Effect of incompatibility between internal and external group membership criteria on intergroup behaviour

Group membership generally entails that individuals are both defined, and define themselves, as members of that group. This study investigated the effect of incompatibility between these definitions on intergroup behaviour. Subjects were allocated to one of two groups of differential status such that the allocation was compatible or incompatible with their self-categorization. The results indicated that the effect of incompatibility depended on the status of the group imposed on the subjects.