abusante e/o a riconciliarsi dopo una separazione. Tra le teorie più sviluppate in questo contesto un modello che ha fornito delle spiegazioni rispetto alla scelta delle donne con storie di IPV di continuare o meno la relazione è il modello di investimento di Carol Rusbult (1983), (ad esempio Choice & Lamke, 1997; Johnson & Ferraro, 2000; Rhatigan & Street, 2005). Nel caso di IPVAW (Intimate Partner Violence Against Woman), alcuni studi suggeriscono che le donne vittime di violenza domestica dipendono fortemente dai loro partner (Bergman, Larsson, Brismar & Klang, 1988; Watson et al., 1997), riportando che più alti livelli di dipendenza relazionale predicono un maggior rischio di continuare la relazione maltrattante (Choice & Lamke, 1997; Hydén, 2005) e di perdonare il partner. Infatti, nonostante la letteratura mostri numerose implicazioni positive del perdono di coppia, gli studiosi sanno molto poco sulle potenziali implicazioni negative del perdono nel contesto della violenza domestica. Uno studio condotto da McNulty (2011) sulle coppie ha dimostrato che i coniugi che riferivano di "essere relativamente più indulgenti, hanno subito un'aggressione psicologica e fisica che è rimasta stabile nell'arco di 4 anni" (McNulty, 2011: 770). Inoltre, uno studio di Gordon, Burton & Porter (2004) ha mostrato con un campione di donne residenti in un centro antiviolenza che il perdono mediava la relazione tra attribuzioni di responsabilità delle violenze al partner e intenzione di ritornare con il partner. Altrettanto vero che una gamma di studi su campioni della popolazione generale e clinica diversi dalle donne vittime di IPV, ma comunque esposte a uno o più traumi psicologici, hanno mostrato gli effetti protettivi del perdono sul malessere psicologico delle persone (Romero, Kalidas, Elledge, Chang, Liscum, and Friedman, 2006). Obiettivi l’obiettivo del primo studio era duplice, ovvero analizzare il perdono del partner entro il modello di impegno e dipendenza (Rusbult, 1983) rispetto all’intenzione della donna di tornare con il partner abusante; dall’altra parte indagare gli effetti del perdono, in particolare del perdono di sé, sulla riduzione della sintomatologia psicologica delle vittime di IPV. L’obiettivo del secondo studio, che è stato sviluppato a partire dai risultati del primo, era verificare cosa potesse determinare il perdono di condotte abusanti da parte partner, in un campione di giovani donne che non erano implicate in storie di IPV per analizzare, in un’ottica preventiva, cosa contribuisce a perdonare agiti violenti del partner, specialmente in una fase iniziale della relazione. Metodologia: il primo studio correlazionale ha previsto la somministrazione di un questionario a donne vittime di IPV che hanno deciso di chiedere aiuto in seguito alle violenze subite dal partner. Il questionario ha rilevato al T1 (tempo 1) le tipologie e le frequenze di violenza subita e i fattori di rischio che abbiamo ipotizzato essere legati alla recidiva della violenza e al T2 (tempo 2) le effettive riconciliazioni o separazioni con il partner maltrattante. Il secondo studio invece, di tipo sperimentale - between subject - ha previsto la somministrazione di scenari ipotetici di diverse tipologie di condotte violente del partner – aggressione agita per la prima volta oppure già avvenuta in passato - misurando poi le intenzioni delle studentesse di perdonare o meno il partner, attraverso una misura di perdono standardizzata. Risultati: lo studio 1 ha rilevato che la dipendenza emotiva, nel nostro campione di donne con esperienze di IPV, predice l’intenzione di tornare con il partner. Il perdono del partner è un mediatore forte in grado di spiegare questa relazione, rafforzando l’associazione tra dipendenza emotiva e intenzione di tornare con il partner. Inoltre, alti livelli di perdono, soprattutto quando la speranza di un cambiamento del partner era alta e quando la percezione del rischio futuro era bassa, favorivano una più chiara predizione dell’intenzione di tornare con il partner. Per quanto riguarda, invece, gli effetti del perdono del partner e del perdono di sé sul benessere della donna, in termini di riduzione della sintomatologia traumatica e depressiva, è emerso che alti livelli di unforgiveness (dimensione negativa di perdono del partner) erano associati ad un incremento di PTSD e sintomi depressivi. Altresì il perdono di sé sembra essere una variabile cruciale a spiegare la sintomatologia psicologica delle donne, in particolare la dimensione di auto critica è positivamente associata sia ai sintomi depressivi che alla sintomatologia post traumatica, mentre la dimensione positiva di perdono di sé, anche definita auto-accettazione, è inversamente associata al PTSD. I risultati del secondo studio indicano che il perdono del partner in contesti ipotetici di violenza viene predetto dalla tipologia della violenza. In particolare, la violenza psicologica viene perdonata in misura maggiore rispetto alla violenza fisica, in quanto percepita come meno grave, come rilevato nell’analisi di mediazione. Infatti abbiamo scoperto che la tipologia della violenza è predittiva del perdono soprattutto quando è mediata dalla percezione della gravità della condotta violenta. È emerso inoltre che la frequenza della violenza è una discriminante statisticamente significativa solo nel caso della violenza psicologica, tale per cui viene perdonato di più l’episodio di aggressione psicologica se è la prima volta che capita. Altresì sono state condotte delle analisi di mediazione e