Group Entitativity Research Articles

Enhancement of joint flanker effect in intergroup competition.

Representing the mental state of the partner lays the foundation for successful social interaction. While the representation of group members has been extensively studied, it is unclear how intergroup interactions affect it. In three experiments utilizing the joint flanker task, we found that competition between groups brought about a greater joint flanker effect (Experiment 1). Such phenomenon was not due to competition per se, as competition that occurred between individuals from different groups did not enhance the joint flanker effect (Experiment 2). Using the minimal grouping method to directly manipulate group entitativity, we found that the joint flanker effect was larger when participants perceived the group as being more closely connected; conversely, when they perceived the group as less close, the joint flanker effect was attenuated (Experiment 3). These results suggested that beliefs about the group may be key to how group competition enhanced the joint flanker effect. The potential cognitive mechanisms producing this phenomenon are fully discussed. Overall, our study is the first to explore the impact of intergroup interactions on the joint flanker effect and provides a new perspective on understanding the relationship between within-group representations and intergroup interactions.

Effects of group entitativity on young English-speaking children's interpretation of inclusive We.

The pronoun we can be used to refer to various collections of people depending on various pragmatic factors. This article reports the results of two online experiments that investigated children's interpretation of inclusive we, in which the child-listener is part of the intended referent of we. 128 2- and 4-year-olds collaborated with three partners in a coloring task. Before they played together, one partner informed participants that, e.g., "we can color!" Participants had their own markers and had to choose to how many partners to distribute (virtual) markers. In the first experiment, the partners appeared more like an aggregation of individuals than a collaborative group. The second experiment flipped this so that the partners appeared more like a collaborative group. Contrary to expectations, there was relatively little evidence for development in children's interpretation of we. Additionally, participants did not sharply distinguish their interpretations of we from those of we both or we all. Rather, participants were more likely to choose group interpretations when contextual cues indicated that their partners were a collaborative group than an aggregation of individuals. Interestingly, this interpretational distinction was sharpest for the pragmatically ambiguous we, compared to the relatively unambiguous we both and we all. These results are informative about the kinds of cues that shape young children's interpretation of pragmatically ambiguous pronominal reference.

Pairing up with anthropomorphized artificial agents: Leveraging employee creativity in service encounters

Even as artificial agents (AAs) become more prevalent in service encounters, customers continue to express generally unfavorable views of their creativity, which can lead to negative service evaluations. Drawing on anthropomorphism and group stereotyping literature, the authors propose a trait transference effect from human employees to AAs in dyadic service teams. The results of five studies confirm that an anthropomorphized (vs. nonanthropomorphized) AA paired with a creative employee boosts service evaluations, both attitudinal and behavioral. Anthropomorphism induces greater perceived entitativity of the AA–employee dyad, prompting customers to transfer the creativity exhibited by the employee to the AA and perceive the AA as more creative. This transference effect is attenuated when the temporal stability of the dyad is low, customers’ lay beliefs about group entitativity are challenged, or customers have utilitarian consumption goals. These results contribute novel insights about AAs in service teams, with compelling practical implications.

Human-robot swarm interaction: coordinated role of human mind mindsets and robot group entitativity

ABSTRACT The one-on-one human–robot interaction has expanded to the group level; robot groups are increasingly exerting psychosocial implications on human beings. However, how people interact with robot groups, especially how human factors and robot group factors coordinate to influence people’s responses to robot groups, is underexplored. To investigate this issue, the present study examined the interaction effect between individual differences in fixed and growth mindsets about the human mind and the fundamental characteristics of robot groups (i.e. entitativity) on responses to the robots during human–robot interaction. We induced mindsets (fixed or growth) about the human mind and manipulated the level of robot group entitativity (high or low) to capture responses to robots during human–robot interaction using virtual reality (VR) technology. The results revealed that a growth (versus fixed) mindset about the human mind promoted self-disclosure toward, and reduced behavioural anxiety with respect to robot groups with high (versus low) entitativity. We found that increased psychological closeness with robots accounted for these effects. Our findings contribute to research on the determinants of human–robot relationships and present implications for human–robot interactions at the group level.

