Perceived Intergroup Similarity Research Articles

‘The Boat is full!’: predictors of perceived migrant group size and perceived right to stay for immigrants (‘¡El barco está lleno!’: predictores del tamaño percibido de los grupos migrantes y de su derecho a residir en el país)

ABSTRACT Predictors of perceived population size and perceived right to reside in the UK were tested for immigrants to Britain. Two studies explored psychological responses of British respondents to immigration to the UK. A questionnaire study examined responses towards migrants living in the UK from India, Poland and Syria (Study 1, N = 136). In this study, perceived intergroup similarity and intergroup threat predicted intergroup affect, which in turn predicted estimates of the migrant group size and the perceived right of the migrants to reside in the UK. Study 2 (N = 126) was an experiment which manipulated similarity and threat, and elicited responses towards a fictional migrant group, to get a better handle on the causal direction of effects observed in Study 1. Taken together, the studies showed that perceived population size and perceived right to reside in Britain were predicted by intergroup similarity, threat and affect.

The silver lining between perceived similarity and intergroup differences: Increasing confidence in intergroup contact

Abstract Positive intergroup contact and cross-group friendships are known to have numerous benefits for intergroup relations in diverse schools. However, children do not always spontaneously engage in cross-group friendships, choosing rather to spend time with their ingroup peers. Several factors have previously been identified that influence children’s confidence in contact and subsequent development of cross-group friendships, including perceived intergroup similarity and reconciliation of intergroup differences. However, inducing perceived similarity may pose a threat to the person’s social identity and increase the need for distinctiveness. Therefore, it remains unclear how one should manipulate perceived similarity and group boundaries when designing interventions that prepare school children for successful contact. Moreover, eliminating perceived group boundaries need not lead to the generalization of improved attitudes towards the outgroup. An optimal balance of inclusion and differentiation between the groups should be determined so as to make way for beneficial cross-group friendships. Based on a literature review, we provide recommendations for designing prejudice reduction interventions in schools from the perspective of intergroup similarity.

Intergroup dissimilarity predicts physiological synchrony and affiliation in intergroup interaction

Interpersonal similarity attracts. In intergroup contexts, however, similarity between groups potentiates bias. The current study examined whether intergroup similarity versus dissimilarity engenders cross-group friendship formation. We used an essay-writing paradigm to manipulate perceived intergroup similarity or dissimilarity between the ethnic groups of participants prior to a dyadic interaction that involved a competitive party game. During the interaction, we continuously recorded physiological and behavioral responses from both participants. We used the physiological responses to derive a measure of physiological synchrony: the mutual activation of partners' sympathetic nervous systems. People primed with dissimilarity, not similarity, experienced physiological synchrony with their partner. Moreover, the partners of people primed with dissimilarity acted more affiliative than the partners of people primed with similarity, which in turn predicted friendship initiation by participants. We discuss the seemingly counter-intuitive value of emphasizing differences between groups to foster positive intergroup relations.

Inducing similarities and differences in imagined contact: A mutual intergroup differentiation approach

To enhance the prejudice-reducing effects of imagined contact we investigated a novel form of imagined contact (“balanced similarity”) which emphasized both similarities and differences between the ingroup(er) and the outgroup(er). Experiment 1 compared balanced similarity with conditions inducing only differences or only similarities. “Balanced similarity” led to more positive outgroup attitudes; its differences with the “high similarity” condition were mediated by reduced distinctiveness threat, whereas its differences with the “low” similarity condition were mediated by higher perceived intergroup similarity. Experiment 2 compared the “balanced similarity” imagined contact scenario with the “standard” (positive) imagined contact scenario (Crisp, Stathi, Turner, & Husnu, 2008), and found that both conditions promoted equally favourable attitudes that were significantly more positive than in the control condition. However, only the “balanced similarity” imagined contact condition differed from the control condition on intergroup anxiety and contact self-efficacy. The “balanced similarity” condition also had an indirect effect (via self-efficacy) on positive action tendencies towards the outgroup. We discuss the utility of “balanced similarity” imagined contact, especially where contact is limited and conflict is present.