moderazioni per analizzare il ruolo l’attribuzione a sé delle violenze e della percezione della gravità della condotta abusiva, sull’intenzione di perdonare il partner. Queste scoperte si uniscono a pochi altri studi che potrebbero contribuire ad aumentare un piccolo gruppo di ricerche che ha dimostrato come il perdono del partner possa essere un fattore di rischio di ri-vittimizzazione per donne con esperienze di IPVAW. Limiti: i limiti del primo studio riguardano la difficoltà di reclutamento delle partecipanti al T2, tale per cui non è stato possibile confermare, attraverso la fase longitudinale, le scoperte riportate nella fase correlazionale, se non in forma preliminare. I limiti del secondo studio riguardano invece la scelta metodologica di proporre scenari ipotetici. Sarebbe opportuno svolgere ulteriori ricerche su giovani studentesse o giovani donne della popolazione generale che abbiano effettivamente subito forme lievi di violenza da parte del partner, in un’ottica preventiva, per verificare se effettivamente le variabili emerse in questo studio come determinanti rispetto all’intenzione di perdonare il partner, siano effettivamente centrali anche in situazioni di violenza reali. Prospettive future: Ulteriori ricerche, con un campione più ampio di donne vittime di IPV, potrebbero confermare questo risultato e quindi sottolineare la pericolosità della dimensione positiva di perdono del partner nei contesti di IPV. Inoltre, in un’ottica di supporto alla donna, sulla base di questi risultati, i programmi di intervento rivolti vittime di IPV potrebbero prevedere una fase in cui, pur lavorando sull’abbassamento dei livelli di rabbia e rancore verso il partner - in quanto connessi a un peggioramento della salute psicologica della donna - unforgiveness - si espliciti il rischio di avere atteggiamenti benevoli, concilianti e positivi nei confronti dell’abusante, in particolare nella fase iniziale dopo la separazione. Sarebbe opportuno, altresì, costruire interventi in grado di promuovere l’abbassamento dell’auto critica e del risentimento verso sé stesse per le esperienze dolorose e traumatiche sofferte all’interno della propria relazione, e favorire l’auto-accettazione della propria storia e del proprio passato, in un’ottica di miglioramento della propria salute psicologica. A partire invece dai risultati del secondo studio, gli sforzi futuri dovrebbero esaminare naturalisticamente questi processi valutando le attribuzioni e le percezioni di gravità successive agli eventi violenti reali, nelle giovani coppie, soprattutto per quanto riguarda la violenza psicologica, in quanto percepita come meno grave e non sempre considerata una forma di violenza.Literature has shown that more than 30% of women, in the world, have reported violence experience by their partner or former partner (Devries et al., 2013; Stöckl et al., 2013). Several theories tried to explaine the causes of violence (Ali & Naylor, 2013) and especially, a wide range of research focused on the reasons why a woman remains or leaves an abusive partner and / or reconcile with him after a separation. Among the most developed theories in this context a model that provided explanations regarding the choice of women with IPV stories to continue or not the relationship is the Investment Model of Carol Rusbult (1983), (eg Choice & Lamke, 1997; Johnson & Ferraro, 2000; Rhatigan & Street, 2005). In the IPVAW context (Intimate Partner Violence Against Woman), some studies suggest thet women with IPV experience are strongly dependent from their partner (Bergman, Larsson, Brismar & Klang, 1988; Watson et al., 1997), reporting that higher levels of relational dependence predict un higher risk to continuate the abusive relationship (Choice & Lamke, 1997; Hydén, 2005) and to forgive the partner. Indeed, although the literature shows numerous positive implications of forgiveness in couples, scholars know very little about the potential negative implications of forgiveness in the context of domestic violence. A study conducted by McNulty (2011) on couples showed that spouses who reported "being relatively more forgiveness, suffered psychological and physical aggression that remained stable over 4 years" (McNulty, 2011: 770) . Furthermore, a study by Gordon, Burton & Porter (2004) showed - with a sample of women residing in an anti-violence refuge center - that the forgiveness mediated the relationship between attributions of responsibility for the violence to the partner and the intention to return with him. It is equally true that a range of studies on samples of the general and clinical population - differents than women who were victims of IPV - still exposed to one or more psychological traumas, showed the protective effects of forgiveness on people's psychological distress (Romero, Kalidas, Elledge, Chang, Liscum, and Friedman, 2006). Aim. The objective of the first study was twofold: analyzing the forgiveness of the partner within the model of commitment and dependence (Rusbult, 1983) on the woman's intention to return with the abusive partner; on the other hand, investigating the effects of forgiveness, especially self-forgiveness, on the reduction of the psychological symptomatology of the victims of IPV. The objective of the second study, which was developed from the results of the first, was to verify the predictive variables of the forgiveness of an abusive behavior acted by the partner, in a sample of young women who were not involved in an abusive relationship, so to analyze - in a preventive view - what