Outgroup Evaluations Research Articles

Intergroup Threat and the Linguistic Intergroup Bias: A Stress Biomarker Study

This study investigates the physiological consequences of derogation. In the face of an ingroup threat, an opportunity to derogate the outgroup is associated with increases in salivary cortisol, a stress biomarker. These findings support the intergroup anxiety model, which suggests that following an anxiety-inducing threatening experience, outgroup evaluations can amplify emotional reactions and stress. In this study, we investigated whether threatened participants who derogated would show higher cortisol levels. Canadian undergraduates ( N = 169) read either a threatening or favourable passage about Canadians. They then engaged in either a linguistic intergroup bias (LIB) or control task. Salivary samples were collected prethreat, postthreat, and posttask. The results suggest that ingroup threat was associated with increases in cortisol levels. Threatened participants who displayed LIB showed higher cortisol levels than those who were threatened and did not show LIB. These findings illustrate the importance of incorporating a neuroscientific approach.

Costs of helping only influence children’s intention to help ethnic out-group peers

Studies show that children are often inclined to help less when the costs of helping increase. However, these studies do not take into account who children are helping. Yet, developmental intergroup research has shown that the intergroup context influences children’s reasoning about helping behavior. Two experimental vignette studies are presented that examined the influence of the costs of helping on children’s (8–13 years) intention to help in an ethnic intergroup context. Study 1 (N = 320) showed that the costs of helping reduce children’s willingness to help ethnic out-group peers but do not influence children’s intention to help ethnic in-group peers. Study 2 (N = 166) replicated the results of Study 1 for a different ethnic out-group context. Moreover, children’s reduced willingness to help ethnic out-group peers when costs increase was not contingent on their ethnic in-group or out-group evaluation or their age. Taken together, this research shows, for the first time, that the costs of helping reduce children’s willingness to help ethnic out-group peers but not ethnic in-group peers.

Intergroup contact and the mediating role of intergroup trust on outgroup evaluation and future contact intentions in Cyprus and Northern Ireland.

Intergroup contact and the mediating role of intergroup trust on outgroup evaluation and future contact intentions in Cyprus and Northern Ireland.

On the Outside Looking In: Distress and Sympathy for Ethnic Victims of Violence by Out-Group Members

Abstract It is well documented that individuals respond with negative emotions to racial and ethnic out-groups. Yet, it is unknown whether the responses are a measure of simple emotional reactivity or if they are also influenced by emotion regulation. Given the importance of emotions in out-group evaluation (see Intergroup Emotion Theory; Smith and Mackie, 2008), we investigated emotional reactivity and regulation in response to out-group victimization. Forty-one undergraduates completed the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and viewed three sets of images: lynching of African-Americans, torture of Abu Ghraib prison detainees, and iaps images depicting graphic violence. Participants rated 13 emotions before and after viewing the images. A factor analysis identified four emotional response categories: Distress, Sympathy, Arousal and Avoidance. Analyses at both the individual emotion level and factor level indicated that negative emotions (e.g., anger, disgust, and guilt) were greater in response to violence against ethnic groups relative to violence depicted in the iaps images. Emotional suppression predicted blunted distress and arousal to ethnic victimization. These findings highlight that emotional responses to out-group victimization are complex and tempered by emotional suppression. Individuals’ emotion regulation may provide further insight into responses to ethnic and racial out-groups.

Understanding semantic differential measures in modern South Africa: attitudes of Black Africans towards White South Africans

The future success of South Africa’s unique democracy depends on the development of harmonious race relations. Understanding the factors underlying the country’s interracial attitudes is, consequently, important. Social identity theory suggests that Black African attitudes towards White people are connected to their evaluations of South Africa’s other racial minorities. This thesis seems counterintuitive given that White people are associated with a long history of political, economic, and social oppression in the collective memory of many Black African communities. Nationally representative data from the South African Social Attitudes Survey were used to validate the thesis that Black Africans’ evaluations of White people correlated with their assessments of other racial groups. Pairwise correlation analysis was employed to test the article’s hypothesis. The results presented in this article showed that Black Africans’ evaluations towards the White minority correlated with their evaluations of other racial minorities in South Africa. Multivariate analysis, specifically a standard (ordinary least squares) linear regression, was used to confirm the bivariate analysis. Black Africans’ attitudes towards White people were strongly correlated with attitudes towards the country’s two other major racial minorities. This finding held even controlling for contact with White people as well as a range of socio-economic characteristics. The outcomes of this article invite closer examination of the factors that underlie the generality of outgroup evaluations among South Africa’s Black African majority.

