Stereotypic ingroup bias as self‐defense against relative deprivation: evidence from a longitudinal study of the German unification process

In a longitudinal questionnaire field study on psychological consequences of German unification, the intergroup situation between East and West Germans was investigated. Data were collected in 1996 and 1998. The sample consisted of 585 East Germans and 387 West Germans who had never lived in the other part of Germany. It was assumed that East Germans' social identity is threatened due to their fraternal deprivation in comparison with West Germans. It was predicted that East Germans would employ ingroup bias as an identity management strategy in order to protect their emotional well‐being against harmful consequences of fraternal deprivation. In line with this prediction, it was found that (a) East Germans feel fraternally deprived compared to West Germans on important quality of life dimensions, (b) they display ingroup bias vis‐à‐vis West Germans, (c) ingroup bias increases with increasing East German identity, (d) ingroup bias is determined longitudinally by relative deprivation, and (e) ingroup bias buffers the effect of relative deprivation on mental health over time. As expected, ingroup bias and the effects of ingroup bias were larger for the dimension of personal integrity than for the dimensions of sympathy and competence. Ingroup bias is interpreted as compensatory self‐enhancement. West Germans feel fraternally privileged compared to East Germans and consider their advantages to be undeserved. Unexpectedly, West Germans display outgroup bias on the stereotype dimensions of integrity. This bias is interpreted as an effort to appease the moral outrage of East Germans and to silence their own guilty conscience due to undeserved advantages. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perceived legitimacy of intergroup status differences: its prediction by relative ingroup prototypicality

Research demonstrates that the perceived legitimacy of intergroup status differences has profound effects on intergroup attitudes, emotions and behavior. However, there has only been little intergroup research that predicts the perception of legitimacy. We hypothesize that the perception of legitimate or illegitime status relations depends upon the perceived relative prototypicality of the ingroup for the inclusive category. Since the prototype of the inclusive category provides a normative comparison standard for subgroup evaluation, similarity to this standard (i.e. prototypicality) should be positively evaluated and used to justify high status. A first study in a natural intergroup context (N = 67) offered correlational data in support of the predicted relationship. The second study (N = 60), using Germans as ingroup with Poles as outgroup and Europe as inclusive category, demonstrated that the link between prototypicality and legitimacy is contingent upon the valence of the inclusive category. In order to elucidate the causal direction, the third study manipulated relative prototypicality in an artificial intergroup context (N = 94) and introduced status as a moderator variable. Overall, we found strong support for the hypothesis that legitimacy is related to prototypicality and that this relation is moderated by ingroup status and valence of the inclusive category. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An investigation of the social identity model of collective action and the 'sedative' effect of intergroup contact among Black and White students in South Africa

Two studies investigated the role of intergroup contact in predicting collective action tendencies along with three key predictors proposed by the social identity model of collective action (SIMCA; Van Zomeren, Postmes, & Spears, 2008). Study 1 (N= 488 Black South African students) tested whether social identity would positively, whereas intergroup contact would negatively predict collective action and support for policies benefiting the ingroup. Study 2 (N= 244 White South African students) predicted whether social identity would positively predict collective action benefiting the ingroup, and intergroup contact would positively predict support for policies to benefit the Black outgroup. Both studies yielded evidence in support of the predictive power of social identity and contact on collective action and policy support. Additionally, Study 1 confirmed that intergroup contact moderated the effects of social identity on relative deprivation, and relative deprivation on collective action. Overall findings support an integration of SIMCA and intergroup contact theory, and provide a fuller understanding of the social psychological processes leading to collective action.     

Opening closed minds: the combined effects of intergroup contact and need for closure on prejudice

Five studies tested whether need for closure (NFC) moderates the relation between intergroup contact and prejudice toward immigrants. The results consistently showed that intergroup contact was more strongly associated with reduced levels of prejudice among people high in NFC compared to people low in NFC. Studies 1 (N = 138 students) and 2 (N = 294 adults) demonstrated this moderator effect on subtle, modern, and blatant racism. Study 2 also replicated the moderator effect for extended contact. An experimental field study (Study 3; N = 60 students) provided evidence of the causal direction of the moderator effect. Finally, Studies 4 (N = 125 students) and 5 (N = 135 adults) identified intergroup anxiety as the mediator through which the moderator effect influences modern and blatant racism as well as hostile tendencies toward immigrants. The role of motivated cognition in the relation between intergroup contact and prejudice is discussed.     

