Gian Caprara - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Gian Caprara
Child Development, 2008
Stability and change of moral disengagement were examined in a sample of 366 adolescents from age... more Stability and change of moral disengagement were examined in a sample of 366 adolescents from ages 14 to 20 years. Four developmental trajectories were identified: (a) nondisengaged group that started with initially low levels followed by an important decline, (b) normative group that started with initially moderate levels followed by a decline, (c) later desister group that started with initially high-medium levels followed by an increase from 14 to 16 years and an even steeper decline from 16 to 20 years, and (d) chronic group that started with and maintained medium-high levels. The results attest that adolescents who maintained higher levels of moral disengagement were more likely to show frequent aggressive and violent acts in late adolescence.
Personality and Individual Differences, 1995
PsicoUSF, 2008
Propriedades psicométricas da versão brasileira da Escala de Entrincheiramento na Carreira Mauro ... more Propriedades psicométricas da versão brasileira da Escala de Entrincheiramento na Carreira Mauro de Oliveira Magalhães-Universidade Luterana do Brasil 1 Resumo A expressão entrincheiramento de carreira significa a imobilização do trabalhador em determinada posição ocupacional devido à percepção de limitação de alternativas de carreira, à evitação da perda de investimentos e a custos emocionais associados à mudança de ocupação. Foram investigadas as características psicométricas de uma versão brasileira da Escala de Entrincheiramento na Carreira. Uma amostra de 668 trabalhadores, 415 homens e 253 mulheres, com idades entre 25 e 65 anos, empregados em organizações públicas, privadas e do terceiros setor, respondeu à escala. Não foram encontradas diferenças de entrincheiramento associadas ao tipo de organização de trabalho. A análise fatorial encontrou os três fatores correspondentes às dimensões propostas para o construto: investimentos de carreira, custos emocionais e limitação de alternativas de carreira. Os indicadores de consistência interna obtidos para a escala total e para cada dimensão de entrincheiramento foram satisfatórios, revelando que todos os itens contribuem para aumentar a precisão do instrumento. As análises indicam aspectos de validade de construto e de precisão satisfatórios para a versão brasileira da Escala de Entrincheiramento na Carreira.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2003
A rare collection of personality assessments from 103 Italian politicians revealed predictable pa... more A rare collection of personality assessments from 103 Italian politicians revealed predictable patterns of contrasts and similarities with personality dimensions from a large normative sample (N ϭ 4,578). Three modal personality characteristics distinguished politicians, with their significantly higher levels of Energy, Agreeableness, and Social Desirability, from the general public. Comparability between politicians and the public existed on dimensions of Emotional Stability, Conscientiousness, and Openness (Big Five Questionnaire assessment). Politicians from rival coalitions differed on several dimensions; centerright was higher than center-left in Energy and Conscientiousness. Congruencies emerged between politicians and voters for their coalition on all personality dimensions, except that center-left politicians were higher in Energy than center-left voters, and center-right politicians were higher than voters in both Energy and Agreeableness.
Journal of Adolescent Research, 2009
This study extends understanding of romantic development in the emerging adult years by using an ... more This study extends understanding of romantic development in the emerging adult years by using an 8-year longitudinal design in Italy. Peer groups at age 13, interpersonal functioning and emotion regulation at age 17, and romantic styles at age 21 were measured in 388 youth. Early peer groups were shown to be indirectly associated with two romantic outcomes: a consolidated style
A prospective study was conducted to examine a conceptual model in which affective and interperso... more A prospective study was conducted to examine a conceptual model in which affective and interpersonal social self-efficacy beliefs affect depression and delinquency concurrently and at 4 years of distance, controlling for earlier adolescents’ exposure to family violence and adolescents’ self-regulation problems. Three hundred and ninety adolescents aged 11–13 years at Time 1 participated in the study. Data were collected 1, 3, and 7 years later. Self-reported questionnaires were used to measure emotional and interpersonal self-efficacy, depression, and delinquency. Findings of structural equation modeling corroborated the posited paths of relations, showing that in middle adolescence self-efficacy beliefs related to individuals’ perceived capacity to handle negative emotions and to express positive emotions influence depression and delinquency concurrently and longitudinally through interpersonal social self-efficacy, namely individuals’ beliefs in their capability to handle relations with parents, to rebuff peer pressures toward transgressive behavior, and to empathize with others’ feelings. A significant and direct path from self-efficacy to manage negative emotions to concurrent depression was found. The posited covariates (i.e., adolescents’ self-regulation problems at age 12 and exposure to family violence at age 13) predicted both lower self-efficacy beliefs and higher adjustment problems. Findings showed the importance of adolescents’ emotional and interpersonal self-efficacy beliefs in contrasting maladjustment, despite the impairing effect of personal and contextual risk factors. Overall, the study provides suggestions regarding the crucial factors that could decrease adolescents’ risk of detrimental outcomes.
