Intergroup threat,knowledge of the outgroup,and willingness to purchase ingroup and outgroup products: The mediating role of intergroup emotions

Established theories have acknowledged that intergroup threat is one of the key determinants of intergroup attitudes and behaviours, but how intergroup threat can affect consumer behaviour remains unclear. Here, four preregistered studies (total N = 988) examined the effect of intergroup threat (manipulated in terms of realistic and symbolic threats) on consumers’ willingness to purchase ingroup and outgroup products. In the context of China–West relations, we measured Chinese consumers’ willingness to purchase Chinese (ingroup) and Western (outgroup) products. These studies together revealed that realistic and symbolic threats (versus control) increased willingness to purchase ingroup products and decreased willingness to purchase outgroup products, regardless of the product category. Studies 3a and 3b also measured knowledge of the outgroup as a potential moderator, revealing that realistic threat (versus control) reduced willingness to purchase outgroup products only among individuals who had less knowledge of the outgroup. Furthermore, Study 3b showed that the intergroup threat manipulation indirectly influenced consumers’ willingness to purchase ingroup/outgroup products through increased anger and decreased hope. We discussed the contributions to the intergroup relations and consumer behaviour literature and the implications for transnational marketing practices, as well as the limitations of this research.     

The ironic impact of intergroup apologies on intergroup attitudes: Understanding the role of perceived power for post‐apology outgroup attitudes

The present research investigates how intergroup apologies, defined as apologies between two groups, affect perceived remorse and outgroup attitudes (e.g., explicit and implicit), in the context of power asymmetries. We recruited participants from two countries that differ in perceived power: South Korea and the United States. Participants read a vignette describing a violent act committed by an outgroup member (Korean or American), with or without an intergroup apology. Participants answered questions assessing perceived remorse and explicit attitudes toward the outgroup, followed by the Implicit Association Test (Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998). Results revealed that Koreans perceived less remorse following an intergroup apology from the United States, compared to when they did not read an intergroup apology. Further, a mediated moderation analysis indicated that perceived remorse mediated the relationship between apology and explicit attitudes towards the United States. However, an analogous effect for implicit attitudes was only marginally significant. In contrast, among American participants, no effect of the apology on perceived remorse, explicit attitudes, or implicit attitudes and no evidence for a mediation was found. We discuss the implications of these effects on understanding the effectiveness of intergroup apologies between countries that differ in perceived power.     

The influence of perceived warmth and competence on realistic threat and willingness for intergroup contact

Unwillingness for contact with outgroup members is a form of prejudice. In two studies, we tested the proposition that perceived competence has an indirect effect on willingness for intergroup contact through its effect on realistic threat, and that perceived warmth moderates this relationship. In Study 1, Hong Kong students (N = 144) rated the perceived warmth and competence of an outgroup, Mainland Chinese students, as well as the extent to which they perceived the group as presenting a realistic threat, and willingness for contact with them. In Study 2 (N = 205), we attempted to manipulate the warmth (high vs. low) and competence (high vs. low) of an unfamiliar outgroup, and tested the effects on realistic threat and willingness for intergroup contact. In both studies, we found an interaction effect between warmth and competence in the prediction of realistic threat. When the outgroup was perceived as warm, competence was found to have a negative association with realistic threat (Study 1), whereas when the outgroup was perceived as lacking warmth, competence was found to have a positive association with realistic threat (Study 2). In both studies, perceived warmth moderated the indirect effect of perceived competence on willingness for intergroup contact. Implications for the role of warmth and competence stereotypes in threat perception and prejudice are discussed.     

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.     

Do they want contact with us? The role of intergroup contact meta‐perceptions on positive contact and attitudes

This research examined the role of contact meta‐perceptions on positive intergroup contact and outgroup attitudes. Specifically, perceptions of the ingroup's and outgroup's desire for intergroup contact were simultaneously tested as predictors of intergroup contact and outgroup attitudes. Three correlational studies were conducted in three distinct contexts, international students' view of British students, general public views of people with schizophrenia, and both Muslims' and non‐Muslims' views of one another. Among these three intergroup relationships, the role of outgroup contact meta‐perceptions was consistently highlighted as predictor of intergroup contact. In stark contrast, ingroup contact meta‐perceptions did not emerge as a significant predictor of contact. Intergroup contact then predicted outgroup attitudes (Studies 1, 2, and 3) and stereotyping (Studies 2 and 3) via reduced anxiety (Studies 2 and 3). The results demonstrate the importance of explicitly highlighting outgroups' openness for intergroup interactions and are discussed in the context of intergroup relations literature.     

