This master’s thesis examines the self-construal of Moroccan-Belgian minorities in relation to their heritage (Moroccan) and host (Belgian) cultures, and investigates whether alignment with the host culture predicts well-being. Using two self-construal measures (Sixfold and RIC) and indicators of well-being (happiness, school absence, negative states), self-construal was analyzed through dimensional and profile-based approaches, including both profile fit and distance. Contrary to expectations, minority self-construal did not consistently fall between the heritage and host cultures, and alignment with the host culture was only weakly linked to well-being. These findings suggest that minority self-construal may be shaped by additional, unmeasured factors, and that the relationship between cultural fit and well-being is more complex than previously assumed. Future research should consider group-specific characteristics and the role of alignment with heritage, host, and minority cultural groups.

This study has been conducted at the PsychAcc Lab at KU Leuven under the supervision of Jozefien De Leersnyder.

Generic language (e.g., “Seniors are dependent”) is central to the transmission of stereotypes, yet how it differs from quantified statements in shaping prevalence judgments remains unclear. This study experimentally manipulated sentence type (generic, some, many), feature valence (dangerous, neutral, beneficial), and target group (adolescents, seniors) among 169 Dutch-speaking psychology undergraduates. Participants rated the implied prevalence of features in both target and comparison groups. Results showed that generics were interpreted as implying higher and more variable prevalence than quantified statements, while dangerous features were judged less prevalent than neutral or beneficial ones. Contrary to predictions, no interaction between generics and dangerousness emerged. Sentence structure also affected prevalence judgments for comparison groups, with “many” yielding higher estimates than “generic” or “some.” Findings challenge accounts of generics’ uniqueness and suggest a positivity norm across sentence types, advancing understanding of how linguistic structures shape social inferences.

This study has been conducted at LESP at KU Leuven under the supervision of Vera Hoorens and Felix Hermans.