Effect of attribution on the emotions and behavioral intentions of third-party observers toward intergroup discriminators during the COVID-19 pandemic

The global outbreak of novel coronavirus disease COVID-19 has caused intergroup discrimination associated with the disease to become increasingly prominent. Research demonstrates that the attitudes and behaviors of third-party observers significantly impact the progression of discrimination incidents. This study tested a parallel mediating model in which the attribution tendencies of observers influence their behavioral intentions through the mediating effect of the emotions of anger and contempt. The first two studies confirmed the proposed model with discrimination incidents reported against "returnees from Wuhan" and "returning workers from Hubei." Study 3 further manipulated the attribution tendencies of observers, providing empirical evidence for the causality from attribution tendencies to emotions, confirming the validity of the model. These findings enrich the cognitive (attribution)-emotion-action model, further enhancing our understanding of the role of third parties in intergroup conflicts, with implications for the management of people's emotions and behaviors in social crises.

Social-Structural Antecedents Come Forward to Elicit Envy to Distant Out-Groups

This study utilizing correlation, regression, confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs), ANOVA, moderation and mediation analysis investigated connections of stereotypes, emotions, and sociocultural variables in a single-sample/single-group design. Prior to data processing, Georgian versions of the Stereotype Content Model (SCM) questionnaires were validated through CFA. The study looked at Georgian students' attitudes to: (a) representatives of German-speaking countries (87 participants) and (b) representatives of English-speaking countries (244 participants). Emotions predicted to these groups by social–structural antecedents—vitality and fear of assimilation—and stereotypes were admiration, pride, and sympathy. In addition, envy was predicted for the English-speaking group. The prediction of envy is explained by moderation analysis according to which it is elicited by the interplay of warmth and competence, as well as fear of assimilation and competence. The former interaction mediates the link between social–structural antecedents to emotions. Thus, distant out-groups elicit envy as a result of their perceived vitality, fear of assimilation, warmth, and competence. Social–structural antecedents come forward to elicit emotions of envy independently as well as in interaction with stereotypes when small country representatives evaluate representatives of the influential group of English-speaking people.

The Impact of Response Instruction and Target Group on the BIAS Map

Response instructions—inviting participants to respond from a certain perspective—can significantly influence the performance and construct validity of psychological measures. Stereotype Content Model (SCM) and then the BIAS map (“behaviors from intergroup affect and stereotypes”) were originally developed as universal measures of shared cultural stereotypes—participants’ perceptions of what most of the people in a society think about the target group—and their related social-structural antecedents, emotions and behavioral tendencies. Yet a number of studies have adopted a different response instruction focusing on individual stereotypes—what the participants personally think about the target group. So far, there is little evidence to suggest how these two different response instructions (individual vs. shared cultural perspective) might influence the performance of the BIAS map, especially when applied to target groups that elicit different normative and social desirability concerns. To provide novel evidence, we conducted an experiment with a representative sample of ethnic Slovaks (N = 1269). In a 2 × 2 factorial design, we found response instruction (individual vs. shared cultural perspective) and target group [stigmatized ethnic minority (the Roma) vs. non-stigmatized ethnic minority (the Hungarians)] had significant effects on the BIAS map and their interaction had significant effects on the social structure and behavioral tendencies (but not on stereotypes and emotions) scales. Exploratory analysis also points to partial influence on the mediation hypothesis underlying the BIAS map and minor effects on its scale properties. Our evidence suggests that the difference between individual stereotypes and shared cultural stereotypes partially depends on the target group in question and that they should be treated as two potentially separate constructs.

Emotions as mediators of the stereotype–discrimination relationship: A BIAS map replication

A central theoretical assumption in the Behaviors from Intergroup Affect and Stereotypes (BIAS) map framework is that emotions mediate the relationships between stereotypes and intergroup behavior. Despite the BIAS map’s popularity, very few studies have tested the model’s mediation hypotheses and none have tested them by replicating the original study (Cuddy, Fiske, & Glick, 2007, Study 1). We provide a replication in a Norwegian sample ( N = 244). The results supported that stereotype content is related to behavior tendencies, mediated through emotional prejudices. However, for each of the four behavior outcomes the effect of stereotype content was mediated through one emotion rather than two as predicted by the BIAS map. Our findings both converge and diverge from those of Cuddy and colleagues, and provide support for theoretical propositions unsupported by the original study. Overall, the study provides empirical support for the BIAS map framework and its cross-cultural validity.

Seeing the elephant: Parsimony, functionalism, and the emergent design of contempt and other sentiments

The target article argues that contempt is a sentiment, and that sentiments are the deep structure of social affect. The 26 commentaries meet these claims with a range of exciting extensions and applications, as well as critiques. Most significantly, we reply that construction and emergence are necessary for, not incompatible with, evolved design, while parsimony requires explanatory adequacy and predictive accuracy, not mere simplicity.

Contempt: Derogating Others While Keeping Calm

While philosophers have discussed the emotion of contempt from antiquity to the present day, contempt has received less attention in psychological research. We review the defining features of contempt, both as a short-term emotion and as a more long-lasting sentiment. Contempt is similar to anger in that it may occur after (repeated) social or moral transgressions, but it differs from anger in its appraisals, actions, and emotivational goals. Unlike anger, contempt arises when a person’s or group’s character is appraised as bad and unresponsive to change, leading to attempts to socially exclude the target. We discuss associative, self-regulatory, and social distancing functions of contempt and present a dynamic social model of contempt versus anger.

Enhancing moral virtues: Increased perceived outgroup morality as a mediator of intergroup contact effects

Research has shown that intergroup contact is one of the most powerful approaches for improving outgroup attitudes. Further, it has been revealed that contact exerts its effects on prejudice reduction mostly by inducing positive affective processes. The present study ( N = 146) investigated whether stereotype content enhancement along the core dimensions of competence, sociability, and morality might represent a basic cognitive mechanism driving the contact effects. Results showed that face-to-face encounters with immigrants increased their perceived competence, sociability, and morality. However, only increased perceived outgroup morality mediated the effect of contact on outgroup responses. Our findings extend prior research on the mediators of intergroup contact, showing the key role of perceived morality in driving the contact effects. The importance of these findings for improving intergroup relations is discussed.