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The present thesis investigates attitudes and prosocial behavior between workgroups from a social identity and intergroup contact perspective. Based on the Common In-group Identity Model (CIIM; Gaertner & Dvoidio, 2000), it is hypothesized that "optimal" conditions for contact (Allport, 1954) create a common identity at the organizational level which motivates workgroups to cooperate and show organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) rather than intergroup bias. Predictions based on the CIIM are extended with hypotheses derived from the In-group Projection Model (IPM; Mummendey & Wenzel, 1999) and the Self-Categorization Model of Group Norms (Terry & Hogg, 1996). Hypotheses are tested with data from N1 = 281 employees of N2 = 49 different workgroups and their workgroup managers of a German mail-order company (Study 1). Results indicate that group- and individual-level contact conditions are predictive of lower levels of intergroup bias and higher levels of cooperation and helping behavior. A common in-group representation mediates the effect on out-group attitudes and intergroup cooperation. In addition, the effect of a common in-group representation on intergroup bias is moderated by relative prototypicality, as predicted by the IPM, and the effect of prosocial group norms on helping behavior is moderated by workgroup identification, as predicted by the Self-Categorization Model of Group Norms. A longitudinal study with Ntotal = 57 members of different student project groups replicates the finding that contact under "optimal" conditions reduces intergroup bias and increases prosocial behavior between organizational groups. However, a common in-group representation is not found to mediate this effect in Study 2. Initial findings also indicate that individual-level variables, such as helping behavior toward members of another workgroup, may be better accounted for by variables at the same level of categorization (cf. Haslam, 2004). Thus, contact in a context that makes personal identities of workgroup members salient (i.e., decategorization) may be more predictive of interpersonal prosocial behavior, while contact in a context that makes workgroup identities salient (i.e., categorization) may be more predictive of intergroup prosocial behavior (cf. Tajfel, 1978). Further data from Study 1 support such a context-specific effect of contact between workgroups on interpersonal and intergroup prosocial behavior, respectively. In the last step, a temporal integration of the contact contexts that either lead to decategorization, categorization, or recategorization are examined based on the Longitudinal Contact Model (Pettigrew, 1998). A first indication that a temporal sequence from decategorization via categorization to recategorization may be particularly effective in fostering intergroup cooperation is obtained with data from Study 2. In order to provide a heuristic model for research on prosocial behavior between workgroups, findings are integrated into a Context-Specific Contact Model. The model proposes specific effects of contact in different contexts on prosocial behavior at different levels of categorization. Possible mediator and moderator processes are suggested. A number of implications for theory, future research and the management of relations between workgroups are discussed.
Based on dual process models of information processing, the present research addressed how explicit disgust sensitivity is re-adapted according to implicit disgust sensitivity via self-perception of automatic behavioral cues. Contrary to preceding studies (Hofmann, Gschwendner, & Schmitt, 2009) that concluded that there was a "blind spot" for self- but not for observer perception of automatic behavioral cues, in the present research, a re-adaption process was found for self-perceivers and observers. In Study 1 (N = 75), the predictive validity of an indirect disgust sensitivity measure was tested with a double-dissociation strategy. Study 2 (N = 117) reinvestigated the hypothesis that self-perception of automatic behavioral cues, predicted by an indirect disgust sensitivity measure, led to a re-adaption of explicit disgust sensitivity measures. Using a different approach from Hofmann et al. (2009), the self-perception procedure was modified by (a) feeding back the behavior several times while a small number of cues had to be rated for each feedback condition, (b) using disgust sensitivity as a domain with clearly unequivocal cues of automatic behavior (facial expression, body movements) and describing these cues unambiguously, and (c) using a specific explicit disgust sensitivity measure in addition to a general explicit disgust sensitivity measure. In Study 3 (N = 130), the findings of Study 2 were replicated and display rules and need for closure as moderator effects of predictive validity and cue utilization were additionally investigated. The moderator effects give hints that both displaying a disgusted facial expression and self-perception of one- own disgusted facial expression are subject to a self-serving bias, indicating that facial expression may not be an automatic behavior. Practical implications and implications for future research are discussed.
