Outgroup Liking Research Articles

Self-esteem, ingroup favoritism, and outgroup evaluations: A meta-analysis

Social identity theory hypothesizes that ingroup positive distinctiveness serves as a source of self-esteem that in turn propels individuals to favor ingroups over outgroups. The current meta-analysis extends past reviews of this hypothesis by testing if (a) self-esteem is differentially related to ingroup versus outgroup evaluations, and (b) the self-esteem–outgroup evaluation relation is moderated by four theoretically driven factors. A total of 103 effect sizes measured the self-esteem and outgroup derogation relation ( N = 15,764) and the self-esteem and ingroup liking relation ( N = 15,741). High self-esteem was associated with strong ingroup liking and, to a lesser extent, strong outgroup liking. Regarding the second goal, moderator analyses of the relation between self-esteem and outgroup evaluations (up to 71 effect sizes) revealed four patterns: the relation emerged when personal self-esteem was measured, real groups were targeted, low-status groups judged high-status groups, and there was no domain match between self-esteem and the outgroup.

Affective Polarization and Political Belief Systems: The Role of Political Identity and the Content and Structure of Political Beliefs.

We investigate the extent that political identity, political belief content (i.e., attitude stances), and political belief system structure (i.e., relations among attitudes) differences are associated with affective polarization (i.e., viewing ingroup partisans positively and outgroup partisans negatively) in two multinational, cross-sectional studies (Study 1 N = 4,152, Study 2 N = 29,994). First, we found a large, positive association between political identity and group liking-participants liked their ingroup substantially more than their outgroup. Second, political belief system content and structure had opposite associations with group liking: Sharing similar belief system content with an outgroup was associated with more outgroup liking, but similarity with the ingroup was associated with less ingroup liking. The opposite pattern was found for political belief system structure. Thus, affective polarization was greatest when belief system content similarity was low and structure similarity was high.

Can anti-racism training improve outgroup liking and allyship behaviours?

ABSTRACT Allies are members of a dominant group that work to dismantle oppression experienced by subordinate groups. Given the well-documented mental health impact of all forms of racism on people of colour, including microaggressions, cultivating White allies is important for reducing racism and advancing equity. This paper examines the impact of two diversity workshops on White college students, examining allophilia (anti-prejudiced feelings) and interpersonal allyship towards Black people both before and after the workshops and at one-month follow-up. We examined what aspects of liking improved after each worksop by assessing changes in each of the five components of allophilia (Affection, Comfort, Kinship, Engagement, and Enthusiasm), and if either workshop was able to precipitate increased racial allyship. Significant changes were found by condition, immediately, post-workshop, and at follow-up. Increases in allyship were predicted by increases in allophilia, specifically Enthusiasm. Implications of findings and suggestions for improving future anti-racism interventions are discussed.

Racial allyship: Novel measurement and new insights

Allies are members of an ingroup who work toward fairness for people in an outgroup. Ally behaviors include calling out discrimination and fighting for inclusion of outgroup members, and it includes public and private behaviors. As such, White allies can be an important means of reducing racism against people of color. There are few means of assessing and quantifying allyship in ingroup members, and as such, there is a need for methods for assessing allyship that can be used to better understand characteristics of allies and determine if interventions designed to reduce prejudice can improve allyship. To that end we describe an innovative scenario-based measurement technique to quantify interpersonal allyship, with White students as ingroup members (N = 987) and Black students as outgroup members (N = 61). Measurement of allyship is conducted based on participant responses to hypothetical racially-sensitive scenarios where microaggressions are occurring or likely to occur. Items were developed based focus group input, and rated by diversity experts for relevance. The factor structure of allyship items was examined by exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The final 10-item Interpersonal Racial Allyship Scale (IRAS) was negatively correlated to 3 measures of racist attitudes and 1 measure of microaggressive behaviors, and it was positively correlated to 2 measures of outgroup liking. It also predicted making racially supportive statements in a laboratory task. We report on characteristics of allies, noting that allied behaviors are correlated with less prejudice, stronger positive feelings toward outgroup members, and a greater likelihood of having other marginalized identities. Implications of findings and applications of the scale are discussed.

