Luisa Molinari

The group-serving bias in evaluating and explaining harmful behavior

Group-serving biases in evaluating and explaining harmful behavior were investigated. Members of the Italian Communist party judged and explained an in-group or an out-group actors harmful behavior toward an in-group or an out-group victim. The results support the notion of an in-group bias: Out-group actors were perceived as more aggressive and intentional in their actions than in-group actors. An in-group bias was also observed with regard to predictions about whether the victim would attempt retaliation. Group-based explanations were used more often when the group identities of actor and victim were different than when they were the same.

Social representations of children's rights: The point of view of adolescents

This article deals with social representations of childrens rights, analysed in a sample of Italian adolescents with differing educational experiences. A questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 410 Italian adolescents aged between 13 and 17 attending four different types of school: lower middle school, high school, technical college and vocational training centre. The questionnaire contained an open-ended question on the rights of children and adolescents and a structured part concerning: attribution of responsibility to five agencies (government, family, school, voluntary associations and the police force), the degree to which rights are respected in Italy, reference values and explanations for violations of rights. The results show that representations of childrens rights are organised differently in the four groups of subjects as a function of the dynamic interplay of social, personal and educational experiences.

Children's Rights in Educational Relationships.

The aim of this study is that of reaching a better comprehension of the topic of children’s rights within educational relationships. In a first stage, we analysed the representational field of children’s rights produced through free associations by the two partners who are in conflict in everyday life, namely adults (n=267) and adolescents (n=143). In a second stage, we chose a sample of 690 adult subjects that were all parents, half of whom were also teachers; through a structured questionnaire we investigated the role of several aspects (responsibility, respect, values, conditions influencing children’s growth and sense of justice) in the organisation of social representations of children’s rights. The results outlined different contrasts in the organisation of the representational scenario. The first opposes adults and adolescents, in the sense that adults emphasise their duties of offering protection and care, while the youngsters describe rights in terms of autonomous field of experience. Within the group of adults, several differences emerged between teachers and parents: the first seem more doubtful about the positive outcomes of personal involvement, while parents are moved by a general feeling of optimism, anchored in the faith in the family’s strength and integrity.RésuméL’objectif de cette recherche est de vérifier l’enjeu de la problématique des droits de l’enfant dans les relations éducatives. Dans une première phase, nous avons étudié le champ représentationnel de ces droits à travers les libres associations produites par un groupe d’adultes (n=267) et par un groupe d’adolescents (n=143). En raison du caractère inéluctable et asymétrique de la relation qui les unis, les deux groupes sont, en effet, amenés quotidiennement à se confronter sur la question de l’application des droits.Dans une deuxième phase, nous avons soumis un questionnaire à un échantillon de 690 adultes dont la moitié d’entre eux a des enfants. Il s’agissait dans ce cas d’étudier le rôle de l’attribution de responsabilité, de l’évaluation de respect des droits, des conceptions concernant le développement de l’enfant et du sens de la justice dans l’organisation des représentations sociales des droits de l’enfant. Les résultats mettent en évidence différents contrastes dans le scénario représentationnel. Le premier oppose les adultes et les adolescents: les adultes expriment avec emphase leurs devoirs de protection et de soin, tandis que les jeunes décrivent leurs droits en termes d’autonomie et d’expérience. Parmi le groupe des adultes, plusieurs différences distinguent les parents des enseignants; ceux-ci expriment plusieurs doutes en ce qui concerne l’efficacité de leur implication personnelle dans la promotion et l’application des droits, tandis que les parents expriment à ce sujet un certain optimisme soutenu par une idée traditionnelle de famille qui doit être unie et intègre.