Technical products have become more than practical tools to us. Mobile phones, for example, are a constant companion in daily life. Besides purely pragmatic tasks, they fulfill psychological needs such as relatedness, stimulation, competence, popularity, or security. Their potential for the mediation of positive experience makes interactive products a rich source of pleasure. Research acknowledged this: in parallel to the hedonic/utilitarian model in consumer research, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) researchers broadened their focus from mere task-fulfillment (i.e., the pragmatic) to a holistic view, encompassing a product's ability for need-fulfillment and positive experience (i.e., the hedonic). Accordingly, many theoretical models of User Experience (UX) acknowledge both dimensions as equally important determinants of a product's appeal: pragmatic attributes (e.g., usability) as well as hedonic attributes (e.g., beauty). In choice situations, however, people often overemphasize the pragmatic, and fail to acknowledge the hedonic. This phenomenon may be explained by justification. Due to their need for justification, people attend to the justifiability of hedonic and pragmatic attributes rather than to their impact on experience. Given that pragmatic attributes directly contribute to task-fulfillment, they are far easier to justify than hedonic attributes. People may then choose the pragmatic over the hedonic, despite a true preference for the hedonic. This can be considered a dilemma, since people choose what is easy to justify and not what they enjoy the most. The present thesis presents a systematic exploration of the notion of a hedonic dilemma in the context of interactive products.
A first set of four studies explored the assumed phenomenon. Study 1 (N = 422) revealed a reluctance to pay for a hedonic attribute compared to a pragmatic attribute. Study 2 (N = 134) demonstrated that people (secretly) prefer a more hedonic product, but justify their choice by spurious pragmatic advantages. Study 3 (N = 118) confronted participants with a trade-off between hedonic and pragmatic quality. Even though the prospect of receiving a hedonic product was related to more positive affect, participants predominantly chose the pragmatic, especially those with a high need for justification. This correlation between product choice and perceived need for justification lent further support to the notion that justification lies at the heart of the dilemma. Study 4 (N = 125) explored affective consequences and justifications provided for hedonic and pragmatic choice. Data on positive affect suggested a true preference for the hedonic - even among those who chose the pragmatic product.
A second set of three studies tested different ways to reduce the dilemma by manipulating justification. Manipulations referred to the justifiability of attributes as well as the general need for justification. Study 5 (N = 129) enhanced the respective justifiability of hedonic and pragmatic choice by ambiguous product information, which could be interpreted according to latent preferences. As expected, enhanced justifiability led to an increase in hedonic but not in pragmatic choice. Study 6 (N = 178) manipulated the justifiability of hedonic choice through product information provided by a "test report", which suggested hedonic attributes as legitimate. Again, hedonic choice increased with increased justifiability. Study 7 (N = 133) reduced the general need for justification by framing a purchase as gratification. A significant positive effect of the gratification frame on purchase rates occurred for a hedonic but not for a pragmatic product.
Altogether, the present studies revealed a desire for hedonic attributes, even in interactive products, which often are still understood as purely pragmatic "tools". But precisely because of this predominance of pragmatic quality, people may hesitate to give in to their desire for hedonic quality in interactive products - at least, as long as they feel a need for justification. The present findings provide an enhanced understanding of the complex consequences of hedonic and pragmatic attributes, and indicate a general necessity to expand the scope of User Experience research to the moment of product choice. Limitations of the present studies, implications for future research as well as practical implications for design and marketing are discussed.
