Ingroup Bias and Ingroup Projection in the Furry Fandom

Kathleen C Gerbasi,Stephen Reysen,Sharon E Roberts,Courtney N Plante

doi:10.5539/ijps.v7n4p49

Abstract

<p>In two studies, we examine ingroup favoritism within the furry community. Furry fans construct personas (“fursonas”) that are often related to a species of animal (e.g., fox, wolf). In Study 1, furries were found to rate their fursona species more favorably than other species. In Study 2, we examined whether the ingroup projection model may aid in understanding this ingroup species bias. Participants’ ratings of prototypicality of their species within the fandom was associated with greater favoritism of one’s species. A serial mediation model showed that identification with the fursona and perceived benefits of one’s fursona mediated the association between ingroup projection and ingroup species bias.</p>

Highlights

Social Identity Theory (SIT) states that people naturally categorize themselves and others into groups (Tajfel & Turner, 1979)
We predict, in a model analogous to the legitimization mediation model tested in prior research, that species identification and the perceived functionality of one’s fursona will mediate the relationship between ingroup projection and ingroup species bias
The purpose of the present studies was to test the existence of ingroup species favoritism in the furry fandom and the possible role that ingroup projection plays in this phenomenon

Summary

Introduction

Social Identity Theory (SIT) states that people naturally categorize themselves and others into groups (Tajfel & Turner, 1979). In terms of biased perception, sport fans evaluated ingroup fans more favorably (e.g., well behaved, demonstrate good sportsmanship) than fans of rival teams (Wann & Grieve, 2005), trusted fellow fans more than fans of rival teams (Wann et al, 2012), and even saw ingroup fans as having more human emotions than fans of a rival team (Gaunt, Sindic, & Leyens, 2005) These biases in fan perception have even been found in children as young as 5 years old, who evaluated ingroup soccer fans more positively than outgroup fans (Abrams, Rutland, & Cameron, 2003). Not limited to positive behavior, sport fans punish a fellow fan less harshly than an outgroup fan for violating norms (Schiller, Baumgartner, & Knoch, 2014)

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