Gender subgroups and intergroup perception: adolescents' views of own-gender and other-gender groups

The authors examined intergroup bias and perceived group variability regarding gender subgroups relevant to the adolescent culture. Participants were 126 high school students, between 16 years and 19 years of age, who listed male and female subgroups, performed a series of group perception tasks, and, for each subgroup, indicated whether they themselves belonged to the group. Results showed that adolescents' perceptions of gender subgroups were subject to in-group favoritism and out-group derogation, as well as to group homogeneity effects. In line with predictions derived from Optimal Distinctiveness Theory, male and female participants favored in-groups over own-gender and other-gender out-groups and favored other-gender out-groups over own-gender outgroups. Ambivalence was particularly high with other-gender out-groups. The authors discussed implications for future research on the development of gender prejudice and for interventions to reduce prejudice.     

Reducing intergroup bias: elements of intergroup cooperation

The authors examined the potentially separable contributions of 2 elements of intergroup cooperation, interaction and common fate, and the processes through which they can operate. The manipulation of interaction reduced bias in evaluative ratings, which supports the idea that these components are separable, whereas the manipulation of common fate when the groups were interacting was associated with lower bias in nonverbal facial reactions in response to contributions by in-group and out-group members. Whereas interaction activated several processes that can lead to reduced bias, including decategorization, consistent with the common in-group identity model (S. L. Gaertner, J. F. Dovidio, P. A. Anastasio, B. A. Bachman, & M. C. Rust, 1993) as well as M. Hewstone and R. J. Brown's (1986) group differentiation model, the primary set of mediators involved participants' representations of the memberships as 2 subgroups within a superordinate entity.     

A normative perspective on the linguistic intergroup bias: How intragroup approval of ingroup members who use the linguistic intergroup bias perpetuates explicit intergroup bias

The present research examined from a normative perspective how intragroup normative processes regulate the consequences of the linguistic intergroup bias (LIB). Results of three studies supported our hypothesis that intragroup approval of an ingroup member who uses the LIB plays a key role in perpetuating pro-ingroup bias. In Study 1, ingroup members who used pro-ingroup (vs. pro-outgroup) LIB elicited more intragroup approval and this effect was mediated by the perception of the speaker as being biased in favor of the ingroup. In Studies 2 and 3, intragroup approval (vs. disapproval) of an ingroup member who used the LIB enhanced the expression of pro-ingroup bias. By providing the first demonstration of how the LIB relates to intragroup normative processes, our studies highlight a new path by which the LIB helps perpetuate intergroup bias.     

Linguistic intergroup bias in Japan

This study examined linguistic intergroup bias in Japan. Linguistic intergroup bias is the tendency to describe positive in‐group and negative out‐group behaviors more abstractly than negative in‐group and positive out‐group behaviors. Participants were 26 Japanese high school students. Fans of the participants' favorite professional baseball team were employed as in‐groups and those of their least‐favorite professional baseball team as out‐groups. The students described the negative behaviors of out‐groups more abstractly than the negative behaviors of in‐groups, but there was no intergroup bias with regard to positive behaviors. It is suggested that linguistic intergroup bias contributes to the formation and maintenance of negative out‐group stereotypes in Japan.     

Communication constraints on the linguistic intergroup bias

We examined whether the linguistic intergroup bias (LIB) is a context-free, invariant process or influenced by communicative purpose. The reported experiment shows that biased language use (positive behaviors of a partner and negative behaviors of an opponent are described with abstract predicates, negative partner and positive opponent behaviors are described with concrete predicates) occurs only when the communication has a clear purpose, but not when it does not. The implications of communicative purpose as a constraint on the psychological processes driving the LIB are discussed as well as the possible impact of biased language use upon recipients.     