CONTACT, CONFLICT AND INTERETHNIC ATTITUDES AMONG CHILDREN IN NORTH MACEDONIA

Improving interethnic relations in conflict-affected societies is a difficult task, as a complex repertoire of mutual views and reactions is developed. Furthermore, the experiences of the children in such situations have rarely been taken into perspective. Therefore, this study tries to address this research gap by using data from the Republic of North Macedonia, where interethnic tensions are still present between ethnic Macedonians and ethnic Albanians, although the violent outburst of the conflict ended in 2001. The paper is focused on perceptions of contact and conflict among primary aged children, and their relations with the outgroup attitudes such as liking, trusting, and wanting to play with children from the outgroup. A total of 194 children aged 6 to 11 (M = 8.4) participated in the research, filling play-like items using Qualtrics. The sample was taken from two schools with a mixed language of instruction and was balanced for ethnicity (45.9% Macedonian, 54.1% Albanian) as well as gender (57.7% female, 42.3% male). The results of the series of regression analyses show that the contact quality and a number of outgroup friends are significantly correlated with outgroup liking, willingness to play, and outgroup trust, while the perception of conflict is negatively correlated with outgroup trust. The interaction between age and the contact quantity is a significant predictor of willingness to play with the outgroup, while the interaction between majority status and contact quantity is a significant predictor of outgroup trust. The study highlights the need for a meaningful contact between children from both ethnic groups for improvement of interethnic relations.

Attitudes toward and inferred beliefs for religious ingroup/outgroup members: Muslim children of Pakistani heritage in the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT The post-9/11 era has seen a surge in writings on “Muslim” issues in the West, but little is known about Muslim children's perspectives. Attitudes toward, and beliefs about, the religious ingroup and outgroup were examined in the present study with 5–6-year-old Muslims of Pakistani heritage in the United Kingdom (UK) and Saudi Arabia (SA). Participants completed trait attribution and liking tasks and answered questions on God beliefs and religious practice about themselves, Muslims (ingroup) and non-Muslims (outgroup). Participants described ingroup members more positively, liked them more, and inferred that they held more religious beliefs than outgroup members. Liking was positively associated with outgroup liking for UK participants, who described outgroup members more positively with more religious beliefs, compared with SA participants whose ingroup attitudes were negatively associated with outgroup attitudes. Our findings are discussed in the light of theory and research, and implications for education contexts and well-being are considered.

Ethnic in-group evaluation and adhesion to acculturation ideologies: The case of Moroccan immigrants in France

The aim of this research was to examine the link between adhesion to different acculturation ideologies (multiculturalism, citizenship, secularism and assimilation) and group evaluation among Moroccan immigrants in France. We present two studies. In the first study, we found a negative correlation between adhesion to assimilation or secularism and in-group liking: the more immigrants preferred these ideologies, the less they displayed a positive evaluation of Moroccan people. No significant correlation was noticed between citizenship or multiculturalism and in-group liking. In contrast, adhesion to each one of the acculturation ideologies correlated positively with out-group liking. In the second study, we experimentally manipulated the acculturation ideologies and we showed that in-group liking was lower in assimilation and secularism conditions compared to citizenship and multiculturalism conditions. Out-group liking did not differ as a function of the acculturation ideology. The effect of acculturation ideologies on group evaluations was mediated by perception of the legitimacy of the acculturation ideologies. We discuss these results in terms of individual mobility.

Honk if you like minorities: Vuvuzela attitudes predict outgroup liking

The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa generated extensive controversy over spectators’ use of the African vuvuzela trumpet. We asked 123 White American participants about their opinions of vuvuzelas as well as their attitudes towards a variety of racial/ethnic minority groups including immigrants, African Americans, and Latinos. We found that the less participants liked vuvuzelas, the less positively they also tended to feel toward minority groups. Furthermore, respondents who liked vuvuzelas the least were also less generally open to change. These findings suggest that the vuvuzela controversy was about more than just a plastic trumpet – it was also an episode of differential ingroup/outgroup perceptions and a lack of openness to new things.

