Thoughts, emotions and attitudes towards Jews

In relation to the persistence of anti-Semitic phenomena in European societies and within the framework of the studies on prejudice, the research investigates some aspects of social perception of Jews. The first aim was to focalise thoughts and emotions evoked towards three subcategories of the target (Jews in Italy, in the Shoah, in Israel) which were presented as prime. Then the saliuence of the subcategories was tested to investigate whether it influences judgements and attitudes toward the general category (second aim). Finally, the adhesion of participants to the constructs examined was investigated, according to the prime (third and fourth aim). Specific pre-tested photographic stimuli, differentiated according the three subcategories and measures of attitudes toward the category were presented to adult Italians. In reference to the studies on Stereotype Content Model and stereotype differentiation, the most significant results as regards subcategory perception, show that while “Jews in Italy” evoke an articulated image, revealing an prejudice of admiration, "Jews in Israel" evoke a perception bordering on prejudice of envy which appears the least articulated. The differentiated correlations between constructs and sub-categories support the idea that the primes influence the expression of judgments, attitudes and beliefs toward the category. Regarding the latter, moderate levels of subtle prejudice and collective guilt, low levels of Antisemitism, essentialism and moderately positive stereotypic judgments, are highlighted. Jews in Israel is the prime which produces higher levels of prejudice and essentialism toward the general category.