Can Speaking English Negatively Impact Non-Native Speakers? Investigating the Vocal Cross-Categorizations and Evaluations of Majority and Minority Members Across Language and Accent in a Non-English-Speaking Country Jonathan Reese, Ana Sofia Santos, Tomás A. Palma, Fabio Fasoli Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 2026 Individuals are quickly categorized as members of a group (e.g., national, migrants) based on their standard or nonstandard accent. However, this has usually been studied in the context of the native language, and less is known about accent-based categorization when individuals speak a second language. In this research, we tested whether speaking in Portuguese or English would influence Portuguese participants’ evaluations and recall of Portuguese-accented and Brazilian-accented speakers. In Study 1, we investigated the perceived warmth and competence, the potentiality of forming relationships, and the assumed economic status of Portuguese-accented and Brazilian-accented men speaking in their native (Portuguese) or non-native language (English). Results indicated that Brazilians speaking English received the worst judgments compared to all other categories by Portuguese listeners. Study 2 used a Who Said What paradigm to test language and accent categorization in a different experimental setting, and predicted that Portuguese participants would be more likely to make errors when recalling Brazilian-accented men speaking in English. However, Portuguese-accented men speaking in English received the most errors (although, Brazilian-accented men speaking English were second). Overall results from this project provide insight into the nuanced effects of social categorization and evaluations of standard and nonstandard accented individuals speaking in their native and non-native languages in Portugal.
Reframing Relational Space. Migration from the Perspective of Those ‘Who Stay’ Carlos Barros, Peter Hanenberg, Ana Sofia Santos Human Arenas, 2026 Migratory research projects are increasingly concerned with bringing together those ‘who go’ and those ‘who stay’, considering the impact of living in transnational family relationships. The perception and use of space have moved between digital and face-to-face spaces in the management of these dynamics. Considering that Portugal has both a high rate of ageing and a high number of young adult emigrants, it is important to explore how parental figures in Portugal and young adult children abroad re-signify their presence. In this paper, we intend to reflect on how parental figures in Portugal use digital and face-to-face presence to connect with their emigrated children and how that might re-signify the space with the community where they live. Using a post-positivist paradigm and semi-structured interviews, we developed a qualitative study with parental figures living in Portugal and their adult children living abroad (N = 20, age M = 60, 83; DP = 9, 15). We analysed the data using the software N-Vivo (ed. 14). The general results point to the inclusion of digital space as a dimension for the negotiation of space–time within family rituals. In this sense, digital platforms and devices gain importance in the maintenance of communication and the planning of routines or celebrations. The dynamics of these family groups are influenced by the perception of social values and norms. The presence established between the digital and the physical seems to be important in (a) decreasing the impact of isolation and increasing participants’ sense of belonging, (b) promoting cross-cultural values, and (c) encouraging participants to use digital tools to connect with other groups in their communities.
Solidarity Typologies in Dynamics Between Portuguese Emigrants and Their Parents Carlos Barros, Jennifer McGarrigle, Ana Sofia Santos, Isabelle Albert, Elke Murdock Human Arenas, 2025 Motivations for migratory movements tend to be contextualised at an individual level and refer to opportunities related to the country of destination. In the Portuguese context, this view is increasingly limited when we analyse the emigration of young adults since this process directly involves family figures in the country of origin, as they tend to be the first source of support. This paper aims to explore the dimensions of intergenerational solidarity, analysing conflict as transversal dimension and the presence of ambivalence, for a proposal of behaviour typologies in Portuguese transnational families. Using a qualitative approach, young Portuguese adults who emigrated in the European space and Schengen area (N = 22) were interviewed addressing questions about their migratory projects, as well as their dynamics with their parents in Portugal. A thematic analysis was carried out with the support of the NVivo software. The results indicate four behaviour typologies: (1) high cohesion and dependence, (2) full solidarity tested with resilience, (3) affective and functional solidarities, with normative and value divergences, and (4) no solidarity and irreconcilable differences. The findings suggest the impact of intergenerational norms and values, as they may be at the origin of communicational patterns that increase well-being and resilience in migration projects.
