School of Psychology

Experience Excellence Studying People


Professor Dominic Abrams

Professor of Social Psychology

Director of the Centre for the Study of Group Processes
Prof Dominic Abrams

Research interests

My main areas of current research are in the broad area of group processes and intergroup relations. Themes and topics include: (1) Social exclusion and prejudice, (2) Intergroup contact, collective action protest, (3) Deviance (particularly the subjective group dynamics model), (4) Development of understanding about groups and group processes in middle childhood and adolescence, (5) Ageism and age stereotypes, including stereotype threat, (6) Social identity in organisational contexts. I would welcome applications from potential doctoral students in these areas.

Key publications

Please see the Selected Publications tab for a substantive overview of my published work.

Abrams, D. (2012). Extremism is normal: The roles of deviance and uncertainty in shaping groups and society. In M.A. Hogg and D.L. Blaylock(Eds.). The Claremont Symposium. Extremism and the psychology of uncertainty. (pp. 36-54). Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell

Abrams, D. (2011). Wherein lies children's intergroup bias? Egocentrism, social understanding and social projection. Child Development, 82, 1579-1593. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01617.x .

Abrams, D., & Grant, P.R.. (2011). A social identity –relative deprivation (SIRD) model of social change: The rise of Scottish Nationalism. British Journal of Social Psychology. DOI:10.1111/j.2044-8309.2011.02032.x

Abrams, D., Rutland, A., Pelletier, J. & Ferrell J. (2009). Group nous and social exclusion: The role of theory of social mind, multiple classification skill and social experience of peer relations within groups. Child Development, 80, 224-243. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01256.x

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Selected publications

 

Also view these in the Kent Academic Repository
Books
Articles

    Jost, J.T. and Chaikalis-Petritsis, V. and Abrams, D. et al. (2012) Why Men (and Women) Do and Don't Rebel: Effects of System Justification on Willingness to Protest. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 38 (2). pp. 197-208. ISSN 0146-1672.

    Abstract

    Three studies examined the hypothesis that system justification is negatively associated with collective protest against ingroup disadvantage. Effects of uncertainty salience, ingroup identification, and disruptive versus nondisruptive protest were also investigated. In Study 1, college students who were exposed to an uncertainty salience manipulation and who scored higher on system justification were less likely to protest against the governmental bailout of Wall Street. In Study 2, May Day protesters in Greece who were primed with a system-justifying stereotype exhibited less group-based anger and willingness to protest. In Study 3, members of a British teachers union who were primed with a “system-rejecting” mind-set exhibited decreased system justification and increased willingness to protest. The effect of system justification on nondisruptive protest was mediated by group-based anger. Across very different contexts, measures, and methods, the results reveal that, even among political activists, system justification plays a significant role in undermining willingness to protest.

    Swift, H.J and Abrams, D. and Marques, S. (2012) Threat or boost: Social comparison affects older people’s performance differently depending on task domain. Journals of Gerontology, Series B. ISSN 1079-5014.

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    Abrams, D. and Weick, M. and Thomas, Dominique et al. (2011) On-line ostracism affects children differently from adolescents and adults. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 29 (1). pp. 110-123.

    Abstract

    This research examines adults’, and for the first time, children’s and adolescents’ reaction to being ostracised and included, using an on-line game, ‘Cyberball’ with same and opposite sex players. Ostracism strongly threatened four primary needs (esteem, belonging, meaning and control) and lowered mood among 8-9-year olds, 13-14-year-olds, and adults. However, it did so in different ways. Ostracism threatened self-esteem needs more among 8-9-year–olds than older participants. Among 13-14-year-olds, ostracism threatened belonging more than other needs. Belonging was threatened most when ostracism was participants’ first experience in the game. Moreover, when participants had been included beforehand, ostracism threatened meaning needs most strongly. Gender of other players had no effect. Practical and developmental implications for social inclusion and on-line experiences among children and young people are discussed.

    Abrams, D. (2011) Wherein Lies Children’s Intergroup Bias? Egocentrism, Social Understanding, and Social Projection. Child Development, 82 (5). pp. 1579-1593. ISSN 0009-3920.

    Abstract

    Does children’s bias toward their own groups reflect egocentrism or social understanding? After being categorized as belonging to 1 of 2 fictitious groups, 157 six- to ten-year-olds evaluated group members and expressed preferences among neutral items. Children who expected the in-group to share their item preferences (egocentric social projection) showed intergroup bias. However, most bias was expressed by children who expected their in-group to share, but the out-group to oppose, their own evaluations of members. These oppositional expectations were associated with better social perspective taking, and better understanding that groups expect loyalty from their members. Consistent with the developmental model of subjective group dynamics (D. Abrams, A. Rutland, J. Pelletier, & J. M. Ferrell, 2009), social understanding, rather than egocentrism, provides a more parsimonious explanation of children’s intergroup bias.

    Christian, J. and Clapham, D. and Abrams, D. (2011) Exploring Homeless People's Use of Outreach Services: Applying a Social Psychological Perspective. Housing Studies, 26 (5). pp. 681-699. ISSN 0267-3037.

    Abstract

    A number of critiques have been published drawing attention to the gaps in research methods applied to issues surrounding homelessness and service utilisation in Britain. This paper discusses the use of social identity, a theory drawn from the field of applied social psychology, and synthesises it with the pathways model, thereby providing a framework to further explore service utilisation. The synthesised framework was used to predict the uptake of outreach services in a prospective study of 121 homeless people in a major UK city. In general, homeless people's use of intervention services was affected by the extent to which they identified with the support services themselves. The study demonstrates the central role of social identity in understanding service utilisation patterns, and shows the importance of applying fresh techniques to fine-tune our understanding of uptake in the long term.

    Eller, A. and Abrams, D. and Zimmermann, A. (2011) Two degrees of separation: A longitudinal study of actual and perceived extended international contact. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 14 (2). pp. 175-191. ISSN 1368-4302.

    Abstract

    Extended contact theory proposes that knowledge of ingroup-outgroup friendships leads to reductions of intergroup bias by reducing ignorance about the outgroup and intergroup anxiety, and by increasing awareness of positive outgroup exemplars (e.g., observation of friendly behavior towards an ingroup member), and inclusion of other in the self. Over a one-year period we examined extended contact among home country friends of international students who had direct contact with British people through their study period in Britain. This provides a stringent test of extended contact theory, both due to the longitudinal design, and the inclusion of both actual and perceived naturally arising extended contact. As predicted by extended contact theory, increases in extended contact over time predicted all variables but intergroup anxiety. There was also some evidence for (weaker) reversed causal influence between prejudice and other variables. Importantly, the quality of contact experienced by the direct contact sample (international students) predicted all dependent measures in the matched extended contact sample in their home countries. Results are discussed in terms of the promise of extended contact theory for intergroup relations.

    Zimmermann, A. and Abrams, D. and Doosje, B. et al. (2011) Causal and moral responsibility: Antecedents and consequences of group-based guilt. European Journal of Social Psychology, 41 (7). pp. 825-839. ISSN 00462772.

    Abstract

    In six studies (N?=?1045) conducted in three European countries, we demonstrate distinctions between causal responsibility, group-based guilt, and moral responsibility. We propose that causal responsibility is an antecedent of group-based guilt linking the ingroup to previous transgressions against the victim group. In contrast, moral responsibility is a consequence of group-based guilt and is conceptualized as a sociomoral norm to respond to the consequences of the ingroup's transgressions and the current needs of the victim group. As such, moral responsibility can be stimulated by group-based guilt and directly predicts individual action intentions. Studies 1 and 2 focus on the conceptual distinctions among the three constructs. Study 3 tests the indirect effect of causal responsibility on moral responsibility via group-based guilt. The remaining studies explore the mediating role of moral responsibility in associations between group-based guilt and compensatory action tendencies, that is, financial compensation (study 4), approach and avoidance tendencies (study 5) and public apology (study 6). Together these studies show that causal and moral responsibility are psychologically distinct concepts from group-based guilt and that moral responsibility plays an important role in shaping the effects of group-based guilt on behavioral intentions.

    Abrams, D. and Grant, P.R. (2011) Testing the social identity relative deprivation (SIRD) model of social change: The political rise of Scottish nationalism. British Journal of Social Psychology. ISSN 0144-6665.

