Michela Menegatti
Biographic Data
| ID | 157118 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Michela Menegatti |
| GIVEN NAMES | Michela |
| FAMILY NAME | Menegatti |
| SIGNATURE | MENEGATTI M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Bologna |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4763-2534 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 78 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 18 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Should I Stay or Should I Go? Inclusive Language in Organizational Communication as a Buffer Against Employees’ Intentions to Resign
Gender-fair language policies promoting inclusivity are increasingly adopted in organizations, yet their effects on employees remain underexplored. We conducted two studies in an Italian public administration to examine the relationship between inclusive language and resignation intentions. Study 1 ( n = 369) investigated the associations among formal communications (e.g., official documents), perceived gender discrimination, inclusion, and turno…
Women’s Participation in Collective Action for Workplace Gender Equality: The Role of Perceived Relative Deprivation, Resentment, and Moral Conviction
Gender-based collective action is essential to close widespread gender gaps in the workplace and pursue gender equality. To understand the processes underlying engagement in different forms of action, this research focused on women’s relative deprivation arising from the perception of unjust disparity between women’s and men’s conditions at work. Across one correlational (Study 1; N = 455) and one experimental study (Study 2; N = 320) conducted i…
Capturing Perceived Gendered Expectations in the Workplace: Development and Validation of the ‘Perfection Bias’ Scale
Research showed that, in the workplace, women have to meet more requirements than men, a phenomenon that has been labelled ‘perfection bias’. In the current research, we developed and validated a tool to capture individuals’ perceptions of such a phenomenon and its association with women's well‐being. In Study 1 ( N = 150 women), we identified a one‐factor structure of the scale. Study 2 ( N = 360 women) replicated the structure of the scale, whi…
Endorsing Precarious Manhood Beliefs Is Associated With Sexual Harassment Myths Acceptance in Italian Men and Women
The present study aimed to expand the understanding of the correlates of sexual harassment myths, a set of beliefs that serve to justify male perpetrators. Data collected among Italian adults ( N = 407; 59.5% women) showed that individual levels of precarious manhood beliefs—according to which manhood is a social status that must be proven via public action—were related to greater sexual harassment myths acceptance in male and female respondents.…
Adaptive Coping Strategies at the Time of Covid-19: The Role of Social and General Trust
Research in the field shows the crucial role of trust in the functioning of many aspects of social life, especially when dealing with emergencies. We report the results of a study ( N = 883) carried out in Italy during the first phase of the COVID-19 crisis to assess whether and how social trust (i.e., trust in those who have the authority and responsibility for making decisions, such as the Italian government, the regional government, the Civil …
Prejudice towards Immigrants: A Conceptual and Theoretical Overview on Its Social Psychological Determinants
Immigration processes and the possible marginalization of ethnic minorities in the receiving countries are essential issues in contemporary societies. Prejudice and discrimination can be critical obstacles to immigrants' integration into the host country and can severely affect their well-being and mental health. This theoretical and conceptual overview aims to highlight the critical social-psychological processes underlying attitudes toward immi…
So Far, So Close: Identification with Proximal and Distal Groups as a Resource in Dealing with the Covid-19 Pandemic
A robust body of research has highlighted the fundamental role of social identifications in dealing with emergencies and in predicting commitment behaviors. We report the results of two studies carried out in Italy to assess whether the subjective sense of belonging to meaningful proximal and distal social groups affected people's ability to cope with the pandemic crisis. Study 1 ( N = 846) shows that different identifications with proximal (i.e.…
Men Should Be Competent, Women Should Have it All: Multiple Criteria in the Evaluation of Female Job Candidates
The honest mirror: Morality as a moderator of spontaneous behavioral mimicry
Two studies examined whether morality‐related information has a greater impact than sociability‐ or competence‐related information upon the spontaneous mimicry of an interaction partner. Participants were video recorded during an interaction with a confederate previously presented as moral versus lacking morality, or sociable versus lacking sociability (Study 1), or competent versus lacking competence (Study 2). Two coders rated the extent to whi…
Can We Identify with a Nation Low in Morality? The Heavy Weight of (Im)Morality in International Comparison