Acculturation, out-group positivity and eating disorders symptoms among Emirati women.

Western acculturation has been implicated in the development of eating disorders among populations living outside Europe and North America. This study explored the relationship between Western acculturation, in-group/out-group evaluations and eating disorders symptoms among female citizens of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Emirati college women (N = 209) completed an affective priming task, designed to implicitly assess in-group (Emirati) and out-group (American) evaluations. Participants also completed the Westernization Survey, a widely used self-report measure of acculturation, and the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26). Across the whole sample, out-group positivity was correlated with higher levels of eating disorder symptoms. Participants classified as at risk for eating disorders showed a clear out-group preference (out-group positivity greater than in-group positivity). Western acculturation was also positively correlated with eating disorder symptoms. Overall, these findings lend further support to the acculturation hypothesis of eating disorders in the context of Emirati college women.

Shaping the Development of Prejudice: Latent Growth Modeling of the Influence of Social Dominance Orientation on Outgroup Affect in Youth.

Social dominance orientation (SDO) has been theorized as a stable, early-emerging trait influencing outgroup evaluations, a view supported by evidence from cross-sectional and two-wave longitudinal research. Yet, the limitations of identifying causal paths with cross-sectional and two-wave designs are increasingly being acknowledged. This article presents the first use of multi-wave data to test the over-time relationship between SDO and outgroup affect among young people. We use cross-lagged and latent growth modeling (LGM) of a three-wave data set employing Norwegian adolescents (over 2 years, N = 453) and a five-wave data set with American university students (over 4 years, N = 748). Overall, SDO exhibits high temporal rank-order stability and predicts changes in outgroup affect. This research represents the strongest test to date of SDO's role as a stable trait that influences the development of prejudice, while highlighting LGM as a valuable tool for social and political psychology.

Discussing Religion: Exploring the Link between Parental Religious Socialization Messages and Youth Outcomes

This study explored the relation between adolescent reports of parental religious socialization (i.e., cultural socialization, promotion of mistrust, and pluralism) and their religious out-group evaluations, externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Crosssectional data were obtained from 730 12- to 15-year old Belgian adolescents through questionnaires. Results from multilevel and ordinary linear regression analyses indicated that pluralism was associated with higher religious out-group evaluations whereas promotion of mistrust was associated with lower religious out-group evaluations and higher externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Cultural socialization interacted with the importance adolescents give to religion to influence youth externalizing behaviors. Despite its limitations, this study presents a complex picture of the association between religious socialization practices and adolescent outcomes and offers an alternative pathway to understand parental religious socialization.

Measuring intergroup ideologies: positive and negative aspects of emphasizing versus looking beyond group differences.

Research on interethnic relations has focused on two ideologies, asking whether it is best to de-emphasize social-category differences (colorblind) or emphasize and celebrate differences (multicultural). We argue each of these can manifest with negative outgroup evaluations: Assimilationism demands that subordinate groups adopt dominant group norms to minimize group distinctions; segregationism holds that groups should occupy separate spheres. Parallel versions can be identified for intergender relations. Scales to measure all four ideologies are developed both for ethnicity (Studies 1 and 2) and gender (Studies 3 and 4). Results demonstrate that the ideologies can be reliably measured, that the hypothesized four-factor models are superior to alternative models with fewer factors, and that the ideologies relate as predicted to the importance ascribed to group distinctions, subordinate group evaluations, and solution preferences for intergroup conflict scenarios. We argue that this fourfold model can help clarify theory and measurement, allowing a more nuanced assessment of ideological attitudes.

Perspective-taking mediates the imagined contact effect

We investigated the potential for mental imagery to reduce intergroup bias in Cyprus, an island that has suffered from interethnic tension for over 40 years. Seventy-three Turkish Cypriots were asked to imagine a scenario in which they interacted with Greek Cypriots, compared to those imagining an outdoor scene. Subsequently, participants in the imagined contact condition reported more positive outgroup evaluations. Mediational analysis showed this relationship was explained by increased levels of perspective-taking. The findings highlight theoretical and practical possibilities for future imagined contact research.

