Intragroup Processes Research Articles

Too much of a good thing

PurposeThis study investigates the influence of shared leadership on creativity and absorptive capacity in R&D teams. Based on theories of intragroup processes, it proposes that shared leadership positively affects such team outcomes up to a certain point, but at very high levels could cause loss of synergy and effectiveness, and therefore the relationship will follow an inverted U-shaped curve.Design/methodology/approachThe study was conducted with 76 independent teams from the R&D unit of one of the largest energy companies in Brazil. Data were collected with two questionnaires answered by external team managers and team members. The study applied structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses.FindingsResults indicate that there is a curvilinear relationship between shared leadership and external assessments of creativity and absorptive capacity in R&D teams. Although leadership shared among team members tends to favor creativity and realized absorptive capacity, at very high levels it yielded less than optimal outcomes. Team creativity had a direct positive effect on the teams' ability to explore and transform knowledge.Originality/valueThe study is the first empirical test of the influence of shared leadership on team creativity and absorptive capacity that proposes and confirms a quadratic effect. These results shed new light on the authors’ understanding of how intrateam leadership affects creative processes and absorptive capacity in the R&D context. These findings offer novel insights to inform practice as firms manage innovation performance.

How Economic Inequality Fuels the Rise and Persistence of the Yellow Vest Movement

Our analysis explores the rise of the Yellow Vest movement as a collective response to perceptions of growing levels of economic inequality in France whereby collective action is triggered by the perceived illegitimacy of the growing gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’. We highlight different psychological processes that might explain why concerns about economic inequality have become more salient. We focus on two dynamics in particular: (a) President Macron’s perceived alignment with the elites and disconnection from ordinary French people, and (b) historically dominant collective narratives that frame growing inequality as breaking with long-standing values and norms of equality. Both processes enhance ‘us’ (the victims) versus ‘them’ (the elite and those that are not true to national values of equality) categorizations along wealth lines whereby, ‘us’ becomes a broad category. To explain why the movement continues to go strong, we focus on ongoing intergroup processes (i.e., the police response, lack of support from intellectuals and the middle class) and intragroup processes (i.e., the movement brings together all those who self-categorise as victims of inequality, uniting those that may at other times be seen as ‘strange bedfellows’). We conclude that a proper understanding of the way in which economic inequality might divide society creating new intergroup dynamics is essential to understand the Yellow Vest movement.

Adaptation Dynamics of the First-Year Students to the Educational Environment of the Medical University

The paper features the changes that take place in the process of adaptation of first-year students to the educational environment of the medical university during the first year of study. The methods research included diagnostic tools and methods of data processing, e.g. T.D. Dubowitzka and A. V. Krylova's technique "Adaptation of students at the university", questionnaire "Student Anxiety" in J. Taylor’s modification, φ-Fisher conversion multifunctional criterion and t-Student parametric criterion for dependent samples. A statistical analysis made it possible to make certain conclusions about the ambiguous nature of the dynamics of adaptation of freshmen to the educational environment of the medical university. The identified reliable differences in the indicators of adaptation to learning activity make significant additions to the scientific perception on the leading role of the given adaptation type, which has an open, pronounced, but fleeting positive character. The absence of significant differences in anxiety rates at the beginning and end of the school year indicates a fairly stable emotional background, with a predominance of average and elevated levels. On the other hand, certain aspects in the educational environment of the university cause persistent negative experience. The emotional state of the respondents by the end of the first year revealed a new aspect of anxiety, i. e. interpersonal relationships within the grouр. The authors believe this is due to the change of orientation in the adaptation process. The change reflects the formation of a community of freshmen with actively flowing processes of status differentiation and the transformation of a diffuse group into a prosocial association. This transformation suggests a different kind of adaptation dynamics to student grouр. This longer and more latent kind of adaptation is determined by intragroup processes.

