Federica Durante

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.

Ambivalent stereotypes link to peace, conflict, and inequality across 38 nations

Significance Stereotypes reflect a society’s inequality and conflict, providing a diagnostic map of intergroup relations. This stereotype map’s fundamental dimensions depict each group’s warmth (friendly, sincere) and competence (capable, skilled). Some societies cluster groups as high on both (positive “us”) vs. low on both (negative “them”). Other societies, including the United States, have us-them clusters but add ambivalent ones (high on one dimension, low on the other). This cross-national study shows peace-conflict predicts ambivalence. Extremely peaceful and conflictual nations both display unambivalent us-them patterns, whereas intermediate peace-conflict predicts high ambivalence. Replicating previous work, higher inequality predicts more ambivalent stereotype clusters. Inequality and intermediate peace-conflict each use ambivalent stereotypes, explaining complicated intergroup relations and maintaining social system stability. A cross-national study, 49 samples in 38 nations (n = 4,344), investigates whether national peace and conflict reflect ambivalent warmth and competence stereotypes: High-conflict societies (Pakistan) may need clearcut, unambivalent group images distinguishing friends from foes. Highly peaceful countries (Denmark) also may need less ambivalence because most groups occupy the shared national identity, with only a few outcasts. Finally, nations with intermediate conflict (United States) may need ambivalence to justify more complex intergroup-system stability. Using the Global Peace Index to measure conflict, a curvilinear (quadratic) relationship between ambivalence and conflict highlights how both extremely peaceful and extremely conflictual countries display lower stereotype ambivalence, whereas countries intermediate on peace-conflict present higher ambivalence. These data also replicated a linear inequality–ambivalence relationship.

Workflow Management Social Systems: A New Socio-psychological Perspective on Process Management

The paper presents a study about one of the most successful cases of social software: Wikipedia. In particular we focused on the investigation of some socio-psychological aspects related to the use of the Italian Wikipedia. In our study, we considered Wikipedia active users classified into three different roles: registered users, administrators, and bureaucrats in order to discuss our findings with respect to these different groups of users. Workflow Management Systems are applications designed to support the definition and execution of business processes. Since we consider that social aspects are relevant in the accomplishment and coordination of activities managed by such technologies, we advocate for a new class of Workflow Management Systems, i.e., Workflow Management Social Systems. These systems should emphasize the social nature of workflow management. For this reason, we propose to consider some of the relevant psychological aspects we identified in our study, interpreted in the light of some relevant socio-psychological theories, for the design of this socially enriched workflow technology.

Children's Attitudes and Stereotype Content Toward Thin, Average-Weight, and Overweight Peers

Six- to 11-year-old children’s attitudes toward thin, average-weight, and overweight targets were investigated with associated warmth and competence stereotypes. The results showed positive attitudes toward average-weight targets and negative attitudes toward overweight peers: Both attitudes decreased as a function of children’s age. Thin targets were perceived more positively than overweight ones but less positively than average-weight targets. Notably, social desirability concerns predicted the decline of anti-fat bias in older children. Finally, the results showed ambivalent stereotypes toward thin and overweight targets—particularly among older children—mirroring the stereotypes observed in adults. This result suggests that by the end of elementary school, children manage the two fundamental dimensions of social judgment similar to adults.

Structure and Content of Native American Stereotypic Subgroups: Not Just (Ig)noble.

Objectives: Prejudice against Native Americans as an overall group generally polarizes into positive and negative stereotypic extremes, but distinct subgroups may explain this variability. Method: Using college student samples (Study 1), a preliminary study identified common Native American subgroups and then a main study (N = 153, 74% women, 73% White, mean age = 19 years) had participants rate these subgroups on basic dimensions of stereotype content (i.e., warmth and competence), elicited emotions (e.g., admiration, contempt), and elicited behaviors (e.g., facilitation, harm). In Study 2, these preliminary study and main study procedures were replicated using nationwide samples (main study: N = 139, 51% women, 78% White, mean age = 35 years). Results: For the most part, similar Native American subgroups emerged in both samples. Using the stereotype content model (SCM; Fiske, Cuddy, Glick, & Xu, 2002), the subgroups were found to vary along a competence-by-warmth space. The majority of subgroups (e.g., alcoholics, lazy) were judged low in both competence and warmth. Additional subgroups (e.g., casino operators, warriors) were ambivalently judged as high on competence but low on warmth. Subgroups perceived as high in both competence and warmth elicited more admiration, those low in both competence and warmth elicited more contempt, those high in competence elicited more passive facilitation and less passive harm, and those high in warmth elicited more active facilitation and less active harm. Conclusions: Native American stereotypes are apparently characterized by both noble and ignoble subgroups, highlighting the importance of studying stereotypes at the subgroup level.

How social-class stereotypes maintain inequality

Social class stereotypes support inequality through various routes: ambivalent content, early appearance in children, achievement consequences, institutionalization in education, appearance in cross-class social encounters, and prevalence in the most unequal societies. Class-stereotype content is ambivalent, describing lower-SES people both negatively (less competent, less human, more objectified), and sometimes positively, perhaps warmer than upper-SES people. Children acquire the wealth aspects of class stereotypes early, which become more nuanced with development. In school, class stereotypes advantage higher-SES students, and educational contexts institutionalize social-class distinctions. Beyond school, well-intentioned face-to-face encounters ironically draw on stereotypes to reinforce the alleged competence of higher-status people and sometimes the alleged warmth of lower-status people. Countries with more inequality show more of these ambivalent stereotypes of both lower-SES and higher-SES people. At a variety of levels and life stages, social-class stereotypes reinforce inequality, but constructive contact can undermine them; future efforts need to address high-status privilege and to query more heterogeneous samples.