When lack of control enhances closeness to others: The case of unemployment and economic threat

When personal control is threatened, people often turn to their own group and show negativity towards others. In three studies, we tested an alternative prediction that the salient lack of personal control (vs. control) experienced in the context of unemployment can lead to connectedness and more positive perception of similar others (e.g., members of groups affected by unemployment or the economic crisis). In two European countries, we found experimental (Study 1: Poland) and correlational (Study 2: Spain) evidence that a lowered sense of control of unemployed people was related to more favorable intergroup evaluations. Furthermore, when lack of control related to unemployment threat was experimentally induced, participants perceived a Greek outgroup more positively, and this effect was mediated by identification with and similarity to this group (Study 3). We discuss the role of the shared experience of collective uncontrollability in promoting positive intergroup relations.     

想象积极群际接触与群际关系改善实验研究述评

想象群际接触的基本思想指,在心理上想象一个积极的群际接触会创设一个心理接触的脚本,激发与外群体成员成功互动的观念,积极互动观念也就伴随产生对外群体的积极情感,导致对外群体的积极感知,增强和外群体进一步接触的意愿。想象群际接触的实验操纵比较简单,设置实验组和控制组,采用指导语的方式,但是想象群际接触的效应受群体地位、内群体认同状况等变量的调节。在未来的研究中, 需要注意提高研究的效度,加强机制、直接行为效应的研究,想象群际接触理论为改善群际关系提供了一个崭新的框架。     

Reducing Competitive Victimhood in Kosovo: The Role of Extended Contact and Common Ingroup Identity

During intractable conflicts, “competitive victimhood” refers to the subjective belief that one's own ingroup has suffered more than the outgroup. Although competitive victimhood is considered an important inhibitor of reconciliation processes, no research has attempted to examine ways of reducing it. The present study aims to fill this gap. Kosovar Albanians students (N = 170) were asked to report their perception of ingroup and outgroup victimhood during the protracted violence between Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo. Our findings revealed that frequent and high‐quality extended contact with outgroup members and identification with a common ingroup reduced competitive victimhood. The effects of extended contact and common ingroup identification were fully mediated by increased perspective taking and trust toward the outgroup, and by decreased outgroup infrahumanization. The implications of these results for restoring fractured intergroup relations are discussed.     

群际威胁：影响因素与减少策略

群际威胁是增强消极刻板印象和偏见的重要因素, 甚至可以导致群际冲突或暴力。影响群际威胁的因素包括个体的感知与经验、群体特征、社会政策和法规等。通过改变社会分类, 模糊群际边界, 并创造群际接触的机会, 能够增加群际认同感, 降低群际威胁感, 减少群际偏见, 促进积极的群际关系。今后的研究需在不同的社会环境中完善群际威胁的理论模型, 并探索相关变量相互作用的内在机制, 为促进和改善群际关系提供理论依据。     

Longitudinal effects of contact on intergroup relations: The role of majority and minority group membership and intergroup emotions

A field study was conducted in the Italian context to examine the longitudinal effects of contact on improved intergroup relations, and to test whether the effects were different for majority and minority group members. Furthermore, we examined the processes underlying contact effects. Participants were 68 Italian (majority) and 31 immigrant (minority) secondary school students, who completed a questionnaire at two time points. The results of regression analyses showed that, consistent with the contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954 ), quantity and quality of contact longitudinally improved outgroup evaluation and increased the attribution of positive stereotypes to the outgroup; the reverse paths were non‐significant. Notably, whereas quantity of contact improved intergroup attitudes and stereotypes for both majority and minority participants, quality of contact had reliable effects only for the majority group. Intergroup anxiety and empathy mediated the longitudinal effects of quantity of contact for both Italians and immigrants; the cross‐lagged effects of contact quality on criterion variables for the Italian group were mediated by intergroup empathy. The theoretical and practical implications of findings are discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