Intergroup Conflict 2020

AbstractThe pervasiveness, persistence, and petrifying scope of intergroup conflict have fueled substantial scholarly interest in intergroup conflict across the social and biological sciences. Here we outline five questions that we hope students of intergroup conflict will undertake to research in years to come: (a) When and why do people engage in, and publicly display, blatant forms of intergroup hostility? (b) How do different moral motives shape individual behavior in intergroup conflict? (c) How do intragroup processes influence intergroup processes and vice versa? (d) How does the changing nature of “groups” influence intergroup conflict and its resolution? And (e) how will global challenges shape intergroup relations in the 21st century? Although it is unimaginable that the problem of intergroup conflict will be eradicated, we hope that addressing these questions will help us understand how to manage intergroup conflicts and their harmful consequences better.

How participation in collective action changes relationships, behaviours, and beliefs: An interview study of the role of inter- and intragroup processes

Research has shown that numerous psychological changes can occur in and through collective action. Previous research on psychological consequences of participation in collective action has mainly focused on one change at a time and has rarely included a theoretical explanation for the change. The present study therefore investigates the range and possible connections between changes occurring in collective action. We interviewed participants (n = 28) involved in an environmental campaign in Sweden which included interaction with the police. Through thematic analysis of the data we found that the participants connected several psychological changes to aspects of their participation. Specifically, participants related these changes to two intertwined processes: intergroup interaction and intragroup interaction. We suggest that intergroup interaction (specifically conflict with the police outgroup) can affect intragroup processes (e.g., support and unity), which in turn can influence psychological change (e.g., empowerment and skills). Through the study, we develop and contribute to previous research by: 1) documenting a range of possible changes occurring through collective action participation, and 2) exploring the different psychological processes related to the changes. The implications of this research and future challenges are discussed in relation to developing the social identity approach.

How collective action produces psychological change and how that change endures over time: A case study of an environmental campaign.

Previous research on collective action has suggested that both intra‐ and intergroup interactions are important in producing psychological change. In this study, we examine how these two forms of interaction relate to each other over time. We present results from a longitudinal ethnographic study of participation in an environmental campaign, documenting endurance and prevalence of psychological change. Participants, locals (n = 14) and self‐defined activists (n = 14), connected enduring psychological changes, such as changes in consumer behaviour and attitudes to their involvement in the environmental campaign. Thematic analysis of interviews suggested that participants linked the process of change to categorizing themselves in a new environmental‐activist way that influenced their everyday lives beyond the immediate campaign. This recategorization was a result of a conflictual intergroup relationship with the police. The intergroup interaction produced supportive within‐group relationships that facilitated the feasibility and sustainability of new world views that were maintained by staying active in the campaign. The data from the study support and extend previous research on collective action and are the basis of a model, suggesting that intragroup processes condition the effects of intergroup dynamics on sustained psychological change.

The two‐sided nature of individual and intragroup experiences in the aftermath of collective victimization: Findings from four diaspora groups

AbstractMost social psychological research on collective victimhood has examined its consequences for intergroup relations. Less attention has been paid to individual and intragroup processes associated with collective victimization, which the present study aimed to examine. We conducted eight focus group interviews among four diaspora communities (Armenian Americans, Burundian refugees, Jewish Americans, Nepali‐speaking Bhutanese refugees) with historical or more recent experiences of collective victimization. Thematic analysis revealed three major foci shared across communities (but with different emphases within each focus), which included juxtaposed themes that highlight the two‐sided nature of experiencing and coping with collective victimization and its aftermath: Vulnerability and struggle versus resilience and strength, loss versus continuity and renewal, and silence about versus transmission of knowledge about ingroup victimization. These findings illustrate how groups integrate seemingly opposite poles of collective victimization that characterize this complex and multifaceted experience, which has important theoretical implications.

Group-based emotion in group processes and intergroup relations

Group-based emotions are experienced as a result of group categorization and group identification. We first review the transformative idea that emotion can occur as a group-level phenomenon driven by group-level processes. We then briefly review the impact of this idea on research about intragroup processes and intergroup relations in the decades since 1998. We conclude by raising some questions whose answers would further extend the reach and predictive power of group-based emotions in both intragroup and intergroup contexts.

