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Variation of out‐group presence and evaluation of the in‐group
Author(s) -
Wagner Ulrich,
Ward Phillip L.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
british journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.855
H-Index - 98
eISSN - 2044-8309
pISSN - 0144-6665
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8309.1993.tb00998.x
Subject(s) - psychology , group (periodic table) , salience (neuroscience) , social psychology , categorization , similarity (geometry) , context (archaeology) , group conflict , cognitive psychology , epistemology , paleontology , philosophy , chemistry , organic chemistry , artificial intelligence , computer science , image (mathematics) , biology
According to the self‐categorization theory of group formation (Turner, Hogg, Oakes, Reicher & Wetherell, 1987), a group comes into existence when its members perceive themselves as belonging to a certain category. Based on this assumption, it is hypothesized that the extent of in‐group attraction and in‐group similarity should depend on the degree to which the in‐group is made salient. It was further predicted that this effect of in‐group salience should hold true only for highly identified group members and not for persons who identify on a low level with the group in question. In an experiment, students of psychology ( N = 126) evaluated an in‐group member, i.e. a psychological counsellor, on the basis of a tape‐recorded therapeutic session and under different conditions of in‐group salience. Either the in‐group of psychologists was mentioned, or the in‐group was introduced in the context of relevant out‐groups, or, in addition, a conflict between in‐group and out‐groups was pointed out. The data support the hypothesis: that is, an intergroup conflict increases in‐group attraction and assumed similarity.