In my lab (together with Magdalena Formanowicz & Marta Witkowska), we are researching about the role of agency in shaping intergroup relations – said dr Bettinsoli – Specifically, we want to test whether and how different level of agency ascriptions to outgroup members (i.e., individuals who are not part of our social groups like family, colleagues, friends, sport team) might influence intergroup relations. Agency refers to goal orientation or general capacity to act and this ability is seen at the core of human functioning. Agency, however, is not only important from an individuals’ standpoint, it matters also when evaluating other people, in group settings, where ingroup is associated with higher agency than outgroups. Previous work indicates that the link between ingroup and agency may be of crucial importance as it signals ingroup status and can be a meaningful signal of ingroups’ real or projected privileged position. Agency paired with ingroup can subtly convey the possibility that ingroup takes actions, and therefore manifest its’ ability to defend itself or pose threat when endangered. The project that has been selected and funded by NAWA aims at deepening the role of agency in intergroup relations by investigating it also from a cross-cultural perspective. First aim of this research project is to outline a theoretical model highlighting the unique role of agency in ingroup representation and intergroup relations. The second aim is to apply a cross-cultural perspective to the basic research on social cognition to see whether previous and new findings hold also across different cultures. Cultural and linguistic differences can lead to surprising variations in how people think, feel, and act. Such differences can play a powerful role in how social perception and related categorisation vary across cultures. Data would be collected from Arabic, Italian, English, and Polish speakers samples, utilising access to wide colleague networks. Importantly, they are also examining how agency ascriptions can influence humanness attribution to other individuals—that is whether agency is a predictor of subtle dehumanization (i.e., attributing others lower cognitive function, and less human traits). And they are applying an intersectional perspective, namely, the targets of our studies are individuals identified by the intersection of gender (female, male), sexual orientation (heterosexual, homosexual), and race (White, Black, Asian).