Diniz Lopes

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Verified

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• PhD Social and Organizational Psychology
• Professor (Associate) at Iscte – University Institute of Lisbon

The concept of cancel culture has gained traction over the past 10 years, with the continuous rise of social media and online platforms. The limited literature on this topic tends to focus on possible definitions and characteristics. However, we have yet to fully understand how cancel culture, canceling, and canceling prevention impact individuals...

Sexuality education (SE) can be acquired through different sources. In a cross-sectional online study with Spanish and Portuguese participants (N = 595), we examined differences between formal traditional sources (i.e., mandatory SE received in schools), formal modern sources (e.g., SE received in courses), informal traditional sources (e.g., talks...

People differ in their predispositions to value safety maintenance (i.e., disease prevention regulatory focus) or pleasure pursuit (i.e., pleasure promotion regulatory focus). Extending recent research, results of a cross-sectional study with participants living in Portugal and Spain (N = 770) showed that these individual differences resulted in a...

Interest in consensually non-monogamous (CNM) relationships has been increasing in the general population in recent years. However, given the cultural dominance of monogamy and the normative expectations often imposed through socialization (i.e., mononormativity), people in CNM relationships may experience negativity, which can become internalized...

CADERNO DE LABORATÓRIO é uma publicação periódica do LAPSO-Laboratório de Psicologia, Iscte-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, em colaboração com o CIS_Iscte. Uma parte muito significativa do conhecimento que acumulamos ao longo do nosso percurso enquanto investigadores/as é desenvolvido (ou consolidado) quando colaboramos com os/as nossos/as coleg...

Sexuality education (SE) can be acquired through different sources. In a cross-sectional online study with Spanish and Portuguese participants (N = 595), we examined differences between formal traditional sources (i.e., mandatory SE received in schools), formal modern sources (e.g., SE received in courses), informal traditional sources (e.g., talks...

Reports worldwide have been showing increasing rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and condomless sex in recent years. Research has identified several individual and situational variables that can determine the decision to use condoms or forgo their use. We argue that such a decision can also be shaped by motives related to pleasure and...

The way people perceive risks and make decisions about their health is regulated by two motivational systems—prevention of harm or promotion of pleasure. People more focused on prevention strive to avoid negative outcomes and enact more health-protective behaviors. In contrast, people more focused on promotion strive to attain positive outcomes and...

The way people perceive risks and make decisions about their health is regulated by two motivational systems—prevention of harm or promotion of pleasure. People more focused on prevention strive to avoid negative outcomes and enact more health-protective behaviors. In contrast, people more focused on promotion strive to attain positive outcomes and...

Studies have shown that romantic partners in consensual non-monogamous (CNM) relationships are targets of stigmatization. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms and the conditions under which such stigmatization occurs. In two experimental studies (combined N = 772), we asked participants to read the description of two partners in...

Reports worldwide have been showing increases in the rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and condomless sex in recent years. Research has identified several individual and situational variables that can determine the decision to use condoms or forgo their use. We argue that such a decision can also be shaped by motives related to pleasu...

Brands are increasingly using emoji in their computer-mediated communication (CMC). However, research on how consumers perceive such use, and the determinants of those perceptions, is scarce and results may be inconsistent. In a cross-sectional study ( N = 540 ) we examined how appropriate participants considered to be the use of emoji by brands, a...

Research has consistently shown that motives for security (i.e., prevention focus) or pleasure (i.e., promotion focus) determine risk perception and behaviors in several domains, including sexual health. We tested if being more focused on prevention or promotion was associated with condom use attitudes and if the perceived risk of HIV infection exp...

Research has consistently shown that motives for security (i.e., prevention focus) or pleasure (i.e., promotion focus) determine risk perception and behaviors in several domains, including sexual health. We tested if being more focused on prevention or promotion was associated with condom use attitudes and if the perceived risk of HIV infection exp...

Individual differences in regulatory focus have been associated with distinct perceptions and behavioral patterns across several domains, including sexual behavior and health. People who are more focused on prevention strive to avoid negative outcomes and enact more risk protective behaviors. In contrast, people who are more focused on promotion st...

Excessive sugar intake represents an increased risk of developing non-communicable diseases (e.g., obesity, cardiometabolic diseases, and dental diseases). Still, it is unclear whether people are aware of these adverse health outcomes. The current study systematically examined the extent to which people associate health conditions with excessive su...