I will help you because we are similar: Quality of contact mediates the effect of perceived similarity on facilitative behaviour towards immigrants.

This research aimed to analyse interpersonal behaviour towards immigrants by exploring related psychosocial variables such as intergroup similarity and quality of intergroup contact. A new interpersonal behavioural tendencies scale was developed. In Study 1, Spanish participants reported their willingness to take different actions towards a Moroccan (i.e. a devalued target, n = 132) or an Ecuadorian (i.e. a valued target, n = 138), perceived intergroup similarity and quality of intergroup contact. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis identified the expected dimensions: active facilitation (AF), passive facilitation (PF), passive harm (PH) and active harm (AH). Participants reported less similarity, less pleasant contact, less AF and less PF, and more PH with respect to Moroccans relative to Ecuadorians. Quality of contact mediated the effect of perceived similarity on interpersonal behaviour (especially facilitative behaviour) towards immigrants. Study 2 (N = 134) confirmed that this mediation effect also applied to Romanian immigrants, and tested a serial mediation pathway, in which perceived similarity affected symbolic threat, which in turn affected quality of contact, which finally affected behaviour. Changing perceived intergroup similarity might be a way of improving the quality of contact with minority groups, and this would be expected to increase pro-social behaviour towards such groups.

Does Identification With Rwanda Increase Reconciliation Sentiments Between Genocide Survivors and Non-Victims? The Mediating Roles of Perceived Intergroup Similarity and Self-Esteem During Commemorations

A questionnaire survey (N = 247) investigated the influence of identification with the Rwandan nation on reconciliation sentiments between members of the survivor and of the non-victim groups of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Results showed that, whereas the two groups did not differ in their level of identification with the nation, members of the non-victim group were more willing to reconcile than members of the survivor group. Perceived intergroup similarity mediated the effect of national identification on reconciliation sentiment for both groups, but this effect was stronger among non-victims. Finally, self-esteem during commemorations also mediated this effect, but only among non-victims. We discuss the importance of people’s motivation to reconcile with out-group members in post-genocidal contexts in light of the common in-group identity model (Gaertner & Dovidio, 2000) as well as the needs-based model of intergroup reconciliation (Nadler & Schnabel, 2008).

The relationship between acculturation preferences and prejudice: Longitudinal evidence from majority and minority groups in three European countries

AbstractA longitudinal field survey tested the reciprocal effects of acculturation preferences and prejudice among ethnic minorities and majorities. Data were collected at two points in time from 512 members of ethnic minorities and 1143 majority members in Germany, Belgium and England. Path analyses yielded not only the lagged effects of prejudice on acculturation preferences but also the reverse for both majority and minority members. The mutual longitudinal effects between prejudice and desire for culture maintenance were negative, and the mutual effects between prejudice and desire for culture adoption were positive for majority members. The reverse was the case for minority participants. Moreover, the two acculturation dimensions interacted in their effect on prejudice for majority participants but not for minority participants. The effect of desire for culture adoption on prejudice was moderated by perceived intergroup similarity. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

`They Cooperate With Us, So They Are Like Me': Perceived Intergroup Relationship Moderates Projection from Self to Outgroups

Whereas projection of self-attributes to ingroups is ubiquitous, projection of self-attributes to outgroups (outgroup projection) is an elusive phenomenon. Two experiments examined the moderating effect of perceived intergroup relationship on outgroup projection and explored underlying mechanisms. Perceived cooperation versus competition between ingroup and outgroup was manipulated using fictitious (Experiment 1) or natural groups (Experiment 2). In both experiments, participants judged the outgroup as more similar to the self in the cooperation condition than in the competition condition. This effect was independent of recategorization, perceived intergroup similarity, and ingroup-to-outgroup projection. These studies demonstrate the very existence of outgroup projection and extend previous work on moderators of projection from self to groups.

