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When groups do not cure: Group esteem moderates the social cure effect
Author(s) -
DeMarco Tina C.,
Newheiser AnnaKaisa
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
european journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1099-0992
pISSN - 0046-2772
DOI - 10.1002/ejsp.2594
Subject(s) - psychology , self esteem , social psychology , harm , social identity theory , group (periodic table) , social group , social comparison theory , identity (music) , chemistry , organic chemistry , physics , acoustics
Group membership enhances well‐being. In two preregistered studies, we tested the assumption that only positively viewed groups yield this “social cure” effect and explored the impact of membership in negatively viewed groups, proposing that the social cure effect is qualified by group esteem (the degree to which ingroups are valued and liked). In Study 1 ( N = 396), we manipulated social identity gain (vs. loss) and measured group esteem, and found that gaining (vs. losing) a group membership more strongly increased psychological need satisfaction when group esteem was higher. In Study 2 ( N = 494), we manipulated identity gain (vs. loss) and group esteem, and found that gaining (vs. losing) a high‐esteem group membership enhanced well‐being via increased need satisfaction, whereas gaining (vs. losing) a low‐esteem group membership undermined well‐being via decreased need satisfaction. Our results contribute to conceptual models of how group membership influences individuals and suggest that membership in low‐esteem groups can harm well‐being.