Experimental Brain Research, 2015
Gaze-following is a pivotal social behaviour that, although largely automatic, is permeable to hi... more Gaze-following is a pivotal social behaviour that, although largely automatic, is permeable to high-order variables like political affiliation. A few years ago we reported that the gaze of Italian right-wing voters was selectively captured by the gaze of their leader Silvio Berlusconi. This effect was particularly evident in voters who saw themselves as similar to Berlusconi. Two years later, we were able to run the present follow-up study because Berlusconi's popularity had drastically dropped due to sex and political scandals, and he resigned from office. In a representative subsample of our original group, we investigated whether perceived similarity and gaze-following reflected Berlusconi's loss in popularity. We were also able to test the same hypothesis in an independent group of right-wing voters when their leader, Renata Polverini, resigned as Governor of 'Regione Lazio' due to political scandals. Our results show that the leaders' fall in popularity paralleled the reduction of their gaze's attracting power, as well as the decrease in similarity perceived by their voters. The less similar right-wing voters felt to their leader, the less they followed his/her gaze. Thus, the present experimental findings suggest that gaze-following can be modulated by complex situational and dispositional factors such as leader's popularity and voter-leader perceived similarity.
Although considered a predominantly automatic social behaviour, gaze following (GF) is sensitive ... more Although considered a predominantly automatic social behaviour, gaze following (GF) is sensitive to complex social factors like political affiliation and ideology. The present study aimed to determine whether the differential proneness to in-group leaders' gaze is related to attitudes towards politicians as measured by other implicit procedures. A GF paradigm was used to test the extent to which electors were prone to gaze following when attending to two female candidates who competed for the position of governor in an Italian election campaign. Results showed that GF significantly predicts voting intentions. Also, it was found that GF is significantly and positively correlated with the Implicit Association Test (IAT). Hierarchical multiple regression models illustrated that GF and IAT uniquely predict voting intentions, accounting for a substantial proportion of variance. Thus GF and IAT, even though significantly related, seem to account for different aspects of the attitudes towards candidates. A multivariate regression model showed that, while IAT scores are predicted by explicit emotions toward the candidate, GF is predicted by the candidates' perceived influence within their political coalition.
Observing someone rapidly moving their eyes induces reflexive shifts of overt and covert attentio... more Observing someone rapidly moving their eyes induces reflexive shifts of overt and covert
attention in the onlooker. Previous studies have shown that this process can be modulated by
the onlookers' personality, as well as by the social features of the person depicted in the cuedface.
Here, we investigated whether individual’s preference for social dominance orientation
(SDO), in-group perceived similarity (PS), and political affiliation of the cued-face modulate
neural activity within specific nodes of the social attention network. During fMRI,
participants were requested to perform a gaze-following task to investigate whether the
directional gaze of various Italian political personages may influence the oculomotor
behaviour of in-group or out-group voters. After scanning, we acquired measures of PS in
personality traits with each political personage and preference for SDO. Behavioural data
showed that higher gaze interference for in-group than out-group political personages was
predicted by higher preference for social hierarchy. Higher BOLD activity in incongruent vs.
congruent conditions was found in areas associated with orienting to socially salient events
and monitoring response conflict, namely the left Frontal Eye Field (lFEF), the right
Supramarginal Gyrus, the Mid-cingulate Cortex and left Anterior Insula. Interestingly, higher
ratings of PS with the in-group and less preference for social hierarchy predicted increased
activity in the lFEF during distracting gaze movements of in-group as compared to out-group
political personages. Our results suggest that neural activity in the social orienting circuit are
modulated by higher-order social dimensions like in-group perceived similarity and
individual differences in ideological attitudes.