Examining the Impact of Social and Perceptual Encoding Strategies on the Cross-Race Recognition Deficit Joana Quarenta, Tomás A. Palma, Joshua Correll, Ana Sofia Santos, Balbir Singh European Journal of Social Psychology, 2025 The cross‐race recognition deficit (CRD) involves poorer recognition of faces perceived as cross‐race compared to faces perceived as the same race. In this literature, research has examined social and perceptual encoding in the CRD separately. Recent research comparing these strategies shows that encoding faces based on social information (personality traits) enhances face recognition relative to encoding faces based on perceptual information (facial features), with a similar effect for both same‐race and cross‐race faces. Expanding on this research, we conducted three experiments (one pre‐registered), manipulating the perception of face race within participants and using different social and perceptual encoding questions to examine their impacts on the CRD. Results showed that social encoding equally facilitated the recognition of faces perceived as same‐race and cross‐race replicating previous research (Experiment 1). However, perceptual encoding divergently impacted face recognition, improving cross‐race but disrupting same‐race (Experiment 2) or having comparable effects to standard encoding (Experiment 3). We discuss these findings and their implications for existing CRD theories.
Engaging in counterstereotypical behaviours shifts the perceived masculinity or femininity of men and women, regardless of sexual orientation Jonathan Reese, Ana Sofia Santos, Tomás A. Palma Psychology and Sexuality, 2025 Various studies have examined the stereotypes attributed to gay men or lesbian women. However, there are less studies which explore the behaviours considered stereotypical, or counterstereotypical, of gay men and lesbian women, particularly when these individuals might not conform with stereotypes. In this project, we tested the behaviours attributed to straight men, gay men, straight women, and lesbian women across two small studies emphasising a societal point of view in Portugal. Study 1 supports the implicit inversion theory suggesting gay men were correlated with straight women, and lesbian women were correlated with straight men. Study 2 extended the findings by manipulating the perceived stereotypicality or counterstereotypicality of individuals by attaching masculine or feminine occupations to each group from Study 1. As predicted, individuals with counterstereotypical occupations were perceived as less stereotypical of their original group while gay men and lesbian women with stereotypical occupations were perceived as more stereotypical of the opposite gender and sexual orientation. Importantly, this project highlights how members of certain groups are perceived as more, or less, typical of their group based on the expectations about stereotypical occupations for that group.
Inducing perceived group variability triggers the incorporation of counter-stereotypic information into a generalized stereotype change Ana Sofia Santos, L. Garcia-Marques, T. A. Palma, J. Reese Scientific Reports, 2024 Perceived variability is the extent to which individuals perceive group members as being similar to one another. Previous research has focused on how: group variability is perceived (and measured); information indicative of group heterogeneity can lead to reductions in stereotypicality; or how stereotype-inconsistent information can result into increased perceived variability. The present combines the three lines of research into a single research venue. In previous studies the stereotypicality of a group representation was influenced by priming stereotype-unrelated traits in an unrelated-context, prior to stereotype measurement; but priming counter-stereotypic traits had no effect on stereotypicality, although it boosted perceptions of group's variability. The present study examines whether highlighting dissimilarities among members of the same professional groups results in subsequent changes in the reported stereotype for a, not yet mentioned, group. The more the dissimilarity among group members, the more likely individuals were to incorporate counter-stereotypic information into the targeted-group, described as less stereotypic, even in central tendency measures. Importantly, the generating mechanism may involve a modification of participants' overall perception of variability. When members within professional groups are perceived as dissimilar, the well-known resistance of stereotypes to counter-stereotypic information is lessened making the group representations more flexible and less biased.
