Ironic Effects of Invoking Common Ingroup Identity

Abstract

Establishing a common ingroup identity (CII) can reduce intergroup bias. Appeals to CII made by an outgroup member could, however, increase negative intergroup outcomes if perceivers believe that the speaker defines the superordinate group differently than they do. Study 1 demonstrated that people believe that Democrats and Republicans have different conceptions of the superordinate group “Americans.” In Study 2, persuasive appeals invoking CII made by outgroup members were unsuccessful; moreover, differences in shared conceptions of American identity negatively impacted the appeal's success, but only if the speaker invoked CII. These studies describe a theoretical and practical boundary condition on CII as an approach to reducing intergroup bias.