Abstract
High identifiers are generally more willing to affiliate to their group and, as a result, perceive themselves and behave as prototypical members of their group. But is this always the case? The present research investigates the when and the why of the positive relationship between ingroup identification and assimilation by focusing on the role of the content of the injunctive ingroup norm (collectivistic vs. individualistic) and the ingroup status. Two experiments showed a positive identification-assimilation relationship in the low-status group when the ingroup norm was collectivistic, but not when the norm was individualistic. Moreover, the relationship was unreliable in the high-status group, regardless of the content of the norm. In a third study, these findings were extended to a more general measure of group affiliation (i.e., the need to belong). This research suggests that the greater tendency of high identifiers to assimilate to their group–and, more generally, to affiliate to groups–is accounted for by conformity motivations and strategies aimed at coping with an unfavorable social identity.
Highlights
For a long time, social psychologists have investigated how group membership shapes the group members’ perceptions and behaviors
The analysis first revealed a main effect of status, B = 0.69, t(152) = 4.64, p < .001, 95% CI [0.40, 0.98], corroborating that the mood score was greater in the high-status condition than in the low-status condition (Ms = 2.25 and 0.88, respectively)
In the high-status condition, the mood score increased as a function of ingroup identification (Ms = 1.68 and 2.83, for low [-1 SD] and high identifiers [+1 SD] respectively), B = 0.48, t(152) = 2.76, p = .007, 95% CI [0.14, 0.83]
Summary
Social psychologists have investigated how group membership shapes the group members’ perceptions and behaviors. Ingroup identification is associated with the willingness to affiliate with the group and to be committed to it [1]. Motivation to affiliate to the group often results in ingroup assimilation (i.e., being close to the ingroup prototype) [2; 3]. High identifiers tend to conform to the ingroup descriptive norm, that is, to “emulate” the ingroup’s typical behaviors [4]. High identifiers are motivated to assimilate to the ingroup (i.e., to conform to the descriptive norm), as well as to stick to the ingroup’s normative guidelines (i.e., to conform to the injunctive norm, see [6])
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