Outgroup Interactions Research Articles

Patterns of partisan toxicity and engagement reveal the common structure of online political communication across countries.

Existing studies of political polarization are often limited to a single country and one form of polarization, hindering a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon. Here we investigate patterns of polarization online across nine countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Turkey, UK, USA), focusing on the structure of political interaction networks, the use of toxic language targeting out-groups, and how these factors relate to user engagement. First, we show that political interaction networks are structurally polarized on Twitter (currently X). Second, we reveal that out-group interactions, defined by the network, are more toxic than in-group interactions, indicative of affective polarization. Third, we show that out-group interactions receive lower engagement than in-group interactions. Finally, we identify a common ally-enemy structure in political interactions, show that political mentions are more toxic than apolitical mentions, and highlight that interactions between politically engaged accounts are limited and rarely reciprocated. These results hold across countries and represent a step towards a stronger cross-country understanding of polarization.

Is variety the spice of (expatriate) life? How cultural diversity in an expatriate’s home country affects their adjustment

PurposeWhile the expatriation literature has explored cultural adjustment in considerable depth, it has largely overlooked the influence of cultural diversity in an expatriate’s home country. This study aims to address this shortcoming by investigating how home-country cultural diversity affects expatriate adjustment.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts a qualitative, inductive approach based on semi-structured interviews with a small number of Malaysian managers on international assignment in the Greater Brisbane area of Queensland, Australia.FindingsThe two key and related observations from the interviews are that, firstly, the existence of sizeable and profoundly distinct ethnic groups in an expatriate’s home country serves as an aid to successful adjustment, as it enhances cross-cultural understanding and communicative skills. Secondly, the positive effects of home-country cultural diversity are particularly felt by expatriates from ethnic minority groups in the home country due to their in-group and out-group interactions at home as well as their additional linguistic arsenal.Social implicationsMulticulturalism is a polarising and contentious topic in the public debate in many countries around the world, frequently used for differing political purposes. But in a globalising world, it is unlikely to disappear any time soon, making it imperative for academic research to develop a better understanding of the phenomenon, from as many angles as possible, including from an international business perspective.Originality/valueThis study addresses an under-researched topic, namely how cultural diversity within an expatriate’s home country impacts adjustment. From the findings, this study also introduces a theoretical model for use in future research.

Planning in the face of diversity: A re-orientation of power relations

This paper explores the individuals' lived experiences of living next to different others. Its main focus is on diversity which signifies possible ways of working with differences. Hence, the analysis aims to explore individuals’ perceptions of diverse neighbourhoods, manifestations of differences’ co-existence and the procedure called planning for diversity. To these aims, a qualitative study encompassing interviewing 95 individuals in five neighbourhoods of Tehran, which is one of the most diverse cities in the middle east, is conducted through a phenomenographic approach. Results indicate that individuals' perceptions of diversity are location-based and related to structural inequity or welfare they experienced. Managerial, functional, sociological and physical aspects are the four main perceived pillars of a diverse neighbourhood, which as a spatial unit not only sets the scene for numerical and hierarchical representations of differences but is tolerant of differences. Nevertheless, residents’ lived experiences suggest that diverse populations in Tehran caused individuals' hunkering down – rooted in constrict theory – in general, although intergroup contacts – rooted in contact theory – are also frequent in neighbourhoods where diversity exists in all of its dimensions. Economic diversity is introduced as a catalyst for social diversity that can let outgroup interactions emerge whereas wealth concentration and indifference to differences are two primary components for the emergence of individualism in Tehran. Moreover, Conscious efforts through planning for diversity, which is people-oriented and procedural and looks for a reorientation of power relations, could let differences work, intergroup interactions form and interest-based identities, which introduce neighbourhood as ends, not means, emerge. Therefore, planning for diversity is more based on becoming ontology and is rooted in radical planning theory. Differences, which have always been run through a bottom-up approach, take the initiative and voice policy, set interest-based identities and try to reach them; that is how differences find the opportunity to be reunited.