    Abstract

    We tested a social-identity relative deprivation (SIRD) model predicting Scottish nationalist beliefs and intention to vote for the separatist Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP). Data were from a survey of a large and representative sample of Scottish teenagers administered in the late 1980s. The SIRD model distinguishes effects of group-based and personal relative deprivation, which should be independent of one another. Importantly, social change beliefs should mediate the effects of both collective relative deprivation and group identification on protest intentions (in this case intention to vote for the SNP). Egoistic relative deprivation should be the strongest predictor of feelings of depression. Using structural equation modelling, the results strongly support this model and replicate in two different cohorts.

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    Rutland, A. and Killen, M. and Abrams, D. (2010) A new social-cognitive developmental perspective on prejudice: The interplay between morality and group identity. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5 (3). pp. 279-291. ISSN 1745-6916.

    Abstract

    We argue that prejudice should be investigated in the context of social-cognitive development and the interplay between morality and group identity. Our new perspective examines how children consider group identity (and group norms) along with their developing moral beliefs about fairness and justice. This is achieved by developing an integrated framework drawing on developmental and social psychological theories of prejudice. This synthesis results in a perspective which provides a more contextualized analysis of prejudice development than previously offered by developmental theories. We describe research which supports our view that social norms, intergroup contact and perceived out-group threat affect the relative weight children place on moral and group-based criteria during the development of prejudice.

    Rice, D. and Abrams, D. and Badea, C. et al. (2010) What did you just call me? European and American ratings of the valence of Ethnophaulisms. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 29. pp. 117-131.

    Abstract

    Previous work has examined the relative valence (positivity or negativity) of ethnophaulisms (ethnic slurs) targeting European immigrants to the United States. However, this relied on contemporary judgments made by American researchers. The present study examined valence judgments made by citizens from the countries examined in previous work. Citizens of 17 European nations who were fluent in English rated ethnophaulisms targeting their own group as well as ethnophaulisms targeting immigrants from England. American students rated ethnophaulisms for all 17 European nations, providing a comparison from members of the host society. Ratings made by the European judges were (a) consistent with those made by the American students and (b) internally consistent for raters’ own country and for the common target group of the English. Following discussion of relevant methodological issues, the authors examine the theoretical significance of their results.

    Frings, D. and Abrams, D. and Randsley de Moura, G. et al. (2010) The effects of cost, normative support, and issue importance on motivation to persuade in-group deviants. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 14 (1). pp. 80-91. ISSN 1089-2699.

    Abstract

    Persuading in-group deviants to become normative may carry costs that outweigh the advantages of group consensus. This study investigates the effects of potential cost, normative support, and issue importance on group members' efforts to change the views of in-group deviants (N = 115). In line with previous research into bystander intervention, the authors show that when costs are low, high levels of either importance or normative support are sufficient to increase persuasion action tendency. When costs are higher, higher levels of both issue importance and normative support are necessary to increase persuasion action tendency. In addition, content analysis of messages sent to in-group deviants show that high potential costs and low levels of issue importance reduce the proportion of messages sent that are persuasive. These results are discussed in terms of theories of approach/avoidance and social identity.

    Hopthrow, T. and Abrams, D. (2010) Group transformation: How demonstrability promotes intra-group cooperation in social dilemmas. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 46 (5). pp. 799-803. ISSN 0022-1031.

    Abstract

    Intra-group cooperation in a social dilemma is increased after a group has discussed and reached a decision, especially if the dilemma is easily understood (‘demonstrable’). This paper examines how demonstrability affects the decision of a group that consists entirely of participants who are initially non-cooperative. Thirty-eight 6-person groups with unanimous prior preference for cooperation or non-cooperation discussed a prisoner’s dilemma before making a group decision. When demonstrability was low groups reflected the prior (either cooperative or non-cooperative) preferences of their members. When demonstrability was high we found that groups showed no effect of prior preference. Specifically, groups of prior non-cooperators made more cooperative group decisions and subsequently their members remained cooperative when asked to express preferences individually. The combined advantages of group process and high demonstrability for facilitating optimal cooperation are discussed.

    Frings, Daniel and Abrams, D. (2010) The effect of difference oriented communication on the subjective validity of an in-group norm: Doc can treat the group. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 14 (4). pp. 281-291. ISSN 1089-2699.

    Abstract

    The subjective group dynamics model predicts that in-group deviants who violate in-group norms that differentiate between the in-group and the out-group threaten the in-group's public image and its sense of validity. Previous research has shown that, to reduce this threat, group members attempt to symbolically marginalize in-group deviants through negative evaluation. In the current study ( N = 107), the effect of another form of symbolic marginalization (difference oriented communication) is investigated. The findings support the subjective group dynamics model by showing that group members whose communications to deviants highlighted differences experienced a subsequent increase in subjective validity of in-group norms.

    Pinto, I.R. and Marques, J.M. and Levine, J.M. et al. (2010) Membership status and subjective group dynamics: Who triggers the black sheep effect? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99 (1). pp. 107-119. ISSN 0022-3514.

    Abstract

    In 3 experiments, participants ( Ns = 50, 95, and 75, respectively) judged 2 ingroup or outgroup members who occupied 1 of 3 statuses—new members, full members, or marginal members. In each case, 1 of these members adopted a normative position and another supported a deviant position regarding a relevant issue. Participants upgraded normative ingroup full members and derogated deviant ingroup full members compared with all other members. In addition, derogation of deviant ingroup members was associated with a socializing and a punishing intention toward new members and full members, respectively. These results are discussed in terms of the group socialization model (e.g., Levine & Moreland, 1994) and the subjective group dynamics model (e.g., Marques, Paez, & Abrams, 1998).

    Randsley de Moura, Georgina and Abrams, D. and Retter, Carina et al. (2009) Identification as an organizational anchor: How identification and job satisfaction combine to predict turnover intention. European Journal Of Social Psychology, 39 (4). pp. 540-557. ISSN 0046-2772.

    Abstract

    The article examines the role of organizational identification and job satisfaction in relation to turnover intentions in seven organizations. Two models are proposed in which either job satisfaction ororganizational identification was treated as a mediator of the other's relationship with turnover intention. The organizations varied in terms of culture (Japan vs. UK), and institutional domain (academic,business, health, mail, legal).Within each organization,and meta-analytically combined across the seven samples (N=1392),organizational identification, mediated the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention more than job satisfaction mediated the relationship between organizational identification, and turnover intention. Organizational identification also had the larger overall relationship with turnover intention. This pattern remained true when gender, age, type of organization, culture, and length of tenure were accounted for, although the direct relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention was stronger in private than public organizations and when the ratio of men was higher. The findings are consistent with a social identity theory (SIT) perspective and with the idea that identification is a more proximal predictor of turnover intention. Over and above job satisfaction, organizational identification offers a sting psychological anchor that discourages turnover intention ill a range of organizational contexts.

    Abrams, D. (2009) Social identity on a national scale: Optimal distinctiveness and young people’s self-expression through musical preference. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, Special Issue on Music, Harmony and Discord in Intergroup Relations, 12 (3 Spec). pp. 303-317. ISSN 1368-4302.

    Abstract

    Optimal distinctiveness theory (ODT) and self-categorization theory hold that association with moderately distinctive, rather than general or unique, social categories should be more central to self-conception. Study 1 analyzes objective and self-report behavioural indicators from a representative sample of 2,624 18-21 year olds. Consistent with ODT, respondents preferring styles of music with intermediate levels, rather than unique or general levels, of objective popularity reported investing more resources in, and stronger behavioural commitment to, their music identity. Study 2, using 49 students from the same age cohort, confirmed that perceived popularity was related to objective popularity independent of familiarity with each style. In line with ODT, the distinctiveness of young people's musical affiliations appears to contribute to their social identity.

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    Abrams, D. and Rutland, A. and Pelletier, J. et al. (2009) Children's Group Nous: Understanding and Applying Peer Exclusion Within and Between Groups. Child Development, 80 (1). pp. 224-243. ISSN 0009-3920.