contributes to forgive the partner's violent acts, especially at an early stage of the relationship, Methodology: with the first correlational study we have administered a questionnaire to a group of women victims of IPV who decided to seek help following the violence suffered by the partner. The questionnaire measured at T1 (time 1) the types and frequencies of violence suffered and the risk factors that we hypothesized to be linked to the recurrence of violence and at T2 (time 2) the actual reconciliations or separations with the maltreating partner. The second study, on the other hand, of an experimental type - between subjects - provided for the administration of hypothetical scenarios of different types of violent behavior of the partner - physical or psychological aggression acted for the first time or already happened in the past - then we measured the intentions of the students to forgive or not the partner, through a standardized forgiveness scale. Risultati: study 1 found that emotional dependence, in our sample of women with IPV experiences, predicts the intention to return with the partner. The forgiveness of the partner is a strong mediator able to explain this relationship, strengthening the association between emotional dependence and intention to return with the partner. Furthermore, high levels of forgiveness - especially when the hope of a partner change was high and when the risk perception to suffer further violenc was low, favored a clearer prediction of the intention to return with the partner. On the other hand, as regards the effects of partner's forgiveness and self-forgiveness on the well-being of women, in terms of reducing post traumatic and depressive symptoms, it has emerged that high levels of unforgiveness (negative dimension of partner forgiveness) were associated with an increase in PTSD and depressive symptoms. Furthermore - consistently with our hypotheses - self-forgiveness was a crucial variable to explain the psychological symptomatology of women, in particular the self-criticism is positively associated both to depressive symptoms and post-traumatic symptomatology, while the positive dimension of self-forgiveness, also defined self - acceptance, is inversely associated with PTSD. The results of the second study indicate that the forgiveness of the partner in hypothetical contexts of violence is predicted by the type of violence. In particular, psychological violence is more forgiven than physical violence, as perceived as less serious, as noted in the analysis of mediation. In fact we have discovered that the typology of violence is predictive of forgiveness, especially when it is mediated by the perception of the gravity of violent conduct. It also emerged that the frequency of violence is a statistically significant discriminant only in the case of psychological violence, such that the episode of psychological aggression is more forgiven if it is the first time that it happens. In addition, analyzes of mediation and moderation were conducted to analyze the role of the attribution of violence to oneself and of the perception of the severity of the abusive conduct, on the intention to forgive the partner. These findings are combined with a few other studies that could help increase a small group of research that has shown how partner forgiveness can be a risk factor for re-victimization for women with IPVAW experiences. Limits: the limits of the first study concern the difficulty of recruitment of participants in T2, such that it was not possible to confirm, through the longitudinal phase, the findings reported in the correlational phase; however, we reported also the results of the second phase of the study, but in a preliminary form. The limits of the second study concern the methodological choice to propose hypothetical scenarios. It would be advisable to carry out further research on young female students or young women in the general population who have effectively undergone mild forms of violence by the partner, in a preventive perspective, to verify whether the variables that emerged in this study are, actually, decisive with respect to the intention of forgive the partner, even in real context of IPV. Future perspectives: further research, with a larger sample of women victims of IPV, could confirm our results and therefore underline the danger of the positive dimension of partner forgiveness in IPV contexts. Moreover, with a view to supporting women, the IPV could foresee a phase in which, while working on the lower levels of anger and resentment towards the partner (unforgiveness) - as they are connected to worsening of the psychological health of the woman - attention could be focused on the risk of benevolent feelings, conciliatory and positive attitudes towards the abuser partner, especially in the first phase after separation. It would also be important to construct interventions able to promote the reduction of self-criticism and resentment towards oneself for the painful and traumatic experiences suffered within one's own relationship and increasing the self-acceptance of one's own history and just past, with positive effects on the psychological well-being. Starting from the results of the second study, future efforts should examine these processes in a natural context, evaluating the attributions and perceptions of gravity subsequent to real violent events, in young couples, especially as regards psychological violence, as perceived as less serious and not always considered a form of violence