Research has shown that the perceived morality of the ingroup is a primary source of group pride and ingroup identification. The present research examined whether this is true even when a group has a poor reputation for morality in terms of dishonesty and corruption, such as in the case of Italians. To address this issue, two studies analyzed the role of the three fundamental dimensions of social judgment—morality, competence, and sociability—in …
Are Mixed-Gender Committees Less Biased Toward Female and Male Candidates? An Investigation of Competence-, Morality-, and Sociability-Related Terms in Performance Appraisal
The present research investigated the spontaneous reference to the criteria of competence, morality, and sociability in descriptions made by professional committees evaluating female and male employees' work performance. We examined whether professional committees used different criteria in their performance appraisal of male and female employees and how gender of committee members influences this outcome. The evidence showed that men were primar…
Do Gender and Ethnicity Make the Difference? Linguistic Evaluation Bias in Primary School
In two studies, we examined how primary school teachers use the subtle structural properties of language to communicate different evaluations of students who achieve higher versus lower marks, boys versus girls, and students with immigrant versus nonimmigrant origins. Written judgments of final evaluation records were coded for language abstraction. Results showed that students with higher marks are described with more abstract positive and more …
The Beneficial Role of Multiple Categorization and Intergroup Contact in Reducing Linguistic Out-Group Derogation
The present research addressed for the first time conditions under which linguistic out-group derogation can be hindered by increasing the qualitative and quantitative complexity of out-group members categorization. An analysis was made of the spontaneous language used to describe counterstereotypic versus stereotypic portrayals of Romanians (Study 1) and multiple versus single categorizations of immigrants (Study 2). Results showed that counters…
The strategic role of language abstraction in achieving symbolic and practical goals
This article addresses the role of linguistic abstraction in the achievement of symbolic and practical goals. Reviewing evidence from laboratory studies, we first elaborate on the power of language as a means of ingroup enhancement or outgroup derogation under different intergroup conditions. We then report several experimental and archival studies that showed how language serves the achievement of different practical goals such as initiating, ma…
Initiating, Maintaining, or Breaking Up: The Motivated Use of Language Abstraction in Romantic Relationships
Two studies examined whether individuals vary the level of abstraction of messages composed to achieve the relational goals of initiating, maintaining, and ending a romantic relationships when the goal of communication was self-disclosure or persuading one's partner. Study 1 showed that abstract language was preferred to disclose thoughts and feelings about initiating a romantic relationship or to persuade the partner to consolidate a long-term o…
Hindering Women's Careers in Academia: Gender Linguistic Bias in Personnel Selection
This article addresses the role of language abstraction as a means to discriminate female applicants in academic personnel selection. The level of abstraction of 814 judgments, which were drawn from publicly available archival material, was coded. Results reveal that judgments of female applicants were formulated using negative terms at a more abstract level and positive terms at a more concrete level than those of male applicants. Moreover, this…
From the individual to the group: The enhancement of linguistic bias
The present contribution tested the general hypothesis that individual tendencies in the choice of terms at different levels of abstraction are enhanced when the same descriptions are formulated by a group. We compared the level of abstraction of individual and collective written judgements about applicants for a job position and found that the selection linguistic bias collectively expressed by hiring committees became more extreme in the direct…
Linguistic Bias in Personnel Selection
The present research examines how hiring committees strategically use language abstraction to collectively account for their decision to hire a job applicant over the others. In addition, the authors investigate how work interdependence between single members of hiring committees and applicants and common affiliation to the same work organization affect the language used to write individual reports on job candidates. Results of the first study sh…
From the individual to the group: The enhancement of linguistic bias
The present contribution tested the general hypothesis that individual tendencies in the choice of terms at different levels of abstraction are enhanced when the same descriptions are formulated by a group. We compared the level of abstraction of individual and collective written judgements about applicants for a job position and found that the selection linguistic bias collectively expressed by hiring committees became more extreme in the direct…
Linguistic Bias in Personnel Selection