    Abstract

    In Study 1, 167 English children aged 6-8 or 9-11 evaluated peer English or French soccer fans that were loyal or partially disloyal. In Study 2, 149 children aged 5-11 made judgments about generic inclusion norms between and within competitive groups. In both studies, children's understanding of intergroup inclusion/exclusion norms (group nous) was predicted by theory of social mind (a social perspective taking measure) but not multiple classification skill. In Study 2, the number of groups children belonged to (an index of peer group experience) also predicted group nous. Supporting the developmental subjective group dynamics model (D. Abrams, A. Rutland, & L. Cameron, 2003), children's experience and perspective taking help them make sense of inter- and intragroup inclusion and exclusion.

    Abrams, D. and Rutland, A. and Pelletier, J. et al. (2009) Children’s Group Nous: Understanding and Applying Peer Exclusion Within and Between Groups. Child Development, 80 (1). pp. 224-243. ISSN 00093920.

    Abstract

    In Study 1, 167 English children aged 6–8 or 9–11 evaluated peer English or French soccer fans that were loyal or partially disloyal. In Study 2, 149 children aged 5–11 made judgments about generic inclusion norms between and within competitive groups. In both studies, children’s understanding of intergroup inclusion/exclusion norms (group nous) was predicted by theory of social mind (a social perspective taking measure) but not multiple classification skill. In Study 2, the number of groups children belonged to (an index of peer group experience) also predicted group nous. Supporting the developmental subjective group dynamics model (D. Abrams, A. Rutland, & L. Cameron, 2003), children’s experience and perspective taking help them make sense of inter- and intragroup inclusion and exclusion.

    Hutchison, P. and Abrams, D. and Gutierrez, R. et al. (2008) Getting rid of the bad ones: The relationship between group identification, deviant derogation, and identity maintenance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44 (3). pp. 874-881. ISSN 0022-1031.

    Abstract

    Two studies investigated the impact of the presentation of an undesirable group member on group stereotype judgments among participants with varying degrees of ingroup identification. In Study 1 (N = 67), identification was associated with stereotype change following presentation of an undesirable, but not a desirable, ingroup member. This relationship was mediated by evaluations of the undesirable ingroup member: the stronger the identification, the more negative the evaluation, and the greater the shift towards a more positive ingroup stereotype. In Study 2 (N = 180), identification was positively associated with ingroup stereotype ratings following presentation of an undesirable ingroup member but was negatively associated with outgroup ratings following presentation of an undesirable outgroup member. As in Study 1, the association between ingroup, identification and ingroup stereotype ratings was mediated by evaluations of the undesirable ingroup member. Results are discussed in relation to the black sheep effect and identity maintenance strategies.

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    Abrams, D. and Randsley de Moura, G. and Marques, J.M. et al. (2008) Innovation credit: When can leaders oppose their group’s norms? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95 (3). pp. 662-678. ISSN 0022-3514.

    Abstract

    Two preliminary studies and 5 experiments examined judgments of leaders who challenge their group's norms. Participants viewed information about group members whose attitudes were normative or deviated in a pronormative or antinormative direction. The antinorm member was identified as (a) either a nonleader or an established leader (Study 1), (b) an ex-leader (Studies 2 and 5), or (c) a future leader (Studies 3, 4, and 5). Antinorm future leaders were judged more positively and were granted greater innovation credit (license to innovate and remuneration) relative to antinorm members, ex-leaders, and established leaders. Results are discussed in terms of the idea that leadership can accrue from prototypicality and can also confer the right to define prescriptive norms. However, innovation credit is only granted in the case of future leaders.

    Frings, D. and Hopthrow, T. and Abrams, D. et al. (2008) Groupdrink: The effects of alcohol and group process on vigilance errors. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research and Practice, 12 (3). pp. 179-190. ISSN 1089-2699.

    Abstract

    This research examined how group processes alter the impact of alcohol on a judgment task requiring vigilance. The authors compared two competing explanations, deindividuation and group monitoring, for the possible effects of alcohol. Two hundred and eighty-six undergraduates with normal drinking habits undertook a vigilance task alone or in four-person groups having consumed either alcohol (calculated to achieve up to .08 blood alcohol content) or a placebo. The vigilance task required them to count occurrences of the word "the" in a spoken passage. Alcohol significantly impaired the performance of individuals but not groups. Group members performed at a similar level in both conditions, making fewer errors than individuals in the alcohol condition. The fit of different decision-making models were tested. In both the alcohol and placebo conditions, group consensus was predicted by processes consistent with the group monitoring hypothesis. The evidence highlights that under certain conditions, group process can compensate for the cognitively impairing effects of alcohol on individuals.

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    Abrams, D. and Rutland, A. and Ferrell, J. et al. (2008) Children’s judgments of disloyal and immoral peer behaviour: Subjective group dynamics in minimal intergroup contexts. Child Development, 79 (2). pp. 444-461. ISSN 0009-3920.

    Abstract

    The developmental model of subjective group dynamics hypothesizes that peer exclusion during middle childhood involves inferences about group dynamics. To test the generality of this prediction, children judged, within minimal groups, peers whose behavior was loyal versus disloyal (Study 1: n546, mean age5113 months) or morally acceptable versus unacceptable (Study 2: n5121, mean age590 months). As hypothesized, in Study 1, children used their understanding of loyalty norms as a basis for evaluating peers. In both studies, higher commitment to the in-group increased use of group-based criteria for judging peers. In Study 2, children employed moral- and group-based criteria independently for judging peers. Multiple classification skill was associated with lower intergroup bias and greater use of morality-based judgment.

    Abrams, D. and Crisp, R.J. and Marques, S. et al. (2008) Threat inoculation: Experienced and imagined intergenerational contact prevent stereotype threat effects on older people’s math performance. Psychology and Aging, 23 (4). pp. 934-939. ISSN 0882-7974.

    Abstract

    The authors hypothesized that experienced and imagined intergenerational contact should improve older people's math test performance under stereotype threat. In Experiment 1 (N = 5 1, mean age = 69 years), positive prior contact with grandchildren eliminated stereotype threat, which was mediated partially by reduced test-related anxiety. In Experiment 2 (N = 84. mean age = 72 years), the effect of threat on performance was significantly improved when participants merely imagined intergenerational contact, a situation again mediated by reduced anxiety. Previous research established that intergroup contact improves intergroup attitudes. The findings show that intergroup (intergenerational) contact also provides a defense against stereotype threat.

    Randsley de Moura, G. and Leader, T.I. and Pelletier, J. et al. (2008) Prospects for group processes and intergroup relations research: A review of 70 years’ progress. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 11 (4). pp. 575-596. ISSN 1368-4302.

    Abstract

    Three archival analyses are presented substantially extending empirical reviews of the progress of group-related research. First, an analysis of social psychological research from 1935 to 2007 (cf. Abrams & Hogg, 1998) showed that group-related research has a steadily increasing proportion of titles in the principal journals and currently accounts for over a sixth of all the research in our list of social psychological journals. Second, analysis of the most cited papers from a set of principal social psychology journals from 1998 to 2007 showed that a third of high-impact articles in social psychology focus on groups. Third, analysis of the content of two major specialist journals in the field, Group Processes & Intergroup Relations and Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, showed that together these journals cover a broad range of group-related research, and that the only keyword common to both journals was social identity. These findings demonstrate the health and major contributions of research into group processes and intergroup relations to social psychology as a whole.

    Abrams, D. and Rutland, A. and Cameron, L. et al. (2007) Older but wilier: in-group accountability and the development of subjective group dynamics. Developmental Psychology, 43 (1). pp. 134-148. ISSN 0012-1649.

    Abstract

    To test social and cognitive variables that may affect the development of subjective group dynamics, the authors had 224 children between the ages of 5 and 12 years evaluate an in-group and an out-group and normative and deviant in-group members under conditions of high or low accountability to in-group peers. In-group bias and relative favorability to normative versus deviant in-group members (differential evaluation) increased when children were accountable to peers and as a function of perceptions of peer group acceptance of these members (differential inclusion). These effects were significantly larger among older children. Multiple classification ability was unrelated to judgments of group members. This study shows that the development of subjective group dynamics involves an increase in sensitivity to the normative aspects of the intergroup context.