The Relationships between In- and Out-group Perceptions and Evaluations, and the Social Identity Dimensions of Covered/Uncovered Female Students in Turkey

Allowing female students to enter universities in headscarves has long been a major goal of all Islamist political parties, whereas secularists have regarded this issue as a serious fundamentalist threat to the Turkish Republic. This study of the head coverage issue was conducted in 2006, taking a sample of 100 female university students at Uludag University in Bursa Turkey, where around half of the female students wear headscarves. Data was collected on the in-group/out-group perceptions and evaluations of both covered and uncovered students using structured and semi-structured social identity inventories, and the gathered data was examined in line with the predictions of Tajfel and Turner’s social identity theory and Verkuyten’s identity dimensions of “being,” “feeling,” “doing” and “knowing”. The results showed that, although the perceptions and evaluations of students with and without headscarves pointed to an in-group/out-group distinction, there were striking similarities between the identity dimensions of the two groups in several social categories. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n23p1632

The impact of incidental fear and anger on in- and outgroup attitudes

Abstract The aim of this research was to examine the impact of two specific negative emotions of anger and fear on intergroup attitudes. In Study 1 we measured emotions of anger and fear and in Study 2 we evoked these emotions incidentally, that is independently of any intergroup context. In both studies we measured attitudes towards the ingroup (Polish) and the outgroup (Gypsies).We expected that fear would lead to more positive ingroup attitudes and anger to more negative outgroup attitudes. The results of the correlational study (Study 1) confirmed the predictions regarding anger and decreased outgroup evaluations, and the experimental study (Study 2) revealed that fear enhanced positivity towards the ingroup, but anger increased negativity towards the outgroup. The impact of fear and anger on social attitudes in the specific context of a negatively self-stereotyped ingroup is discussed.

Imagined intergroup contact facilitates intercultural communication for college students on academic exchange programs

Imagined intergroup contact (Crisp & Turner, 2009) is a new cognitive intervention designed to improve intergroup relations. In two studies, we examined whether it could also facilitate intercultural communication among international students and host country natives engaged in a college exchange program. In Study 1, international students who had recently arrived in Italy and participated in an imagined contact session displayed increased self-disclosure toward, and improved evaluation of, host country natives. In Study 2, Italian students mentally simulated positive contact with an unknown native from the host country prior to leaving for the exchange. Results from an online questionnaire administered on their return (on average, more than 7 months after the imagery task) revealed that participants who imagined contact reported spending more time with natives during the stay and enhanced outgroup evaluation, via reduced intergroup anxiety. Implications for enhancing the quality and effectiveness of college student exchange programs are discussed.

集団間と集団内の地位が内・外集団の評価に及ぼす影響―集団間関係の調整効果に着目して―

本研究の目的は，地位格差のある集団間状況において，集団間葛藤が生起する過程を明らかにすることである。そのため，内集団バイアスに着目し，集団間の相対的地位と集団間の関係性，集団内での個人の地位が，内集団，外集団メンバーの評価に及ぼす影響について検討した。大学生120名に対して，集団間地位と集団内地位を操作した実験を行った。その結果，高地位集団では，高地位者よりも低地位者のほうが，外集団メンバーの能力を低く評価することが明らかとなった。逆に，低地位集団では，低地位者よりも高地位者のほうが，外集団の能力を低く評価していた。また，この交互作用は，集団間の関係を非協同的であると認識する者においてのみ見られた。これらの結果から，集団内地位と集団間地位の高さが異なり，個人間比較と集団間比較のジレンマが生じる状況では，補償的に外集団を卑下する戦略が用いられる可能性が示唆された。

Seeing the world with the eyes of the outgroup — The impact of perspective taking on the prototypicality of the ingroup relative to the outgroup

The positive effect of perspective taking on favorable attitudes towards stigmatized individuals and outgroups is well established (Batson et al., 1997). We draw on the ingroup projection model (Mummendey & Wenzel, 1999) to better understand the processes underlying this effect. Based on their egocentric perspective, ingroup and outgroup members have different representations of the superordinate group (perspective divergence) so that the ingroup is perceived as more relatively prototypical of the superordinate group, leading to negative outgroup evaluation. We hypothesize that the positive effect of perspective taking on outgroup attitudes is due to a reduction of relative ingroup prototypicality. Across three studies with different manipulations of perspective taking, we found that participants who were taking the perspective of an outgroup member evaluated the outgroup more positively and were less inclined to perceive their ingroup as more relatively prototypical. The effect of perspective taking on outgroup attitudes was mediated by relative ingroup prototypicality.