The present research examines how hiring committees strategically use language abstraction to collectively account for their decision to hire a job applicant over the others. In addition, the authors investigate how work interdependence between single members of hiring committees and applicants and common affiliation to the same work organization affect the language used to write individual reports on job candidates. Results of the first study sh…
The Beneficial Role of Multiple Categorization and Intergroup Contact in Reducing Linguistic Out-Group Derogation
The present research addressed for the first time conditions under which linguistic out-group derogation can be hindered by increasing the qualitative and quantitative complexity of out-group members categorization. An analysis was made of the spontaneous language used to describe counterstereotypic versus stereotypic portrayals of Romanians (Study 1) and multiple versus single categorizations of immigrants (Study 2). Results showed that counters…
Men Should Be Competent, Women Should Have it All: Multiple Criteria in the Evaluation of Female Job Candidates
Can We Identify with a Nation Low in Morality? The Heavy Weight of (Im)Morality in International Comparison
Research has shown that the perceived morality of the ingroup is a primary source of group pride and ingroup identification. The present research examined whether this is true even when a group has a poor reputation for morality in terms of dishonesty and corruption, such as in the case of Italians. To address this issue, two studies analyzed the role of the three fundamental dimensions of social judgment—morality, competence, and sociability—in …
Hindering Women's Careers in Academia: Gender Linguistic Bias in Personnel Selection
This article addresses the role of language abstraction as a means to discriminate female applicants in academic personnel selection. The level of abstraction of 814 judgments, which were drawn from publicly available archival material, was coded. Results reveal that judgments of female applicants were formulated using negative terms at a more abstract level and positive terms at a more concrete level than those of male applicants. Moreover, this…
Are Mixed-Gender Committees Less Biased Toward Female and Male Candidates? An Investigation of Competence-, Morality-, and Sociability-Related Terms in Performance Appraisal
The present research investigated the spontaneous reference to the criteria of competence, morality, and sociability in descriptions made by professional committees evaluating female and male employees' work performance. We examined whether professional committees used different criteria in their performance appraisal of male and female employees and how gender of committee members influences this outcome. The evidence showed that men were primar…
Do Gender and Ethnicity Make the Difference? Linguistic Evaluation Bias in Primary School
In two studies, we examined how primary school teachers use the subtle structural properties of language to communicate different evaluations of students who achieve higher versus lower marks, boys versus girls, and students with immigrant versus nonimmigrant origins. Written judgments of final evaluation records were coded for language abstraction. Results showed that students with higher marks are described with more abstract positive and more …
Initiating, Maintaining, or Breaking Up: The Motivated Use of Language Abstraction in Romantic Relationships
Two studies examined whether individuals vary the level of abstraction of messages composed to achieve the relational goals of initiating, maintaining, and ending a romantic relationships when the goal of communication was self-disclosure or persuading one's partner. Study 1 showed that abstract language was preferred to disclose thoughts and feelings about initiating a romantic relationship or to persuade the partner to consolidate a long-term o…
Endorsing Precarious Manhood Beliefs Is Associated With Sexual Harassment Myths Acceptance in Italian Men and Women
The present study aimed to expand the understanding of the correlates of sexual harassment myths, a set of beliefs that serve to justify male perpetrators. Data collected among Italian adults ( N = 407; 59.5% women) showed that individual levels of precarious manhood beliefs—according to which manhood is a social status that must be proven via public action—were related to greater sexual harassment myths acceptance in male and female respondents.…
The honest mirror: Morality as a moderator of spontaneous behavioral mimicry
Two studies examined whether morality‐related information has a greater impact than sociability‐ or competence‐related information upon the spontaneous mimicry of an interaction partner. Participants were video recorded during an interaction with a confederate previously presented as moral versus lacking morality, or sociable versus lacking sociability (Study 1), or competent versus lacking competence (Study 2). Two coders rated the extent to whi…
Women’s Participation in Collective Action for Workplace Gender Equality: The Role of Perceived Relative Deprivation, Resentment, and Moral Conviction