Fight, flight or friction? The effect of population density on general trust in China

Population density affects human behavior. A dense population has been shown to exacerbate impulses such as, “fight” (aggression stimulated by crowding) or “flight” (withdrawal from social life for escape). This paper explores the impact of population density on the level of generalized trust that lies in China, a topic understated by extant empirical studies so far. Drawing data from Chinese General Social Survey (2010–2013), we attempt to examine the density-trust link. China provides a context-specific case because: (1) the narrow “radius” of generalized trust (people’s notion of “most people” is more in-group connoted than out-group connoted) derived from Confucian tradition decreases the probability of interacting with out-group members, suggesting that both “fight” and “flight” that rely on out-group interactions have little effect in this context, and (2) hukou (household registration) restrictions force rural-to-urban migrants into the secondary labor market, leading to social segregation producing distrust in cities. The results of hierarchical models on data from 17,331 individuals and panel models on data from four waves of 114 counties both revealed that (1) population density negatively predicts the level of generalized trust among urban residents and (2) it is “friction,” or occupational segregation by hukou restrictions, that mediates the density-trust relation, neither “fight” nor “flight” does.

SWITCHING LANGUAGES FOR POLITICAL FEAR, POWER AND ANGER IN DIGITALLY-SURVEILLANCED MULTILINGUAL FACEBOOK INTERACTION IN INDONESIA

This paper examines how multilingual members of FB communities in Indonesia express fear, power, and anger with Covid19 and the government undertaking of its outbreak. John J. Gumperz’s (1982) and Dell Hymes’ (2005) sociolinguistic theories on identities and choices of languages in multilingual contexts and Herring, Stein, and Virtanen’s (2013) discourse theories on digitally-mediated intercultural communication is used as theoretical concepts and frameworks, building on FB as a site for intercultural contacts where language, culture, and political ideology are practised and selection of appropriate languages and forms is the main strategy for discursive safety. Data were collected by participant observations of FB interactions involving the Tadpoles (government supporters) and the Foxes (the oppositions) in Lombok, Indonesia. Twenty key players in each group were followed from January 2020 to August 2021. As the units of the analysis, words and sentences in the statuses and the comments of these players in in-group and out-group interactions were downloaded, transcribed, and translated into English. Analysis was done ethnographically by identifying contexts and contextualization cues in the translanguaging acts. The study shows that FB citizens, particularly the Tadpoles, used multiple linguistic competences in the online ideological battles as strategies to avoid possible legal consequences. English, Arabic, and local languages assumed to be inaccessible to the government officials and supporters were used as a means of covering disapprovals and discomforts with government policies. The study also shows how politically-marginalized speakers (the Foxes) make use of varied, multilingual linguistic competence as linguistic resources and symbolic capital to deconstruct and challenge hegemony of the government and its supporters (the Tadpoles).

Learning from Ingroup Experiences Changes Intergroup Impressions.

Humans form impressions toward individuals of their own social groups (ingroup members) and of different social groups (outgroup members). Outgroup-focused theories predict that intergroup impressions are mainly shaped by experiences with outgroup individuals, while ingroup-focused theories predict that ingroup experiences play a dominant role. Here we test predictions from these two psychological theories by estimating how intergroup impressions are dynamically shaped when people learn from both ingroup and outgroup experiences. While undergoing fMRI, male participants had identical experiences with different ingroup or outgroup members and rated their social closeness and impressions toward the ingroup and the outgroup. Behavioral results showed an initial ingroup bias in impression ratings which was significantly reduced over the course of learning, with larger effects in individuals with stronger ingroup identification. Computational learning models revealed that these changes in intergroup impressions were predicted by the weight given to ingroup prediction errors. Neurally, the individual weight for ingroup prediction errors was related to the coupling between the left inferior parietal lobule and the left anterior insula, which, in turn, predicted learning-related changes in intergroup impressions. Our findings provide computational and neural evidence for ingroup-focused theories, highlighting the importance of ingroup experiences in shaping social impressions in intergroup settings.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Living in multicultural societies, humans interact with individuals of their own social groups (ingroup members) and of different social groups (outgroup members). However, little is known about how people learn from the mixture of ingroup and outgroup interactions, the most natural experiences in current societies. Here, participants had identical, intermixed experiences with different ingroup and outgroup individuals and rated their closeness and impressions toward the ingroup and the outgroup. Combining computational models and fMRI, we find that the weight given to ingroup experiences (ingroup prediction errors) is the main source of intergroup impression change, captured by changes in connectivity between the parietal lobe and insula. These findings highlight the importance of ingroup experiences in shaping intergroup impressions in complex social environments.

