Armand Chatard

Culture, gender, and the self: Variations and impact of social comparison processes

Psychological differences between women and men, far from being invariant as a biological explanation would suggest, fluctuate in magnitude across cultures. Moreover, contrary to the implications of some theoretical perspectives, gender differences in personality, values, and emotions are not smaller, but larger, in American and European cultures, in which greater progress has been made toward gender equality. This research on gender differences in self-construals involving 950 participants from 5 nations/cultures (France, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United States, and Malaysia) illustrates how variations in social comparison processes across cultures can explain why gender differences are stronger in Western cultures. Gender differences in the self are a product of self-stereotyping, which occurs when between-gender social comparisons are made. These social comparisons are more likely, and exert a greater impact, in Western nations. Both correlational and experimental evidence supports this explanation.

When Self-Destructive Thoughts Flash Through the Mind: Failure to Meet Standards Affects the Accessibility of Suicide-Related Thoughts

When individuals realize that they fail to attain important standards or expectations, they may be motivated to escape the self, which could lead thoughts of suicide to become more accessible. Six studies examined this hypothesis, mainly derived from escape theory (Baumeister, 1990). The results indicated that whenever individuals realize that they fail to attain an important standard, they experience increased accessibility of suicide-related thoughts (Studies 1-6). In line with the idea that such effects reflect motivations to escape from negative self-awareness, they were especially pronounced when associated with high levels of self-consciousness and escapist motivations (Study 1) and with a large discrepancy between self and standards (Studies 2-4). Moreover, failure to attain standards increased suicide-thought accessibility along with the desire for an altered state of consciousness (Study 5). Finally, increases in suicide-thought accessibility after failure were associated with simultaneous increases in accessibility of general concepts related to escape (Study 6). Implications of these findings for escape and terror management theories are discussed.

Self-esteem and suicide rates in 55 Nations

Using recent data from the International Sexuality Description Project (ISDP), we examined whether national differences in self‐esteem across 55 nations are reflected in suicide rates. Results indicate that suicide is especially common in nations with relatively low levels of self‐esteem. This relation is consistent across sex lines, age of suicide and independent from several other relevant factors such as economic affluence, transition, individualism, subjective well‐being, and neuroticism. These findings provide support for the predictive validity of self‐esteem scores as assessed in the ISDP survey. They also contribute to a growing body of research documenting negative consequences associated with low self‐esteem. Possible implications for suicide prevention strategies are discussed. Copyright

Single exposure to disclaimers on airbrushed thin ideal images increases negative thought accessibility

Disclaimers on airbrushed thin ideal images can attract attention to the thin ideal standard promoted by the advertisements, which can be damaging rather than helpful. In this study, 48 female college students were exposed to a thin ideal image including a disclaimer, a neutral sentence, or nothing. Two weeks and two months after this, they were again exposed to the same image but with no accompanying text in any of the conditions. Negative thought accessibility was assessed three times, after each exposure to the thin-ideal image, using reaction time measures. Participants randomly assigned to the disclaimer condition systematically showed greater accessibility of negative thoughts than those in the other two conditions, irrespective of the time of measurement. These results suggest that disclaimers on airbrushed images may have some counter-productive effects by accentuating the problems that they precisely aim to address.

Loss Shapes Political Views? Terror Management, Political Ideology, and the Death of Close Others

This study used longitudinal data from a nationally representative sample to examine long-term effects of loss on political views. Drawing on terror management theory, it was predicted that individuals would reinforce their political views in response to the loss of relatives or close friends. Results were consistent with this hypothesis, though the effects were more pronounced among conservatives than liberals. By showing that the death of loved ones can shape political attitudes, the findings shed new light on the long-term effects of death confrontation.

The Social Transmission of Knowledge at the University: Teaching Style and Epistemic Dependence.

It is argued that an epistemic authority would induce greater influence in transmitting knowledge to students when there is a correspondence between the (authoritarian vs. democratic) style of the authority and students’ perceptions of their relation to the authority (high vs. low epistemic dependence). In two studies it was predicted, and found, that students who perceived themselves in a state of low epistemic dependence towards their teachers were more influenced by a democratic than by an authoritarian teaching style. This difference in appropriation was not found for students who perceived themselves in a state of epistemic dependence towards the epistemic authority.RésuméIl est argué qu’une autorité épistémique devrait induire davantage d’influence en transmettant des connaissances à des étudiants lorsqu’il existe une correspondance entre le style (autoritaire ou démocratique) de l’autorité et la perception que ceux-ci ont de leurs relations avec l’autorité, en termes de dépendance ou d’indépendance épistémiques. Comme prédit, dans deux études il est montré que les étudiants qui se jugent dans un état d’indépendance épistémique à l’égard de leurs enseignants sont plus influencés par le style démocratique que par le style autoritaire d’enseignement. Cette différence dans l’appropriation n’est pas observée chez les étudiants qui se perçoivent dans un état de dépendance épistémique à l’égard de l’autorité.