Culture and Group Processes

Table of Contents Foreword: Series Editors Chapter 1. Culture and Group Processes: Defining the Intersection Marilynn B. Brewer and Masaki Yuki Part I. Culture and Basic Group Processes Chapter 2. Essentialism and Entitativity Across Cultures Nick Haslam, Elise Holland, and Minoru Karasawa Chapter 3. Intergroup Comparison and Intragroup Relationships: Group processes in the cultures of individualism and collectivism Masaki Yuki and Kosuke Takamura Chapter 4. A Knowledge-based Account of Cultural Identification: The Role of Intersubjective Representations Ching Wan and Jia Yu Chapter 5. Culture, Group Processes and Trust Letty Y-Y. Kwan and Ying-yi Hong Part II. Culture and Intragroup Processes Chapter 6. Outlier Nation: The Cultural Psychology of American Workways Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks and Eric Luis Uhlmann Chapter 7. Culture, Group Processes, and Creativity Chenchen Li, Letty Kwan, Shyhnan Liou, and Chi-Yue Chiu Chapter 8. How Does Culture Matter? A Contextual View of Intercultural Interaction in Groups Mary E. Zellner-Bruhn and Cristina B. Gibson Chapter 9. Unpacking Four Forms of Third Culture in Multicultural Teams Wendi Adair and Omar Ganai Part III. Culture and Intergroup Processes Chapter 10. Culture and Intergroup Communication Kimberly A. Noels Chapter 11. Culture, Group Entitativity and Contagion of Conflict Tiane Lee, Michele Gelfand, and Garriy Shteynberg

The Mandate of the Collective: Apology Representativeness Determines Perceived Sincerity and Forgiveness in Intergroup Contexts.

The sincerity of an apology is often critical for it to be viewed positively by victims. For collective apologies, we argue that sincerity takes on a particular meaning: It is a function of the apology's perceived representativeness for the offender group's will or sentiment. Consistent with this notion, when an apologetic (vs. nonapologetic) message was democratically chosen (Study 1) or explicitly endorsed by the majority of the offending outgroup (Study 2), it was considered more sincere and, through this, led to more forgiveness. Furthermore, while disagreement about an apology within the offender group reduced its perceived representativeness and sincerity, this was less so when the dissenters could be subtyped: when disagreement was correlated with an existing subgroup within the offending outgroup (Study 3) and in line with expectations for that subgroup (Study 4). This research shows that victim group members consider intragroup processes within the offending outgroup for attributions of sincerity.

Ethnicity and the policing of nightclub accessibility in the Danish night-time economy

In early club studies, nightlife domains are often depicted as scenes where class and ethno-racial boundaries are dissolved into post-modern cultural formations. This article adds to a growing body of research challenging this characterisation, by exploring how the policing of nightlife accessibility contributes to the (re)production of ethnic divisions and inequalities in nocturnal consumer spaces. Based on ethnographic research in Denmark, the article explores the key governmental rationalities informing bouncers’ exclusion of visible ethnic minority men. The article argues that bouncers’ ethnic governance is a multi-dimensional process which can be analysed using different analytical approaches. While the first part uses the concept of “vernacular risk perception” to highlight how bouncers’ ethnic governance is driven by loss-reductive logics, combined with prejudiced thinking, the second part uses an interactional perspective to illustrate how bouncers’ ethnic governance is also the product of situated power struggles between bouncers and minority youth. Third, I use a performative perspective to demonstrate how the exclusion of minority men is also driven by intra-group processes and implicated in bouncers’ dramatised in-group construction of masculine identities. In conclusion, I discuss how a focus on bouncers’ ethnic governance and regulation of access can contribute to the study of (nightlife) youth culture.