Identity-based subgroups and information exchange in adversarial policy networks

AbstractWhile information exchange is essential in the policy process, little is known about how divergent subgroups filter actors’ technical and political information exchange, blocking learning processes. Guided by social identity, group entitativity, and self-categorisation theories, we introduce the concept and measurement of identity-based subgroups referring to informal clusters shaped by the self-referent perception of similarities among actors. The identity-based subgroup is recognised as a precursor for coalition building in a policy subsystem but received inadequate attention in the research on Advocacy Coalition Framework. We examine how divergent identity-based subgroups moderate the links between relational embeddedness and technical/political information exchanges in an adversarial fracking policy network in New York. Our quadratic assignment procedure multiple regression indicated that, despite trust, policy actors from different identity-based subgroups are less likely to share technical and political information in the network. When two actors’ identity-based subgroups are different, competition is more likely associated with lower technical information exchange in the network. These findings extend research on information exchange in adversarial policy subsystems.

Fighters’ motivations for joining extremist groups: Investigating the attractiveness of the Right Sector's Volunteer Ukrainian Corps

AbstractIn 2014, eight years prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian-backed separatists seized parts of the Ukrainian regions Luhansk and Donetsk. Shortly thereafter, thousands of Ukrainians voluntarily enrolled to various paramilitary battalions. Unlike the Right Sector's Volunteer Ukrainian Corps (RS VUC), almost all battalions were incorporated into Ukrainian official defence structures. Applying uncertainty-identity theory and based on interviews, observations, and documents, this study investigates the attractiveness of RS VUC prior to the 2022 war, motivating the fighters to join this organisation and to remain in it. The study found that fighters of RS VUC distrusted society, the wider population, and state authorities. RS VUC, with its high fighting morale, discipline, family-like relationships between fighters, as well as its clear ideology and boundaries between ‘us’ and ‘them’, were attractive to the fighters since its unambiguous group prototypes and high entitativity, reduced the fighters’ self-uncertainty regarding their social identity in an uncertain environment. The findings also revealed that the fighters’ choice to join RS VUC can be understood as a rational decision, since RS VUC's group entitativity provided the fighters with moral and emotional benefits, as well as maximised their chances of survival.

Members of highly entitative groups are implicitly expected to behave consistently based on their deep-level goals instead of their shallow-level movements.

The current study investigated whether the deep properties or shallow features of behaviors are implicitly expected to be consistent across members of highly entitative groups, by exploiting the notion that goals-as deep properties-and movements-as shallow features-can be dissociated in object-directed behaviors. Participants were asked to view group members' goal-directed behaviors toward an object. Whether perceivers implicitly expected that a new member would perform the same movement to the previously visited location (i.e., exhibit shallow feature-based behavior) or a new movement to the previously visited object (i.e., exhibit deep property-based behavior) was recorded. Study 1 revealed that perceivers implicitly expected members of a highly entitative group to approach the previously visited object with a new movement (i.e., to have a consistent goal) rather than perform the same movement to the previously visited location (i.e., to express a consistent movement). Study 2 confirmed that the responses in Study 1 were explained by group members conforming to, rather than violating, internal expectations (i.e., of consistent movement). Importantly, the implicit expectation of shared behaviors across group members relies on the goal interpretation of actions instead of the associations between actions and outcomes (Study 3). Study 4 replicated the facilitation effect of Study 1 and revealed that the goal-based expectation of common behaviors among group members is based on the majority behavior instead of a single demonstration. Hence, individuals in highly entitative groups are implicitly expected to behave consistently based on the deep properties of behaviors instead of their shallow features. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Employee Social Network Strategies: Implications for Firm Strategies and Performance in Future Organizations.

Employee social network strategies play a key role in firm strategies and organizational performance. Currently, scholars underestimate the contributions of employee social strategies in firm strategies. Little is known how informal employee social networks, group entitativity and competition could shape and direct firm strategies and organizational performance. The article examines social network theory and strategic management’s content, process and open schools of thought to propose a new interpretation for managing firm strategies. More specifically, the author examines alternate causal paths, underlying processes and structures as mechanisms in employee social network strategies within a theoretical framework. The article proposes 4 theoretically driven propositions and makes two contributions. First, the article contributes to organizational behavior literature by focusing on the literature gap in network dynamics and competitive actions through employee social networks. Second, although there is immense literature on positive and negative employee competition in business, the article makes a contribution to the strategic management literature by moving beyond formalized structures and roles within an organization to focus on the multilevel informal workplace social interactions and processes that impact strategizing activities. Overall, the article extends strategy research in relation to how employee social networks operate through competition and group entitativity in firm strategies.

