Chiara Volpato

Bad but Bold : Ambivalent Attitudes Toward Men Predict Gender Inequality in 16 Nations

A 16-nation study involving 8,360 participants revealed that hostile and benevolent attitudes toward men, assessed by the Ambivalence Toward Men Inventory (P. Click & S.T. Fiske, 1999), were (a) reliably measured across cultures, (b) positively correlated (for men and women, within samples and across nations) with each other and with hostile and benevolent sexism toward women (Ambivalent Sexism Inventory, P. Click & S.T. Fiske, 1996), and (c) negatively correlated with gender equality in cross-national comparisons. Stereotype measures indicated that men were viewed as having less positively valenced but more powerful traits than women. The authors argue that hostile as well as benevolent attitudes toward men reflect and support gender inequality by characterizing men as being designed for dominance.

Using the stereotype content model to examine group depictions in Fascism: An archival approach

The Stereotype Content Model (SCM) suggests potentially universal intergroup depictions. If universal, they should apply across history in archival data. Bridging this gap, we examined social groups descriptions during Italys Fascist era. In Study 1, articles published in a Fascist magazine- La Difesa della Razza -were content analyzed, and results submitted to correspondence analysis. Admiration prejudice depicted ingroups; envious and contemptuous prejudices depicted specific outgroups, generally in line with SCM predictions. No paternalistic prejudice appeared; historical reasons might explain this finding. Results also fit the recently developed BIAS Map of behavioral consequences. In Study 2, ninety-six undergraduates rated the content-analysis traits on warmth and competence, without knowing their origin. They corroborated SCMs interpretations of the archival data.

Anti-American sentiment and America's perceived intent to dominate: An 11-nation study

Perceptions of America as a powerful but malevolent nation decrease its security. On the basis of measures derived from the stereotype content model (SCM) and image theory (IT), 5,000 college students in 11 nations indicated their perceptions of the personality traits of, intentions of, and emotional reactions to the United States as well as their reactions to relevant world events (e.g., 9/11). The United States was generally perceived as competent but cold and arrogant. Although participants distinguished between the United States government and its citizens, differences were small. Consistent with the SCM and IT, viewing the United States as intent on domination predicted perceptions of lack of warmth and of arrogance but not of competence and status. The discussion addresses implications for terrorist recruitment and ally support.

Towards a social psychology of extreme situations : Primo Levi's If This is a Man and social identity theory

The present study deals with social relationships in the extreme situation of the concentration camp, using Primo Levis If This Is a Man written just after the authors release from Auschwitz. This text was chosen because it is one of the most important testimonies of the Holocaust and, at the same time, a work of great artistic value. An analysis of the behaviour described gives us access to otherwise irretrievable data. Three aims have been pursued: (1) to explore and describe interpersonal and intergroup behaviour in extreme situations from the victims perspective; (2) to analyse these types of behaviour through social identity theory (SIT); and (3) to highlight certain observations and comments by Levi, an excellent ‘privileged observer’, which might suggest new directions of research in this field. Turning our attention to interpersonal and intergroup relations, we submitted the text to content analysis. Correspondence analysis was then carried out. The results support the importance of Tajfels (1981) theory for the analysis of extreme situations, but also suggest possible extensions of the present model following Levis theorizing. Copyright

Virtual Users Support Forum: Do Community Members Really Want to Help You?

The survival of a virtual community is guaranteed by the users creation of content. However, the literature has found that the percentage of users who create innovative content is very modest. The content contribution process can also be interpreted as a social collective action in which we-intentions play a primary role. Nevertheless, some people choose not to participate in the collective action, but to benefit from the communitys resources and to maximize individual outcomes. In this study (N=250), we investigated the effects of the free-riding tendency, conceived as the willingness to maximize personal outcomes. The specific setting was a virtual support forum, the most common type of web platform, generally used instrumentally by web users to find information and solutions to specific problems. We used the theory of planned behavior theoretical framework, plus social influence variables to test the effect of the free-riding tendency as a drawback for contributions, considering both the role of individual and we-intentions on the observed behavior. Findings showed that neither we-intentions nor I-intentions predicted the actual contribution behavior. Both types of intentions and contribution behavior were negatively influenced only by the free-riding tendency construct. Considerations and future developments of these results are discussed.

Primacy of warmth versus competence: a motivated bias?

ABSTRACT In line with previous results that challenge the traditional primacy of warmth over competence in outgroup perception, we propose to bridge elements from stereotype content model and social identity theory: Perceivers will use the competence and warmth dimensions differentially when interpreting higher or lower status outgroup members behavior. We test the hypothesis that the dimension that is less favorable for the outgroup and more favorable for the ingroup will be used. In particular, we investigate whether the warmth dimension would better predict the interpretation of higher status outgroup members behavior than the competence dimension, whereas the competence dimension would better predict the interpretation of lower status outgroup members behavior than the warmth dimension. Two studies separately test these effects. Results suggest the existence of a motivated bias in interpreting outgroup members behavior, especially when there is ingroup identification.