Personality and Individual Differences, 1995
The current study explored the prediction of civic engagement by diverse trajectories of prosocia... more The current study explored the prediction of civic engagement by diverse trajectories of prosocial behaviors as well family dynamics (i.e., filial self-efficacy and relational parent–child support) across four times of assessment (from age 16–17 to age 22–23) during the transition to adulthood. Three different trajectories of prosocial behaviors were identified for 686 Italian youths: high-increasing (18%), medium-stable (48%), and low-stable (34%). An increasing pattern of change in prosocial behaviors was predicted by filial self-efficacy at age 16–17, which in turn mediated longitudinal relations to civic engagement and civic values at age 22–23. Results highlighted that during the transition to adulthood youths' beliefs about their ability to negotiate with their parents without losing autonomy and relatedness are relevant in promoting prosocial behaviors and civic involvement, especially in the context of Mediterranean countries
Epidemiologia e Psichiatria Sociale, 2006
Aims -The present study is part of a longitudinal project aimed at identifying the personal chara... more Aims -The present study is part of a longitudinal project aimed at identifying the personal characteristics and the developmental pathways conducive to successful adaptation from childhood to adulthood. The study examined the concurrent and longitudinal impact of self-efficacy beliefs on subjective well-being in adolescence, namely positive thinking and happiness. Positive thinking has been operationalized as the latent dimension underlying life satisfaction, self-esteem and optimism. Happiness has been operationalized as the difference between positive and negative affects, as they are experienced in a variety of daily situations. Methods -In a group of 664 Italian adolescents, a structural model positing adolescents' emotional and interpersonal selfefficacy beliefs as proximal and distal determinants of positive thinking and happiness has been tested. Results -Findings attest to the impact of affective and interpersonal-social self-efficacy beliefs on positive thinking and happiness both concurrently and longitudinally. Conclusions -Adolescents' self-efficacy beliefs to manage positive and negative emotions and interpersonal relationships contribute to promote positive expectations about the future, to mantain a high self-concept, to perceive a sense of satisfaction for the life and to experience more positive emotions.
Child Development, 2008
Stability and change of moral disengagement were examined in a sample of 366 adolescents from age... more Stability and change of moral disengagement were examined in a sample of 366 adolescents from ages 14 to 20 years. Four developmental trajectories were identified: (a) nondisengaged group that started with initially low levels followed by an important decline, (b) normative group that started with initially moderate levels followed by a decline, (c) later desister group that started with initially high-medium levels followed by an increase from 14 to 16 years and an even steeper decline from 16 to 20 years, and (d) chronic group that started with and maintained medium-high levels. The results attest that adolescents who maintained higher levels of moral disengagement were more likely to show frequent aggressive and violent acts in late adolescence.
Personality and Individual Differences, 1995
PsicoUSF, 2008
Propriedades psicométricas da versão brasileira da Escala de Entrincheiramento na Carreira Mauro ... more Propriedades psicométricas da versão brasileira da Escala de Entrincheiramento na Carreira Mauro de Oliveira Magalhães-Universidade Luterana do Brasil 1 Resumo A expressão entrincheiramento de carreira significa a imobilização do trabalhador em determinada posição ocupacional devido à percepção de limitação de alternativas de carreira, à evitação da perda de investimentos e a custos emocionais associados à mudança de ocupação. Foram investigadas as características psicométricas de uma versão brasileira da Escala de Entrincheiramento na Carreira. Uma amostra de 668 trabalhadores, 415 homens e 253 mulheres, com idades entre 25 e 65 anos, empregados em organizações públicas, privadas e do terceiros setor, respondeu à escala. Não foram encontradas diferenças de entrincheiramento associadas ao tipo de organização de trabalho. A análise fatorial encontrou os três fatores correspondentes às dimensões propostas para o construto: investimentos de carreira, custos emocionais e limitação de alternativas de carreira. Os indicadores de consistência interna obtidos para a escala total e para cada dimensão de entrincheiramento foram satisfatórios, revelando que todos os itens contribuem para aumentar a precisão do instrumento. As análises indicam aspectos de validade de construto e de precisão satisfatórios para a versão brasileira da Escala de Entrincheiramento na Carreira.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2003
A rare collection of personality assessments from 103 Italian politicians revealed predictable pa... more A rare collection of personality assessments from 103 Italian politicians revealed predictable patterns of contrasts and similarities with personality dimensions from a large normative sample (N ϭ 4,578). Three modal personality characteristics distinguished politicians, with their significantly higher levels of Energy, Agreeableness, and Social Desirability, from the general public. Comparability between politicians and the public existed on dimensions of Emotional Stability, Conscientiousness, and Openness (Big Five Questionnaire assessment). Politicians from rival coalitions differed on several dimensions; centerright was higher than center-left in Energy and Conscientiousness. Congruencies emerged between politicians and voters for their coalition on all personality dimensions, except that center-left politicians were higher in Energy than center-left voters, and center-right politicians were higher than voters in both Energy and Agreeableness.