Ambivalence and transnational intergenerational solidarity: the perspective of highly educated Portuguese women emigrant daughters A. S. Santos, J. McGarrigle, C. Barros, I. Albert, E. Murdock Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 2024 Existing literature has highlighted solidarity across generations as a crucial mechanism for transfers and maintaining cohesion within families. However, researching solidarity across generations among transnational families is still an underexplored area, especially from the viewpoint of highly skilled female migrants. This study explored the way highly educated Portuguese adult daughters, living transnationally, perceive the existing solidarity ties with their parents, in times of transition, such as during the process of migration. By using a cluster analysis approach to explore the statistical associations between ambivalence and intergenerational solidarity dimensions, this study provides insight into the migrant solidarity types incorporating the role of ambivalence in forging a typology of transnational intergenerational relationships. The sample comprised 248 daughters who volunteered to provide information in an online survey. Participants gave their full consent to partake in this study, and this study was approved by the ethical committee of the authors’ institution. Measures of intergenerational solidarity dimensions, perceived ambivalence, sociocultural adaptation, acculturation, and social well-being in the destination country were included in the survey. Model-based cluster analysis resulted in three clusters: low ambivalence with strong cohesion, autonomous with affection and low ambivalence, and ambivalent functional ties with low affection. These clusters differed significantly in terms of intergenerational solidarity dimensions, perceived ambivalence, and in several other measures addressed. Perceived high parent-daughter ambivalent ties were associated with high levels of functional contacts and financial exchange. That pattern was also associated with lower levels of affection and consensus, being most frequently found in older daughters, mostly when single, economically inactive, or unemployed. Low perceived ambivalent parent-daughter ties were the most frequently found (around 80%), with two different types of intergenerational relationships being revealed, namely the low ambivalence with strong cohesion type and the autonomous with affection and low ambivalence type. Half (50%) of the daughters that perceived low parent-daughter ambivalent ties have associated the highest intergenerational solidarity, being, in general, better adapted to the migration context and slightly younger on average. The other half, less well acculturated, living abroad for longer, in countries with stronger welfare state systems and less reliance on families as providers of care, are more associated with an autonomous relationship type with low solidarity, but high affection. These results suggest that there might be a spillover effect: those who fare well in the country of migration, have better relations with their families at home—either being very interdependent or very independent, but always with good affective quality and low ambivalence.
A case of ‘de-immigrantization’: when sexual minority individuals lose immigrant status Jonathan Reese, Ana Sofia Santos, Tomás A. Palma Current Psychology, 2024 Individuals generally hold multiple, and sometimes stereotypically contrasted, group memberships which may change depending on uncontrollable contextual factors. For instance, if someone is a foreigner, there exist certain social stereotypes regarding their nationality which may influence others’ conceptualizations. However, how might an intersection of memberships, such as being both foreign and gay, affect natives’ perceptions of them when these stereotypes may not converge? Across four experiments, the stereotypes attributed to generalized and specific groups were examined to better understand intersectional prototypicalities. Results indicated certain cases in which immigrants may be “de-immigrantized”, or, perceived as less stereotypically immigrant. More specifically, Portuguese participants viewed gay immigrants as less prototypically immigrant, but did not view lesbian immigrants as less prototypically immigrant, bringing into question the complexity of double minority conceptualizations. Additionally, individuals from nationalities with a higher perceived percentage of gays or lesbians in their population (e.g., Brazil and France) were generally viewed as less prototypically immigrant than individuals from nationalities with a lower perceived percentage of gays or lesbians in their population (e.g., India and Japan). Conclusions provide support for intersectional theories and yield additional insights into the categorization of multiple minority groups on the basis of sexuality and nationality.
Interpreting the perceptions of men and women from 17 nationalities in a Portuguese context: A pretest Reese, Jonathan, Santos, Ana Sofia, Palma, Tomás A. Analise Psicologica, 2024 Abstract: Individuals have the propensity to attribute certain characteristics to nations or regions, and those living within, although the accuracy of this is under debate. In this pretest, Portuguese participants were asked to evaluate men and women from 17 nationalities based on dimensions which might be related to individualistic- or collectivistic-oriented nations – namely perceived masculinity, percentage of gays/lesbians in each group (PGL), and economic status. We predicted conceptualizations of nationality to trump gender triggers, resulting in general evaluations of individuals from each nation in this context-absent scenario. Results revealed strong relationships between men and women from the same nationality, and greater variability among nationalities in the evaluations of male targets, supporting the notion national stereotypes may be more representative of the men from each nation (i.e., androcentrism). Additionally, individualist-oriented nations were found to have higher PGL and economic status ratings when compared to collectivist-oriented nations, but both were perceived as equally masculine. Finally, gross domestic product per capita (GDPpc) of each nation appeared to somewhat act as a function of participants’ judgements. Findings generalize literature to a Portuguese context, providing insight into the manner in which individuals may categorize those from various nationalities.
How Your Power Affects My Impression of You Diana Orghian, Filipa de Almeida, Sofia Jacinto, Leonel Garcia-Marques, Ana Sofia Santos Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2019