Members of highly entitative groups are implicitly expected to behave consistently based on their deep-level goals instead of their shallow-level movements

The current study investigated whether the deep properties or shallow features of behaviors are implicitly expected to be consistent across members of highly entitative groups, by exploiting the notion that goals-as deep properties-and movements-as shallow features-can be dissociated in object-directed behaviors. Participants were asked to view group members' goal-directed behaviors toward an object. Whether perceivers implicitly expected that a new member would perform the same movement to the previously visited location (i.e., exhibit shallow feature-based behavior) or a new movement to the previously visited object (i.e., exhibit deep property-based behavior) was recorded. Study 1 revealed that perceivers implicitly expected members of a highly entitative group to approach the previously visited object with a new movement (i.e., to have a consistent goal) rather than perform the same movement to the previously visited location (i.e., to express a consistent movement). Study 2 confirmed that the responses in Study 1 were explained by group members conforming to, rather than violating, internal expectations (i.e., of consistent movement). Importantly, the implicit expectation of shared behaviors across group members relies on the goal interpretation of actions instead of the associations between actions and outcomes (Study 3). Study 4 replicated the facilitation effect of Study 1 and revealed that the goal-based expectation of common behaviors among group members is based on the majority behavior instead of a single demonstration. Hence, individuals in highly entitative groups are implicitly expected to behave consistently based on the deep properties of behaviors instead of their shallow features. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

How Group Perception Affects What People Share and How People Feel: The Role of Entitativity and Epistemic Trust in the "Saying-Is-Believing" Effect.

This research investigated how interpersonal communication with a large audience can influence communicators’ attitudes. Research on the saying-is-believing effect has shown that when an individual’s attitude is perceived in advance by a communicator, the communicator tunes the message to the person, which biases the communicator’s attitude toward the person’s attitude. In this study, we examined the conditions under which audience tuning and attitude bias can occur with audiences containing more than one individual. We manipulated communicators’ perceived group entity for a large audience and the audience’s prior attitudinal valence and measured the audience’s epistemic trust. The results showed that communicators tuned their messages to the audience’s attitude when they perceived group entitativity and epistemic trust. Furthermore, tuning the message to the audience was found to bias communicators’ subsequent impressions of the topic in a direction closer to the audience’s attitude. These results suggest that perceiving a large audience as a group influences the subsequent impressions of electronic word-of-mouth product or service communicators.

Development of synchrony‐dominant expectations in observers

AbstractMovement synchrony is an essential feature of rituals and collective displays around the world. Previous studies have shown that synchronous movements increase observers’ perceived group entitativity and fighting capacity in agonistic contexts; however, little is known about the developmental roots of synchrony‐dominant attributions. In this study, adult participants (Exp 1), 5‐ to 6‐year‐old children (Exp 2) and 7‐ to 8‐year‐old children (Exp 3) predicted outcomes of zero‐sum conflicts between two groups of animated agents after each group exhibited either synchronised or non‐synchronised movements. Predictions were made for conflicts between two individual members from different groups (individual‐conflict condition) and between all members of the two groups (group‐conflict condition). Results showed that none of the participant groups showed a synchrony‐dominant preference in the individual‐conflict condition. In the group‐conflict condition, most adult participants expected the groups exhibiting synchronised movements to be socially dominant. Although 5‐ to 6‐year‐old children did not show more biased expectations than can be accounted for by chance, adult‐like synchrony‐dominant preference was found in 7‐ to 8‐year‐old children. Moreover, justifications of the synchrony‐dominant expectation in both adults and 7‐ to 8‐year‐old children showed that this expectation was driven by the perceived entitativity of the synchronous group. These findings show that the expectation of group dominance based on synchronous movements is strongly developed in school‐age children, explaining the developmental origins of intergroup attitudes as well as the cognitive mechanisms children employ when making judgments in intergroup contexts.