Previous research revealed that teachers hold beliefs about gifted students combining high intellectual ability with deficits in non-cognitive domains, outlined in the so-called disharmony hypothesis. Since teachers’ beliefs about giftedness can influence which students they identify as gifted, the empirical investigation of beliefs is of great practical relevance. This dissertation comprises three research articles that investigated teacher beliefs about gifted students’ characteristics in samples of pre-service teachers using an experimental vignette approach. Chapter I starts with a general introduction into beliefs, and presents the research aims of the present dissertation. The first article (Chapter II) focused on the interaction of beliefs about giftedness and gender in a sample of Australian pre-service teachers and tested if social desirability occurred when using the vignette design. Beside evidence for beliefs in line with the disharmony hypothesis, results revealed typical gender stereotypes. However, beliefs about giftedness appeared not to be gender specific and thus, to be similar for gifted girls and boys. The vignette approach was found to be an adequate design for assessing teacher beliefs. The second article (Chapter III) investigated teacher beliefs and their relationship to motivational orientations for teaching gifted students in a cross-country sample of German and Australian pre-service teachers. Motivational orientations comprise cognitive components (self-efficacy) and affective components (enthusiasm). Findings revealed beliefs in the sense of the disharmony hypothesis for pre-service teachers from both countries. Giftedness when paired with beliefs about high maladjustment was found to be negatively related to teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching gifted students. The third article (Chapter IV) examined the role of teachers’ belief in a just world for the formation of beliefs using a sample of Belgian pre-service teachers. It was found that the stronger pre-service teachers’ belief in a just world was, the more they perceived gifted students’ high intellectual ability as unfair and thus, neutralized that injustice by de-evaluating students’ non-cognitive abilities. In a general discussion (Chapter V), findings of the three articles are combined and reflected. Taken together, the present dissertation showed that teacher beliefs about gifted students’ characteristics are not gender specific, generalizable over countries, negatively related to teacher motivation and can be driven by fairness beliefs.
Student misbehavior and its treatment is a major challenge for teachers and a threat to their well-being. Indeed, teachers are obliged to punish student misbehavior on a regular basis. Additionally, teachers’ punishment decisions are among the most frequently reported situations when it comes to students’ experiences of injustice in school. By implication, it is crucial to understand teachers’ treatment of student misbehavior vis-à-vis students’ perceptions. One key dimension of punishment behavior reflects its underlying motivation and goals. People generally intend to achieve three goals when punishing misbehavior, namely, retribution (i.e., evening out the harm caused), special prevention (i.e., preventing recidivism of the offender), and general prevention (i.e., preventing imitation of others). Importantly, people’s support of these punishment goals is subject to hierarchy and power, implying that teachers’ and students’ punishment goal preferences differ. In this dissertation, I present three research projects that shed first light on teachers’ punishment and its goals along with the students’ perception of classroom intervention strategies pursuing these goals. More specifically, I first examined students’ (i.e., children’s) general support of each of the three punishment goals sketched above. Furthermore, I applied an attributional approach to understand and study the goals teachers intend to achieve when punishing student misbehavior. Finally, I investigated teachers’ and students’ support of the punishment goals regarding the same student misbehavior to directly compare their views on these goals and reactions pursuing them. In sum, the findings show that students generally prefer retribution and special prevention to general prevention, whereas teachers prefer general prevention and special prevention to retribution. This ultimately translates into a "mismatch" of teachers and students in their preferences for specific punishment goals, and the findings suggest that this may indeed enhance students’ perception of injustice. Overall, the results of the present research program may be valuable for the development of classroom intervention strategies that may reduce rather than enhance conflicts in student-teacher-interactions.
Homonegative discrimination such as the denial of leadership qualities and higher salaries concern not only lesbians and gay men but also individuals who were perceived as lesbian or gay (Fasoli et al., 2017). Hence, it is assumed that especially straight people become victims of homonegative discrimination (Plöderl, 2014). The perception of sexual orientation is indeed stereotype-driven (e.g., Cox et al., 2015) but there is a lack of knowledge on how accurate stereotypes are – particularly those referring to speech. Despite a variety of sociophonetic and social psychological research related to sexual orientation and gender, an encompassing understanding is missing on how sexual orientation is expressed and perceived.