    Christian, J.N. and Armitage, C.J. and Abrams, D. (2007) Evidence that theory of planned behaviour variables mediate the effects of socio-demographic variables on homeless people's participation in service programmes. Journal of Health Psychology, 12 (5). pp. 805-817. ISSN 1359-1053.

    Abstract

    This article reports findings from two studies (N = 88, N = 100) using Alzen's theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to predict homeless people's uptake of service programmes. Study I was conducted with an opportunity sample whereas Study 2 employed a representative sample. Both studies provide support for the application of the TPB, and demonstrate that the effects of demographic characteristics on behaviour were mediated by TPB variables. The discussion focuses on the role of attitudinal and normative components in actual behaviour, and on the potential role of social normative processes and stigmatization in homeless people's uptake of services.

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    Leader, T.I. and Mullen, B. and Abrams, D. (2007) Without mercy: The immediate impact of group size on lynch mob atrocity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33 (10). pp. 1340-1352. ISSN 0146-1672.

    Abstract

    Two independent research traditions have focused on social contributions to lynching. The sociological power threat hypothesis has argued that lynching atrocity will increase as a function of the relative number of African Americans. The psychological self-attention theory has argued that lynching atrocity will increase as a function of the relative number of mob members. Two series of analyses (one using newspaper reports and the second using photographic records) using different and nonoverlapping samples of lynching events rendered a consistent pattern of results: Lynch mob atrocity did not increase as a function of the relative numbers of African Americans in the county population but it did increase as a function of the relative numbers of mob members in the lynch mob. Discussion considers the implications of these results.

    Eller, A. and Abrams, D. and Viki, G.T. et al. (2007) Stay cool, hang loose, admit nothing: Race, intergroup contact, and public-police relations. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 29 (3). pp. 213-224. ISSN 0197-3533.

    Abstract

    Drawing on the contact hypothesis of Allport (1954) and Pettigrew (1998) we examined whether public-police contact, among White and Black university students in Britain, mediated between participant race and perceived racism of police and cooperation with police, respectively. Study 1 (N= 105) showed this to be the case for quality, but not quantity of contact. High-quality contact mitigated the negative effects of being Black on greater perceived racism and lower cooperation. Study 2 (N= 130) assessed a general view of police and desired closeness to police as dependent variables and investigated the moderating potential of racial identification. Higher-quality and lower quantity of contact were associated with a more positive view of police and higher desired closeness. Identification moderated the effects of race on quantity of contact, view of police, and desired closeness, with negative effects driven by high identification.

    Eller, A. and Abrams, D. and Viki, G.T. et al. (2007) When my friend's friend is a police officer: Extended contact, crossed-categorisation, and public-police relations of black and white people. South African Journal of Psychology, 37 (4). pp. 783-802. ISSN 0081-2463.

    Abstract

    Crossed-categorisation and extended contact are two different bases for improving intergroup relations. Crossed-categorisation refers to the crossing of two dichotomous social dimensions, resulting in four groups (double ingroup, double outgroup, and two mixed groups). The extended contact hypothesis proposes that knowledge about ingroup-outgroup friendships can lead to more positive intergroup attitudes. The present research combined extended contact and crossed-categorisation to test whether black and white university students' view of the police, perceived racism of police, desired closeness to police, and willingness to join police were improved through extended contact with a black (or white) police officer via a black (or white) acquaintance (four possibilities). Double-outgroup extended contact for both white and black participants, and mixed-group extended contact for whites (showing a social exclusion pattern), were associated with worse public-police relations. In contrast, double-ingroup extended contact for whites, and mixed-group extended contact for blacks (showing a social inclusion pattern) were associated with improved relations.

    Rutland, A. and Abrams, D. and Levy, S. (2007) Introduction: Extending the conversation: Transdisciplinary approaches to social identity and intergroup attitudes in children and adolescents. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 31 (5). pp. 417 - 418. ISSN 0165-0254.

    Abstract

    Ali, then 14, and his younger brother fled Afghanistan after their parents were arrested and killed by the Taliban. They found refuge with a friend in Iran, but the anti-Afghan prejudice they encountered made them embark on their journey to the UK at the hands of people-smugglers. (The Guardian, London, 15th June 2007).

    Hopthrow, T. and Abrams, D. and Frings, D. et al. (2007) Groupdrink: The effects of alcohol on intergroup competitiveness. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, Vol 21 (2). pp. 272-276. ISSN 0893-164X.

    Abstract

    Alcohol is often consumed in group settings. The present article examines the effect of alcohol on intergroup competitiveness through the use of a prisoner's dilemma game. One hundred fifty-eight college students participated in the study, either individually or as a member of a 4-person experimental single-sex group. Participants consumed either alcohol (1.13 g ethanol/kg body weight) or a placebo. Results show no effect of alcohol on cooperative choice within individuals. However, groups were significantly less cooperative after consuming alcohol than they were after consuming a placebo. In addition, after consuming alcohol, groups were less cooperative than were individuals. Results are discussed in terms of the way alcohol may affect focus of attention on group-level cues

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    Rutland, A. and Abrams, D. and Cameron, L. (2007) Children’s attitudes towards nonconformists: Intergroup relations and social exclusion in middle childhood. International Journal on School Disaffection, 4 (2). pp. 45-52. ISSN 1478-8497.

    Abstract

    Social exclusion is a serious social problem. Not "fitting in" at school may be an experience that can scar children psychologically for life. This is unsurprising since being part of the "in crowd" (i.e. accepted in-group members) is extremely important to children and adolescents. Being rejected by one's peers can cause an increase in antisocial behaviour, deviance, aggression, lowered intellectual performance, self-defeating behaviour and a series of other maladaptive responses. Thus, an important social task that children face is to work out when their own and others' behaviour contravenes social norms, and to decide how to respond when such norms are contravened. Namely, they need to form attitudes towards nonconformity. Societal and interpersonal responses to deviance may focus primarily on the "problem" child and his or her personal or family relationships. However, the authors argue that such focus may miss a significant dimension, namely that when and how a behaviour is defined as "deviant" is also part of a wider peer group process that defines and defends group norms and boundaries. In this paper, the authors consider how the intergroup context (i.e. perceived relations between one's own and other social groups) and socio-cognitive development (i.e. the emergence of social-cognitive abilities) affects school children's reactions to non-conformists in their peer group.

    Abrams, D. and Eller, A. and Bryant, J. (2006) An age apart: The effects of intergenerational contact and stereotype threat on performance and intergroup bias. Psychology and Ageing, 21 (4). pp. 691-702. ISSN 0882-7974.

    Abstract

    An experimental study examined the effect of intergenerational contact and Stereotype threat on older people's cognitive performance, anxiety, intergroup bias, and identification. Participants completed a series of cognitive tasks under high or low stereotype threat (through comparison with younger people). In line with stereotype threat theory, threat resulted in worse performance. However, this did not occur if prior intergenerational contact had been more positive. This moderating effect of contact was mediated by test-related anxiety. In line with intergroup contact theory, more positive contact was associated with reduced prejudice and reduced ingroup identification. However this occurred in the high threat, but not low threat, condition. The findings suggest that positive intergenerational contact can reduce vulnerability to stereotype threat among older people.

    Eller, A. and Abrams, D. (2006) A people's Entente Cordiale? The role of implicit attitude in the relationship between English-French contact, levels of categorization, and explicit intergroup attitudes. Current Research in Social Psychology, 11 (7). pp. 92-110.

    Abstract

    The Common Ingroup Identity Model (CIIM) holds that four levels of categorization (the interpersonal, intergroup, and particularly, superordinate group, and dual identity levels) mediate the intergroup contact-bias relationship. CIIM was tested in an Anglo-French intergroup context with explicit and implicit (IAT) measures of prejudice. Results showed that the intergroup level partially mediated an increase in bias and all other levels partially mediated a reduction in bias. Implicit attitude moderated three effects of contact and levels of categorization on intergroup anxiety. Contact, superordinate and dual identity levels of categorization were associated with reduced anxiety when implicit bias was high, but not when it was low.

    Glick, P. and Fiske, S.T. and Abrams, D. et al. (2006) Anti-American sentiment and America's perceived intent to dominate: An 11-nation study. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 28 (4). pp. 363-373. ISSN 0197-3533.

