Abstract
In-group favouritism is ubiquitous and previous studies have consistently found that individuals cooperate more with in-group members than out-group members in diverse contexts. Yet, there has not been much research on the role of the nature of groups in intergroup cooperation. A recent study found stronger levels of in-group favouritism amongst groups formed on the basis of shared moral values. However, it remained unclear whether the increased favouritism was caused by a greater tendency to act favourably towards the in-group or derogatorily towards the out-group. The present study thus investigated intergroup cooperation among morality-based and non-morality-based groups and examined the levels of cooperation with an in-group member and an out-group member as compared to a person whose group membership was unknown. Regardless of how groups were formed, in-group favouritism was present, while out-group derogation was absent. Furthermore, we found that the shared morality promoted in-group cooperation indirectly via low perceived out-group warmth. Our study provides further evidence that in-group favouring behaviour does not include derogating out-groups and points to the importance of further investigation into the role of the shared morality in intergroup cooperation.
Highlights
In-group favouritism, the tendency to favour in-group members over out-group members, has been observed in diverse cultures (e.g., Fiedler et al, 2018; Romano, Balliet, Yamagishi, et al, 2017)
Previous studies that investigated in-group favouritism with economic games have focused on different groups, from minimal groups (Tajfel et al, 1971) to natural groups such as those based on religion (Romano, Balliet, & Wu, 2017), university affiliation (Hackel et al, 2017; Ockenfels & Werner, 2014), nationality (Romano, Balliet, Yamagishi, et al, 2017), and political ideologies (Rand et al, 2009)
There has not been a systematic investigation on the potential role of the types of groups in the ingroup favouring tendency—would the extent to which individuals favour in-group members differ depending on the nature of groups? In a large-scale meta-analysis on ingroup favouritism, Balliet et al (2014) found that the extent of in-group favouritism did not vary between minimal groups and actual groups
Summary
In-group favouritism, the tendency to favour in-group members over out-group members, has been observed in diverse cultures (e.g., Fiedler et al, 2018; Romano, Balliet, Yamagishi, et al, 2017). In a large-scale meta-analysis on ingroup favouritism, Balliet et al (2014) found that the extent of in-group favouritism did not vary between minimal groups and actual groups. They did not examine whether different types of groups (e.g., university affiliations vs political groups) would display different levels of the tendency to favour in-group members
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