Anticipated outgroup evaluations and intergroup bias

A study is reported that tests the hypothesis that group members exhibit intergroup bias in response to the belief that outsiders will discriminate against them. To this end, two experimental conditions are included in which subjects anticipate either biased evaluations or fair evaluations respectively. In a control condition, subjects do not expect to be evaluated from an external source. Results indicated, as expected, that those who anticipated biased evaluations from an outgroup exhibited bias themselves, while those who anticipated fair evaluations exhibited outgroup favouritism. The fact that control subjects exhibited the same degree of bias as those who anticipated biased evaluations from the outgroup poses some difficulties for the hypothesized connection between anticipated discrimination and intergoup bias. Thus, it appears that intergroup bias is the rule and not the exception in an intergroup context. Nevertheless, it is clear that anticipated evaluations of outgroup members can effect intergroup bias.     

Linguistic intergroup bias in political communication

The Linguistic Intergroup Bias (LIB) illustrates the disposition to communicate positive in-group and negative out-group behaviors more abstractly than negative in-group and positive out-group behaviors. The present research examined the function of language in reinforcing this bias in political communication. To illustrate the LIB, the Linguistic Category Model (LCM) was used, including a nouns category. Because social stereotypes are usually conveyed by nominal terms, the aim was to observe the relationship between stereotypes and language in political communication. Moreover, we were interested in analyzing the psychological processes that drive the LIB. Therefore, we verified whether the LIB is more related to language abstractness than to agent-patient causality. Several political debates and interviews, which took place before the latest Italian provincial elections, were analyzed. Results suggested that the language politicians use in communicating about political groups are conceptualized as stereotypes rather than as trait-based categories. Moreover, it seems that the LIB could not be explained only at a lexical level. Social implications of the present findings in interpersonal relations and causal attribution were discussed.     

The reducing effect of positive imagined intergroup contact on intergroup attributional bias

Currently, the Han and Uygur ethnicities in Xinjiang, China are generally in a peaceful state; however, there are also disagreements and conflicts. Through three studies, this article explores intergroup attributional bias (in‐group favoring and out‐group derogating pattern of attribution) between the Hans and Uygurs in Xinjiang, China, and the reducing effect of positive imagined intergroup contact on intergroup attributional bias. Using high school students from Han and Uygur as participants, Study 1 investigated participants’ attributional patterns for in‐group and out‐group members presenting desirable or undesirable behaviors in daily situations. The results revealed that both Hans and Uygurs demonstrate an in‐group favoring pattern of attribution, but not an out‐group derogating pattern. Study 2 added a brief positive imagined intergroup contact (experimental group) or a brief positive imagination of an outdoor scene (control group) before participants completed the same questionnaire as in Study 1 and found a weaker intergroup attributional bias in the experimental group. In Study 3, Han students who had a positive imagined contact with a Uygur demonstrated a closer distance and reported more positive attitudes toward Uygurs than Han students who had imagined contact with a nonspecific stranger. Studies 2 and 3 together indicated a reducing effect of imagined contact on intergroup attributional bias through improvement of intergroup attitudes. The conclusion of this research is particularly meaningful for the Hans and Uygurs, as it implies that properly implemented positive imagined intergroup contacts might be a useful remedy for reducing potential conflicts.     

Becoming us and them: Social learning and intergroup bias

In recent years, research has demonstrated that the basic features of prejudice and discrimination emerge early in children's development. These discoveries call into question the role of social learning in intergroup bias. Specifically, through what means do we learn to distinguish “us” from “them?” Here, we explore this question, focusing on three key issues: how children respond to biased information they receive from others, how children selectively seek out certain types of biased information, and how children communicate biased information to others. We close by discussing the implications of this research for interventions to reduce stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination.     

Linking superiority bias in the interpersonal and intergroup domains

The author conducted 2 studies to explore the link between superiority bias in the interpersonal and intergroup domains. Australian university students evaluated the extent to which various personality traits were more or less applicable to themselves than to other Australian university students in general. They then evaluated the extent to which the same traits were more or less applicable to Australians than to people from other countries in general. As expected, the more participants evaluated themselves as superior to other university students, the more they evaluated Australians as a whole as superior to people from other countries. This link between interpersonal and intergroup superiority biases explained 22.1% of variance in Study I and 33.6% of variance in Study 2. The author interprets the results of the 2 studies as support for fundamental principles of social identity theory: (a) that self-concept consists of not only one's personal self but also the social groups to which one belongs and (b) that people are motivated to view both levels of self in a relatively positive fashion.     