贫困大学生元刻板印象威胁对群际关系的影响:群际焦虑的中介和自尊的调节作用

元刻板印象威胁是指消极元刻板印象所导致的群体成员的一种社会心理困境和认知不平衡状态,会诱发压力和害怕体验,进而损害其行为表现。基于群际焦虑模型,本研究拟考查元刻板印象、群际焦虑、自尊等因素对群际关系的影响,具体为贫困大学生消极元刻板印象对群际关系的影响及群际焦虑的中介作用、自尊的调节作用。研究以江苏省徐州市某高校的158名贫困大学生为被试,通过操控指导语的方式将其随机分为威胁组（消极元刻板印象激活组）和无威胁组（元刻板印象未激活组）。结果如下：（1）威胁组被试的群际焦虑水平显著高于无威胁组,群际关系水平显著低于无威胁组;（2）群际焦虑在元刻板印象威胁与群际关系间起中介作用,自尊在前半路径（元刻板印象和群际焦虑间）和后半路径（群际焦虑与群际关系间）均起调节作用。结论：激活贫困大学生消极元刻板印象会对群际关系产生威胁效应。     

Living under threat: Mutual threat perception drives anti‐Muslim and anti‐Western hostility in the age of terrorism

This research demonstrates a common psychology of outgroup hostility driven by perceived intergroup threat among three groups and seven cultural contexts: non‐Muslim Westerners, Muslims in Western societies, and Muslims in the Middle East. In Study 1, symbolic, but not realistic and terroristic threats, predicted non‐Muslim Norwegians' intentions to join anti‐Islamic movements. In Study 2, symbolic and realistic, but not terroristic threat, predicted non‐Muslim Americans' willingness to persecute Muslims. In Studies 3 and 4, symbolic threat predicted support and behavioral intentions against the West among Swedish and Turkish Muslims. Finally, in Study 5, a comparison demonstrated that symbolic and realistic threats had the same effects on violent intentions among non‐Muslim and Muslim Danes, and Muslims in Afghanistan. Meta‐analysis showed that symbolic threat was most strongly associated with intergroup hostility. Across studies, participants with high religious group identification experienced higher levels of threat. Implications for intergroup research and prejudice reduction are discussed.     

Perceived group identity of outgroup members and anticipated rejection: People think that strongly identified group members reject non‐group members

Many studies of intergroup relations have examined the effects of group identity on various types of intergroup cognition and behavior. However, few studies have focused on the perceived group identity of outgroup members. This study examined the effects of perceptions of outgroup identity on anticipated rejection by an outgroup. In Study 1, we administered a questionnaire pertaining to 30 social groups to Japanese undergraduate and vocational students. The collective images and intra‐individual processes relating to perceived outgroup identity were investigated by applying correlation analysis and multilevel structural equation modeling. In Study 2, we conducted an experiment in which we manipulated the participants' perceptions of relative levels of outgroup members' identity. Both studies demonstrated, as predicted, that people anticipated rejection by strongly identified outgroup members more than by weakly identified outgroup members. Furthermore, in Study 2, anticipated same‐group favoritism mediated the relationship between the manipulation of perceived outgroup identity and anticipated rejection. These findings suggest the important role of perceived outgroup identity in intergroup cognition.     

Political intolerance: the role of intergroup threat and negative intergroup emotion

This study investigated whether the perception of intergroup threat, and intergroup emotion, are related to political intolerance. One hundred and twenty three South African undergraduate students (females?=?76%; males?=?24%; White?=?65%; Coloured?=?24%; Indian?=?8%; Chinese?=?2%; mean age =?19.8, SD?=?3.03 years) were randomly assigned to either a heightened (n?=?68) or low intergroup threat condition (n?=?55). Data on intergroup threat, intergroup emotion and political intolerance were collected utilising a questionnaire. T-test effect comparisons including multiple regression analyses were computed to determine effects of intergroup threat and negative intergroup emotion on political intolerance. Results revealed negative intergroup emotion and perceived intergroup threat to predict political intolerance. Negative intergroup emotion mediated the relationship between perceived threat and political intolerance. These findings suggest that intergroup threat may lead to the rise of negative intergroup emotion which in turn creates an environment conducive to the development of political intolerance.     

Intergroup contact between professional groups: Two evaluation studies

We report two studies which evaluate practically-oriented programmes of interprofessional contact involving doctors and social workers. The evaluation is based on the ‘contact hypothesis’ in intergroup relations, and highlights four sets of dependent measures: background perceptions, ingroup and outgroup ratings, knowledge, and judgements about work with outgroup partners and experienced contact. Consistent with the contact hypothesis, both studies revealed an improvement in outgroup attitudes, evidence of mutual intergroup differentiation (acknowledged superiority of ingroup and outgroup on independent dimensions), and increased outgroup knowledge. Greater change in Study 2 is interpreted in terms of its longer duration, and the opportunity it provided for contact with multiple outgroup members, compared with a single outgroup partner in Study 1. These findings from field studies are consistent with results from published laboratory experiments.     

