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Uncertainty and Status‐Based Asymmetries in the Distinction Between the “Good” Us and the “Bad” Them: Evidence That Group Status Strengthens the Relationship Between the Need for Cognitive Closure and Extremity in Intergroup Differentiation
Author(s) -
Federico Christopher M.,
Hunt Corrie V.,
Fisher Emily L.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/josi.12025
Subject(s) - ingroups and outgroups , psychology , antecedent (behavioral psychology) , closure (psychology) , social psychology , cognition , in group favoritism , developmental psychology , social group , social identity theory , political science , law , neuroscience
In this article, we look at how a key index of discomfort with uncertainty—the need for cognitive closure—interacts with perceived group status to influence a key antecedent of extremism: intergroup differentiation. Because high status provides people with a clear basis for superiority claims, we predicted that individuals with a high need for closure would accentuate intergroup differences in favor of the ingroup when they believe the latter to have higher status relative to outgroups. Two studies provided support for this hypothesis. In Study 1, Whites who were high in need for closure differentiated in favor of the ingroup when they perceived a larger status difference between the high‐status ingroup and lower‐status Black and Latino outgroups. In Study 2, individuals high in need for closure who were randomly assigned to a high‐status (vs. low‐status) group displayed the same pattern.