When work does not ennoble man: Psychological consequences of working objectification

The present study aims at expanding research on objectification by exploring the consequences of being objectified in a real work setting. Building on previous literature on this field, we hypothesized that perceptions of being treated as an instrument by one’s own foreman would be positively related with workers’ tendency to objectify themselves (i.e., to perceive themselves as lacking human mental states). Further, we proposed the two key dimensions of job burnout (i.e., exhaustion and cynicism) as the psychological mechanisms underlying the relationship between otherand self-objectification. A double mediation model supported our expectations: workers’ perception of being objectified by their foremen were positively related with increased exhaustion, which in turn heightened the levels of workers’ cynicism. In turn, cynicism negatively affected the self-attribution of human mental states. Results are discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical implications.

Identification Processes in Online Groups: Identity Motives in the Virtual Realm of MMORPGs

Online video games are a popular leisure activity around the world; such virtual environments enable new ways for social identity to develop. This study investigated the motives affecting social identification processes in the massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft (WoW). In this video game, players interact with other players in a tridimensional virtual world through their avatar. A sample of 92 WoW players took part in a data collection Web survey. Building on the theory of social identity, we tested the predictive power of three identification motives: self-esteem enhancement, optimal distinctiveness, and uncertainty reduction. Additionally, considering previous research on MMORPGs, we added identification with the game character and membership duration as further predictors of virtual group identification. The construct of virtual group identification was analyzed at two levels: identification with the faction and guild of the character. Furthermore, the current study ...

Images of Friendship: Literary Depictions through the Ages

The present work aims to study friendship in historical literary texts to examine the basic structure and various modalities of this relationship as depicted through the ages. Five masterpieces of European literature chosen for their availability, relevance and popularity - criteria required in comparative studies - were content analysed and then submitted to cluster and correspondence analyses. The works span a wide period, from the end of the twelfth century to the mid-twentieth century. All of them were written by women. The results highlight both common and diverse aspects of the relationship in the course of time. As regards common aspects the central core of friendship appears to consist of intimacy, respect, mutual help, confrontation. The results of correspondence analyses illustrate factors which tie up with the basic dimensions encountered in cross-cultural research: `affect, `intimacy and, to a lesser extent, `status. Major differences over time regard the varying form of the relationship. An important change in friendship occurred in the passage from the sixteenth to the seventeenth century, with conflict increasingly emerging as a possible element. The results are discussed in connection with the literature on personal relationships and the topic of literature as a source of social knowledge is briefly discussed.

Women inside and outside Academia: a struggle to access knowledge, legitimacy and influence

English Starting from the observation that women still represent a minority in the higher echelons of universities and scientific institutions, the article discusses a number of strategies used to keep them out. Historically the main strategy was to refuse to admit women. This refusal was accompanied by discourses devaluing womens intellectual capacities, while stressing their domestic and motherly duties, and by the actual burdening of women with these duties. When women succeeded in entering universities, subsequent strategies have been the appropriation by men of womens scientific production, sexual harassment (going as far as physical elimination) and anti-feminist intellectual harassment. Notwithstanding this strong opposition, during the last 30 years scientific production by women and feminists has been extensive, of high quality and innovative. This knowledge has advanced our understanding of important scientific and social problems, benefited both men and women, and contributed in some cases to a limitation of traditional male privileges. French Partant du constat que les femmes sont encore minoritaires dans les positions de pouvoir à lUniversité et dans les institutions scientifiques, cet article présente certaines des stratégies utilisées pour garder les femmes à lécart. Traditionnellement, la principale stratégie a été de leur refuser laccès à lUniversité. Ce refus a été accompagné de discours dévaluant leur capacités intellectuelles et mettant en avant leurs devoirs domestiques et maternels, et de leur maintien dans des conditions sociales oË elles étaient effectivement restreintes par ces devoirs. Dès lors que les femmes ont réussi à accéder à lUniversité, dautres stratégies ont été utilisées, telles que lappropriation de leur production scientifique par les hommes, le harcèlement sexuel (poussé jusquà lélimination physique) et le harcèlement intellectuel anti-féministe. Malgré cette opposition tenace, dans les 30 dernières années la production scientifique des femmes et des féministes sest révélée large, brillante et innovatrice. Cette connaissance a permis davancer dans la compréhension de questions importantes sur les plans scientifique et social, a profité aux hommes et aux femmes, et a contribué à limiter certains privilèges masculins traditionnels.