Positive Mood and the Perception of Variability Within and Between Groups

Three experiments investigated the effects of positive mood on perceptions of variability within and between groups. Participants formed impressions of two different and highly variable groups under a neutral or positive mood. When participants expected to learn about both groups, positive mood increased perceived intergroup similarity but did not affect perceived intragroup variability. In contrast, when participants expected to learn about only one group, judgments of intergroup and intragroup similarity were both affected by mood. Mood and the intergroup context influenced the nature and degree of information processing and resultant judgments of variability in social groups.

Cultural threat and perceived realistic group conflict as dual predictors of prejudice

Recent research has focused on how perceived intergroup similarity influences stereotyping and prejudice. Very little is known, however, regarding how the quality or type of similarity influences intergroup relations. Presented is a methodology that allows one to manipulate the quality of perceived intergroup similarity. This methodology is used to test contrasting predictions about how perceptions of intergroup similarity on self-stereotyped interpersonal and work-related traits predict attitudes towards immigrants. Predictions were derived from cultural threat and perceived realistic group conflict theories. Some participants were asked to rate how similar they perceived their in-group was to Mexican immigrants, whereas others were asked to evaluate how the groups differed on the given traits. Control participants evaluated themselves on the given traits. Participants were presented with either interpersonal traits or work related traits as stimuli. The main dependent measures were a perceived realistic conflict scale, a prejudice scale, and a stereotyping scale. All three scales used Mexican immigrants as the target category. When interpersonal traits were made salient, contrast comparisons led to more negative attitudes towards immigrants, supporting a cultural threat hypothesis. When work-related traits were made salient, similarity comparisons led to more prejudice and more negative attitudes towards immigrants, supporting a perceived realistic conflict hypothesis. Thus, a perceived threat to either the cultural norm or economic well being led to more negative attitudes towards immigrants. Results are discussed for their relevance to models of intergroup relations.

Does Multiple Categorization Reduce Intergroup Bias?

Two experiments explored whether crossing social category memberships can reduce intergroup bias. Experiment 1 provided a precise comparison between discrimination against single outgroups, partial outgroups, and double outgroups. Intergroup bias and perceived intergroup similarity followed an additive pattern such that partial outgroups were discriminated against as much as single outgroups, whereas both were discriminated against to a lesser extent than double outgroups. In Experiment 2, a more realistic form of crossing was employed whereby five additional dimensions of categorization were considered by participants instead of the traditional two. In line with a decategorization perspective, intergroup bias was reduced in both multiple group conditions relative to the single categorization (baseline) condition. Participants perceived a weakened intergroup structure and displayed a greater tendency to see outgroup members as individuals in multiple group conditions; however, only perceived intergroup structure mediated the pattern of intergroup bias. The implications of these findings for conceptualizations of crossed categorization are discussed.

Reciprocity of inter-ethnic attitudes in a multicultural society

A national survey of multicultural and ethnic attitudes in Canada was conducted in 1974 (n = 1849). Data were analysed for the 1244 respondents whose ethnicity could be determined as Angloceltic, French, German, Italian or Ukrainian Canadian, A five group by five group intergroup attitude matrix was created, with each group acting both as attitude object and as holder of attitudes. Analysis indicated the existence of reciprocity or balance in the matrix: groups tended to reflect the attitude held toward them back onto the group holding the attitude. However this structural balance was moderated by the existence of shared attitudes about the position of a group in the national ethnic hierarchy. Further analysis indicated the existence of ethnocentrism in the matrix: attitudes toward ingroup and positive reference groups were more positive than toward out-groups. Perceived intergroup similarity and familiarity were positively correlated with each other and with intergroup acceptance. Results were discussed in relation to attitude balance theory and ethnocentrism theory, and in their implication for intergroup research in multicultural societies.