    Abstract

    Perceptions of America as a powerful but malevolent nation decrease its security. On the basis of measures derived from the stereotype content model (SCM) and image theory (IT), 5,000 college students in I I nations indicated their perceptions of the personality traits of, intentions of, and emotional reactions to the United States as well as their reactions to relevant world events (e.g., 9/11). The United States was generally perceived as competent but cold and arrogant. Although participants distinguished between the United States' government and its citizens, differences were small. Consistent with the SCM and IT, viewing the United States as intent on domination predicted perceptions of lack of warmth and of arrogance but not of competence and status. The discussion addresses implications for terrorist recruitment and ally support.

    Viki, G.T. and Chiroro, P. and Abrams, D. (2006) Hostile Sexism, Type of Rape and Self Reported Rape Proclivity Within a Sample of Zimbabwean Males. Violence Against Women, 12 (8). pp. 789-800. ISSN 1077-8012.

    Abstract

    The role of hostile sexism in accounting for rape proclivity among men was investigated using a sample of Zimbabwean students. Participants were presented with either an acquaintance rape or a stranger rape scenario and asked to respond to five questions about the scenario designed to assess rape proclivity. As expected, a significant relationship between hostile sexism and rape proclivity was obtained in the acquaintance rape but not the stranger rape condition. These results replicate previous research and suggest that hostile sexists are more likely to express their hostility toward women in situations where such behavior might be perceived as acceptable.

    Viki, G.T. and Culmer, M.J. and Eller, A. et al. (2006) Race and willingness to co-operate with the police: The roles of quality of contact, attitudes towards the behaviour and subjective norms. British Journal of Social Psychology, 45 (Part 2). pp. 285-302. ISSN 0144-6665.

    Abstract

    Black individuals are usually reluctant to co-operate with the police (Smith, 1983a). We propose that a history of unpleasant interactions with the police generates hostile attitudes towards the institution (Jefferson & Walker, 1993). Using a sample of 56 black and 64 white participants, we examined whether quality of contact predicts black people's attitudes and subjective norms concerning co-operating with the police. Our findings indicated that the Contact Hypothesis (Pettigrew, 1998) and Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, 1991) jointly provide some insight into the disinclination of black individuals to co-operate with the police. We found that the relationship between race and attitudes or subjective norms concerning co-operation with police investigations was mediated by quality of previous contact with the police. In turn, the relationship between quality of contact and willingness to co-operate with police investigations was mediated by both attitudes and subjective norms. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

    Abrams, D. and Hopthrow, T. and Hulbert, L. et al. (2006) "Groupdrink"? The effect of alcohol on risk attraction among groups versus individuals. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 67 (4). pp. 628-636. ISSN 0096-882X.

    Abstract

    Objective: The objective of the present study is to assess the impact of alcohol consumption on the risk orientation of people when they are in groups as opposed to alone. Alcohol is often consumed within social groups, but previous research has not distinguished whether particular group processes affect risk differently as a consequence of alcohol consumption. Three theory-based predictions are tested to see whether, after alcohol consumption, groups encourage or inhibit risk as a result of group polarization, deindividuation, or group monitoring. Method: Male participants (N = 120; ages 18-28), recruited via opportunity sample from students at the University of Kent, were assigned as individuals or as members of four-person groups. They had their breath alcohol concentration analyzed to ensure they were alcohol free and then were asked to consume either a placebo or alcohol in amounts equivalent to the legal limit for driving in the United States and the United Kingdom (.08% blood alcohol concentration). Participants completed a risk-attraction task either alone or in a group. Each participant also completed an alcohol-expectancy questionnaire. Results: Individuals found risky choices significantly more attractive after consuming alcohol. In contrast, members of groups showed no such increase. In alcohol but not placebo conditions, groups made their decisions more slowly than did individuals. Conclusions: The results are consistent with the group-monitoring hypothesis (i.e., that group members attend to each other and promote a greater level of systematic processing of the risks presented). Results indicate that with moderate social drinking, groups may provide an informal means of mutual regulation and monitoring that can offset some aspects of alcohol myopia.

    Forbes, I. and Abrams, D. (2004) International social science research: Craft industry or baby behemoth? International Social Science Journal, 56 (180). pp. 227-244. ISSN 0020-8701.

    Viki, G.T. and Abrams, D. (2004) Benevolent and hostile sexism: Complementary system justifying ideologies. Social Psychological Review, 6. pp. 76-88.

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    Masser, B.M. and Abrams, D. (2004) Reinforcing the glass ceiling: The consequences of hostile sexism for female managerial candidates. Sex Roles, 51 (9-10). pp. 609-615. ISSN 0360-0025.

    Abstract

    Previous research has established that benevolent sexism is related to the negative evaluation of women who violate specific norms for behavior. Research has yet to document the causal impact of hostile sexism on evaluations of individual targets. Correlational evidence and ambivalent sexism theory led us to predict that hostile sexism would be associated with negative evaluations of a female candidate for a masculine-typed occupational role. Participants completed the ASI (P. Glick & S. T. Fiske, 1996) and evaluated a curriculum vitae from either a male or female candidate. Higher hostile sexism was significantly associated with more negative evaluations of the female candidate and with lower recommendations that she be employed as a manager. Conversely, higher hostile sexism was significantly associated with higher recommendations that a male candidate should be employed as a manager. Benevolent sexism was unrelated to evaluations and recommendations in this context. The findings support the hypothesis that hostile, but not benevolent, sexism results in negativity toward individual women who pose a threat to men’s status in the workplace.

    Christian, J.N. and Abrams, D. (2004) A tale of two cities: Predicting homeless people’s uptake of outreach programs in London and New York. Basic and Applied social Psychology, 26 (2-3). pp. 169-182. ISSN 0197-3533.

    Abstract

    Two studies involved structured interviews with 203 homeless people to examine the impact of sociodemographic variables, prior behavior, and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) variables, attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intention, on uptake of outreach services. Study 1was conducted in London, and Study 2 involved a comparable sample in New York. In line with previous research, the psychological variables accounted for more variance than the sociodemographic variables, and there was no evidence that the effects of TPB variables were moderated by sociodemographics. In London intentions and behavior were most affected by perceived control and subjective norms. In New York they were most affected by perceived control and attitude. These differences may be attributable to different institutional structures and opportunities for service uptake in the two cities. Sensitivity of the TPB to social context and implications for intervention strategies are discussed in light of these differences

    Eller, A. and Abrams, D. (2004) Come together: Longitudinal comparisons of Pettigrew’s Reformulated Intergroup Contact Model and the Common Ingroup Identity Model in Anglo-French and Mexican-American contexts. European Journal of Social Psychology,, 34 (3). pp. 229-256.

    Abstract

    Both Anglo-French and Mexican-American relations are embedded in histories of conflict. Within these intergroup contexts, two longitudinal field studies of contact tested Pettigrew’s (1998) reformulated model of the intergroup contact theory and Gaertner and Dovidio’s (2000) Common Ingroup Identity Model (CIIM). In Pettigrew’s model, intergroup friendship is accorded a special role and the contact-bias relation is mediated by changing behaviour, ingroup reappraisal, generating affective ties, and learning about the outgroup. Pettigrew’s integration of the three central models of contact generalization into a time-sequence holds that contact first elicits decategorization, then salient categorization, and finally recategorization. In the CIIM, these three levels of categorization— plus a fourth, dual identity—are conceptualized to be mediators in the contact-bias relation. Results point to the crucial importance of intergroup friendship and underline the mediating roles of learning about the outgroup, behaviour modification, and generating affective ties, but not ingroup reappraisal in Pettigrew’s model. As for the CIIM, in Study 1 interpersonal and intergroup levels were most central, while in Study 2 the dual identity and superordinate group levels were most effective. The implications of the findings are discussed with reference to the likely stability of these effects in different intergroup contexts.

    Abrams, D. and Hogg, M.A. (2004) Metatheory: Lessons from social identity research. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 8 (2). pp. 98-106. ISSN 1088-8683.

