Jorge Vala, PhD in Social Psychology

Social psychology

Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...

, University of Louvain (1984), was a full professor at ISCTE - Lisbon University Institute, and is currently a researcher at the Institute of Social Sciences (ICS)/University of Lisbon.

Research focus

At ICS, his research focus on socio-cognitive processes, namely in the field of social representations and ideologies, social norms and social identities. His present projects articulate these processes with the study of racism

Racism

Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

 and prejudice

Prejudice

Prejudice is making a judgment or assumption about someone or something before having enough knowledge to be able to do so with guaranteed accuracy, or "judging a book by its cover"...

, immigration

Immigration

Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...

 issues, political attitudes, social justice

Social justice

Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...

, and validation of everyday knowledge.

Present and past positions

Jorge Vala was an invited professor at several universities, including the Paris Descartes University, École des hautes études en sciences sociales

École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales

The École des hautes études en sciences sociales is a leading French institution for research and higher education, a Grand Établissement. Its mission is research and research training in the social sciences, including the relationship these latter maintain with the natural and life sciences...

 and the Rio de Janeiro State University. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the European Association of Experimental Social Psychology, President of the Portuguese Association of Psychology, Editor of the Revista Psicologia. He was the Portuguese representative on the European Programme COST, as well as President of the Department of Social and Organizational Psychology at ISCTE. Currently, he is the national coordinator for the European Social Survey

European social survey

The European Social Survey is a social scientific endeavour to map the attitudes, beliefs and behaviour patterns of the various populations in Europe.-History:The ESS was initiated by the European Science Foundation...

, and member of the Scientific Committee of the European Values Study. He is also member of the Scientific Board of the Fondation Suisse pour la Recherche en Sciences Sociales (FORS). Between May 2007 and September 2009, he chaired the ICS Academic Board; and is currently ICS Director.

Selected publications

• Pereira, C., Vala, J. e Leyens, JPh (2009). From Infra-humanization to Discrimination: The Mediation of Symbolic Threat Needs Egalitarian Norms, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45:336-344
• Vala, J., Pereira, C., Costa-Lopes, R. (2009).Is the attribution of cultural differences to minorities an expression of racial prejudice? International Journal of Psychology, 44: 1, 20-28.
• Vala, J.; Lopes, D.; Lima, M. (2008). Black Immigrants in Portugal: Luso-Tropicalism and Prejudice. Journal of Social Issues, 64, 287-302
• Aguiar, P., Vala, J, Correia, I & Pereira,C. (2008). Justice in our world and in that of others: Belief in a just world and reactions to victims. Social Justice Research, 21,50-68
• Lopes, D., Vala, J. & Marques, L. (2007) Social Validation of Everyday Knowledge: Heterogeneity and Consensus Functionality, Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 11,223-239.
• Vala, J. (2007). Representações Sociais e Psicologia Social do Conhecimento Quotidiano. In J. *Vala e M. B. Monteiro (Edits), Psicologia Social (7ª edição ). Lisboa. Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian
• Vala, J., Lima, M. & Lopes, D. (2004). Social values, prejudice and solidarity in the European Union. In W. Arts & L. Halman (Eds.), European values at the turn of the millennium. Leiden: Brill
• Vala, J. , Brito, R. e Lopes, D. (1999). Expressões dos racismos em Portugal, Lisboa: Imprensa de Ciências Sociais.
• Vala, J., Garcia-Marques, L., Pereira, M. e Lopes, D. (1998). Validation of polemical social representations: Introducing the intergroup differentiation of homogeneity. Social Science Information, 37, 469-492.
• Vala, J. (1993). As representações sociais no quadro dos paradigmas e metáforas da psicologia social. Análise Social, 28 (4-5), 887-919
• Vala, J., Monteiro, M.B., e Leyens, J. Ph. (1988). Perception of violence as a function of observer's ideology and actor's group membership. British Journal of Social Psychology, 27, 231-237