Journal of Adolescent Research, 2009
This study extends understanding of romantic development in the emerging adult years by using an ... more This study extends understanding of romantic development in the emerging adult years by using an 8-year longitudinal design in Italy. Peer groups at age 13, interpersonal functioning and emotion regulation at age 17, and romantic styles at age 21 were measured in 388 youth. Early peer groups were shown to be indirectly associated with two romantic outcomes: a consolidated style
A prospective study was conducted to examine a conceptual model in which affective and interperso... more A prospective study was conducted to examine a conceptual model in which affective and interpersonal social self-efficacy beliefs affect depression and delinquency concurrently and at 4 years of distance, controlling for earlier adolescents’ exposure to family violence and adolescents’ self-regulation problems. Three hundred and ninety adolescents aged 11–13 years at Time 1 participated in the study. Data were collected 1, 3, and 7 years later. Self-reported questionnaires were used to measure emotional and interpersonal self-efficacy, depression, and delinquency. Findings of structural equation modeling corroborated the posited paths of relations, showing that in middle adolescence self-efficacy beliefs related to individuals’ perceived capacity to handle negative emotions and to express positive emotions influence depression and delinquency concurrently and longitudinally through interpersonal social self-efficacy, namely individuals’ beliefs in their capability to handle relations with parents, to rebuff peer pressures toward transgressive behavior, and to empathize with others’ feelings. A significant and direct path from self-efficacy to manage negative emotions to concurrent depression was found. The posited covariates (i.e., adolescents’ self-regulation problems at age 12 and exposure to family violence at age 13) predicted both lower self-efficacy beliefs and higher adjustment problems. Findings showed the importance of adolescents’ emotional and interpersonal self-efficacy beliefs in contrasting maladjustment, despite the impairing effect of personal and contextual risk factors. Overall, the study provides suggestions regarding the crucial factors that could decrease adolescents’ risk of detrimental outcomes.
Experimental Brain Research, 2015
Gaze-following is a pivotal social behaviour that, although largely automatic, is permeable to hi... more Gaze-following is a pivotal social behaviour that, although largely automatic, is permeable to high-order variables like political affiliation. A few years ago we reported that the gaze of Italian right-wing voters was selectively captured by the gaze of their leader Silvio Berlusconi. This effect was particularly evident in voters who saw themselves as similar to Berlusconi. Two years later, we were able to run the present follow-up study because Berlusconi's popularity had drastically dropped due to sex and political scandals, and he resigned from office. In a representative subsample of our original group, we investigated whether perceived similarity and gaze-following reflected Berlusconi's loss in popularity. We were also able to test the same hypothesis in an independent group of right-wing voters when their leader, Renata Polverini, resigned as Governor of 'Regione Lazio' due to political scandals. Our results show that the leaders' fall in popularity paralleled the reduction of their gaze's attracting power, as well as the decrease in similarity perceived by their voters. The less similar right-wing voters felt to their leader, the less they followed his/her gaze. Thus, the present experimental findings suggest that gaze-following can be modulated by complex situational and dispositional factors such as leader's popularity and voter-leader perceived similarity.
