Degrading situations, affiliation and social dependencyVan Duûren, Fr.; di Giacomo, J. P.
doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-0992(199709/10)27:5<495::AID-EJSP826>3.0.CO;2-Kpmid: N/A
Research is reported which shows that degrading situations (e.g. a failure on a test) increase affiliative propensity. Four studies demonstrated that this affiliative tendency of degraded subjects is independent of the potential partner's performance and independent of his/her characteristics. The partners appeared to be equally attractive whether or not they witnessed subject's failure, and whether they were individuals or a group. On the other hand, the affiliative desires of praised subjects seem to be oriented rather towards those who benefit from a similar situation. The motivation underlying affiliative behaviour is discussed with regard to social psychological literature. It is suggested that degraded subjects' affiliative behaviour arises from a search for support and that a socially degrading situation places the subject in a state of emotional dependency which is expressed by a non‐directional affiliative tendency and vulnerability to social influence. ©1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Personality traits that distinguish you and me are better memorizedLeyens, Jacques‐Philippe; Yzerbyt, Vincent Y.; Rogier, Anouk
doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-0992(199709/10)27:5<511::AID-EJSP827>3.0.CO;2-7pmid: N/A
Female participants described themselves via desirable and undesirable traits that they possessed or lacked. For each trait, they then received feedback informing them whether they were similar to, or different from a female target. After a distracting task, participants received a recognition test and completed a recall test of the traits. The traits that allowed the participant to be differentiated from the target (because they were applicable to one but not the other) were best recognized and recalled. Undesirable traits were better recognized than desirable ones. However, the picture of the target emanating from the recall data presents her in a very desirable way. The results are discussed within a pragmatic framework. ©1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The effects of group membership and social context on information organizationYoung, Heather; Van Knippenberg, Ad; Ellemers, Naomi; De Vries, Nanne
doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-0992(199709/10)27:5<523::AID-EJSP830>3.0.CO;2-Mpmid: N/A
Self‐categorization theory posits that the perception of group members is flexible and determined by the comparative social context as well as by group membership. Subjects read about either four ingroup or outgroup target persons in the context of four additional stimulus persons who were members of either the same group as the target persons (intragroup context) or the other group (intergroup context). Individualized and attribute‐wise information organization was assessed on the basis of information clustering in free recall. As predicted, differential processing of ingroup information occurred as a function of the salient social context; in an intragroup context, ingroup information was organized significantly more by person than in an intergroup context. Conversely, ingroup information tended to be clustered more by attribute in an intergroup than in an intragroup context. Clustering of outgroup information was not sensitive to changes in the social context. The results indicate that the perception of group members may be based on more than group membership alone. ©1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Habit, information acquisition, and the process of making travel mode choicesVerplanken, Bas; Aarts, Henk; Van Knippenberg, Ad
doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-0992(199709/10)27:5<539::AID-EJSP831>3.0.CO;2-Apmid: N/A
Three studies examined the role of habit on information acquisition concerning travel mode choices. On the basis of Triandis' (1980) model of attitude–behaviour relations it was expected that habit strength attenuates the elaborateness of choice processes. The studies focused on different phases in the choice process, namely the appreciation of situational cues and appreciation of choice option information. In line with expectations, it was found that, compared to weak habit participants, those who had a strong habit towards choosing a particular travel mode acquired less information and gave evidence of less elaborate choice strategies. It was attempted to break effects of habit by manipulating either accountability demands or level of attention. Although accountability demands raised the level of information acquisition, no interactions with habit were found. Enhanced attention to the choice process initially did override habit effects in a series of choice trials. However, in spite of this manipulation, chronic habit effects emerged during later trials. The results demonstrate the profound effects that habit may have on the appreciation of information about choice situations and choice options. ©1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Prejudice against Australian Aborigines: old‐fashioned and modern formsPedersen, Anne; Walker, Iain
doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-0992(199709/10)27:5<561::AID-EJSP833>3.0.CO;2-3pmid: N/A
Prejudice is a pervasive and destructive social problem. Theories of prejudice distinguish between old‐fashioned and modern forms. The former is an open rejection of minority group members; the latter is subtle and covert, with a veneer of outgroup acceptance. The present study examines the distinction in the context of contemporary attitudes to Australian Aborigines. Separate measures of each, and of other variables, were included in a random survey of the Perth metropolitan area in 1994. The two forms of prejudice were correlated (r=0.55), but factor analysis revealed that the two constructs are separable. Further, they were distributed differently in the population, with modern prejudice being more prevalent than old‐fashioned prejudice (57.9 per cent scoring above the midpoint on the modern scale, and only 21.2 per cent on the old‐fashioned scale). Modern prejudice was predicted more strongly by social psychological variables (R2=0.51) than was old‐fashioned prejudice (R2=0.30), and the pattern of results from regression analyses differed for the two types of prejudice. Overall, the results confirm the distinction between old‐fashioned and modern forms of prejudice, but indicate that the two are conceptually and empirically related to one another. Comparisons with earlier research reveal the declining prevalence of old‐fashioned prejudice, but indicate prejudice is still a major social problem. ©1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Ingroup and outgroup stereotypes and selective processingKoomen, Willem; Dijker, Anton J.
doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-0992(199709/10)27:5<589::AID-EJSP840>3.0.CO;2-Ypmid: N/A
The main concern of the two studies presented here is to investigate whether the different nature of ingroup and outgroup stereotypes is reflected in different selective processing of ingroup and outgroup information. It was predicted that when processing ingroup information people will preferentially encode stereotype‐inconsistent information as compared to stereotype‐consistent information, whereas the reverse pattern will hold when people process outgroup information. In addition to selective processing, response bias due to stereotyping was studied. To measure selective processing and response bias, recognition memory measures derived from the theory of signal detection were used. Results of the two studies confirmed our main prediction. Also, response bias was demonstrated. ©1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.