Reducing gender identity bias through imagined intergroup contact

Transgender individuals face high levels of stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination, and violence. However, there is a paucity of research (particularly experimental work) investigating the magnitude of gender identity bias (GIB) targeting transgender individuals, as well as interventions designed to ameliorate it. To address this gap, we conducted experimental investigations of reactions to identical, highly qualified men or women job applicants described as either transgender or cisgender (Experiments 1a, 1b), and tested the efficacy of an imagined intergroup contact (IIC) intervention (relative to a control condition) in ameliorating GIB against transgender women (Experiment 2). As expected, all applicants were perceived as equally highly competent, adding to the literature suggesting that clearly demonstrating excellent qualifications can prevent biased judgments of candidate competence. However, revealing GIB, transgender men and women were rated as less likeable and hirable than the identical cisgender applicants, despite the fact that they were viewed as equally competent (Experiments 1a, 1b). Providing additional evidence of GIB, in the absence of IIC, participants rated a transgender female applicant as less likeable and hirable than the identical cisgender applicant, and also reported less self‐other overlap and perspective taking for the transgender applicant (Experiment 2). However, these target gender identity differences were reduced (for likeability) or fully eliminated (for the remaining outcomes) in the IIC condition. Put another way, while reactions to the cisgender applicant were unaffected by intervention condition, IIC elevated perceptions of the transgender applicant, suggesting that it may function as an effective GIB intervention.     

群际偏差的进化：人类对暴力与疾病威胁的适应

内群体偏好与内群体贬低现象普遍存在于社会生活中, 但为何会存在这两种群际偏差的心理机制以及这两种群际偏差是否具有进化基础的问题一直没有得到解答。通过系统整理在暴力威胁和疾病威胁构成的生存压力下, 两种群际偏差遵循烟雾探测原则和功能弹性原则处理威胁线索的研究报告, 研究说明了两者虽然方向完全相反, 但却是同一威胁管理机制对特定的内外群体关系产生的不同反应, 具有进化的适应性, 支持其进化假说。     

Predicting intergroup bias: the interactive effects of implicit theory and social identity

This research sought to integrate the implicit theory approach and the social identity approach to understanding biases in intergroup judgment. The authors hypothesized that a belief in fixed human character would be associated with negative bias and prejudice against a maligned group regardless of the perceiver's social identity. By contrast, a belief in malleable human character would allow the perceiver's social identity to guide intergroup perception, such that a common ingroup identity that includes the maligned group would be associated with less negative bias and prejudice against the maligned group than would an exclusive identity. To test these hypotheses, a correlational study was conducted in the context of the Hong Kong 1997 political transition to examine Hong Kong Chinese's perceptions of Chinese Mainlanders, and an experimental study was conducted in the United States to examine Asian Americans' perception of African Americans. Results from both studies supported the authors' predictions.     

Intergroup attribution bias in the context of extreme intergroup conflict

Limited research has examined attributional biases in the context of extreme intergroup conflict, and the research that does exist contains methodological shortcomings. To remedy this, 282 Indonesians read a newspaper article describing a violent incident in Ambon. Christians (but not Muslims) used stronger situational attributions for violent ingroup acts than for violent outgroup acts. In contrast, both Muslims and Christians used stronger dispositional attributions for violent outgroup acts than for violent ingroup acts. This latter tendency emerged independently of who was described in the article as the perpetrators of the violence. Implications for our understanding of intergroup conflict are discussed.     