The present thesis aims to fill these gaps. The two major aims of the present work are a) the examination of the accuracy of speech stereotypes in the context of sexual orientation and b) the development of a model on how sexual orientation is interpersonally construed. Overall, the present thesis comprises five manuscripts with the following aspects in common: They integratively deal with social psychological and sociophonetic perspectives, share a social identity approach, and primarily center speech instead of facial appearance. Moreover, mostly German and German native speaking participants, respectively, have been investigated.
Manuscript 1 establishes the Traditional Masculinity/Femininity-Scale as a reliable and valid instrument for assessing gender-role self-concept. The invention was necessary because existing scales insufficiently represented the self-ascribed masculinity/femininity yet (e.g., Abele, 2003; Evers & Sieverding, 2014). Manuscripts 2, 3, and 4 address the (in)accuracy of speech stereotypes regarding stereotypic content and suggested within-group homogeneity. This is carried out by the application of different methodological approaches. On the one hand, relevant acoustic parameters of lesbian/gay and straight women and men were averaged for each group. On the other hand, voice morphing was applied in order to create prototypical and naturally sounding voice averages (Kawahara et al., 2008). Lesbians and straight women differed in none, gay and straight men in one of the analyzed acoustic parameters only. In contrast, a fine-grained psychological analysis yielded various evidence for acoustic within-group heterogeneity. In particular, the exclusivity of sexual orientation and gender-role self-concept have been acoustically indexicalized which suggests that speech stereotypes are inaccurate. However, voice averages do carry perceivable sexual orientation information. Hence, speech stereotypes can be considered as exaggerations of tiny kernels of truth. In Manuscript 5, previous literature on the interpersonal construction of sexual orientation is integrated in a model: The Expression and Perception of Sexual Orientation Model (EPSOM). This model postulates an indirect route and describes how sexual orientation information is transmitted from producer to perceiver by proposing three mediating components. Thereby, the model is able to offer an explanation why sexual orientation can be perceived with above-chance but far-away-from-perfect accuracy.
Overall, the present thesis provides meaningful impulses for enhancements of research on social markers of sexual orientation and gender. This thesis offers a model on how sexual orientation is expressed and perceived, shows the benefits of combining sociophonetic and social psychological approaches, and points out the value of applying novel methods and technologies. Beyond that, the present thesis offers useful implications for practice. Speech stereotypes in the context of sexual orientation can be rejected as inaccurate – for example, native German straight men do not nasalize more or less than gay men. Thereby, the present thesis contributes to an erosion of stereotypes and a potential reduction of homonegative discrimination.
The history of human kind is characterized by social conflict. Every conflict can be the starting point of social change or the escalation into more destructive forms. The social conflict in regard to rising numbers of refugees and their acceptance that arose in most host countries in 2015 already took on destructive forms – in Germany, right-wing extremists attacked refugee shelters and even killed multiple people, including political leaders who openly supported refugees. Thus, incompatible expectancies and values of different parts of the society led to violent action tendencies, which tremendously threaten intergroup relations. Psychological research has developed several interventions in past decades to improve intergroup relations, but they fall short, for example, when it comes to the inclusion of people with extreme attitudes and to precisely differentiate potential prosocial outcomes of the interventions. Thus, this dissertation aimed to a) develop psychological interventions, that could also be applied to people with more extreme attitudes, thereby putting a special emphasis on collecting a diverse sample; b) gain knowledge about target- and outcome specific effects: Who benefits from which intervention and how can specific prosocial actions be predicted in order to develop interventions that guide needs-based actions; and c) shed light on potential underlying mechanisms of the interventions.
The dissertation will be introduced by the socio-political background that motivated the line of research pursued, before providing an overview of the conceptualization of social conflicts and potential psychological inhibitors and catalyzers for conflict transformation. Based on past research on socio-psychological interventions and their limitations, the aims of the dissertation will be presented in more detail, followed by a short summary of each manuscript. Overall, the present thesis comprises four manuscripts that were summarized in the general discussion into a road map for social-psychological interventions to put them into a broader perspective. The road map aspires to provide recommendations for increasing – either approach-oriented or support-oriented actions – by the socio-psychological interventions for a variety of host society groups depending on their pre-existing attitude towards refugees.