Self-motivated behaviour: Its influence on intergroup contact for intergroup harmony

We investigated the role of self-motivated behaviour in promoting intergroup member contact for intergroup harmony. A multi-ethnic group of 68 freshmen students attending a Nigerian state university were participants (female = 43.8%; Mean age = 22.15 years, SD = 2.35 years; Igbo = 45.6%, Hausa/Fulani = 20.4%, Yoruba = 24.5%, and others = 9.5%). By religious affiliation, the students comprised Christians (62%) and Muslims (38%). The students took part in an intergroup contact learning assignment designed for them to interact with others outside their class cohort and from a different ethnic group to themselves. They completed measures of self-motivated behaviours defined by self-efficacy, self-interest, learning predisposition, as well as intergoup harmony. Tests of mediation revealed significant positive indirect effects of intergroup member contact on intergroup harmony through self-efficacy, self-interest, and learning behaviour. Self-motivated behaviour fully mediated the relationship between intergroup contact and intergroup harmony among students in Nigerian multi-ethnic settings. Self-motivated behaviour may facilitate peace-building and intergroup harmony, for management of intergroup relations, among Nigerian major ethnic groups premised on intergroup contact.     

Strategies to cope with negative social identity: predictions by social identity theory and relative deprivation theory

Predictions by social identity theory (SIT) and relative deprivation theory (RDT) concerning preferences for strategies to cope with a negative in-group status position were tested. The focus of the present research was a comparison of the theories regarding their differential patterns of prediction. For this purpose, a natural sample within a specific historical situation was investigated: East Germans after the German unification. First, the predictive power of SIT and RDT variables was tested separately. In a second step, a possible integration of the theories was addressed. Combining the SIT variables and RDT variables led to an integrated model indicating a differential pattern of prediction for intergroup strategies. The RDT components explained the collective responses, whereas SIT constructs were related to individual strategies.     

想象积极群际接触对利他型集体行动意愿的影响:系统公正感和群际评价的中介作用

集体行动是维护和实现社会公平正义的有效途径之一。以往研究主要聚焦于弱势群体利己型集体行动,很少有研究考察利他型集体行动的影响因素。本研究采用双随机设计,通过三个实验探讨积极群际接触与利他型集体行动的中介效应因果模型。实验1采用想象性群际接触范式操纵积极群际接触,发现积极群际接触促进利他型集体行动,系统公正感和群际评价中的热情维度起中介作用。实验2与实验3分别操纵系统公正感和热情,检验中介变量与因变量间的因果关系,证实了积极群际接触-系统公正感、热情-利他型集体行动的因果关系链。     

Effects of intergroup contact and relative gratification vs. deprivation on prejudice on both sides of the U.S./Mexico status divide

A study in the U.S.–Mexican intergroup context examined how collective relative gratification (RG) versus deprivation affects the relationship between intergroup contact and interpersonal closeness and subtle prejudice towards an out-group. Participants were Mexican university students in Mexico (N = 239) and non-Mexican students in California (N = 90). As predicted, Mexicans experienced less gratification/higher relative deprivation (RD), and low quality intergroup contact and expressed lower interpersonal closeness and higher subtle prejudice than U.S. Americans. Differences between countries were larger amongst participants reporting higher RD. Second-stage moderated mediation analysis showed that the mediating effects of contact between country and interpersonal closeness and subtle prejudice, respectively, were larger amongst participants who felt relatively gratified than those who felt relatively deprived. These findings underline the importance of recognizing the moderating effect of differences in the RG versus RD levels of minority and majority groups when anticipating the potential benefits of intergroup contact for prejudice reduction.     

Unemployment,social support and health complaints: A longitudinal study of stress in East German refugees

Migrants have to deal with a number of stressors, among them tenacious job search and the constitution of a new social network. Prolonged unemployment and lack of social support can result in impaired health. A sample of 235 East Germans was investigated at three times during two years following their transition to West Berlin in 1989, after the breakdown of the communist system. The majority found a job during this time and succeeded to adapt psychosocially. Those, however, who remained unemployed were worse off in terms of self-reported health. This stress—health relationship was moderated, however, by social support. Within the group of migrants who suffered from long-term joblessness, social support exerted a longitudinal buffer effect. At Wave 3, frequent physical symptoms were reported only by migrants who neither held a job nor received support. In a longitudinal causal model, the employment status affected mainly health complaints, but also social support. The relationship between health and support was found to be reciprocal over time.     