Why are some people more susceptible to ingroup threat than others? The importance of a relative extrinsic to intrinsic value orientation

Whereas an individual differences perspective recently pointed to the importance of a relative extrinsic to intrinsic value orientation in the prediction of outgroup attitudes, the intergroup relations perspective stresses the importance of threat. This study investigates the interplay of both perspectives. A scenario study among high-school students showed that only people who attach greater relative importance to extrinsic values react with a negative attitude towards an outgroup that is portrayed as threatening. A longitudinal study among university students then showed that people with a relatively greater extrinsic value orientation are not only more likely to react to threat but also to perceive threat. Specifically, cross-lagged analyses showed that a relatively greater extrinsic value orientation predicted over-time increases in threat perceptions.     

群际信任的增进:社会认同与群际接触的方法

群际信任是衡量群际关系的一个重要尺度.群际信任指人们在群际互动中对其他群体成员的行为或意向做积极预期而且愿意承受相应的风险,这种信任主要是由群体成员所属的社会身份所决定的,表现为内群体成员对外群体成员的信任.影响群际信任的因素包括社会群体身份及其表征和群体之间的接触经验,增进群际信任的方法主要包括社会认同与群际接触两大类方法.未来的研究需结合已有进展和社会现实问题对中国的群际信任问题及增进方法进行深入和系统的探讨.     

社会偏见与群际威胁在群际冲突发生过程中的作用

研究以“医患冲突”为载体,采用竞争反应时范式（CRT）和故事补全范式（SCP）,探讨社会偏见和群际威胁在群际冲突发生过程中的作用。结果表明：（1）“医生”被试中,社会偏见在CRT和SCP两个指标上均具显著主效应,而“患者”被试中,社会偏见仅在CRT范式“惩罚持续时间”指标上主效应显著;（2）群际威胁在CRT和SCP指标上的主效应均显著。研究发现,在群际冲突发生过程中,社会偏见的作用具有“方向效应”,而群际威胁变量发挥着显著而直接的影响。     

Different forms of intergroup contact with former adversary are linked to distinct reconciliatory acts through symbolic and realistic threat

In a society burdened with the most severe type of intergroup conflict, we examined the association between willingness to reconcile with former adversary, intergroup contact with, and perceived threat from former adversary. We focused on three reconciliatory acts—forgiveness to the outgroup, support for ingroup apology and support for financial compensation to the outgroup. We included different forms of positive and negative intergroup contact—direct and indirect (extended and mass‐mediated). In the link between contact and reconciliation, we tested the mediating role of two types of intergroup threat—realistic and symbolic. The sample comprised Bosniaks (N = 267) and Croats (N = 278) from Bosnia and Herzegovina. In both samples, reconciliation associated with indirect forms of intergroup contact even when controlling for its link with direct contact. This indicates the potential of indirect contact to promote reconciliation in the lack of direct contact, characteristic for segregated post‐conflict societies. Symbolic threat mediated the relationship between intergroup contact and symbolic forms of reconciliation—forgiveness and support for ingroup apology. Realistic threat mediated the link between intergroup contact and a more tangible form of reconciliation—support for financial compensation. This highlights the importance of considering different types intergroup threat when targeting distinct reconciliatory acts. Our results suggest that practitioners promoting reconciliation in post‐conflict societies need to implement different means when tailoring interventions that should enhance different sides of peace‐making process.     

Disappointment expression evokes collective guilt and collective action in intergroup conflict: the moderating role of legitimacy perceptions

Research on intergroup emotions has largely focused on the experience of emotions and surprisingly little attention has been given to the expression of emotions. Drawing on the social-functional approach to emotions, we argue that in the context of intergroup conflicts, outgroup members’ expression of disappointment with one’s ingroup induces the complementary emotion of collective guilt and correspondingly a collective action protesting ingroup actions against the outgroup. In Study 1 conducted immediately after the 2014 Gaza war, Jewish-Israeli participants received information about outgroup’s (Palestinians) expression of emotions (disappointment, fear, or none). As predicted, outgroup’s expression of disappointment increased collective guilt and willingness to participate in collective action, but only among those who saw the intergroup situation as illegitimate. Moreover, collective guilt mediated the relationship between disappointment expression and collective action, moderated, again, by legitimacy perception. In Study 2, we replicated these results in the context of racial tension between Black and White Americans in the US. We discuss the theoretical and applied implications of the findings.