The use of Australian SMART Recovery groups by people who use methamphetamine: Analysis of routinely-collected nationwide data

IntroductionMutual support groups (e.g. SMART Recovery) are an important source of support for people experiencing addictive behaviours. Little is known about the use of mutual support groups by people who use methamphetamine, or the factors that may influence group cohesion. MethodsThis study uses post-group data reported by SMART Recovery facilitators in Australia between 2018 and 2020. Group cohesion was indexed by facilitator ratings of The Group Entitativity measure (GEM-GP). Participant characteristics (gender, age, new or returning group member, voluntary or mandated attendance) and group location (major city vs. regional/remote vs. online) were used to (a) compare methamphetamine and non-methamphetamine related attendances; and (b) explore relationships to group cohesion within groups where the majority attended for methamphetamine. ResultsMethamphetamine use was the second most common reason for attending SMART Recovery groups (n = 4929; 22.2 % service occasions). Methamphetamine-related service occasions were more likely amongst men, people aged <45 years, returning attendees and regional/rural groups (allp < .05). GEM-GP scores were high (signalling strong cohesion), and did not significantly differ according to proportion of participants attending for methamphetamine (F(1,2) = 0.482, p = .618). Group cohesion increased with larger group size, proportion of women and proportion of younger people (F(4, 504) = 11.058, p < .001)). Discussion and conclusionsThis study improves current understanding of service utilisation by people who use methamphetamine. SMART Recovery groups offer an avenue for supporting a diverse range of people who use methamphetamine, outside the formal treatment system. This provides an important foundation for improving community support options for people who use methamphetamine.

Sweating the big stuff: Arousal and stress as functions of self-uncertainty and identification.

Groups serve a variety of crucial functions, one of which is the provision of an identity and belief system that impart self-referent information, thereby reducing self-uncertainty. Entitative groups are more attractive for highly uncertain participants seeking groups for identification and self-uncertainty reduction than less entitative groups. The purpose of the current study was to explore how self-uncertainty impacts physiological arousal and stress responses. Using a mixed-methods design (N=123), we found that self-uncertainty increased physiological arousal (measured via skin-conductance level) and stress responses (measured via heart rate). Furthermore, we found that uncertainty-activated physiological arousal and stress responses were decreased through identification with a high entitativity group. Our findings expand upon uncertainty identity theory by identifying physiological mechanisms that motivate uncertainty reduction.

Tracking multiple perspectives: Spontaneous computation of what individuals in high entitative groups see.

Perspective-taking ability is crucial for supporting social interactions. It has been widely suggested that the calculation of an individual's perspective is spontaneous. Nevertheless, people typically engage with more than one individual, and computing what individuals in a crowd see is important. The current study explored whether people spontaneously compute the perspectives of individuals displayed in a crowd. The classic visual perspective-taking task was adopted, but the picture of the room was presented with four human avatars facing two walls. The results showed that if the crowd of individuals was treated as a high entitative group, when none of the perspectives of the individuals contained the same number of discs as that from the perspective of the participant, the judgment of the participant's perspective was slower than when a proportion of the perspectives of the individuals displayed in the crowd were consistent with the participant's perspective, even if the perspectives of the multiple individuals in a crowd were not explicitly noticed. This altercentric intrusion effect was not present when the crowd had low entitativity. These findings were replicated by using different methods to operationalize group entitativity. Hence, this study demonstrates that spontaneously tracking the perspectives of individuals displayed in a crowd has a boundary condition and that people can spontaneously compute what individuals in high entitative groups see.

Dedicated to the Cause

Abstract. The threat of terrorism and rise of extremist movements across the globe pose some of the greatest challenges the world currently faces. While there have been serious conceptual and methodological problems within the psychological study of terrorism, the nascent field has advanced and the evidence, theories, and models have developed in their sophistication. The current article explores the role of social or collective identity in instigating, propagating, and diminishing engagement in violent extremism. Specifically examining how when a fundamental need to belong is challenged through threats and uncertainty this can lead to the people joining entitative groups which can fuse personal and social identities. These identities can be further amplified through ingroup and outgroup processes leading to involvement in violent extremism. The paper also explores how identity can mediate the stress of this extremist lifestyle and sustain engagement in violence. In order to illustrate these processes the article draws on interviews with Northern Irish paramilitaries. Finally, the paper explores the role of identity in moderating violent extremism, and provides suggestions of approaches to promote desistence from violent extremism.

Uncertain Self in a Changing World: A Foundation for Radicalisation, Populism, and Autocratic Leadership

ABSTRACT We live in a changing world that can create uncertainty about who we are, and make extremist groups, identities and ideologies attractive to us. This article invokes uncertainty-identity theory to explore the role played by context-induced self-uncertainty in radicalization, violent extremism, and support for populist ideologies and autocratic leadership. Uncertainty-identity theory argues that people are motivated to reduce self and identity uncertainty, and that group identification satisfies this motivation. However, some groups and identities are more effective than others. Specifically, highly entitative groups with clearly defined prescriptive identities that are unambiguous and consensual – identities that echo populist ideology, conspiracy theories and victimhood narratives. Self-uncertainty creates a need for leadership, in particular leaders who are populist, autocratic and toxic. I introduce uncertainty-identity theory to focus on its account of “extremism” – overviewing empirical support, and closing with discussion of warning signs of radicalization and speculations about preventative strategies.

