The aim of this study was to develop a model of identity formation comprising three structural dimensions: commitment, in‐depth exploration and reconsideration of commitment. A new tool, the Utrecht‐Management of Identity Commitments Scale, was designed to assess these processes. Early and middle adolescents (N=1952) participated in this study. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the three‐factor model provided a better fit than alternative one‐ and two‐factor models. The model applied not only to the whole adolescent sample, but also to male and female subsamples and to early and middle adolescent age groups. Additionally, we established interethnic equivalence of the model, in that it also fit well for ethnic minority adolescents. In accordance with hypotheses, regression analyses showed that commitment, in‐depth exploration and reconsideration of commitment were significantly related to measures of self and personality, psychosocial problems and parent–adolescent relations. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

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According to system justification theory, stereotyping is an ideological process that serves to justify the status quo and bolster the legitimacy of the existing social order. The present research investigates the system-justifying role of complementary stereotypes in which high-status groups are represented as agentic and achievement-oriented and low-status groups as communal and interpersonally oriented. We demonstrate that such complementary stereotypes: (a) reflect a high degree of consensus across high-and low-status perceiver groups; (b) are endorsed more strongly to the extent that system justification motives are chronically or temporarily activated; and (c) serve an ideological function by enhancing the perceived legitimacy of the existing social system. Evidence concerning regional and ethnic stereotypes in Italy, England, and Israel provides converging evidence for the system-justifying function of complementary stereotypes and reveals remarkable similarity in the contents of stereotypes of different groups that happen to occupy similar status positions in their respective societies.

This contribution addresses the issue of reduction of dehumanisation towards Blacks, an outgroup that has been historically targeted by heinous prejudice. The study tested, for the first time, whether the combination of multiple categorisation and human identity represents the most optimal condition for reducing dehumanisation towards Blacks. The main dependent variables were attribution of secondary emotions and inalienability of human rights. Results highlighted the combination of multiple categorisation and human identity as the most effective strategy in reducing dehumanisation towards Blacks. Evidence of this study sheds light on the possible ways through which conceiving others in terms of complex categorical criteria, that is, as members of the human group in conjunction with other communal or different social categories, can lead to more harmonious intergroup relations. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.