Dynamic contact effects: Individuals' positive and negative contact history influences intergroup contact effects in a behavioral game.

Positive contact between members of different groups reduces prejudice and increases cooperation, findings known as intergroup contact effects. Yet in real-world settings not only positive, but also negative intergroup contact occurs, which have opposing effects. To date little is known about whether and how an individual's valenced history of intergroup contact influences contact effects and how this dynamic change happens during specific instances of intergroup contact. A pilot study examined the psychological impact of a novel paradigm to assess intergroup contact using a behavioral game. We then conducted two studies, which allowed us to observe a sequence of up to 23 in- and outgroup interactions and their behavioral outcomes in a continuous prisoner's dilemma behavioral game (N = 116, 2,668 interactions; N = 89, 1,513 interactions). As expected, participants showed a clear ingroup bias in expectations and cooperation. Furthermore, the quality of contact history moderated contact effects. Specifically, intergroup contact following a positive history of intergroup contact had a stronger effect on intergroup expectations than contact following a negative history thereof. Findings are discussed in view of the importance of considering the valenced history of intergroup contact, as well as new research questions on intergroup contact that can be addressed with this novel contact paradigm. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Reclaiming humanity together: The impact of intra‐ and interpersonal factors on survivor readiness to reconcile in post‐genocide Rwanda

AbstractAfter the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, many grassroots initiatives in Rwanda have focused on reconciliation. The current study examined the relationships between survivor readiness to reconcile and génocidaire shame, guilt, and self‐forgiveness and survivor traumatic stress, desire for outgroup interaction, and beliefs about outgroup members. Survivors (n = 45) and their direct perpetrators (n = 46) who participated as a dyad in a local peacebuilding program were interviewed at four strategic phases. No significant relationship was found between survivor readiness to reconcile and génocidaire shame and guilt; génocidaire self‐forgiveness did not mediate this relationship. Higher survivor traumatic stress symptoms were associated with lower readiness to reconcile, and greater survivor desire for outgroup interaction was associated with greater readiness to reconcile. Fewer survivor prejudicial beliefs towards génocidaires were significantly associated with higher readiness to reconcile. Decades after the genocide, reconciliation follows a non‐linear trajectory and may be more influenced by intrapersonal than interpersonal factors.

Sunlight and Culture

The effects of the individualism vs. collectivism cultural dichotomy on economic outcomes have been widely recognized in the literature. We propose and test the hypothesis that individuals and populations located in areas exposed long-term to more ultraviolet radiation (UV-R; sunlight) exhibit a greater degree of collectivism. We provide individual level evidence using data from the World Values Survey, evidence from pre-industrial societies using data from the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample, and cross-country findings.We propose that the mechanism works via the eye disease cataract. Populations exposed to higher amounts of UV-R have higher incidence of cataract. A greater probability of eye disease raises the level of uncertainty avoidance and risk aversion, and increases the importance of close family or village bonds, facilitating the emergence of collectivism. This has provided an insurance mechanism against income shocks associated with poor eyesight and blindness. Moreover, humans tend to view disabilities such as blindness to indicate a positive probability of being associated with pathogen threats, resulting in less out-group interaction and greater collectivism. Empirical evidence supports this mechanism.