Efecto de las Creencias Esencialistas en las Estrategias de Consenso Intra-Grupal

Esta investigación se interesó en el efecto de las creencias esencialistas en el proceso de consenso al interior de un grupo. El esencialismo es la creencia en la existencia de una esencia subyacente a una categoría social (Medin, 1989). Estudiantes universitarios chilenos (N = 164) y belgas (N = 45), seleccionados mediante muestreo accidental, participaron en experimentos sobre la búsqueda de consenso. Ambos mostraron polarización grupal equivalente entre la condición experimental y control. El Experimento 1, que manipuló el esencialismo y se desarrolló en grupos de discusión, mostró que los participantes en la condición esencialista desarrollan una estrategia diferente para llegar al consenso. Esta estrategia consiste en que el consenso se logró buscando la posición grupal más cercana posible a cada una de las posiciones individuales iniciales. Estos resultados son confirmados en el Experimento 2, que se realizó individualmente en grupos virtuales. Se concluye que la percepción de pertenecer a un grupo esencialista acentúa la similitud entre sus miembros y aumenta la percepción de auto-representatividad de los mismos, influyendo en procesos de interacción intra-grupal.

Indigenous identity transformations: The pivotal role of student-to-student abuse in Indian Residential Schools.

Embracing a shared social identity typically serves to protect group members in the face of threats. However, under some conditions, intragroup dynamics are diverted so that instead, they contribute to disturbances in collective well-being. The present analysis applies a social identity framework to understand how intragroup processes elicited in Indian Residential Schools (IRS) altered the capacity of Indigenous peoples to overcome damage to their identity and collective functioning. With the alleged goal of assimilating the Indigenous population, residential schools in Canada entailed the forced removal of Indigenous children from their communities. A Truth and Reconciliation Commission established in 2008 confirmed the extensive abuse perpetrated by IRS staff, but also raised awareness of the pervasiveness of student-to-student abuse. Supported by qualitative analyses of the reports of social service providers working with IRS survivors (N = 43), it is argued that a key part of the dynamics in the IRSs was the subversion of intragroup processes among Indigenous children in attendance. Understanding intragroup dynamics provides a basis for recognizing the persistent effects of IRSs, and for identifying strategies to heal and reclaim a positive collective identity.

Is it always good to feel valued? The psychological benefits and costs of higher perceived status in one’s ethnic minority group

Two studies ( N = 1,048) examined how Blacks’, Asians’, and Latinos’ perceived value within their own ethnic group (ethnic intragroup status) shapes mental health (depression, anxiety, psychological distress). The proposed intragroup status and health (ISAH) model predicts that feeling valued among ethnic ingroup members has benefits for health, but also indirect costs. Costs arise because individuals who feel highly valued in their ethnic group see their ethnicity as more central to their self-concept; with stronger identity-centrality, individuals more frequently view daily social interactions through the “lens” of their ethnicity and ultimately perceive/experience more discrimination. Discrimination, in turn, adversely shapes mental health. Results of structural equation modeling supported these predictions across all groups in both studies. Thus, feeling valued in one’s minority group may be a double-edged sword for mental health. Overall, the ISAH model reveals how intragroup processes, when considered from an intergroup perspective, advance our understanding of minority mental health.

Identity Distancing and Targeted Advertisements: The Black Sheep Effect

ABSTRACTThis research examines the effect of target marketing using the black sheep effect, which occurs when individuals judge likable ingroup members more positively than similar outgroup members, while judging unlikable ingroup members more negatively than similar outgroup members. The results of two experiments show that individuals feel more targeted by ads that feature members of their ingroup that are more prototypical and likeable, and feel less targeted by advertisements featuring models who violate the group's positive image on some trait, making them nonprototypical and unlikeable. Theoretical implications regarding the impact of intragroup processes in consumer persuasion effects and target marketing are discussed.

