Group-Based Emotions: The Impact of Social Identity on Appraisals,Emotions, and Behaviors

Because group-based emotions are rooted in the social identity of the perceiver, we propose that group-based emotions should be sensitive to changes in this social identity. In three experiments, young women reported feeling more anger, fear, and disgust toward Muslims when their identity as women had been made salient, in comparison with various control conditions where their identity as young adults, as social sciences students, their personal identity, or no identity had been made salient. These effects were mediated by appraisals of intergroup threats. In Experiment 3, the salience of the woman social identity also increased intentions to avoid Muslims.