Flavia Albarello

Linguistic Discrimination in Minimal Groups: The Impact of Status Differentials

In line with recent evidence of linguistic discrimination within minimal groups, the present experiment examines the effects of asymmetries of status between minimal groups on linguistic discrimination. Equal-, high-, and low-status groups were created by modifying the standard minimal group condition. Linguistic data were obtained by asking participants to describe a choice (parity vs. in-group favoritism vs. out-group favoritism) made by either an in-group or an out-group member in allocating negative outcomes (i.e., seconds of noise to be listened via earphones). Results showed that high- and low-status groups described the out-group in a more biased fashion than did equal-status groups, suggesting that asymmetries of status enhance out-group derogation. This study contributes to evidence of linguistic discrimination in the realm of minimal groups when groups differ in their relative social position.

Badly off or better off than them? The impact of relative deprivation and relative gratification on intergroup discrimination.

This research examines for the 1st time the effects of relative deprivation and relative gratification, based on social comparison, on implicit and overt forms of discrimination toward the outgroup in a minimal group setting. Study 1 showed that compared to a control condition, relative deprivation and relative gratification enhanced implicit discrimination-measured through variations of linguistic abstraction in intergroup descriptions. Whereas both relative deprivation and relative gratification produced linguistic ingroup favoritism, linguistic productions of relatively deprived groups also conveyed outgroup derogation. Study 2 showed that relatively deprived and relatively gratified groups were overtly discriminatory in intergroup allocations of negative outcomes. The effects of relative deprivation were mediated by perceived intergroup rivalry and, in part, by perceived common fate. Perceived common fate partly accounted for the effects of relative gratification. Study 3 focused on mediators of relative gratification. First, members of relatively gratified (vs. control) groups worried about losing the ingroup advantage, which together worked as sequential mediators of discrimination. Second, relatively gratified groups reported higher existential guilt, which, in turn, was related to expectations of discrimination by the relatively deprived outgroup, and these sequentially mediated the effects of relative gratification. Overall, these studies highlight that both relative deprivation and relative gratification enhance intergroup discrimination and contribute to the understanding of the underlying processes.

The Role of Reduced Humanity in Producing Linguistic Discrimination

This article addresses the role of perceived (reduced) humanity and group membership of others in producing linguistic discrimination. Study 1 assessed the effects of these factors on a subtle measure of linguistic discrimination, namely, linguistic abstraction. Study 2 considered the explicit level of verbal abuse. Results highlighted that target’s reduced humanity led to enhanced linguistic discrimination toward the target, while group membership moderated this effect in specific conditions. Overall, the evidence of this set of studies sheds light on the role of humanity and its interplay with social categorization on discrimination outcomes.

I and Us: A Longitudinal Study on the Interplay of Personal and Social Identity in Adolescence

The development of personal and social identity is crucial in adolescence. On the one hand, adolescents face the task of forming and consolidating their personal identity in multiple domains, with educational and interpersonal domains particularly salient. On the other hand, they enlarge their social horizon and increasingly define themselves as members of multiple peer groups, such as groups of classmates and friends met outside school. There is however a lack of integrative research on the interplay among and between personal and social identity processes. Hence the purpose of this study was threefold. First, we examined how personal identity processes in the educational and interpersonal domains are associated longitudinally. Second, we investigated to what extent social identifications with classmates and with the group of friends are associated over time. Third, with an original approach we examined the longitudinal interplay between personal and social identity processes, to connect theoretical contributions that have so far proceeded largely in parallel. Participants were 304 adolescents (61.84% female, Mage = 17.49) involved in a three-wave longitudinal study. We found that (a) the ways in which adolescents develop their identity in the educational and interpersonal domains become more closely intertwined over time; (b) identifications with classmates and with the group of friends are interconnected; and (c) personal and social identity processes are associated both concurrently and longitudinally, with most cross-lagged effects showing that social identifications influence personal identity formation and consolidation in the interpersonal identity domain. Theoretical implications are discussed.

Promoting beliefs in the inalienability of human rights by attributing uniquely human emotions through multiple categorization

ABSTRACT The combination of multiple categorization (i.e., the use of multiple criteria to define others) and human identity—the superordinate group of human beings—has recently been highlighted as a method to reduce implicit (i.e., attribution of secondary emotions) and explicit (i.e., attribution of human rights) dehumanization toward Blacks. In two studies aimed to replicate such evidence the mediating role of secondary emotions in explaining the impact of multiple and human categorization in reducing dehumanization was assessed. The role of implicit cognition, such as attribution of secondary emotions in leading people to attribute human rights to minorities, is discussed.

Linguistic Discrimination Toward Roma: Can Intergroup Threat Enhance Bias?

This study tested whether intergroup threat enhances prejudice and discrimination toward the highly discriminated out-group of Roma. An implicit measure of linguistic discrimination, namely language abstraction of terms used in Roma descriptions, and an explicit measure of affective prejudice, that is, feelings thermometer, were employed. The relation between implicit and explicit discrimination was also analyzed. Threat enhanced linguistic derogation and affective prejudice toward Roma. Linguistic abstraction mediated threat’s effect on affective prejudice. The implications of the findings were discussed with reference to the role of language in shaping intergroup relations and social exclusion.

Denying psychological properties of girls and prostitutes

This study examines the negative stereotypes of the category of women and their subcategories through the language of insults. Participants produced a list of epithets induced by the same hypothetical scenario in which the protagonist was presented either as a “prostitute” or as a “girl” (i.e., nonprostitute). Findings showed that the prostitute was addressed with taboo-related insults exaggerating sexual behavior, whereas the girl was mainly given warnings and intellectual insults. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to the underlying processes.