Gender-based collective action is essential to close widespread gender gaps in the workplace and pursue gender equality. To understand the processes underlying engagement in different forms of action, this research focused on women’s relative deprivation arising from the perception of unjust disparity between women’s and men’s conditions at work. Across one correlational (Study 1; N = 455) and one experimental study (Study 2; N = 320) conducted i…
Prejudice towards Immigrants: A Conceptual and Theoretical Overview on Its Social Psychological Determinants
Immigration processes and the possible marginalization of ethnic minorities in the receiving countries are essential issues in contemporary societies. Prejudice and discrimination can be critical obstacles to immigrants' integration into the host country and can severely affect their well-being and mental health. This theoretical and conceptual overview aims to highlight the critical social-psychological processes underlying attitudes toward immi…
Linguistic Bias in Personnel Selection
The present research examines how hiring committees strategically use language abstraction to collectively account for their decision to hire a job applicant over the others. In addition, the authors investigate how work interdependence between single members of hiring committees and applicants and common affiliation to the same work organization affect the language used to write individual reports on job candidates. Results of the first study sh…
From the individual to the group: The enhancement of linguistic bias
The present contribution tested the general hypothesis that individual tendencies in the choice of terms at different levels of abstraction are enhanced when the same descriptions are formulated by a group. We compared the level of abstraction of individual and collective written judgements about applicants for a job position and found that the selection linguistic bias collectively expressed by hiring committees became more extreme in the direct…
The strategic role of language abstraction in achieving symbolic and practical goals
This article addresses the role of linguistic abstraction in the achievement of symbolic and practical goals. Reviewing evidence from laboratory studies, we first elaborate on the power of language as a means of ingroup enhancement or outgroup derogation under different intergroup conditions. We then report several experimental and archival studies that showed how language serves the achievement of different practical goals such as initiating, ma…
Initiating, Maintaining, or Breaking Up: The Motivated Use of Language Abstraction in Romantic Relationships
Two studies examined whether individuals vary the level of abstraction of messages composed to achieve the relational goals of initiating, maintaining, and ending a romantic relationships when the goal of communication was self-disclosure or persuading one's partner. Study 1 showed that abstract language was preferred to disclose thoughts and feelings about initiating a romantic relationship or to persuade the partner to consolidate a long-term o…
Hindering Women's Careers in Academia: Gender Linguistic Bias in Personnel Selection
This article addresses the role of language abstraction as a means to discriminate female applicants in academic personnel selection. The level of abstraction of 814 judgments, which were drawn from publicly available archival material, was coded. Results reveal that judgments of female applicants were formulated using negative terms at a more abstract level and positive terms at a more concrete level than those of male applicants. Moreover, this…
The Beneficial Role of Multiple Categorization and Intergroup Contact in Reducing Linguistic Out-Group Derogation
The present research addressed for the first time conditions under which linguistic out-group derogation can be hindered by increasing the qualitative and quantitative complexity of out-group members categorization. An analysis was made of the spontaneous language used to describe counterstereotypic versus stereotypic portrayals of Romanians (Study 1) and multiple versus single categorizations of immigrants (Study 2). Results showed that counters…
Do Gender and Ethnicity Make the Difference? Linguistic Evaluation Bias in Primary School
In two studies, we examined how primary school teachers use the subtle structural properties of language to communicate different evaluations of students who achieve higher versus lower marks, boys versus girls, and students with immigrant versus nonimmigrant origins. Written judgments of final evaluation records were coded for language abstraction. Results showed that students with higher marks are described with more abstract positive and more …
Can We Identify with a Nation Low in Morality? The Heavy Weight of (Im)Morality in International Comparison
Research has shown that the perceived morality of the ingroup is a primary source of group pride and ingroup identification. The present research examined whether this is true even when a group has a poor reputation for morality in terms of dishonesty and corruption, such as in the case of Italians. To address this issue, two studies analyzed the role of the three fundamental dimensions of social judgment—morality, competence, and sociability—in …
Are Mixed-Gender Committees Less Biased Toward Female and Male Candidates? An Investigation of Competence-, Morality-, and Sociability-Related Terms in Performance Appraisal