When Increased Group Identification Leads to Outgroup Liking and Cooperation: The Role of Trust

ABSTRACT Two studies explored the influence of group identification and the functional relations between groups on outgroup liking. In a laboratory study, Study 1 (N = 112) found that outgroup liking was highest when group identification was high and relations between groups were cooperative, but outgroup liking was lowest when group identification was high and relations were competitive. In a field replication of Study 1, Study 2 (N = 181) similarly found more liking with high group identification and cooperative relations between groups. Additional analyses revealed that the Identification × Relations interactions found in Studies 1 and 2 were mediated by outgroup trust. We discuss how trust is an important factor for predicting outgroup bias for both high and low group identification.

Children's social groups and intergroup prejudice: Assessing the influence and inhibition of social group norms

A simulation group study examined whether the effects of group norms on 7- and 9-year-old children's intergroup attitudes can be moderated by a contrary school norm. Children learnt that their school had an inclusion norm, were assigned to a group with an outgroup inclusion or exclusion norm, and indicated their ingroup and outgroup attitudes under teacher surveillance or not. Results revealed reduced outgroup liking when the group had an exclusion norm, but that the effect was moderated when the school had an inclusion norm, especially among the older children. The participants' ingroup liking was also reduced, but teacher surveillance had no effect on attitudes. The findings are discussed in relation to possible strategies to moderate social group norm effects.

Responding to Deviance: Target Exclusion and Differential Devaluation

Two studies explored responses to ingroup deviance. Group-defining opinions of prowar Republicans (Study 1) and prolife Christians (Study 2) were challenged by either an ingroup or outgroup deviate. Participants evaluated the deviate and structured the boundaries of their ingroup in counterbalanced order. Of importance, boundary structuring allowed participants to exclude deviates from the ingroup. Consistent with previous research, ingroup deviates were devalued relative to out-group deviates, but only when target evaluation was participants' first response option. Participants excluded deviates from the boundaries of their ingroup irrespective of measure order, and doing so eliminated differential devaluation when exclusion was participants' first response option. Exclusion decreased liking for outgroup deviates in Study 1 and increased liking for ingroup deviates in Study 2. The findings suggest that devaluation is an attempt to exclude deviates from the ingroup and that doing so reduces the threat otherwise experienced.

Power and status differentials in minority and majority group relations

AbstractUsing a variant of the minimal group paradigm (Tajfel and Turner, 1986), this study tested the effects of power, status and group numbers on intergroup behaviours and perceptions. Subjects (N = 160) were categorized into groups that varied on status (high or low), power (dominant or subordinate) and group numbers (majority or minority) variables within a 2 × 2 × 2 experimental design. Based on their evaluations of others' creative products, subjects distributed credit points to ingroup and outgroup others using the Tajfel matrices. Results showed that dominant group members were much more discriminatory and less parity oriented towards outgroup others than subordinate group members. High status group members were more discriminatory and less parity oriented than low status group members. Minority group members who were dominant and of high status were highly discriminatory and were unique in showing no parity whatsoever towards outgroup others. Subordinate low status minorities did not discriminate and were exceptional in showing out‐group favouritism. Relative to group status and group numbers, group power seemed more predictive of actual discriminatory behaviour. Group status accounted for the greatest variance in social identification and intergroup perceptions measures. Results also showed that social categorization was sufficient to elicit more in‐group than outgroup liking amongst all group members regardless of their position in the intergroup structure. Overall, this study indicated that power, status and group numbers independently and in combination, have a strong impact on intergroup behaviours and perceptions.

Status differenttals and intergroup behaviour

AbstractThis study investigated the independent effects of status differential on intergroup behaviour. Using a variant of the minimal group paradigm (Tueland Turner, 1979), subjects were categorized into groups of differing status (high, equal, low) with two levels of category salience (high, low). Using Tajfel's matrices subjects rated the creativity of products ostensibly produced by ingroup and outgroup members. Own group identification, intergroup perceptions and self‐reported strategies on the matrices constituted the other dependent measures. Results indicated a main effect for group status but none for salience. Equal status groups discriminated against each other thus replicating the minimal intergroup discrimination effect. High and equal status group members were more discriminatory against outgroups and more positive about their own group membership than were low status group members. In contrast, low status group members engaged in significant amounts of outgroup favouritism. Results also showed that social categorization per se was sufficient to elicit more ingroup than outgroup liking amongst all group members regardless of status differentials between groups. Overall, the results illustrate important aspects of the interplay between group status, social identity, prejudice and discrimination.