European Journal of Social Psychology

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2420210301pmid: N/A

Mucchi‐Faina, Angelica; Maass, Anne; Volpato, Chiara

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2420210302pmid: N/A

Two experiments investigated the role of message originality vs. conventionality in social influence. It was hypothesized that subjects would generate more original proposals when confronted with a minority advocating an original viewpoint than when confronted with a conventional minority proposal or with an original majority proposal. In the first experiment, subjects exposed to an original minority paired with a conventional majority produced a wider range and more original proposals than those exposed either to a conventional minority paired with a conventional majority or to a majority source only. The second experiment further demonstrated that the original message induced creative processing only when attributed to a minority source but not when attributed to a majority source. It also showed that the original minority elicited creative processing mainly when paired with a conventional majority, but not when paired with a majority advocating an equally original position. Findings are interpreted in the frame of Nemeth's (1986) minority influence theory.

Brandstätter, Veronika; Ellemers, Naomi; Gaviria, Elena; Giosue, Francesca; Huguet, Pascal; Kroon, Marceline; Morchain, Pascal; Pujal, Margot; Rubini, Monica; Mugny, Gabriel; Perez, Juan A.

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2420210303pmid:

Mugny, Gabriel; Sanchez‐Mazas, Margarita; Roux, Patricia; Pérez, Juan Antonio

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2420210304pmid: N/A

A first experiment examined the effects of two methods of dividing resources between Swiss nationals and foreign residents in a study involving 118 subjects. Subjects gave judgments involving either interdependent allocation (resources allocated to the outgroup cannot be allocated to the ingroup) or independent allocation. The results indicated that the socio‐cognitive functioning preferred by subjects varies as a function of their view of outsiders. Interdependence of judgments was more characteristic of the most xenophobic subjects, whereas the least xenophobic were more likely to reason in terms of independence. On the other hand, intermediate subjects (those who were clearly neither for nor against outsiders) were sensitive to these modalities of judgment: interdependence engendered an ingroup favoritism, while independence counteracted this bias. A second experiment further analysed the influence of a more or less imperative minority argument on the attitudes of 109 more xenophobic subjects. Independent as compared to interdependent judgment facilitated a latent influence by the source, especially when the source employed a more imperative rhetoric to urge a more favourable attitude to foreigners.

Monteil, Jean‐Marc

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2420210305pmid: N/A

Numerous experiments have illustrated the intervention of social regulations in individual cognitive functioning, applying such concepts as social co‐ordination, socio‐cognitive conflict and social marking. Two experiments, involving secondary school pupils are presented within this general framework. The first tests the hypothesis that individual cognitive functioning, highlighted in a task requiring mobilization of knowledge learned to that end, can under certain conditions be regulated by experimentally induced social resources. The second experiment uses the same paradigm to compare the information processing, under anonymous versus individuated conditions, of pupils respectively with successful and unsuccessful academic histories. The results of both experiments indicate that cognitive functioning is strongly influenced by the social situations created within the experimental settings. These results are discussed in terms of the social meta systems which may intervene in cognitive processes.

Koller, Michael

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2420210306pmid: N/A

Subjects were exposed either to positive–positive evaluations or to negative‐positive evaluations. In addition, evaluator's credibility was manipulated (high, low, neutral). Liking for the evaluator, perceived correctness, and perceived contingency of the evaluations were assessed as dependent variables. The gain effect suggested by Aronson and Linder (1965) was not found in any of the three dependent measures. Implications of these findings are discussed.

De Meijer, Marco

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2420210307pmid: N/A

Forty‐two adult subjects, 21 male and 21 female, were asked to rate 16 distinct movement expressions as to their expressiveness of aggression and grief. Each movement expressed anger or grief at one of four levels of diagnosticity. Of each movement two performances were selected, one by a male, the other by a female encoder. With higher levels of diagnosticity, higher ratings were given. The male encoder was rated higher in aggression than the female with movements at a high or moderate level of aggression, and lower than the female with movements at the lowest levels of diagnosticity. The female encoder was rated higher in grief than the male at all levels of diagnosticity.

Sparks, Paul; Hedderley, Duncan; Shepherd, Richard

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2420210308pmid: N/A

Concern has been expressed in the literature regarding the method of scoring ‘beliefs’ within expectancy‐value models of attitudes. This paper reviews the major issues and focuses upon some hitherto largely neglected problems with scoring methods. Empirical findings from a series of studies concerned with ‘the theory of reasoned action’ are examined: with a multiplicative Combination of beliefs and evaluations, it is found that bipolar scoring of belief items leads to higher correlations of the summed products of beliefs and evaluations with attitudes than are achieved with unipolar scoring. These findings contrast markedly with recently reported research and indicate the important role played by contextual factors (such as belief content and the response scales presented to subjects). It is concluded that more attention needs to be paid to the relationship between conceptual and methodological issues.