Outgroup Evaluation, Religious Identity, and Acculturation Orientations of the Coptic Minority in Egypt

The first aim of this study was to explore the acculturation orientations, assessed in employment and endogamy/exogamy domains, adopted by Coptic minority towards Muslims (dominant majority group) and Protestants (another minority group) in Egypt. The second aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between religious identity, evaluative attitude towards outgroup and acculturation orientations of Copts. Results showed that adoption of acculturation orientations differs widely according to domain, while little differences are noticed depending on the outgroup. Moreover, religious identity appears more related to endogamy/exogamy domain, whereas evaluative attitude is more related to employment domain.

The Influence of Status on the Relationship between Intergroup Contact, Threat, and Prejudice in the Context of a Nation-building Intervention in Malaysia

We assessed whether intergroup contact at a nation-building intervention in Malaysia improved participants’ perceptions of threat and outgroup evaluations and whether this process was conceptually moderated by group status in a three-group setting. We found evidence of a strong relationship between post-intervention contact and post-intervention outgroup evaluations in all groups and evidence of indirect effects of post-intervention contact on outgroup evaluations by symbolic threat for the minority groups rating the majority group. We found that in the context of institutional inequalities, integrated threat theory may not be sufficiently complex to uncover the processes that underlie the contact–attitude link for majority groups rating minority groups. Further, we found indirect effects of post-intervention contact on outgroup evaluations via realistic threat for interminority group ratings. Thus, we elucidate some of the different mechanisms that underlie the intergroup perceptions of majority and minority group members.

Verification of Ingroup Identity as a Longitudinal Mediator between Intergroup Contact and Outgroup Evaluation

Almost six decades of research have consistently demonstrated that intergroup contact is one of the most powerful ways of improving intergroup attitudes. At least two important limitations, however, still compel researchers to continue work in this area: the issue of long-term effects of contact, and the processes underlying such effects. This report makes a theoretical and empirical contribution with regard to these two aspects introducing a new mediator of the effects of contact: verification of qualities of typical ingroup members that may or may not characterize individual group members (e.g. verification of ingroup identities). One hundred and forty-two high school students participated in a two-wave longitudinal study with 12 weeks' lag in Spain. Cross-sectional and longitudinal mediational analyses using multiple imputation data showed that intergroup contact improves general outgroup evaluation through increasing verification of ingroup identities. This research demonstrates the relevance of considering verification of ingroup identity as a mediator for the positive effects of intergroup contact.

The role of intergroup disgust in predicting negative outgroup evaluations

We introduce intergroup disgust as an individual difference and contextual manipulation. As an individual difference, intergroup disgust sensitivity (ITG-DS) represents affect-laden revulsion toward social outgroups, incorporating beliefs in stigma transfer and social superiority. Study 1 (5 samples, N=708) validates the ITG-DS scale. Higher ITG-DS scorers demonstrated greater general disgust sensitivity, disease concerns, authoritarian/conservative ideologies, and negative affect. Greater ITG-DS correlated with stronger outgroup threat perceptions and discrimination, and uniquely predicted negative outgroup attitudes beyond well-established prejudice-predictors. Intergroup disgust was experimentally manipulated in Study 2, exposing participants (n=164) to a travel blog concerning contact with a disgust-evoking (vs. neutral) outgroup. Manipulated disgust generated negative outgroup evaluations through greater threat and anxiety. This mediation effect was moderated: Those higher (vs. lower) in ITG-DS did not experience stronger disgust, threat, or anxiety reactions, but demonstrated stronger translation of aversive reactions (especially outgroup threat) into negative attitudes. Theory development and treatment implications are considered.

Recreation conflict perception among visitors to Tuen Mun Park, Hong Kong, China: outgroup evaluation, resource specificity, and lifestyle tolerance

Recreation conflict is a common problem in many outdoor recreation areas. In Hong Kong's Tuen Mun Park, the growing numbers of music performers has increased conflict among park users. This study adopts Jacob and Schreyer's (1980) model of recreation conflict to examine conflict perception among park users. Data were collected from an on-site survey of park users (n = 314) and a telephone survey of Tuen Mun New Town residents (n = 744). Jacob and Schreyer's model provides a partial explanation for differences in recreation conflict perceptions among user groups in the park. The findings confirm the hypothesis that frequent park users are more prone to experiencing conflict. Moreover, age and cultural background are the key factors influencing conflict perception. The findings suggest that efforts are needed to promote understanding and acceptance of the needs of other user groups in public spaces, which requires a thorough review of the current government policy on recreation space and facility development.