The present research investigated the spontaneous reference to the criteria of competence, morality, and sociability in descriptions made by professional committees evaluating female and male employees' work performance. We examined whether professional committees used different criteria in their performance appraisal of male and female employees and how gender of committee members influences this outcome. The evidence showed that men were primar…
Men Should Be Competent, Women Should Have it All: Multiple Criteria in the Evaluation of Female Job Candidates
The honest mirror: Morality as a moderator of spontaneous behavioral mimicry
Two studies examined whether morality‐related information has a greater impact than sociability‐ or competence‐related information upon the spontaneous mimicry of an interaction partner. Participants were video recorded during an interaction with a confederate previously presented as moral versus lacking morality, or sociable versus lacking sociability (Study 1), or competent versus lacking competence (Study 2). Two coders rated the extent to whi…
So Far, So Close: Identification with Proximal and Distal Groups as a Resource in Dealing with the Covid-19 Pandemic
A robust body of research has highlighted the fundamental role of social identifications in dealing with emergencies and in predicting commitment behaviors. We report the results of two studies carried out in Italy to assess whether the subjective sense of belonging to meaningful proximal and distal social groups affected people's ability to cope with the pandemic crisis. Study 1 ( N = 846) shows that different identifications with proximal (i.e.…
Adaptive Coping Strategies at the Time of Covid-19: The Role of Social and General Trust
Research in the field shows the crucial role of trust in the functioning of many aspects of social life, especially when dealing with emergencies. We report the results of a study ( N = 883) carried out in Italy during the first phase of the COVID-19 crisis to assess whether and how social trust (i.e., trust in those who have the authority and responsibility for making decisions, such as the Italian government, the regional government, the Civil …
Prejudice towards Immigrants: A Conceptual and Theoretical Overview on Its Social Psychological Determinants
Immigration processes and the possible marginalization of ethnic minorities in the receiving countries are essential issues in contemporary societies. Prejudice and discrimination can be critical obstacles to immigrants' integration into the host country and can severely affect their well-being and mental health. This theoretical and conceptual overview aims to highlight the critical social-psychological processes underlying attitudes toward immi…
Endorsing Precarious Manhood Beliefs Is Associated With Sexual Harassment Myths Acceptance in Italian Men and Women
The present study aimed to expand the understanding of the correlates of sexual harassment myths, a set of beliefs that serve to justify male perpetrators. Data collected among Italian adults ( N = 407; 59.5% women) showed that individual levels of precarious manhood beliefs—according to which manhood is a social status that must be proven via public action—were related to greater sexual harassment myths acceptance in male and female respondents.…
Women’s Participation in Collective Action for Workplace Gender Equality: The Role of Perceived Relative Deprivation, Resentment, and Moral Conviction
Gender-based collective action is essential to close widespread gender gaps in the workplace and pursue gender equality. To understand the processes underlying engagement in different forms of action, this research focused on women’s relative deprivation arising from the perception of unjust disparity between women’s and men’s conditions at work. Across one correlational (Study 1; N = 455) and one experimental study (Study 2; N = 320) conducted i…
Capturing Perceived Gendered Expectations in the Workplace: Development and Validation of the ‘Perfection Bias’ Scale
Research showed that, in the workplace, women have to meet more requirements than men, a phenomenon that has been labelled ‘perfection bias’. In the current research, we developed and validated a tool to capture individuals’ perceptions of such a phenomenon and its association with women's well‐being. In Study 1 ( N = 150 women), we identified a one‐factor structure of the scale. Study 2 ( N = 360 women) replicated the structure of the scale, whi…
Should I Stay or Should I Go? Inclusive Language in Organizational Communication as a Buffer Against Employees’ Intentions to Resign
Gender-fair language policies promoting inclusivity are increasingly adopted in organizations, yet their effects on employees remain underexplored. We conducted two studies in an Italian public administration to examine the relationship between inclusive language and resignation intentions. Study 1 ( n = 369) investigated the associations among formal communications (e.g., official documents), perceived gender discrimination, inclusion, and turno…
Psychology (17 works) · Social Psychology (17 works) · Social and Intergroup Psychology (8 works) · Developmental psychology (7 works) · Social Psychology (7 works) · Gender Diversity and Inequality (6 works) · Abstraction (5 works) · Epistemology (5 works) · Linguistics (5 works) · Political science (5 works)