A Paradoxical Intervention targeting central beliefs of people with negative attitudes towards refugees influenced inhibitory and catalyzing factors for conflict transformation over the course of three experiments – thereby providing an effective tool to establish approach-oriented action tendencies, such as the willingness to get in contact with refugees. Further, the dissertation presents a novel mechanism – namely Cognitive Flexibility – which could explain the Paradoxical Interventions’ effect of past research. By positively affecting a context-free mindset, the Paradoxical Intervention could impact more flexible thought processes in general, irrespective of the topic tackled in the Paradoxical Intervention itself. For people with rather positive attitudes addressing emotions may increase specific support-oriented action tendencies. The dissertation provides evidence of a positive relation between moral outrage and hierarchy-challenging actions, such as solidarity-based collective action, and sympathy with prosocial hierarchy-maintaining support-oriented actions, such as dependency-oriented helping. These exclusive relations between specific emotions and action intentions provide important implications for the theorizing of emotion-behavior relations, as well as for practical considerations. In addition, a diversity workshop conducted with future diplomats showed indirect effects on solidarity-based collective action via diversity perception and superordinate group identification, thereby extending past research by including action intentions and going beyond the focus on grassroot-initiatives by presenting an implementable intervention for future leaders in a real world context.
Taken together, this dissertation provides important insights for the development of socio-psychological interventions. By integrating a diverse sample, including members of institutions on meso- and macro-levels (non-governmental organizations and future politicians) of our society, this dissertation presents a unique multi-perspective of host society members on the social conflict of refugee acceptance and support. Thereby, this work contributes to theoretical and practical advancement of how social psychology can contribute not only to negative peace – by for example (indirectly) reducing support of violence against refugees – but also to positive peace – by for example investigating precursors of hierarchy-challenging actions that enable equal rights.
The Stereotype Content Modell (SCM; Fiske et al., 2002) proposes two fundamental dimensions of social evaluation: Warmth, or the intentions of the target, and Competence, or the ability to enact these intentions. The practical applications of the SCM are very broad and have led to an assumption of universality of warmth and competence as fundamental dimensions of social evaluation.
This thesis has identified five mainly methodological shortcomings of the current SCM research and literature: (I) An insufficient initial scale development; (II) the usage of varying warmth and competence scales without sufficient scale property assessment in later research; (III) the dominant application of first-generation analytical approaches; (IV) the insufficient definition and empirical proof for the SCM’s assumption of universality; and (V) the limited application of the SCM for some social targets. These shortcomings were addressed in four article manuscripts strictly following open science recommendations.
Manuscript # 1 re-analysed published research using English SCM measures to investigate the measurement properties of the used warmth and competence scales. It reported the scales’ reliability, dimensionality and comparability across targets as well as the indicator-based parameter performance in a (multiple group) confirmatory factor analysis framework. The findings indicate that about two thirds of all re-analysed scales do not show the theoretically expected warmth and competence dimensionality. Moreover, only about eleven per cent allowed meaningful mean value comparisons between targets. Manuscript # 2 presents a replication of Manuscript # 1 in the national and language of German(y) generating virtually identical results as Manuscript # 1 did. Manuscript # 3 investigated the stereotype content of refugee subgroups in Germany. We showed that refugees was generally perceived unfavourably in terms of warmth and competence, but that the stereotype content varied based on the refugees’ geographic origin, religious affiliation, and flight motive. These results were generated using a reliability-corrected approach to compare mean values named alignment optimisation procedure. Manuscript # 4 developed and tested a high-performing SCM scale assessing occupational stereotypes a number of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses.