When teaching style matches students' epistemic (in)dependence: The moderating effect of perceived epistemic gap

In a 2×2×2 factorial design, 3rd year Romanian psychology students (N=94) were assigned into 2 groups according to the extent to which they acknowledged an epistemic dependence (lowvs. high) toward their professor. They then compared the competence of 3rd year students to that of 1st year or 5th year students. Finally, they were exposed to a persuasive counter-attitudinal message from an epistemic authority, framed in an authoritarian vs. democratic style. The main dependent variable was the influence of the counter-attitudinal message. Results show an interaction between the three variables. No effects were found among students in the upward social comparison condition in which they felt particularly incompetent. The expected interaction between style and dependence was significant in the down ward comparison condition where participants felt more competent than 1st year students. Students high in perceived epistemic dependence were more influenced by the authoritarian style than those low in epistemic dependence. The reverse tended to be true for participants exposed to the democratic style.RésuméDans un plan 2×2×2, 94 participants roumains de 3ème année d’études en psychologie ont d’abord été distingués selon le degré (bas ou haut) de reconnaissance de leur dépendance épistémique à l’égard des enseignants. Ils ont ensuite eu à comparer la compétence des étudiants de leur année d’étude à celle des étudiants de 1ère année ou de 5ème année. Ils ont finalement été exposés à un message persuasif contro-attitudinal provenant d’une autorité épistémique faisant usage d’un style soit autoritaire, soit démocratique. La principale mesure dépendante concernait l’influence du message contre-attitudinal, i.e., son appropriation. Les résultats donnent lieu à une interaction des trois variables considérées. Aucune dynamique particulière n’apparaît chez les étudiants qui ont dû effectuer une comparaison par le haut, et qui se sont sentis très incompétents comparativement aux étudiants de 5ème année. Au contraire, chez les participants qui se sont comparés aux étudiants de 1ère, et qui partant ont moins ressenti leur incompétence relative par rapport à la source, l’interaction attendue entre style et dépendance apparaît: ceux qui reconnaissent une haute dépendance épistémique sont davantage influencés par le style autoritaire que ceux qui expriment une basse dépendance épistémique, alors que l’inverse tend à se produire face au style démocratique.

Can we encourage girls' mobility towards science-related careers? Disconfirming stereotype belief through expert influence.

A study was conducted to explore expert influence as a possible way to encourage girls’ mobility towards math- and science-related careers. High school students were exposed to an expert source presenting “scientific evidence” that contrary to stereotype, girls are better than boys in all subject domains. Beliefs related to stereotype content, self-evaluations and intentions to engage in math- and science-related careers were assessed before and after exposure to influence. While most participants were influenced at the level of stereotype content, only girls who did not personally believe the stereotype prior to influence, and boys who did, increased their intentions to engage in math/science-related careers. Implications of the findings are discussed, with an emphasis on the possible ways to influence girls who firmly believe in the stereotype.RésuméUne étude explore l’influence d’une source experte en tant que moyen susceptible d’encourager la mobilité des filles vers les carrières liées aux mathématiques et aux sciences. Des collégiens ont été exposés à un argumentaire scientifique défendu par une source experte et stipulant que, contrairement au stéréotype, les filles sont meilleures que les garçons dans toutes les matières scolaires. Les croyances reliées au stéréotype, les auto-évaluations et l’intention de s’engager dans des carrières liées aux mathématiques et aux sciences ont été mesurées avant et après l’exposition à l’influence. Alors que la plupart des sujets sont influencés au niveau du contenu du stéréotype, seules les filles qui ne croyaient pas au stéréotype et les garçons qui y croyaient avant l’exposition à l’influence ont augmenté leur intention de s’engager dans des carrières liées aux mathématiques et aux sciences. Les implications de ces résultats sont discutées, en mettant l’accent sur les manières possibles d’influencer les filles qui croient fermement au stéréotype.

Terror management in times of war Mortality salience effects on self-esteem and governmental and army support

Previous research has identified economic and political factors that can contribute to the outbreak and the duration of armed conflicts. However, the psychological factors that may play a role in conflict escalation and duration have received less attention. Adopting a psychological perspective, the present study aims to investigate the role of death awareness in the context of an armed conflict. To this aim, basic assumptions derived from Terror Management Theory (TMT) were examined in an African civil war context. According to TMT, people manage awareness of inevitable death by increased striving for self-esteem and increased adherence to their cultural values. Students from the University of Abidjan (Ivory Coast), located in the pro-governmental part of the country, were randomly assigned to a mortality salience or a control condition and completed measures of self-esteem and government/army support. As expected, reminding participants of their possible death during the ongoing conflict exacerbated self-esteem, as well as support for the actions of the government and its army, compared to a control condition. Given that mortality is chronically salient in the context of a civil war, these effects can lead to conflict intensification by increasing not only each side’s support for their leaders, but also the value that members of confronted sides attribute to themselves. The findings are discussed in terms of the role of mortality salience in conflict escalation and the importance of carefully dealing with the past in post-conflict societies.

Les effets de l'éducation sur les attitudes sociopolitiques des étudiants : le cas de deux universités en Roumanie

Measured by the differences between the sociopolitical attitudes of first and fourth year students in psychology, the effects of education are investigated by comparing two Rumanian universities (Bucharest and Cluj). Students at Bucharest University reported more favorable attitudes towards socialism (i.e., the former political system) than those at Cluj University. These attitudes positively predicted classical measures of sociopolitical conservatism (authoritarism and antiegalitarism) and negatively predicted attitudes toward capitalism. In addition, in accordance with studies on the effects of education, results favour the socialization hypothesis : Whereas the attitudes of students from Bucharest and Cluj in first year do not differ, significant differences are observed in fourth year.