National Identity in a United Germany: Nationalism or Patriotism? An Empirical Test With Representative Data

Nationalism and patriotism can be thought of as consequences of national identity that represent positive evaluations of one's own group but imply different social goals. This paper investigates the ways in which these concepts are related to attitudes toward minorities. The data analyzed were drawn from a representative sample of residents of the former East and West Germany who responded to items on the national identity of Germans in 1996 as part of a panel study. A model with multiple indicators was tested via a multiple-group analysis of a structural equations model followed by latent class analyses. Both East and West Germans displayed attitudinal patterns that link national identity with tolerance toward others; in both subsamples, nationalism and patriotism were respectively associated with greater intolerance and greater tolerance toward minorities.     

When attitudes do not fit: discordance of acculturation attitudes as an antecedent of intergroup threat

Recent research has shown that the perspectives of both minorities and majorities should be taken into account to reach a deeper understanding of the acculturation process and its consequences for intergroup relations. The authors report two experiments that investigated the impact of discordant acculturation attitudes on perceived threat. In Study 1 (N=183), Germans were asked for their attitudes toward Turks and Italians. Different levels of concordance of acculturation attitudes were induced by presenting participants with newspaper articles describing the acculturation attitude of the respective out-group and perceived threat was measured. In Study 2 (N=100), two fictitious immigrant groups were used as target groups. Results in both studies showed that discordance of acculturation attitudes leads to higher perceptions of intergroup threat than concordance of acculturation attitudes. Furthermore, both studies supported the assumption that a similar out-group is perceived as less threatening than a dissimilar out-group.     

相对剥夺感:想得、应得、怨愤于未得

相对剥夺感是指与某一标准相比较,个体觉得自己或自己所在群体状况更加糟糕,并产生生气或怨恨的情感反应。相对剥夺感包括个人相对剥夺感和群体相对剥夺感。研究表明,家庭收入、主观社会阶层、内群体认同,以及社会变化的速度和方向等对个人或群体相对剥夺感产生显著影响。相对剥夺感对个体的身心健康和行为,以及群体的态度与行为均具有显著的影响。但是,有关相对剥夺感与公正理论的异同、相对剥夺感的测量、参照对象与比较方式,以及相对剥夺感影响心理与行为的机制等方面还有待深入探讨。     

Interethnic Factors as Predictors of the Subjective Well‐Being of Minority Individuals in a Context of Recent Societal Changes

Our research examined the impact of contextual intergroup variables on the subjective well‐being of ethnic Russians in Estonia (N = 190) who have experienced major social changes with the demise of the Soviet Union. A mediational model was tested where aspects of intergroup relations (i.e., relative deprivation, status legitimization, and temporal comparisons) acted as mediators of the influence of cultural identity and representations of history on subjective well‐being. Preliminary analyses indicated polemical representations of history in which Estonian historical narratives are established around the struggle for independence, and Russian representations of history are consolidated around victory in World War II. Mediation analyses demonstrated that the importance of Russian history increased the perceptions of relative deprivation, status delegitimization, and the frequency of temporal comparisons, which negatively affected life satisfaction. At the same time, the importance of Estonian history led to positive perceptions of the intergroup situation and, in turn, to greater subjective well‐being. The effect of Russian identity on well‐being was mediated by delegitimizing beliefs, but not by relative deprivation and temporal comparisons. Estonian identity did not exert a significant effect on the proposed mediators. The research demonstrates the salience of the effects of contextual intergroup factors on subjective well‐being, and the article discusses implications for the study of intergroup relations and subjective well‐being.     

Negative affect in east german migrants: Longitudinal effects of unemployment and social support

Migrants have to deal with a number of stressors, among them tenacious job search and the constitution of a new social network. Prolonged unemployment and lack of social support can result in enduring negative affect. A sample of 235 East Germans was investigated three times during two years following their transition to West Berlin in 1989, after the breakdown of the communist system. Their anxiety and depression levels were initially high but declined over time. The majority found a job during this time span and succeeded to adapt psychosocially. Those, however, who remained unemployed were worse off in terms of well-being. The stress-affect relationship was moderated, however, by social support. Within the group of migrants who suffered from long-term joblessness, social support exerted a longitudinal buffer effect. At Wave 3, most anxiety and depression was reported by migrants who neither held a job nor received support. In a longitudinal causal model, the employment status affected mainly negative affect complaints, but also social support. The relationship between negative affect and support turned out to be reciprocal over time.     

