Ewa Drozda-Senkowska

Group heterogeneity and social validation of everyday knowledge: the mediating role of perceived group participation

Studies presented in this article show that participants attribute greater validity to opinions supported by heterogeneous groups than by homogeneous ones, that this effect occurs whether participants anticipate group belonging or not and that the relationship between heterogeneity and the attribution of validity to opinions is mediated by the perception of participation within heterogeneous groups. More specifically, an experimental scenario was tested in a pilot study (N = 299): group heterogeneity was manipulated and perceived group participation as well as perceived validity of group opinions was measured. Results show the expected effect of heterogeneity on the validation of opinions and also a mediating effect of perceived participation. The main study (N = 336) shows that the effect of heterogeneity occurs not only when participants are mere observers of groups but also when they anticipate group belonging. Furthermore, this study shows that whereas the effect of group heterogeneity was mediated by perceived participation, the effect of group belonging on perceived validity of group opinions was mediated by trust.

Emotional reactions to the French colonization in Algeria: The normative nature of collective guilt:

Fifty years after the end of the Algerian war of independence, French colonization in Algeria (1830–1962) is still a very controversial topic when sporadically brought to the forefront of the public sphere. One way to better understand current intergroup relationships between French of French origin and French with Algerian origins is to investigate how the past influences the present. This study explores French students’ emotional reactions to this historical period, their ideological underpinnings and their relationship with the willingness to compensate for past misdeeds, and with prejudice. Results show that French students with French ascendants endorse a no-remorse norm when thinking about past colonization of Algeria and express very low levels of collective guilt and moral-outrage related emotions, especially those students with a right-wing political orientation and a national identification in the form of glorification of the country. These group-based emotions are significantly related to pro-social behavioral intentions (i.e. the willingness to compensate) and to prejudice toward the outgroup.