Isabel R. Pinto

Membership Status and Subjective Group Dynamics: Who Triggers the Black Sheep Effect?

In 3 experiments, participants (Ns = 50, 95, and 75, respectively) judged 2 ingroup or outgroup members who occupied 1 of 3 statuses--new members, full members, or marginal members. In each case, 1 of these members adopted a normative position and another supported a deviant position regarding a relevant issue. Participants upgraded normative ingroup full members and derogated deviant ingroup full members compared with all other members. In addition, derogation of deviant ingroup members was associated with a socializing and a punishing intention toward new members and full members, respectively. These results are discussed in terms of the group socialization model (e.g., Levine & Moreland, 1994) and the subjective group dynamics model (e.g., Marques, Paez, & Abrams, 1998).

Gender stereotypes in portuguese television advertisements

This study examined the portrayal of men andwomen in a sample of Portuguese television commercials,attempting to replicate and extend past investigationsdone in America, Australia, Britain, and Italy. The aim was to update Portuguese research andto compare findings across cultures. Three hundred andfour evening commercials were content analyzed by tworaters, one male and the other female, to check reliability. The attributes of each of theircentral figures were classified into 11 categories:gender, mode of presentation, credibility, role,location, age, argument, reward type, product type,background, and end comment. Strong evidence of differencesin the presentation of male and female characteristicswas obtained. The implications of results for thedevelopment and maintenance of gender roles arediscussed.

Potentiometric studies on the complexation of copper(II) by phenolic acids as discrete ligand models of humic substances

Studies on the complexation of copper(II) by phenolic acids, as ligand models of humic substances were done by potentiometry. The acids under study were: 3,4-dihydroxyhydrocinnamic acid or hydrocaffeic acid (1), 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (2) and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid or protocatechuic acid (3). Acidity constants of the ligands and the formation constants of metal-ligand complexes were evaluated by computer programs. The carboxylic group of the phenolic acids has different pK(a1) values, being the dissociation constants intrinsically related with the distance between the function and the aromatic nucleus. The results obtained allow concluding that acidity constants of the catechol moiety of the compounds are similar with pK(a2) and pK(a3) values between 9.47-9.41 and 11.55-11.70. The complexation properties of the three ligands towards copper(II) ion are quite similar, being the species found not different either in nature or stability. Although the model ligands have some structural differences no significant differences were found in their complexation properties towards copper(II). So, it can be postulated that complexation process is intrinsically related with the presence of a catechol group.

Membership role and subjective group dynamics: Impact on evaluative intragroup differentiation and commitment to prescriptive norms

Two studies examined participants’ evaluations of ingroup or outgroup normative and deviant members and changes in agreement with a prescriptive norm. In Experiment 1 (N = 51), the normative target was either a full or marginal ingroup or outgroup member, and the deviant was a full member. In Experiment 2 (N = 113), both targets were full or marginal members, or one was a full member and the other was marginal. As predicted, maximal upgrading of normative members and downgrading of deviant members, as well as endorsement of the norm, occurred when both targets were full ingroup members. In contrast, the deviant was derogated least and the deviant’s position was endorsed most when the deviant target was a full ingroup member and the normative target was a marginal ingroup member. Evaluations of normative and deviant ingroup members mediated the effects of their role on participants’ agreement with the norm.

National identification as a function of perceived social control: A subjective group dynamics analysis:

Based on subjective group dynamics theory (SGDT; e.g., Marques, Paez, & Abrams, 1998), we examine the effects of a group’s ability to effectively control its deviant members on participants’ ingroup identification. In Studies 1 and 2 (N = 79 and N = 173) participants were informed that the ingroup (vs. outgroup) dealt with deviant occurrences in an effective (vs. ineffective) way. As predicted, induced ingroup effectiveness generated higher ingroup identification, trust in the ingroup’s social control system, and more positive emotional climate, whereas induced ingroup ineffectiveness generated more negative emotional climate or anomie and weaker ingroup identification as compared to outgroup conditions. In Study 3 (N = 115), perceived ingroup effectiveness predicted ingroup identification, via emotional climate, ingroup anomie, confidence in the group’s social control system, and ingroup emotions. We discuss the results in light of SGDT and the role of perceived ingroup social control in promoting ingroup identification.

A test of the Social Identity Model of Cessation Maintenance: The content and role of social control

Engagement with self-help groups is a predictor of positive outcomes for those attempting to control their addictive behaviours. In common with other groups, self-help groups have to manage non-normative (‘deviant’) behaviour to ensure the social values of the group remain preserved, and the group can fulfil its aims. These processes may protect group members from relapse. Drawing on the Social Identity Model of Cessation Maintenance, the current study asked a number (n = 44) of attendees of fellowship (AA/NA/CA) and of SMART groups to list behaviours they saw as normative and deviant, and rate a variety of responses to deviant behaviours. Costs of relapse to both the self and the group were also measured alongside self-efficacy regarding cessation and identity as both an active addict and as a member of a self-help group. Results suggest that social control responses to deviance grouped into education, punishment and avoidant type responses. More social control was perceived by highly identifying self-help group members. Educational responses were seen as used by groups more extensively than other responses. Punishment responses were mediated by the perceived costs an individuals relapse incurred on the rest of the group. These findings inform our understanding of what standards of normative and deviant behaviour self-help groups hold, and how they react to violations of such norms. They also have a number of implications for practitioners and facilitators in regard to using social identities as part of the treatment process.

How inclusive policies shape prejudice versus acceptance of refugees: A Portuguese study.

The recent wave of refugees arriving in Europe has given rise to much social debate. One important issue in this debate regards public opinions about the way political institutions should deal with existing prejudice against refugees. We examined this question in three studies. In Study 1 (N = 119), we assessed the relationship between participants’ agreement with refugees’ inclusion, perceived realistic and symbolic threats, and attitudes toward refugees’ acculturation. In Study 2 (N = 166), we tested the effects of the existence (vs. nonexistence) of government refugee inclusion policies on participants’ prejudice toward refugees. In Study 3 (N = 112), we tested the effect of governments’ integrative (vs. assimilative vs. uncertainty) policies on prejudice toward refugees. Realistic and symbolic threats predicted agreement with assimilation, but realistic threat also negatively predicted integration. Moreover, the presence of inclusive policies decreased perceived threat of, and negative attitudes toward, refugees. Perceived threat and negative attitudes emerged more strongly when government policies were uncertain than when they were directed at integration or assimilation, and predicted participants’ agreement with refugees’ assimilation. We discuss the social and theoretical implications of these results.