We are living in a world where environmental crises come to a head. To curb aggravation of these problems, a socio-ecological transformation within society is needed, going along with human behavior change. How to encourage such behavior changes on an individual level is the core issue of this dissertation. It takes a closer look at the role of individuals as consumers resulting in purchase decisions with more or less harmful impact on the environment. By using the example of plastic pollution, it takes up a current environmental problem and focuses on an understudied behavioral response to this problem, namely reduction behavior. More concrete, this dissertation examines which psychological factors can encourage the mitigation of plastic packaging consumption. Plastic packaging accounts for the biggest amount of current plastic production and is associated with products of daily relevance. Despite growing awareness of plastic pollution in society, behavioral responses do not follow accordingly and plastic consumption is still very high. As habits are often a pitfall when implementing more resource-saving behavior, this dissertation further examines if periods of discontinuity can open a ’window of opportunity’ to break old habits and facilitate behavior change. Four manuscripts approach this matter from the gross to the subtle. Starting with a literature review, a summary of 187 studies addresses the topic of plastic pollution and human behavior from a societal-scientific perspective. Based on this, a cross-sectional study (N = 648) examines the deter-minants of plastic-free behavior intentions in the private-sphere and public-sphere by structural equation modeling. Two experimental studies in pre-post design build upon this, by integrating the determinants in intervention studies. In addition, it was evaluated if the intervention presented during Lent (N = 140) or an action month of ‘Plastic Free July’ (N = 366) can create a ‘window of opportunity’ to mitigate plastic packaging consumption. The literature review emphasized the need for research on behavioral solutions to reduce plastic consumption. The empirical results revealed moral and control beliefs to be the main determinants of reduction behavior. Furthermore, the time point of an intervention influenced the likelihood to try out the new behavior. The studies gave first evidence that a ‘window of opportunity’ can facilitate change towards pro-environmental behavior within the application field of plastic consumption. Theoretical and practical implications of creating the right opportunity for individuals to contribute to a socio-ecological transformation are finally discussed.
Audiences' movie evaluations have often been explored as effects of experiencing movies. However, little attention has been paid to the evaluative process itself and its determinants before, during, and after movie exposure. Moreover, until recently, research on the subjective assessment of specific film features (e.g., story, photography) has played a less important role. Adding to this research, this dissertation introduces the idea of subjective movie evaluation criteria (SMEC) and describes the scale construction for their measurement and its validation process. Drawing on social cognition theories, SMEC can be defined as standards that viewers use for assessing the features of films and conceptualized as mental representations of - or attitudes towards - specific movie features guiding cognitive and affective information processing of movies and corresponding evaluative responses. Studies were conducted in five phases to develop and validate scales for measuring and examining the structure of SMEC. In Phase I, open-ended data were categorized and content validated via a modified structure formation technique and items were developed. Subsequently in Phase II, participants completed an online questionnaire including revised and pilot-tested items. Exploratory factor analyses were iteratively applied to explore the latent structure and to select items. The resulting 8-factor model was cross-validated with different samples in Phase III applying confirmatory factor analyses which yielded good fit indices, thereby supporting structural validity. In Phase IV, latent state"trait analyses were carried out to examine the reliability, occasion specificity, common consistency, and method specificity of the eight dimensions. All factors - Story Verisimilitude, Story Innovation, Cinematography, Special Effects, Recommendation, Innocuousness, Light-heartedness, and Cognitive Stimulation - are reliable and are largely determined by stable individual differences, albeit some of them also show substantial systematic, but unstable effects due to the situation or interaction. These results provide evidence for the substantive validity of the SMEC scales. Finally, in Phase V the nomological network of SMEC was explored (external validity by examining correlations with related constructs like film genre preferences and personality traits). Taken together, whereas the SMEC concept - compatible with contemporary social cognition theories - provides a framework to theorize and address research questions about the role of movie evaluation criteria and evaluative processes, the SMEC scales are the proper tool for investigating the role of these criteria and the processes they are involved in.