    Abstract

    The value of a metatheoretical perspective is illustrated using our work in the development of the social identity approach. A metatheory places specific research questions within a broader framework and encourages the integration of theorizing for a range of potentially disparate phenomena. It sets parameters for predictions by specific theories and contexts. Resistance to ideas and disputes among theorists often reflect differences in metatheories. However openness to debate and integration of concepts can turn these to advantage by posing new research questions. These issues are discussed with reference to European and North American perspectives on groups; theorizing about intergroup behavior motivation, and self-categorization; the connection between laboratory and real-world phenomena; and the linkage of intergroup and intragroup behavior.

    Viki, G.T. and Abrams, D. and Masser, B. (2004) Evaluating stranger and acquaintance rape: The role of benevolent sexism in perpetrator blame and recommended sentence length. Law and Human Behavior, 28 (3). pp. 295-303. ISSN 0147-7307.

    Abstract

    In most jurisdictions, the law does not recognize the distinction between stranger and acquaintance rape. However, these two types of rape seem to elicit different responses from both lay observers and legal practitioners. Two studies investigating the role of benevolent sexism (BS) in accounting for participants' responses to acquaintance vs. stranger rape perpetrators are reported. Participants were presented with vignettes describing either an acquaintance rape or a stranger rape. As predicted, relative to low-BS individuals, participants who scored high in BS attributed less blame ( Study 1) and recommended shorter sentences ( Study 2) for the acquaintance rape perpetrator. Benevolent sexism was unrelated to reactions to the perpetrator in the stranger rape condition

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    Eller, A. and Abrams, D. (2003) 'Gringos' in Mexico: Cross-sectional and longitudinal effects of language school-promoted contact on intergroup bias. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 6 (1). pp. 55-75. ISSN 1368-4302.

    Abstract

    Abstract: A longitudinal field study examined Pettigrew's (1998) intergroup contact theory and Gaertner et al.'s (2000) Common Ingroup Identity Model (CIIM). In Pettigrew's model, the contact-prejudice relation is mediated by changing behavior, ingroup reappraisal, generating affective ties, and learning about the outgroup. Pettigrew's integration of the three chief models of contact generalization into a time-sequence holds that contact first elicits decategorization, then salient categorization, and finally recategorization. In CIIM, these three levels of categorization-plus a fourth, dual identity-are thought to be mediators in the contact-prejudice relation. Results underline the crucial mediating role of behavior modification in Pettigrew's model and interpersonal and superordinate levels in CIIM. An attempt to partially integrate the two models is presented.

    Bown, N.J. and Abrams, D. (2003) Despicability in the workplace: Effects of behavioral deviance and unlikeability on the evaluation of in-group and out-group members. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 33 (11). pp. 2413-2426. ISSN 0021-9029.

    Abstract

    Abstract: This study examined how members of functionally independent work groups (bank employees) evaluated behavioral deviance among in-group and out-group members. Members' behavior was either modal (normative) or deviant in relation to workplace norms, and members were either likeable or unlikeable. Based on social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) and on the black-sheep effect (e.g., Marques & Paez, 1994), it was predicted that both unlikeability and deviance would result in more negative evaluations. It was also predicted that behavior that challenged prescriptive in-group standards would result in relative derogation of in-group targets compared to similar out-group targets (the evaluative extremity effect). These hypotheses were supported. Discussion focuses on how evaluations of deviant group members help to preserve a positive sense of social identity. Practical implications of social deviance in the workplace are considered.

    Abrams, D. and Rutland, A. and Cameron, L. et al. (2003) The development of subjective group dynamics: When ingroup bias gets specific. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 21 (2). pp. 155-176. ISSN 0261-510X.

    Abstract

    Children aged 6-7 years and 10-11 years evaluated an in-group or out-group summer school and judged in-group or out-group members whose attitudes towards the summer schools were either normative or anti-normative. According to a subjective group dynamics model of intergroup processes, intergroup differentiation and intragroup differentiation co-occur to bolster the validity of in-group norms. The hypothesis that this process develops later than simple in-group bias was confirmed. All children expressed global in-group bias, but differential reactions to in-group and out-group deviants were stronger among older children. Moreover, the increasing relationship, with age, between in-group bias and evaluative preferences for in-group and out-group members that provide relative support to in-group norms, is mediated by the degree of perceptual differentiation among group members

    Abrams, D. and Viki, G.T. and Masser, B. et al. (2003) Perceptions of stranger and acquaintance rape: The role of benevolent and hostile sexism in victim blame and rape proclivity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84 (1). pp. 111-125. ISSN 0022-3514.

    Abstract

    Abstract: In Studies I and 21 after reading an acquaintance-rape but not a stranger-rape scenario, higher benevolent. sexist but not hostile sexist participants blamed the victim significantly more. In Study 2, higher hostile sexist but not benevolent sexist male participants showed significantly greater proclivity to commit acquaintance (but not stranger) rape. Studies 3 a effects" of nd 4 'slippor,ted the hypothesis that the benevolent sexism and hostile sexism are mediated by different perceptions of the victim, as behaving. inappropriately and as really wanting sex with the rapist. These findings show that benevolent sexism and hostile sexism,underpin different assumptions about women that, generate sexist reactions toward rape victims.

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    Christian, J. and Armitage, C.J. and Abrams, D. (2003) Predicting uptake of housing services: The role of self-categorization in the theory of planned behaviour. Current Psychology, 22 (3). pp. 206-217. ISSN 1046-1310.

    Abstract

    Abstract: The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and self-categorization theory (SCT) were used to predict homeless people's (n = 80) uptake of housing support services. Homeless people's uptake behaviour was measured one year after a TPB/SCT-based interview schedule was administered. Congruent with previous research, TPB variables were influential predictors of both intention and behaviour. However, the addition of self-categorization variables, such as friendship group norms and identification as a housing support service user, significantly increased the rate prediction for both intention and behaviour, respectively. The implications of the research are firstly, that social cognition models are useful for understanding uptake of housing support services; and secondly, the addition of self-categorization variables aids in exploring the central role that social norms play in understanding the uptake of these services. These findings are discussed in terms of their impact on theory and practice.

    Christian, J. and Abrams, D. (2003) The effects of social identification, norms and attitudes on use of outreach services by homeless people. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 13 (2). pp. 138-157. ISSN 1052-9284.

    Abstract

    Abstract: The theory of planned behaviour, social identity theory and attitudes toward institutional authority were used to predict the uptake of outreach services over a 3-week period in a prospective study of 126 homeless people in a major UK city. Consistent with previous research, subjective norm was an important predictor, but so were identification with support services and attitudes to authority. The effect of intention on behaviour was moderated by subjective norm, such that intention affected behaviour more when subjective norm was weak. Subjective norm was affected by identification with support services, which in turn, was predicted by identification with homeless people and attitude to authority. It is concluded that the role of social identity and social norms is of central importance in understanding uptake of outreach services among homeless people.

    Viki, G.T. and Abrams, D. (2003) Infra-humanization: Ambivalent Sexism and the attribution of primary and secondary emotions to women. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 39 (5). pp. 492-499. ISSN 0022-1031.

    Abstract

    Leyens and colleagues (e.g., Leyens et al., 2001) have observed that people are more likely to attribute uniquely human (secondary) emotions to the in-group than to the out-group. We examined whether males and females differentially attribute primary and secondary emotions to women. We hypothesized that individual differences in hostile sexism (HS) and benevolent sexism (BS), rather than participant sex, would predict the attribution of emotions to women. As expected, high BS individuals were more likely to attribute positive secondary emotions to women than low BS individuals. In contrast, high HS individuals were more likely to deny positive secondary emotions to women than low HS individuals. Participant sex was not related to the attribution of emotions to women after the effects of HS and BS were accounted for.

    Hutchison, P. and Abrams, D. (2003) Ingroup identification moderates stereotype changein reaction to ingroup deviance. European Journal of Social Psychology, 33 (4). pp. 497-506. ISSN 0046-2772.

    Abstract

    An experiment (N=98) investigated the moderating effect of ingroup identification on reactions to deviant ingroup members. We measured psychology students’ level of identification with the group ‘psychologists’ and presented them with information about either a normative or deviant psychologist. Participants completed an ingroup stereotype measure either before or after reading about and evaluating the target psychologist. High identifiers expressed a more positive stereotype of the ingroup after, compared to before, reading about a deviant ingroup member. High identifiers also expressed a more positive stereotype of the ingroup after reading about a deviant than after reading about a normative ingroup member. By contrast, low identifiers’ stereotype judgements were relatively unaffected by the target information. The target evaluation ratings indicate that high identifiers were more positive than low identifiers towards the normative ingroup member, but were more negative than low identifiers towards the deviant. The results point to the greater motivational demands on high identifiers to maintain a positive image of the group.