People focussed on prevention (vs. promotion) are motivated by safety and are less inclined to take risks. We tested if having a prevention (vs. promotion) focus before the COVID‐19 pandemic outbreak predicted threat perceptions and health outcomes throughout the pandemic. Participants (N = 161) took part in a longitudinal study. Measures were asse...

Interest in consensually non-monogamous relationships (CNM) has been increasing in the general population in recent years. However, given the cultural dominance of monogamy and the normative expectations often imposed through socialization (i.e., mononormativity), people in CNM relationships may experience negativity, which can become internalized...

Computer-mediated communication allows people to communicate across several contexts (e.g., friends, professional settings) by using video-based or text-based channels. In the latter case, communication lacks nonverbal cues (e.g., tone of voice) that are critical to message interpretation. Including emoji can help express emotion and reinforce or c...

We examined if motives for security (i.e., prevention focus) or pleasure (i.e., promotion focus) were uniquely associated with intentions to get tested for STIs and behavioral control over condom use, over and above variables already identified in theoretical models. We conducted an online survey with Portuguese adults (N = 836; Mage = 22.27, SD =...

More frequent internet pornography use is often associated with decreased sexual satisfaction. However, individuals who use internet pornography more often can experience better relationship outcomes, depending on how they use it in the context of their relationship. Indeed, internet pornography use with the partner seems to be positively associate...

We built upon a recent study by Rodrigues, Fasoli, Huic, and Lopes (2018) by investigating potential mechanisms driving the dehumanization of consensual non-monogamous (CNM) partners. Using a between-subjects experimental design, we asked 202 Portuguese individuals (158 women; Mage = 29.17, SD = 9.97) to read the description of two partners in a mo...

In this work, we examined knowledge about sugars and guidelines for its consumption and explored the relationship between knowledge and measures related to nutritional information processing as well as sugar consumption. Specifically, we asked participants (n = 1010 Portuguese) to categorize a set of ingredients (e.g., glucose, aspartame) regarding...

Background: Past research has shown that regulatory focus shapes people’s health and well-being, with those who are focused on prevention (vs. promotion) being more motivated by safety and being less inclined to take risks. Purpose: In the current study, we tested if having a prevention (vs. promotion) focus before the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak pr...

Excessive sugar intake has been associated with multiple health conditions (e.g., higher risk for non-communicable diseases). Hence, health organizations have issued guidelines defining the maximum daily intake of free or added sugars. However, data from several countries suggests that these guidelines are rarely met, particularly by young adults....

Objective: Governments worldwide have been implementing interventions aimed at improving citizens' dietary habits. Examining how individuals perceive these interventions is relevant for promoting future policies in this area, as well as informing the way they are designed and implemented. In the current study, we focused on interventions aimed at...

This field experiment tested whether inducing common inclusive representations (i.e., one group, dual identity) during contact influences intergroup relations differently for ethnic majority and minority children by changing their metaperceptions and intergroup emotions differently. White ( N = 113) and Black ( N = 111) 8- to 10-year-old children w...

Simple Summary Understanding the psychological correlates of attitudes toward pet relinquishment and actual pet relinquishment is essential to inform interventions, and assess their impact. In this study, we developed new scales to measure attitudes toward pet relinquishment, motives for pet relinquishment, and general trust in pets. With these sca...

Introduction: Several theoretical models and intervention programs overlook the importance of individual motivations for the decision to have condomless sex. For instance, people focused on promotion (ie, eager to pursue pleasure) report less intentions to use condoms, because they perceive a lower risk of acquiring sexually transmitted infections...

Lesbian and gay (LG) individuals strive to form stable relationships, and most of them are successful in doing so. Because successful relationships have benefits for psychological well-being, it is important to investigate factors that help people in same-sex relationships to achieve stable and committed relationships. The Investment Model (IM) pro...

Research has typically shown that unrestricted sociosexuality is negatively associated with relationship quality and that relationship quality is positively associated with quality of life (QoL). However, these findings may be restricted to individuals in monogamous relationships, especially those with prior extradyadic interactions (i.e., non-cons...