In-group, out-group effects in distributional preferences: the case of gender

Abstract We examine gender differences when eliciting distributional preferences as conducted by the Equality Equivalence Test, which has the ability to classify subjects into preferences types. Preferences are elicited when individuals interact with an individual of the same gender and with an individual of the opposite gender. We find elicited preferences are robust across both in-group (same gender) and out-group (opposite gender) interactions. When analyzing the intensity of benevolence (or malevolence) we find that overall women exhibit more malevolence than men, but there is no gender difference for benevolence. Furthermore, women exhibit a higher level of in-group favoritism than men.

SOCIO-CULTURAL DYNAMICS AND ETHNOLINGUISTIC VITALITY OF SEMBIRAN BALINESE

This paper reports our preliminary findings on the assessment of language vitality of Sembiran Balinese in the larger socio-cultural transformation of contemporary Bali. Sembiran Balinese, also known as Bali Aga, is a conservative mountain dialect of Balinese spoken by around 5,000 speakers in the Sembiran village, 30 km east of Singaraja northern Bali. The language and its culture reflect Bali in antiquity (Ardika, et al. 1991; Ardika, et al. 1997), with the language quite distinct from Lowland Balinese (Bali Dataran), for example in terms of its pronominal system and the absence of speech level system (Astini 1996, Sedeng 2007, Arka & Sedeng 2018). The study is based on the data collected through questionnaires focusing on subjective views of ethno-linguistic vitality such as in-/out-group interactions and domains of language use in contemporary multilingual settings, supported by ethnographic data. The analysis makes use of the current development in the sociolinguistics of vitality, particularly the notions of ethnolinguistic vitality (Giles, et al 1977) and theories of language shift and endangerment (Grenoble & Whaley 2006, Fishman 1991). The findings reveal that Sembiran Balinese appears to have a relatively strong linguistic vitality even though the speech community itself is a minority group in Bali.

Anticipation in sociomotor actions: Similar effects for in- and outgroup interactions

In social interactions, own actions often trigger a particular response from another person. The sociomotor framework proposes that this consistent behavior of others can become incorporated into own action control. In line with this idea, recent studies have shown that own motor actions are facilitated if they are predictably being imitated rather than counterimitated by a social interaction partner. In the present study, we investigated whether this finding is influenced by the relationship between the interacting persons. To that end, we manipulated whether a participant was being imitated and counterimitated by an ingroup or by an outgroup member. In two experiments, we found a beneficial influence of being imitated irrespective of group membership. The results suggest that, while people incorporated their partner's behavior into own action control, this was not further qualified by group membership as a higher-order social variable. This finding points to a universal account of action control for actions with social action effects and actions with inanimate action effects alike.

Interdependence in Mediated Intergroup Contact

Abstract. Mediated intergroup contact and extended contact hypothesis research shows that observing a positive intergroup interaction can result in improved attitudes toward the outgroup. This experiment tested the common ingroup identity model and how the creation of a superordinate identity among characters in a television narrative influences viewers’ willingness to interact with outgroup members and attitudes toward the outgroup. Results reveal that self-efficacy, anxiety, and inclusion of the outgroup in the self mediated the relationship between exposure to narratives featuring intergroup interdependence and both positive attitudes toward and greater willingness to interact with the outgroup. That is, participants who watched a narrative featuring high levels of intergroup teamwork reported increased feelings of self-efficacy when considering future outgroup interactions, which was associated with lower levels of outgroup anxiety. Lower levels of anxiety were then associated with increased inclusion of the outgroup in the self, which was ultimately associated with more positive attitudes toward and greater willingness to interact with the outgroup. These results suggest that, even when comparing the effects of two narratives that portray an identical, positive outcome, positive effects on attitudes toward and willingness to interact with outgroup members are stronger when ingroup and outgroup members display interdependence. This research represents a step toward understanding the ways that the common ingroup identity model might help explain the extended contact hypothesis and the mechanisms by which narratives can affect attitudes toward and willingness to interact with outgroup members.

