Dos Santos, Marcos RogérioPereira, Cicero Roberto2021-04-262021-04-262021Marcos Francisco dos Santos, Cicero Roberto Pereira (2021). The social psychology of a selective national inferiority complex: Reconciling positive distinctiveness and system justification. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 95, 1041180022-1031http://hdl.handle.net/10451/47553The national inferiority complex was described in 1958 by the Brazilian journalist Nelson Rodrigues as “how Brazilians voluntarily place themselves in a position of inferiority in comparison to the rest of the world.” In three experimental studies, we tested the hypothesis of a “national inferiority effect” on the behavior of Brazilian participants awarding compensation to a victim of police violence. Study 1 varied the skin color (Black vs. White) and cultural origin (Brazilian vs. African vs. European) of a target and demonstrated the presence of a selective national inferiority effect: participants awarded less compensation to the Brazilian victim than to the European, but higher compensation to the Brazilian victim than to the African, particularly when the victim was White. Study 2 replicated this effect, showing that the victim's skin color is a key factor in the emergence of the national inferiority complex. Study 3 went further and showed that the perceived injustice of an arrest mediates the national inferiority effect. The discussion suggests that the national inferiority complex could represent a compromise between positive distinctiveness and system justification motivations.engNational inferiority complexSocial identityRacismSystem justificationjournal article10.1016/j.jesp.2021.104118