Attitudes toward condoms and self-control are reliable predictors of consistent condom use. However, safer sex behaviors depend on whether people are single or romantically involved. For the latter, it also depends on whether people are non-consensually non-monogamous (NCNM) or consensually non-monogamous (CNM). A cross-sectional study with 512 Por...

Livro de Resumos do X SNIP 2019

The literature suggests that families of children and youths in residential care are often associated with negative social images. These images may shape prejudiced attitudes and behavior toward them and, when shared by care professionals, compromise the effectiveness of family intervention and reintegration. This study explored these social images...

Whereas sexually dimorphic evolutionary models argue for clear sex differences in responses to jealousy-evoking scenarios, social cognitive models emphasize the importance of other factors. This paper explores variables associated with responses to a commonly-used jealousy-evoking scenario in a population-representative sample. Data from 8,386 Aust...

Objective: Consistent condom use is still not ideal. Research showed that perceived sexual self-control is associated with greater likelihood of using condoms. However, this association seems to vary according to age and relationship agreement (i.e., non-consensual non-monogamy, NCNM vs. consensual non-monogamy, CNM). Design: Cross-sectional study...

Lesbian and gay (LG) individuals are perceived as having poorer relationship functioning than heterosexual individuals, but this negative appraisal is not translated into actual relationship experiences. Indeed, relationship quality outcomes do not vary according to sexual orientation. Cohabitation status may play an important role, because it symb...

Despite recurrent efforts to prevent sexually transmitted diseases through the use of condoms, HIV infections are still prevalent across Europe. Recent research framed by the regulatory focus theory has shown that prevention (vs. promotion)-focused individuals are more likely to adopt strategies to protect their health. Therefore, these individuals...

Motives for security (prevention focus) and advancement (promotion focus) influence goal pursuit, but less is known about how such motives operate in the relationship domain. Regulatory focus in relationships (RFR) is a dispositional trait specific to relationship motives, whereby relationship promotion facilitates effective conflict resolution str...

Compared to monogamous relationships, consensual non-monogamous (CNM) relationships are stigmatized. Similarly, compared to heterosexual individuals, gay men are perceived to have more promiscuous and less committed romantic relationships. Hence, CNM and same-sex male relationships are potential targets of dehumanization (i.e., denied traits consid...

Despite recurrent efforts to prevent sexually transmitted diseases through the use of condoms, HIV infections are still prevalent across Europe. Recent research framed by the regulatory focus theory has shown that prevention (vs. promotion) focused individuals are more likely to adopt strategies to protect their health. Therefore, these individuals...

Electronic Mediated Communication (EMC) has become highly prevalent in our daily lives. Many of the communication formats used in EMC are text-based (e.g., instant messaging), and users often include visual paralinguistic cues in their messages. In the current study, we examined the usage of two of such cues - emoji and emoticons. Specifically, we...

The use of emoticons and emoji is increasingly popular across a variety of new platforms of online communication. Moreover, they have also become popular as stimulus materials in scientific research. However, the assumption that emoji/emoticon users’ interpretation always corresponds to the developers/researchers intended meaning might be misleadin...

Atas do IX Simpósio Nacional de Investigação em PsicologiaUniversidade do Algarve, 2016 Gestão da ansiedade na adaptação ao ensino superior: O contributo do biofeedback (pp. 137-141)Paulo Chaló, Anabela Pereira, Luís Sancho e Helena Mateus Health promotion through the modification of harmful habits and lifestyles (pp. 142-146)Pedro Matos Gonçalves,...

Estas Atas do IX SNIP simbolizam mais uma vez a relevância deste simpósio na difusão do conhecimento em psicologia produzido em Portugal. Pela primeira vez, estas Atas são publicadas na revista PSICOLOGIA, o órgão de difusão científica da Associação Portuguesa de Psicologia. Dado que a revista se encontra indexada em diferentes bases de dados inter...

A literatura indica que as famílias de crianças e jovens em acolhimento institucional podem ser estigmatizadas socialmente e isso gera um impacto negativo no seu bem-estar, na construção da sua identidade e no sucesso da intervenção familiar. No entanto, poucos estudos investigam empiricamente esta imagem social. Este estudo teve como objetivo anal...

Purpose The career concept has become fuzzier due to changing work patterns, the ageing workforce, and the environmental changes occurring during workers lifespans. Together this requires a renewed and broader reaching contextualization of this concept. The aim of this article is to set out an integrative approach arguing that the integration of c...