Although considered a predominantly automatic social behaviour, gaze following (GF) is sensitive ... more Although considered a predominantly automatic social behaviour, gaze following (GF) is sensitive to complex social factors like political affiliation and ideology. The present study aimed to determine whether the differential proneness to in-group leaders' gaze is related to attitudes towards politicians as measured by other implicit procedures. A GF paradigm was used to test the extent to which electors were prone to gaze following when attending to two female candidates who competed for the position of governor in an Italian election campaign. Results showed that GF significantly predicts voting intentions. Also, it was found that GF is significantly and positively correlated with the Implicit Association Test (IAT). Hierarchical multiple regression models illustrated that GF and IAT uniquely predict voting intentions, accounting for a substantial proportion of variance. Thus GF and IAT, even though significantly related, seem to account for different aspects of the attitudes towards candidates. A multivariate regression model showed that, while IAT scores are predicted by explicit emotions toward the candidate, GF is predicted by the candidates' perceived influence within their political coalition.
Observing someone rapidly moving their eyes induces reflexive shifts of overt and covert attentio... more Observing someone rapidly moving their eyes induces reflexive shifts of overt and covert
attention in the onlooker. Previous studies have shown that this process can be modulated by
the onlookers' personality, as well as by the social features of the person depicted in the cuedface.
Here, we investigated whether individual’s preference for social dominance orientation
(SDO), in-group perceived similarity (PS), and political affiliation of the cued-face modulate
neural activity within specific nodes of the social attention network. During fMRI,
participants were requested to perform a gaze-following task to investigate whether the
directional gaze of various Italian political personages may influence the oculomotor
behaviour of in-group or out-group voters. After scanning, we acquired measures of PS in
personality traits with each political personage and preference for SDO. Behavioural data
showed that higher gaze interference for in-group than out-group political personages was
predicted by higher preference for social hierarchy. Higher BOLD activity in incongruent vs.
congruent conditions was found in areas associated with orienting to socially salient events
and monitoring response conflict, namely the left Frontal Eye Field (lFEF), the right
Supramarginal Gyrus, the Mid-cingulate Cortex and left Anterior Insula. Interestingly, higher
ratings of PS with the in-group and less preference for social hierarchy predicted increased
activity in the lFEF during distracting gaze movements of in-group as compared to out-group
political personages. Our results suggest that neural activity in the social orienting circuit are
modulated by higher-order social dimensions like in-group perceived similarity and
individual differences in ideological attitudes.
Personality and Individual Differences, 1995
The current study explored the prediction of civic engagement by diverse trajectories of prosocia... more The current study explored the prediction of civic engagement by diverse trajectories of prosocial behaviors as well family dynamics (i.e., filial self-efficacy and relational parent–child support) across four times of assessment (from age 16–17 to age 22–23) during the transition to adulthood. Three different trajectories of prosocial behaviors were identified for 686 Italian youths: high-increasing (18%), medium-stable (48%), and low-stable (34%). An increasing pattern of change in prosocial behaviors was predicted by filial self-efficacy at age 16–17, which in turn mediated longitudinal relations to civic engagement and civic values at age 22–23. Results highlighted that during the transition to adulthood youths' beliefs about their ability to negotiate with their parents without losing autonomy and relatedness are relevant in promoting prosocial behaviors and civic involvement, especially in the context of Mediterranean countries
Epidemiologia e Psichiatria Sociale, 2006
Aims -The present study is part of a longitudinal project aimed at identifying the personal chara... more Aims -The present study is part of a longitudinal project aimed at identifying the personal characteristics and the developmental pathways conducive to successful adaptation from childhood to adulthood. The study examined the concurrent and longitudinal impact of self-efficacy beliefs on subjective well-being in adolescence, namely positive thinking and happiness. Positive thinking has been operationalized as the latent dimension underlying life satisfaction, self-esteem and optimism. Happiness has been operationalized as the difference between positive and negative affects, as they are experienced in a variety of daily situations. Methods -In a group of 664 Italian adolescents, a structural model positing adolescents' emotional and interpersonal selfefficacy beliefs as proximal and distal determinants of positive thinking and happiness has been tested. Results -Findings attest to the impact of affective and interpersonal-social self-efficacy beliefs on positive thinking and happiness both concurrently and longitudinally. Conclusions -Adolescents' self-efficacy beliefs to manage positive and negative emotions and interpersonal relationships contribute to promote positive expectations about the future, to mantain a high self-concept, to perceive a sense of satisfaction for the life and to experience more positive emotions.