Crosscutting circles in a social dilemma: Effects of social identity and inequality on cooperation

I investigate experimentally the effects of heterogeneity in social identities and inequality in resources on cooperative behavior in a social dilemma. The experiment also varies the overlap between social identity and resources. The results show that both heterogeneity in social identities and inequality in resources reduce cooperation. When social identity and unequal resources are crossed orthogonally, the existence of composite group memberships mitigates the negative effects of inequality, but not of heterogeneity in social identities. When social identity and unequal resources overlap, cooperation decreases substantially among the participants with low resources, in both ingroup and outgroup interactions. My results also show that participants who are assigned to advantaged roles cooperate significantly less than those who are assigned to disadvantaged roles.

Language and Ethnicity Among a Group of Pentalingual Albuquerqueans

The Khoja Ismailis of the Indian subcontinent have spoken two languages in a mildly unstable diglossic relationship for centuries. In recent decades many Khoja Ismailis immigrated to East Africa, and many learned three additional languages. Descriptions of the situation in Africa suggested the hypothesis that three of the languages may have stood in a direct relationship to three different concentric levels of ethnic identity, while the other two languages may have been used in different kinds of outgroup interactions. Interviews with Ismailis who have immigrated to Albuquerque from East Africa suggest a possible approach to defining ethnic boundaries involving a notion of shared ethnic subcategorization systems.

Indirect Reciprocity and the Evolution of Prejudicial Groups

Prejudicial attitudes are widely seen between human groups, with significant consequences. Actions taken in light of prejudice result in discrimination, and can contribute to societal division and hostile behaviours. We define a new class of group, the prejudicial group, with membership based on a common prejudicial attitude towards the out-group. It is assumed that prejudice acts as a phenotypic tag, enabling groups to form and identify themselves on this basis. Using computational simulation, we study the evolution of prejudicial groups, where members interact through indirect reciprocity. We observe how cooperation and prejudice coevolve, with cooperation being directed in-group. We also consider the co-evolution of these variables when out-group interaction and global learning are immutable, emulating the possible pluralism of a society. Diversity through three factors is found to be influential, namely out-group interaction, out-group learning and number of sub-populations. Additionally populations with greater in-group interaction promote both cooperation and prejudice, while global rather than local learning promotes cooperation and reduces prejudice. The results also demonstrate that prejudice is not dependent on sophisticated human cognition and is easily manifested in simple agents with limited intelligence, having potential implications for future autonomous systems and human-machine interaction.

Examining the Relationship Between Expert Work and External Audiences

This symposium investigates the interactions of experts and professionals with external audiences. This is an important theoretical and substantive issue- not least due to the proliferation of experts within organizations (Abbott, 1988; Freidson, 2001; Larson, 1977). Experts are used to exercising formal authority over their task domain, and resist external oversight over their jurisdiction by actors such as managers and regulators (Anteby, Chan, & DiBenigno, 2016). Yet, external audiences are key to the functioning, regulation, and development of expertise. Interfacing with external audiences is a core task for many professionals, such as lawyers, engineers and artists (Barley & Kunda, 2006; Becker, 1984; Sandefur, 2015). Further, in the absence of such external interfacing, expert groups can potentially fail to self-regulate (Huising & Silbey, 2013; Vaughan, 1997) and innovate (Baldwin & Von Hippel, 2011; Katila, Thatchenkery, Christensen, & Zenios, 2017) . Organizational scholars have paid much attention to the relationship between external audiences and experts within organizations (Pollock & Rindova, 2003; Uzzi & Lancaster, 2003; Zuckerman, 1999). However, empirical studies have typically examined expert-work as a means of explaining firm and market-level outcomes. Left undertheorized are the interactional bases of expert behavior, that is, how individual experts experience, make sense of, and navigate such outgroup interactions. For instance, how do we explain variation in expert reactions (affect, cognition) and responses (compliance, resistance, apathy) to oversight? Without an understanding of such interactional mechanisms, we risk missing the ‘other-side’ (Gray and Silbey 2011) of the expert-environment interface-that is, understanding how individuals ‘inhabit’ (Beth A. Bechky, 2011; Hallett, 2010) expert roles. Recent studies at the nexus of work, occupations and institutions highlight the importance and potential benefits of taking an interactionist view. In particular, scholars suggest that experts are socialized into ‘interaction orders’ (Fine & Hallett, 2014)- which entail specific emotion and sensemaking scripts (Creed, Hudson, Okhuysen, & Smith-Crowe, 2014; Hochschild, 2012; Voronov & Weber, 2016). Further, field studies point to the situated nature of such occupational scripts (B. A. Bechky & Chung, 2017; Chown, 2014). Research examining expert interactions with (or under the scrutiny of) external audiences provides an opportunity to meaningfully extend this growing body of scholarship. Indeed, interactions at the ingroup-outgroup interface can test (and breach) taken-for-granted norms, symbols and beliefs (“What Anyone Like Us Necessarily Knows”) – presenting particularly fertile ground for theory building that is well-grounded in the experiences and actions of workers. The Specter of Testifying: Forensic Scientists as Advocates for the Evidence Presenter: Beth Bechky; New York U. The Practices and Challenges of Inter-Organizational Knowledge Reuse Presenter: Andrew Nelson; U. of Oregon Relational Ruptures and the Shaping of Expertise: U.S. Puppeteers Move from Stage to Screen Presenter: Audrey Holm; Boston U. How to Tame an Expert: Examining the Role of Inter-Personal Interaction in Physician Error-Work Presenter: Kartikeya Bajpai; Northwestern Kellogg School of Management