Intragroup processes and teamwork within a successful chamber choir

ABSTRACTDespite the ubiquity of choirs across time and cultures, relatively little is known about the internal dynamics of these social systems. This article examines the group processes involved in a small European chamber choir. The research adopted a mixed-methods qualitative approach that combined individual interviews (n = 13) with ethnographic observation. Analysis described the group processes of the choir in relation to standard models of effective teamwork. The results suggest that certain dynamics of this choir lie beyond conventional conceptualisations of teamwork. Further conceptual and empirical research is necessary to develop a model of teamwork that can be applied to the conditions of performance-based teams and inform choral practice and training.

Homogeneity of Prototypical Attributes in Soccer Teams

Research indicates that the homogeneous perception of prototypical attributes influences several intragroup processes. The aim of the present study was to describe the homogeneous perception of the prototype and to identify specific prototypical subcategories, which are perceived as homogeneous within sport teams. The sample consists of N = 20 soccer teams with a total of N = 278 athletes (age M = 23.5 years, SD = 5.0 years). The results reveal that subcategories describing the cohesiveness of the team and motivational attributes are mentioned homogeneously within sport teams. In addition, gender, identification, team size, and the championship ranking significantly correlate with the homogeneous perception of prototypical attributes. The results are discussed on the basis of theoretical and practical implications.

Promoting Perceived Benefits of Group Projects

Group projects are often used in psychology courses to prepare students for future collaborative work. However, psychology alumni report that their education did not adequately prepare them for collaborative work. To better understand these perceptions, this study examined how instructor contributions (involvement and evaluation techniques) promote the benefits of group projects by positively influencing intragroup processes. In this study of current psychology majors, mediation analyses revealed an indirect effect of instructor involvement through goal orientation, as well as the direct effect of instructor evaluation techniques on perceptions of group projects. Moreover, instructor contributions positively predicted group cohesion, communication, goal orientation, and planning. Results suggest ways in which instructors can improve psychology majors’ collaborative experiences for experiential learning.

Факторы выбора этнической категоризации в ситуации информационного воздействия на подростков и юношей

The paper focuses on the specifics of mutual impacts of informational influence and personality features of an individual in situations of ethnic categorization. As it was revealed, the subjects that were presented with materials raising the accessibility of ethnic category used ethnicity more often in the process of ethnic categorization. Of all the social psychological parameters employed in the study, only nationalistic attitudes seem to have visible impact on social categorization based on ethnicity. Also, the study found no mutual impacts of information and attitudes towards ethnic categorization. The outcomes suggest that ethnic categorization may well be not just the function of intragroup processes, but also the result of circumstances of the context.

Functions of Dysfunction

We report the results of an ethnographic study of a natural food cooperative in which we found an inherent tension in its mission between idealism and pragmatism, and we explore the dynamics through which that tension was managed and engaged in day-to-day governance and activities. Insights from participant observation, archival data, semi-structured interviews, and surveys provide a detailed and holistic account of the intergroup and intragroup processes through which the co-op negotiated its dualistic nature, as embodied in its hybrid organizational identity. The findings suggest that the value of each side of the duality was recognized at both the individual and organizational levels. Members’ discomfort with the duality, however, led them to split the mission in two and identify with one part, while projecting their less-favored part on others, creating an identity foil (an antithesis). This splitting resulted in ingroups and outgroups and heated intergroup conflict over realizing cooperative ideals vs. running a viable business. Ingroup members favoring one part of the mission nonetheless identified with the outgroup favoring the other because it embodied a side of themselves they continued to value. Individuals who exemplified their ingroup’s most extreme attributes were seen by the outgroup as prototypical, thus serving as “lightning rods” for intergroup conflict; this dynamic paradoxically enabled other ingroup members to work more effectively with moderate members of the outgroup. The idealist–pragmatist duality was kept continually in play over time through oscillating decisions and actions that shifted power from one group to the other, coupled with ongoing rituals to repair and maintain relationships disrupted by the messiness of the process. Thus ostensible dysfunctionality at the group level fostered functionality at the organizational level.