Identity Threats and Individual, Relational, and Social Resources among Refugees in Italy

Young people who migrate to another country, especially in the context of forced migration, must face complex and lengthy challenges. From a psychological point of view, the main challenges of migration are the re-signification of one’s identity, the re-establishment of one’s own life in the new country, and facing different social and institutional challenges as well as individual difficulties. All these challenges may constitute a threat to young migrants’ identity. Based on the Motivated Identity Construction Theory, this study aimed to explore—in a sample of refugees—the identity threats faced by forced migrants in the settlement phase and the resources most frequently activated in dealing with this sensitive phase

“I forgive myself”: The association between self-criticism, self-acceptance, and PTSD in women victims of IPV, and the buffering role of self-efficacy

The effects of intimate partner violence (IPV) concerning specifically posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology have been widely demonstrated, but the consequences of abuse are not the same for all victims. We know little about the psychological processes that limit these adverse consequences. Therefore, we explored the association between self-criticism felt by abused women and their PTSD, and we investigated self-acceptance as the underlying process explaining this relationship. We also examined self-efficacy as the protective (moderating) factor. The results indicated that self-criticism was indirectly associated with greater PTSD via lower self-acceptance. Critically, the indirect effect only emerged for individuals low in self-efficacy

Distance learning and teaching as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic: A survey of teachers and students of an Italian high school taking into account technological issues, attitudes and beliefs toward distance learning, metacognitive skills

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the education system to a rapid and unprepared transition to distance learning, inducing many teachers to organize lessons via information and communication technologies (ICTs), albeit often without sufficient technological and organizational support. Our study aims to evaluate teachers' and students' experience with ICTs during the first lockdown, considering three categories of relevant factors: technical issues, attitudes and beliefs towards online learning, and metacognitive skills. Participants were 486 students and 83 teachers of a Northern Italy high school, who were administered a self-reported online questionnaire. Video-lessons and audio-lessons emerged as overlooked teaching modalities. The desktop was the less used device, teachers preferred the tablet, while students preferred the smartphone. In general, students displayed appreciation of distance learning, even if they wished for more interactive activities. Teachers' level of metacognitive competence and self-efficacy were rather high. For students, the perception of the e-learning environment predicted positively the perception of distance education and negatively the experienced anxiety, with anxiety also being higher among females. For teachers, the evaluation of distance learning was positively predicted by their beliefs about ICTs. This demonstrates the importance of promoting positive ICTs beliefs to motivate teachers in engaging in distance learning. Moreover, higher perceived self-efficacy was associated with lower levels of anxiety, thus showing the need to engage in training activities enabling teachers to feel confident when using ICTs

Images of slum tourism in India. Extended contact

Si è indagato l'effetto della visione di immagini di slum tourism in India sul pregiudizio

Organizzazione dell\u2019incontro pubblico in modalit\ue0 webinar \u201cDi pari passo. Pari opportunit\ue0 anche nello sport\u201d, 24 novembre 2020.

Organizzazione dell\u2019incontro pubblico in modalit\ue0 webinar \u201cDi pari passo. Pari opportunit\ue0 anche nello sport\u201d, 24 novembre 2020. Hanno preso parte all\u2019evento tra gli altri Chiara Sortino (Assessore alle Pari Opportunit\ue0 del Comune di Mantova), Giuseppe Faugiana (Delegato Provinciale CONI), Isabella Morlini (Delegato allo Sport Unimore), Tindara Addabbo (Delegato Pari Opportunit\ue0 Unimore)