Cross-national in-group favoritism in prosocial behavior: Evidence from Latin and North America

AbstractAs individuals from different nations increasingly interact with each other, research on national in-group favoritism becomes particularly vital. In a cross-national, large-scale study (N = 915) including representative samples from four Latin American nations (Chile, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela) and the USA, we explore differences regarding nationality-based in-group favoritism. In-group favoritism is assessed through differences in prosocial behavior toward persons from the own nation as compared to persons from other nations in fully incentivized one-shot dictator games. We find strong evidence for national in-group favoritism for the overall sample, but also significant differences among national subsamples. Latin Americans show more national in-group favoritism compared to US Americans (interacting with Latin Americans). While US Americans mainly follow an equal split norm (for both in- and out-group interactions), Latin Americans do so only in in-group interactions. The magnitude of in-group favoritism increases with social distance toward the out-group.

Ingroup/outgroup membership modulates fairness consideration: neural signatures from ERPs and EEG oscillations

Previous studies have shown that ingroup/outgroup membership influences individual’s fairness considerations. However, it is not clear yet how group membership influences brain activity when a recipient evaluates the fairness of asset distribution. In this study, subjects participated as recipients in an Ultimatum Game with alleged members of both an experimentally induced ingroup and outgroup. They either received extremely unequal, moderately unequal, or equal offers from proposers while electroencephalogram was recorded. Behavioral results showed that the acceptance rates for unequal offers were higher when interacting with ingroup partners than with outgroup partners. Analyses of event related potentials revealed that proposers’ group membership modulated offer evaluation at earlier processing stages. Feedback-related negativity was more negative for extremely and moderately unequal offers compared to equal offers in the ingroup interaction whereas it did not show differential responses to different offers in the outgroup interaction. Analyses of event related oscillations revealed that the theta power (4–6 Hz) was larger for moderately unequal offers than equal offers in the ingroup interaction whereas it did not show differential responses to different offers in the outgroup interaction. Thus, early mechanisms of fairness evaluation are strongly modulated by the ingroup/outgroup membership of the interaction partner.

Parasites and their implications for social and cultural psychology

Social/cultural psychologists have traditionally used the value systems of collectivism and individualism to explain differences across cultures but very little consideration has been given to the ultimate origins of these value systems. Parasite Stress Theory (PST) is a new evolutionary theory that aims to explain why overarching value systems develop differently throughout the world and how these value systems lead to variations across countries (e.g. in xenophobia, innovation, conformity and political attitudes). This paper will discuss how PST, in conjunction with the Behavioural Immune System (BIS) explains in-group and outgroup interactions and specifies the conditions that lead to heightened prejudice.