摘要：Previous research within the social identity framework has shown that perceptions of legitimacy and stability of status differences
interactively determine cognitive, emotional, and behavioural responses to intergroup contexts. Whether such perceptions affect subtle
forms of prejudice, namely infrahumanisation, is unknown. We examined if the perceptions regarding high status stability and legitimacy are
associated to the infrahumanisation bias. We hypothesized that participants perceiving status differences as unstable and legitimate would
report higher levels of infrahumanization than those who perceive status differences as stable and/or illegitimate. Participants (N = 439
Italian students enrolled in psychology courses) completed a structured paper-and-pencil questionnaire. We found that participants tended
to attribute more negative secondary emotions to their ingroup (Italians) than to the outgroup (immigrants from Africa), indicating the
presence of an infrahumanization bias. The results of a moderated regression aimed at predicting infrahumanization showed that highstatus
group members who perceived status differences as legitimate and unstable reported higher levels of infrahumanization than their
counterparts did. The results attest the important and independent role of the perceptions related to the status for the debate on intergroup
relations.
关键词：infrahumanization; high-status group; status stability; status legitimacy; intergroup-relations