Explanations for positive and negative behavior: the intergroup attribution bias in achieved groups

Previous research into intergroup attribution has addressed mainly the behavior of groups to which members are ascribed (e.g. gender, race). The attribution processes of groups of which membership is achieved (e.g. friendship groups) is less well understood, and the current study sought to address this. Fifty-five undergraduate participants were asked to explain the positive and negative behavior of a member of the in-group and a member of the out-group. As predicted, the participants attributed an in-group member's positive behavior more, and their negative behavior less, to internal, global, and specific causes than they did the corresponding behavior of an out-group member. There was also evidence that the participants employed a strategy of out-group derogation in their attributions: they made a higher intemality rating for an out-group member's negative behavior than they did for that person's positive behavior. It is proposed that the current study's use of achieved groups maximized participants' levels of group identification, and that this in turn motivated behavioral strategies aimed at protecting that identity.     

The evolution of intergroup bias: perceptions and attitudes in rhesus macaques

Social psychologists have learned a great deal about the nature of intergroup conflict and the attitudinal and cognitive processes that enable it. Less is known about where these processes come from in the first place. In particular, do our strategies for dealing with other groups emerge in the absence of human-specific experiences? One profitable way to answer this question has involved administering tests that are conceptual equivalents of those used with adult humans in other species, thereby exploring the continuity or discontinuity of psychological processes. We examined intergroup preferences in a nonhuman species, the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta). We found the first evidence that a nonhuman species automatically distinguishes the faces of members of its own social group from those in other groups and displays greater vigilance toward outgroup members (Experiments 1-3). In addition, we observed that macaques spontaneously associate novel objects with specific social groups and display greater vigilance to objects associated with outgroup members (Experiments 4-5). Finally, we developed a looking time procedure-the Looking Time Implicit Association Test, which resembles the Implicit Association Test (Greenwald & Banaji, 1995)-and we discovered that macaques, like humans, automatically evaluate ingroup members positively and outgroup members negatively (Experiments 6-7). These field studies represent the first controlled experiments to examine the presence of intergroup attitudes in a nonhuman species. As such, these studies suggest that the architecture of the mind that enables the formation of these biases may be rooted in phylogenetically ancient mechanisms.     

Explanations for positive and negative behavior: the intergroup attribution bias in achieved groups

Previous research into intergroup attribution has addressed mainly the behavior of groups to which members are ascribed (e.g. gender, race). The attribution processes of groups of which membership is achieved (e.g. friendship groups) is less well understood, and the current study sought to address this. Fifty-five undergraduate participants were asked to explain the positive and negative behavior of a member of the in-group and a member of the out-group. As predicted, the participants attributed an in-group member's positive behavior more, and their negative behavior less, to internal, global, and specific causes than they did the corresponding behavior of an out-group member. There was also evidence that the participants employed a strategy of out-group derogation in their attributions: they made a higher intemality rating for an out-group member's negative behavior than they did for that person's positive behavior. It is proposed that the current study's use of achieved groups maximized participants' levels of group identification, and that this in turn motivated behavioral strategies aimed at protecting that identity.     

Promoting us or preventing them: regulatory focus and manifestations of intergroup bias

Four studies examined whether situational and individual differences in individuals' regulatory focus influence how intergroup bias is expressed emotionally and behaviorally. Consistent with past findings on promotion focus, these studies found evidence that participants' promotion focus, whether measured or manipulated, was related to how extensively they demonstrated bias toward their ingroup in terms of cheerfulness- and dejection-related emotions and approach-related behaviors. Consistent with past findings on prevention focus, these studies also revealed that participants' prevention focus was related to how extensively they showed bias against an outgroup in terms of quiescence- and agitation-related emotions and avoidance-related behaviors. The implications for the self-regulatory functions of intergroup bias are discussed.     

Considering multiple criteria for social categorization can reduce intergroup bias

Two experiments tested the notion that considering multiple criteria for social categorization can reduce intergroup bias. In both experiments, participants were required to consider alternative ways in which people could be classified, other than an initially salient intergroup dichotomy. In Experiment 1, the authors found that generating alternative social classifications that were unrelated to an initial target dichotomy reduced intergroup bias compared to a control condition. In Experiment 2, this effect was replicated and the authors found that unrelated, but not related, categorizations were necessary to reduce bias. This article adds support to the view that increasing categorical complexity is a useful tool in bias reduction. These findings are discussed in the context of a developing model of multiple categorization effects.