Social representations and intergroup perceptions

Abstract

In the research presented in this paper two dimensions of social representations of groups by groups are examined: stereotypes and social values. With a view to studying the impact of these dimensions on the formation of intergroup attitudes, these dimensions are articulated with emotions, identification with the ingroup and rejection of the outgroup. In the first study the main results show that, in a situation of implicit conflict, the representations of stereotypes and group values adopt a polemical character, as evidenced by a clear ingroup favouritism. Results also show that it is the values and not so much the stereotypes that are important for the construction of intergroup attitudes. Values appear, therefore, as an important dimension in the construction of intergroup polemics. In the second study, this same issue is again adressed but now analysing the mediating role of perceptions of positive or negative interdependence. When perceptions of negative interdependence are salient, the results follow the pattern of those in the first study. When the perception of positive interdependence is salient, however, there is an attenuation of ingroup favouritism, which is manifest in the positive evaluation of outgroup values. This result suggests that the perception of positive interdependence diminishes the possibility of construction of polemical social representations and opens a space for the construction of emancipated social representations, which anchor in communicative cooperation. The results are discussed in the light of the articulation between the concepts of social identity and social representation.