How to address the caveat of avoiding direct contact: Reducing prejudice towards gay and lesbian people in five Balkan countries

ABSTRACT

In the Balkans, contact with gays and lesbians is typically hostile or avoided. Drawing from probability samples of young people from five Balkan countries (N = 1046), we examined whether it is possible to transfer the effects of contact with other marginalized outgroups (largest ethnic minority in every country, Roma, the extremely poor and physically disabled) to acceptance of gays and lesbians (secondary outgroup), and whether this relationship could be explained by attitude generalization and increased intergroup trust. Path analyses supported the secondary transfer effect: it confirmed that, while controlling for direct contact, contact with other marginalized groups was related to more acceptance of a secondary group; this relationship was mediated by trust. This was found across all primary groups in the combined samples, while the effect varied for different groups in country samples. The results add to the value of intergroup contact as a mean of prejudice-reduction.     

A test of positive and negative extended intergroup contact in a Chinese minority with perceived group norms and intergroup anxiety as mediators

This article is aimed to examine the effect of Uyghur's (minority group) positive and negative extended contact with Han (majority group) within the background of China. One affective (intergroup anxiety) and two cognitive (perceived in‐group and out‐group norms) variables were tested as potential mediators. A sample of 875 Uyghur minority college students ranging in age from 17 to 25 years completed self‐reported measures of direct contact, positive and negative extended contact, intergroup anxiety, perceptions of in‐group and out‐group norms, out‐group attitudes, and contact intentions. Results revealed that both positive and negative extended contact were associated with out‐group attitudes and contact intentions, over and above the effect of direct contact. The effects of both forms of extended contact were mediated by intergroup anxiety, perceived in‐group, and out‐group norms. Notably, positive extended contact exerted larger effects than negative extended contact. This research highlights the significance of considering both positive and negative extended contact and the potential of extended contact as a means to ameliorate intergroup relations from the perspective of minority groups.     

Generalization of positive attitude as a function of subgroup and superordinate group identifications in intergroup contact

The role of category salience in mediating the effects of intergroup contact was examined. One theoretical model proposes that some psychological salience of subgroup categories is necessary to facilitate the generalization of attitude change beyond the immediate contact situation. Another argues that a re‐categorization of the subgroups into a new superordinate category is more beneficial, whilst a third suggests that de‐categorizing the situation entirely is optimal. An alternative view, which combines the first two models, proposes a Dual Identity strategy (simultaneous high superordinate and high subgroup categorization) as an important mediator of the relationship between contact variables and intergroup attitudes. In the study, participants (N = 114) undertook a cooperative intergroup task under four conditions of category salience: ‘subgroup’, ‘superordinate’, ‘superordinate and subgroup’, and ‘no group salience’. Evaluative ratings and symbolic reward allocations both for the groups encountered (contact) and those outside the situation (generalization) provided measures of intergroup bias. Bias within the contact situation was mainly eliminated in all conditions. However, on the more generalized bias measures, only the ‘superordinate’ and ‘superordinate and subgroup’ (Dual Identity strategy) conditions maintained this low level; in the other two conditions intergroup bias resurfaced. A combination of the first two models is proposed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stereotypes and attribution processes in a multi‐ethnic Italian province

In South Tyrol, a multi‐ethnic Italian province (Italians, Germans, Ladins) with an autonomous statute, the intergroup attributions expressed by members of the Italian group were examined (relationship: Italians vs. Germans). It was found that, while the stereotypes are more favourable to the ingroup, the attributions are more favourable to the outgroup. The implications of these results for South Tyrol and community relations are discussed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Predicting pre-service teachers’ opposition to inclusion of students with disabilities: a path analytic study

This study addressed predictors of pre-service teachers’ opposition toward the practice of educating students with disabilities in mainstream classroom settings—a practice known as inclusion. We tested a hypothesized path model that incorporated social dominance orientation (SDO) and contact as distal predictors, and intergroup anxiety, stereotype use, and self-efficacy for including students with disabilities as more proximal predictors of opposition to inclusion in a sample of 229 pre-service teachers from the Southwestern United States. In large part, the predicted relationships among our variables were supported. The effect of SDO on opposition to inclusion was both indirect (via stereotype use and intergroup anxiety) and direct. The effect of close contact with persons with disabilities relevant to inclusion was mediated by intergroup anxiety and, more distally, by stereotype use. Stereotype use and intergroup anxiety were positive predictors of opposition to inclusion. The predicted relationship between self-efficacy and opposition to inclusion was not supported by the data. Rather, the data supported a reverse causal ordering. Implications for future research are addressed.