Leader Influence beyond the Individual Leader: Group‐Level and Member‐Level Factors that Affect Leader Influence

Leadership is inextricably intertwined with the notion of influence. When examining the most prominent contemporary approaches to leadership, notably neo‐charismatic leadership theories, trait‐based approaches to leadership and leader‐member exchange theories, the factors that determine leaders' influence are sought in the individual leader. This paper uses social identity approaches to leadership as a basis for constructing a conceptual argument for investigating factors beyond the individual leader that impact on leaders' influence. We focus on group‐level factors that impact on leader influence. Using a minimal definition of social groups as point of orientation and framed by the philosophy of social constructionism, we show that two factors beyond the individual leader can be identified: group entitativity, or ‘groupiness’, is identified as a group‐level factor, and group identification is identified as a member‐level factor. This research contributes to a wider understanding of leader effectiveness by devoting closer attention to the effect of group dynamics on leader influence.

The Influence of Robot Number on Robot Group Perception—A Call for Action

Research on robot groups has often applied psychological principles underlying group processes between humans to interactions with and between robots. However, such research has failed to test empirically whether these principles indeed apply to the robot context. For instance, the notion of a social group may be interpreted differently when facing human versus robot groups. Basic research on this issue is missing. Therefore, the present experiment aimed at integrating social psychological theorizing and research on robot groups by utilizing the principles of group entitativity. We examined the effect of robot number and similarity on the perception of these robots as a (social) group. To do so, participants saw pictures of one to ten robots, appearing low or high in similarity. Results showed that the aspects eliciting the perception of a social “group” in humans seem to differ from the factors evoking robot group perception. According to our findings, at least three robots seem necessary for the perception of a robot “group” to emerge. Social psychological research, however, has proposed that two persons suffice to elicit the notion of a human social group. Basic research is needed to substantiate assumptions drawn from social psychological theorizing before translating it into human-robot context.

Concern for the Transgressor’s Consequences: An Explanation for Why Wrongdoing Remains Unreported

In the aftermath of shocking workplace scandals, people are often baffled when individuals within the organization were aware of clear-cut wrongdoing yet did not inform authorities. The current research suggests that moral concern for the suffering that a transgressor might face if a crime were reported is an under-recognized, powerful force that shapes whistleblowing in organizations, particularly when transgressors are fellow members of a highly entitative group (i.e., a group that is perceived as highly unified). Two experiments show that group entitativity heightens concern about possible consequences that the transgressor would face if a crime were to be reported, and that this concern reduces the likelihood of reporting wrongdoing in organizations to authorities. Further, the studies identify a mechanism through which concern about the transgressor is heightened in highly entitative groups: potential reporters perceive that the transgressor felt remorse for their crime. Thus, when fellow members of highly entitative organizations commit crimes, people are more likely to imagine that these transgressors felt anxiety or guilt about their actions, and this prompts greater concern for transgressors in ways that encourage people to let them “off the hook.” We discuss the implications of these findings for how reporting to authorities can be encouraged within highly entitative organizations.

Approaches to Representing Social Hierarchy Level and Social Constructs: Methodological Exploration and Recommendations

AbstractRecent social psychological investigations on the social hierarchy have largely occurred without clear delineations in the language used to reference the different strata in the hierarchy (e.g., upper‐class vs. rich vs. high socioeconomic status [SES]). Both within and between research reports, labels can be used inconsistently. We report four studies comparing social hierarchy category labels (SHCLs) on empirically relevant dimensions. Study 1 examined the subjective SES associated with different SHCLs and found that, despite considerable similarity in terms at both the lower and upper ends of the hierarchy, substantive differences occurred. Study 2 examined perceptions of group entitativity and found that pairs of SHCLs (e.g., Rich/Poor vs. Upper‐/Lower‐Class) differ in judgment‐relevant properties. Study 3 compared four types of SHCLs on dimensions of power, status, and resources. Finally, Study 4 provided an experimental demonstration of the impact of interchanging SHCLs. Implications of the findings and recommendations for ongoing empirical efforts are discussed.