Abstract: La Teoria dell’Identità Sociale postula che una parte determinante dell’identità degli individui
deriva dall’appartenenza ai gruppi sociali. Quando gli individui appartengono a gruppi svantaggiati, o
di cosiddetto basso status relativo, esperiscono una serie di conseguenze negative che li spingono a
tentare di migliorare la propria posizione sociale. Il presente contributo di rassegna tenta di integrare,
secondo l’approccio dell’identità sociale, le conseguenze affettive, percettive e comportamentali
dell’appartenenza ai gruppi di basso status, unitamente ad un’analisi delle strategie che i membri di
questi gruppi possono mettere in atto per migliorare la propria situazione.
[Social Identity Theory posits that an important part of people’s identity derives from belonging to
social groups. Belonging to disadvantaged groups – that is, low-status groups – is accompanied by a
series of negative consequences, which lead people to try to improve their social standing. Taking the
social identity approach, the present review aims at integrate affective, perceptual, and behavioral
consequences deriving from belonging to low-status groups. Moreover, it reviews the strategies lowstatus
groups members may adopt in order to better their social standing.]
Abstract: Purpose
To examine the immune response to job strain and insecurity of 88 men working in a university, divided according to age and type of employment.
Methods
Anxiety, job strain, job insecurity and subjective symptoms were measured by questionnaires. Blood NK cytotoxic activity was determined by an in vitro method and lymphocyte subpopulations by flow-cytometry analysis.
Results
Employees (over 40 years old) in a library showed higher values of job strain, anxiety and subjective symptoms and lower blood NK activity than the controls. The young employees with temporary employment showed high job insecurity and reduced blood NK activity, while the young sanitary staff with temporary position showed normal immune response. NK cytotoxic activity of the recruited men was negatively correlated with anxiety, work load and job insecurity.
Conclusions
Not only anxiety and depression but also high levels of job strain and/or insecurity may affect the health status by reducing blood NK activity.
Abstract: We conducted two studies to examine the role of the social norm of fairness on cognitive (beliefs and judgments) and affective (emotions and feelings) ambivalence in an intergroup context of evaluation. As predicted, we found that ambivalence toward the ingroup is constantly higher in the cognitive dimension than in the affective dimension. Instead, cognitive and affective ambivalence toward the outgroup are generally similar but when the outgroup is highly protected by the fairness norm (i.e., the elderly), cognitive ambivalence is considerably lower than affective ambivalence. These findings provide evidence that (1) cognitive ambivalence is more controlled by the fairness norm than affective ambivalence, and that (2) it holds an adaptive function, changing in accordance with the demands of the normative context.
Abstract: Confirmatory bias in argumentation—i.e., the tendency to generate arguments that support one’s own claims, rather than rebuttals that challenge alternative standpoints—is a widespread tendency that can be harmful to the quality of argumentation. In the present study we hypothesized that, depending on issue relevance to the targets, majority and minority sources of influence may differentially reduce this bias. Results provided partial support to the contention, showing that when the issue was of low relevance, participants exposed to the minority developed more rebuttals than participants exposed to the majority, whereas no difference between the impacts of the two sources emerged when the issue was of high relevance. Findings suggest that, in low-relevance circumstances,
minority influence may exert beneficial effects on argumentation.
Abstract: Three studies examined strategies of status improvement in experimentally created (Study 1 and 2) and preexisting (Study 3) low-status groups. Theory and prior research suggested that an in-group norm that established a particular strategy of status improvement as moral (rather than competent) would have a greater effect on individuals' decision to work at this strategy. Both Study 1 and Study 2 found that morality norms had a greater impact than competence norms on individuals' decision to work at group (rather than individual) status improvement. In both studies participants also needed less time to decide on a strategy of status improvement when it is was encouraged by a morality norm rather than a competence norm. Study 3 used a preexisting low-status group (i.e., Southern Italians) to further confirm that morality norms have a greater effect on the decision to work at group status improvement than do competence norms. Results are discussed in terms of social influence and identity management strategies.
Abstract: Negotiators often fail to reach integrative (”win–win”) agreements because they think that their own and
other’s preferences are diametrically opposed—the so-called fixed-pie perception. We examined how verbal
(Experiment 1) and nonverbal (Experiment 2) emotional expressions may reduce fixed-pie perception
and promote integrative behavior. In a two-issue computer-simulated negotiation, participants negotiated
with a counterpart emitting one of the following emotional response patterns: (1) anger on both
issues, (2) anger on participant’s high priority issue and happiness on participant’s low-priority issue,
(3) happiness on high priority issue and anger on low-priority issue, or (4) happiness on both issues.
In both studies, the third pattern reduced fixed-pie perception and increased integrative behavior,
whereas the second pattern amplified bias and reduced integrative behavior. Implications for how
emotions shape social exchange are discussed.
Abstract: According to literature on social influence, a minority source may indirectly influence group members by fostering ambivalent reactions. Two studies were carried out in order to provide empirical support for this theoretical assumption. In Study 1 participants (n = 133), were exposed to a counter-attitudinal minority message and ambivalence was manipulated by facilitating the accessibility of either ambivalent (positive and negative) or univalent (positive or negative) thoughts toward the source. We predicted and found more indirect influence in ambivalent condition than in univalent conditions. No effect of ambivalence on direct influence was found. In Study 2 (n  = 127), ambivalence was measured and two possible antecedents of ambivalence, consistency of the minority and personal relevance of the topic for participants, were taken into account. Findings suggest that ambivalence mediates the effects of the two factors on indirect influence. In sum, these studies provide evidence of the importance of ambivalence in minority influence context, an early assumption that was still lacking in strong empirical support.