This article presents subjective rating norms for a new set of Stills And Videos of facial Expressions—the SAVE database. Twenty nonprofessional models were filmed while posing in three different facial expressions (smile, neutral, and frown). After each pose, the models completed the PANAS questionnaire, and reported more positive affect after smi...

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) can facilitate the expression of affection between romantic partners and promote relationship quality. Text messaging is nowadays an important means of expressing affection and to feel close to one’s partner. However, it is unclear if adding emoji to text messages influences perceptions about the relationship....

Social images are defined as prevailing shared ideas about specific groups or societies without concrete or objective evidence of their accuracy or truthfulness. These images frequently have a negative impact on individuals and groups. Although of outmost importance, the study of the social images of youth in residential care is still scarce. In th...

In this article we analyse the moderating effect of activation of independent and interdependent views of the self on the use of heterogeneity and consensus information in the attribution of validity to groups’ decisions. In two experimental studies we present evidence showing that participants primed with an interdependent view of the self make no...

Sociosexuality refers to a personal predisposition to engage in uncommitted sex. Romantically involved individuals are more likely to engage in infidelity when more unrestricted in their sociosexuality and less committed to their current partners. However, commitment reliably predicts relationship maintenance and the activation of pro-relationship...

When individuals are highly committed to their romantic relationship, they are more likely to engage in pro-relationship maintenance mechanisms. The present research expanded on the notion that commitment redirects self-oriented goals to consider broader relational goals and examined whether commitment interacts with a promotion and prevention focu...

In the present article, we analyze polymorphous prejudice against Lesbians and Gays according to a sample of Portuguese heterosexual individuals. We tested the differential importance of demographic, ideological, and psychological-level variables to predicting this phenomenon. Our results show that male, Catholic, right-wing respondents with fewer...

Positive close relationships with immediate close network members are associated with healthy adjustment among emerging adults (EA). These influence the initiation and maintenance of romantic relationships. A cross-sectional study (N = 630) explored the role of perceived parental and friend support for the current romantic relationship in relations...

Although perceived attractiveness has consistently been shown to influence interpersonal attraction, perceiving another person as more similar to oneself is also highly important for attraction. We examine how both perceptions impact unilateral initial attraction (UIA), defined as a positive reaction following the perception of an unknown target wi...

The literature indicates that families of children and adolescents in sheltered care may be socially stigmatized and this has a negative impact on their well-being, the construction of their identity, and the success of family interventions. However, only a few studies have empirically investigated this social image. This study aimed to analyse the...

Fifty years after the end of the Algerian war of independence, French colonization in Algeria (1830-1962) is still a very controversial topic when sporadically brought to the forefront of the public sphere. One way to better understand current intergroup relationships between French of French origins and French with Algerian origins is to investiga...

Power distance can produce contextual effects that surpass the cultural level of analysis, allowing predicting how the assimilation of these cultural values impacts individuals motivations to attain power positions and behaviors towards authorities. Power distance value can be conceived both at a micro and macro level of analysis. However existing...

Sociosexuality refers to individual differences in interest in and willingness to engage in sexual activity without an emotional connection. Unrestricted sociosexuality is associated with a greater likelihood of infidelity, and with poorer relationship quality. However, previous research has failed to examine relationship-specific characteristics t...

Conhecer os principais métodos quantitativos e qualitativos e saber distingui-los. Enumerar as principais vantagens e desvantagens dos métodos quantitativos e qualitativos. Identificar qual o melhor método a utilizar para dar resposta à sua questão de investigação. Saber identificar pontos de contacto entre os métodos quantitativos e qualitativos.

The literature indicates that youths in residential care have been associated with negative social images. However, there have been few studies focused on these social images, specifically, comparing them with the images of youths in normative contexts. To address this issue, we conducted two studies comparing the social images people have about yo...

In sexually monogamous relationships (SMR), sociosexuality, or the predisposition to engage in extradyadic casual sex, is negatively associated with relationship outcomes. However, mutually consenting to sexually non-monogamous relationships (SNMR) does not hinder relationship outcomes. Recent research has extended these findings to the phenomenon...

This study explores the association between sociosexuality (behavior, attitudes and desire) and commitment to understand sexual infidelity in the current relationship. We also explore how these variables are associated with attitudes towards infidelity. Participants were romantically involved heterosexuals (N = 252; 51 women, 201 men; Mage = 41.13,...

