Intergroup Similarity and Subgroup Relations: Some Implications for Assimilation

Abstract

Two studies examined the effects of perceptions of similarity on relations between subgroups (humanities and math-science students) that share an active superordinate category (University of Queensland student). Participants (N = 82) performed a non-interactive task during which perceptions of intersubgroup similarity (high or low) and level of categorization (at the superordinate level or at the superordinate and subgroup levels simultaneously) were manipulated ina2X2 between-groups design. Consistent with social identity theory, participants who had been categorized exclusively at the superordinate level discriminated more against a similar subgroup than a dissimilar one. However, when the subgroup and superordinate categories were activated simultaneously, a trend emerged that was consistent with the similarity-attraction hypothesis. A similar interaction emerged in Study 2 (N = 265), in which perceptions of similarity were measured rather than manipulated. The results were interpreted in terms of the motivation to retain ingroup distinctiveness.