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    Abrams, D. and Rutland, A. and Cameron, L. (2003) The development of subjective group dynamics: Children’s judgments of normative and deviant in-group and out-group individuals. Child Development, 74 (6). pp. 1840-1856. ISSN 0009-3920.

    Abstract

    Abstract: A developmental model of subjective group dynamics suggests that social identity is sustained first by intergroup biases and later by intragroup biases. In this study 476 English children 5 to 11 years old evaluated the English and German soccer teams, and judged in-group or out-group members whose attitudes toward the teams was normative versus antinormative. Children of all ages expressed intergroup bias. Differential evaluation against in-group deviants and in favor of out-group deviants strengthened with age. Understanding of targets' relative acceptability (differential inclusion) among in-group and out-group members mediated the effects of age and intergroup bias on intragroup bias. Identification with the in-group moderated the effects only among older children.

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    Viki, G.T. and Abrams, D. and Hutchison, P. (2003) The “True” Romantic: Benevolent Sexism and Paternalistic Chivalry. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 49 (9-10). pp. 533-537. ISSN 0360-0025.

    Abstract

    Previous research has shown that individuals high in benevolent sexism positively evaluate women who conform to traditional gender roles (e.g., Glick, Diebold, Bailey-Warner, & Zhu, 1997). In the current study, male and female participants completed the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (Glick & Fiske, 1996) and a new measure of paternalistic chivalry, that is, attitudes that are both courteous and considerate to women but place restrictions on behavior considered appropriate for women during courtship. Consistent with our hypotheses, benevolent sexism was significantly positively related to paternalistic chivalry. Hostile sexism and participant sex were unrelated to paternalistic chivalry.

    Morris, L. and Abrams, D. and Randsley de Moura, G. et al. (2003) Delaying the inevitable? The effects of "time to think" on responses to innovative concepts. European Journal of Marketing, 37 (10). pp. 1440-1456. ISSN 0309-0566.

    Abstract

    Abstract: This article explores how different market research methodologies impact on consumers' responses to innovative concepts. Although there is a fierce competition among companies to be first to the market with innovative products, a recent report has shown that the vast majority of such products fail in the marketplace within a year. To avoid such costly mistakes, companies invest in market research to test the potential market appeal of new product concepts. The most common form of concept test is the "picture-board" technique. This technique normally features a graphic representation of a potential new product, accompanied by a short textual description of it. Various alternative concept-testing techniques have been developed to address this issue, including the "living with the concept" method. This method requires participants to keep materials describing the concept at home for a period of time. During this time they are asked to think about the concept and its uses in their life.

    Viki, G.T. and Abrams, D. (2002) Against their will: Benevolent sexism and rape victims. Relational Justice Bulletin, 15. pp. 4-5.

    Viki, G.T. and Abrams, D. (2002) But she was unfaithful: Benevolent sexism and reactions to rape victims who violate traditional gender role expectations. Sex Roles, 47 (5-6). pp. 289-293. ISSN 0360-0025.

    Abstract

    The role of benevolent sexism (BS) in accounting for victim blame in an acquaintance rape case was investigated. Participants were presented with vignettes that described an acquaintance rape. Control condition participants were given no descriptive information about the victim, whereas in the "cheating" condition the victim was described as a "married woman." As predicted, participants who scored high in BS attributed more blame to the acquaintance rape victim who was assaulted during an act of infidelity than to a victim in similar circumstances whose marital status was unknown. These findings complement those of other research (Abrams, Viki, Masser, & Bohner, in press), which indicate that individuals high in BS are more likely to react negatively to rape victims who can be viewed as violating social norms concerning appropriate conduct for women.

    Abrams, D. and Marques, J.M. and Bown, N.J. et al. (2002) Anti-norm and pro-norm deviance in the bank and on the campus: Two experiments on subjective group dynamics. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 5 (2). pp. 163-182. ISSN 1368-4302.

    Abstract

    In two experiments, participants evaluated other individuals who deviated in either an anti- or pro-normative direction relative to normative members of the same group. We predicted that individuals would prefer group members who contributed to the validity of in-group norms. In Study 1, anti-norm deviants in an organization attracted more negative evaluations than did pronorm deviants, even though both were dissimilar to the in-group prototype. Consistent with our model of ‘subjective group dynamics’, evaluations of such deviants were related to perceivers’ identification with their own group. In Study 2, British and Overseas students were more positive toward in-group and out-group members who deviated in the in-group normative direction with respect to university policies for Overseas students. These findings complement the results from laboratory experiments by Abrams, Marques, Bown, and Henson (2000). Reactions to deviance reflect more than just the magnitude of deviance; they are also affected by the group membership of the deviant, and the direction in which that person deviates.

    Marques, J.M. and Abrams, D. and Serodio, R. (2001) Being better by being right : Subjective group dynamics and derogation of in-group deviants when generic norms are undermined. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,, 81 (3). pp. 436-447. ISSN 0022-3514.

    Glick, P. and Fiske, S.T and Mladinic, A. et al. (2000) Beyond prejudice as simple antipathy: Hostile and benevolent sexism across cultures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79 (5). pp. 763-775. ISSN 0022-3514.

    Abstract

    The authors argue that complementary hostile and benevolent components of sexism exist across cultures. Male dominance creates hostile sexism IHS), but men's dependence on women fosters benevolent sexism (BS)-subjectively positive attitudes that put women on a pedestal but reinforce their subordination. Research with 15,000 men and women in 19 nations showed that (a) HS and BS are coherent constructs that correlate positively across nations, but (b) HS predicts the ascription of negative and BS the ascription of positive traits to women, (c) relative to men, women are more likely to reject HS than BS, especially when overall levels of sexism in a culture are high, and (d) national averages on BS and HS predict gender inequality across nations. These results challenge prevailing notions of prejudice as an antipathy in that BS tan affectionate, patronizing ideology) reflects inequality and is a cross-culturally pervasive complement to HS.

Book Sections
Monographs

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    Abrams, D. and Leader, T. and Rutland, A. (2009) Black role models: which messages work? Testing the impact of role models’ messages for Black boys and Black young men: research to inform the REACH role model programme. project_report. Communities and Local Government, London

    Abstract

    This report summarises findings from an experimental research study that explored the effect of different types of role model messages in order to identify those with the most positive potential impact on Black boys and Black young men, and to identify any potentially negative effects. The findings and recommendations in this report are those of the consultant authors and do not necessarily represent the views or proposed policies of Communities and Local Government.

    Leader, T.I. and Abrams, D. and Rutland, A. et al. (2009) An experimental test of the impact of Black role model messages: Research to inform the REACH role model programme. technical_report. Department for Communities and Local Government

    Abstract

    This report summarises the main findings, conclusions and recommendations from an experimental study of the impact of different types of Black male role model on Black and non-Black school children and on young Black men.

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    Abrams, D. and Houston, D.M. (2006) Equality, Diversity and Prejudice in Britain: Results from the 2005 National Survey: Report for the Cabinet OfficeEqualities Review October 2006. project_report. DTI London

    Abstract

    Britain is an increasingly diverse and multifaceted society. Consequently, manifestations of inequality, prejudice and discrimination are potentially becoming more varied and complex. The meaning of equality itself is a matter of considerable debate. Perceptions, attitudes, stereotypes and emotions permeate social relationships between groups, whether conflictual or harmonious. How are different groups perceived? How do images of different groups map onto prejudice? To what extent do people experience prejudice directed against themselves? There is increasing interest in whether Britain is becoming a more or less tolerant, accepting or indeed coherent society. This report describes the findings of a survey which employed social psychological methods and measures to assess a range of different aspects of prejudice towards six significant groups in British society – defined by gender, age, ethnicity, sexuality, disability and religion. The report examines the values people espouse, their experiences, and their expressions of prejudice, the extent that ‘political correctness’ may affect expressions of prejudice, the social stereotypes underpinning prejudice, whether prejudice is expressed differently towards different types of group, and the extent to which British society is perceived as a cohesive whole or as being formed of distinct and separate groups. It also explores whether prejudice is predominantly an issue of personal attitudes or whether it is rooted more in the relationships between particular social groups.