Unilateral initial attraction (UIA) is a positive affective reaction following a unilateral perception of an unknown target, defining the first stage in developing a new interpersonal relationship. Although little attention is given to this construct, literature suggests it has a physiological activation compo- nent as well as an interpersonal inte...

The literature suggests that residential care for children and youth is associated with a negative social image harmful to their wellbeing. However, the social images of children and youth in residential care and of the residential care institutions have received no systematic study. The current study seeks to examine the social images associated w...

This study aimed at adapting and validating the Measurement of Components of Commitment scale (MCC; Johnson et al. in J Marriage Fam 61:160–177, 1999) in a sample of 335 Portuguese individuals, varying in sexual orientation and type of romantic relationship (single, civil union, married). Results suggest adequate construct validity and reliability....

The Investment Model (Rusbult, 1980) defines general commitment as a long-term orientation towards relationship maintenance and feelings of psychological attachment, influenced by satisfaction, quality of alternatives and intrinsic/extrinsic investments. We suggest the importance of additionally assessing moral commitment, defined by an intraperson...

Although the effects of work autonomy (WA) and employee involvement (EI) have been largely studied, their determinants, especially at the macro/institutional level, have attracted much less attention. To better understand (a) the extent to which WA and EI are distinct constructs and (b) the factors that explain their respective levels, this article...

The Measure of Initial Attraction—Short Interest Scale (MIA-I; Rodrigues & Lopes, 2015) is a measure of unilateral initial attraction (UIA) of various relationships. Rodrigues and Lopes’ (2014) MIA Study 1 data regarding the attributes’ centrality scores for the UIA construct were selected for the final five items for the most central attributes fo...

Unilateral Initial Attraction (UIA) is a first unilateral awareness towards an unknown person and can be the starting point of an interest in voluntarily initiating an interaction or relationship. In order to create a measure tapping this feeling, Study 1 asked individuals to indicate attributes characterizing UIA (Phase 1), and to rate their centr...

Based on the attributional reformulation of social comparison theory (Goethals &Darley, 1977) and on previous studies (e.g., Lopes, Vala, &Garcia-Marques, 2007), the present research extends our understanding of the role of group consensus and heterogeneity on attribution of validity to group opinions and decisions. One experimental study tested th...

The goal of the present research was to validate a Portuguese version of Pearl and Galupo’s (2007) Attitudes toward Same-Sex Marriage Scale (ATSM). Participants were 1,402 heterosexual men and women that completed an on-line questionnaire. The final 15-item scale formed a single factor showing high internal consistency (α = .95). This one factor st...

Framed by the Investment Model (Rusbult, 1980, 1983), the maintenance of romantic relationships are influenced by the experience of general commitment and the perceived investments applied in the relationship. Albeit showing the robustness of these predictions among heterosexual romantic relationships, literature suggests homosexual romantic relati...

ScriptingRT is a new open source tool to collect response latencies in online studies of human cognition. ScriptingRT studies run as Flash applets in enabled browsers. ScriptingRT provides the building blocks of response latency studies, which are then combined with generic Apache Flex programming. Six studies evaluate the performance of ScriptingR...

Interpersonal relationships are an important aspect of human behavior providing security and affiliation while avoiding loneliness and social anxiety (e.g., Dwyer, 2000). In this article, we focus specifically on voluntary romantic relationships, characterized by positive affect and sexual desire (Moser, 1994). The understanding of what is a romant...

The Investment Model (IM; Rusbult, 1980, 1983) has been widely used to study the development and maintenance of romantic relationships. Its components—satisfaction, quality of alternatives, investment size and commitment—are operationalized in the Investment Model Scale (IMS; Rusbult, Martz, & Agnew, 1998). Given its importance for personal relatio...

According to Mohr and Fassinger (2006), identity is seen as both self-identification and collective identification with values, beliefs, traits or behaviours and attachments. Their Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) multidimensional identity model accounts for important variables regarding the constitution of identities. This model not only accesses...

The present study aims at adapting and validating an organizational climate questionnaire for social organizations, based on the Organizational Climate Survey (The University of Tennessee: Children’s Mental Health Services Research Center, 2000), using a sample of professionals working in several social welfare organizations. The original instrumen...