Research Reports

    Leader, T.I. and Abrams, D. (2009) Project Sphinx: Final report. Funded/commissioned by: Dover Port Authority.

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    Abrams, D. and Eilola, T.M. and Swift, H.S (2009) Attitudes to age in Britain 2004-8. Funded/commissioned by: Department for Work and Pensions Report 599. Department for Work and Pensions, 148 pp. ISBN 978-1-84712-635-1.

    Abstract

    In the context of Britain's ageing population an important challenge is how to respond to people's assumptions and expectations about age and ageing. Attitudes to age can affect people of all ages, and involve people's views both of themselves and of others. These attitudes have important implications for individual well-being, for age equality and for social cohesion. Understanding attitudes to age is essential if we are to develop appropriate strategies for an ageing population. This research analysed evidence on attitudes to age in Britain between 2004 and 2008. The data are from over 6,000 respondents to a series of five nationally representative face-to-face interview surveys. Seven issues were examined: the importance of age to people’s self-concept, and what determines how they judge others as ‘young’ or ‘old’ beliefs that age prejudice and discrimination are a problem personal experience of age discrimination stereotypes that exist about older and younger people, and their implications beliefs that the ageing population endangers employment prospects, access to services and resources, or endangers the culture and way of life of all people the expression of age prejudice and beliefs that younger and older people share a single community and intergenerational divide

    Abrams, D. (2008) Prejudice and good relations: A review for the Equalities and Human Rights Commission. Funded/commissioned by: EHRC.

    Abrams, D. (2005) How Ageist is Britain?

Conference Items

    Abrams, D. and Marques, J.M. and Rutland, A. et al. (2008) Strength from within: On the strategic interplay of intragroup and intergroup judgments - Invited presentation. In: Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Preconference on Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 7th February 2008, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. (unpublished)

    Abrams, D. (2008) The defiance and defense of group norms: why extremism is the bread and butter of social life. In: Claremont Symposium on Applied Social Psychology: Extremism and the Psychology of Uncertainty, 6th April 2008, Claremont Graduate College, California, USA.

    Abstract

    Dr. Dominic Abrams presents his research on the way people react to extreme, or 'deviant' members of their own and other groups. Group psychology has long established that deviants tend to be rejected within groups, but there are many times when they serve another important function, namely to define the limits of what it means to be a group member. This way, deviants can on the one hand be used to constrain other members, and on the other to test just how fanatical members can be before they are judged to be 'extreme'. Based on his research, using laboratory experiments and field studies with adults and children, Dr. Abrams states the need to distinguish between different types of deviance (descriptive and prescriptive), and that the magnitude and direction of deviance have separate implications for the way deviant members are treated. The developmental research also shows that responses to deviants require quite complex forms of social reasoning, including advanced perspective taking skills and understanding who the audience is. Taken together, Dr. Abrams' research shows how extremists both create and reduce uncertainty, and why they are so important in relations within and between social groups.

Total publications in KAR: 126 [See all in KAR]
Information obtained from the Kent Academic Repository. The University of Kent official repository of academic activity.
More information about the Kent Academic Repository

 

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Current research students

Libby Cuthbert: (ESRC - CASE studentship with AgeUK) Age stereotypes.

Ruth Lamont: (ESRC) Stereotype threat.

Claire Powell: (ESRC) Group dynamics during childhood and adolescence.

Hannah Swift: (ESRC – CASE studentship with Age UK) The social, psychological and behavioural consequences of ageism: implications for research and policy.

Giovanni Travaglino: Deviance and transgression in groups.

Julie Van De Vyver: (ESRC - CASE studentship with People United) Promoting prosocial behaviour.

Hazel Wardrop: (ESRC/CASE studentship with the Equality and Human Rights Commission) Analysing changing public attitudes toward equality and intergroup relations.

Orkun Yetkili: How do we perceive group deviance?

Recently graduated

Dr Max Boehling: (ESRC) Hierarchically nested identities and motivation to help at work: A social identity perspective.

Dr Evangelos Chaikalis: Antecedents of collective action.

Dr Monica Noronha: Promoting condom use among young people employing health and social psychology.

Dr Joseph Pelletier: The impact of social identity on prosocial behaviour in middle childhood.

Dr Shirley Samson: The role of uncertainty-identity in the evaluation of groups (Christine Bolt Scholarship 2008/2009).

Dr Katerina Tasiopoulou: (ESRC) An integrative cross-national examination of the Antecedents of perceived intergroup threat and prejudiced towards immigrants.


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Grants

2012

D. Abrams and M. Vauclair
ESRC Psychological and Societal Bases of Attitudes to Age:
A Multilevel Cross-National Analysis

£112,000

2012

M. Weick, T. Hopthrow, D.Abrams, P. Taylor-Gooby
Risk Perception and Behaviour in Business: What We Know and What We Need to Know.  ESRC, January 2012

£44,692

2010

L. Lima and D. Abrams
European Social Fund
Strategic Workshop on Social Identity, Health and Equality

E20,000

2010

D. Abrams
Department for Work and Pensions
Multilevel modelling of the European Social Survey module on Age Attitudes.

£75,000

2010

D. Abrams
Department for Work and Pensions
Developing an Age Attitudes indicator set for the ONS Omnibus

£10,000

2010

D Abrams
Age UK
Age discrimination across Europe

£10,000

2009

D Abrams and A Rutland
The British Academy
The role of group status and social norms in children's peer exclusion behaviour

£115,875

2009

D Abrams
Department of Work and Pensions
Measuring attitudes to ageing over time

£98,546

2005-06

G T Viki and D Abrams
Economic and Social Research Council
Identification and evaluations of confessions by in-group and out-group members

£46,750

2003-06

D Abrams and A Rutland
Economic and Social Research Council
Children’s evaluations of deviant ingroup and outgroup members

£106,000

2003

D Abrams and A Rutland
The British Academy
The effect of accountability to the peer group on children’s judgements of deviant group members

£5,000

2001-03

D Abrams (Co-director)
ESRC
Social Inclusion and Exclusion: The Contribution of Social Psychology to Policy. ESRC seminar series

£12,000

2001-02

D Abrams and L G Hulbert
Economic and Social Research Council
The impact of alcohol consumption on group processes

£39,997

2000

D Abrams
Unilever Research, Colworth
The Delayed Evaluation Paradigm

£4,400

1999-2001

D Abrams and L G Hulbert
Economic and Social Research Council
Risky decisions in groups

£40,000
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Other responsibilities

Co-Director of the EURAGE (European Research on Attitudes to Ageing) research group, which also designed the 2008 European Social Survey module on attitudes to age.

Group Processes and Intergroup Relations

Co-Editor (with Michael A. Hogg) of Group Processes and Intergroup Relations. A well-established social psychology journal published by Sage. The journal embraces basic and applied aspects of group and intergroup phenomena.

Group Processes and Intergroup Relations

Co-Editor (with Melanie Killen) an issue of the Journal of Social Issues on the Social Exclusion of Children.

Group Processes and Intergroup Relations
Inclusion and Exclusion
Social Exclusion Research

 

Reports for the government, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and the UK's largest charity for older people, Age UK.

Equality Age Discrimination 2008

 

Currently serving on the Councils of the Academy of Social Sciences and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.

Research with People United, evaluating the impact of Arts based interventions to promote prosocial behaviour and kindness.

Member of the Child Development Unit at the University of Kent.

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Contact details

Address:

School of Psychology
Keynes College
University of Kent
Canterbury
Kent
CT2 7NP
United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)1227 827475
Fax: +44 (0)1227 827030
Email: D.Abrams@kent.ac.uk
   
Office: Keynes E2.2
Office Hours: On study leave academic year 2011-12
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School of Psychology - Keynes College, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NP

Tel: +44 (0)1227 824775; Fax: +44 (0)1227 827030 or Email the School

Last Updated: 25/05/2012