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When “a Group in Itself” becomes “a Group for Itself”: Overcoming Inhibitory Effects of Superordinate Categorization on LGBTQ Individuals
Author(s) -
Górska Paulina,
Bilewicz Michał
Publication year - 2015
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.12128
Subject(s) - superordinate goals , psychology , salience (neuroscience) , moderation , pride , social psychology , categorization , identity (music) , social identity theory , disadvantage , relative deprivation , collective identity , affect (linguistics) , social group , developmental psychology , cognitive psychology , communication , political science , philosophy , physics , politics , acoustics , law , epistemology
Specific social categories differently affect the motivation to resist the disadvantage among the members of low‐status groups. While subgroup identity instigates collective action, common identity inhibits support for societal change. We propose that individuals who construe their disadvantage in terms of group relative deprivation (GRD) rather than individual relative deprivation are less prone to the demobilizing force of common identity salience. The moderating role of GRD in responding to superordinate category (i.e., “Poles”) was demonstrated in two studies conducted in the Polish LGBTQ community. In Study 1 ( N = 125), GRD moderated the effect that common identity (relative to subgroup identity) exerted on in‐group pride, which translated into support for social change. Study 2 ( N = 165) confirmed GRD as the moderator of common identity influence. Both studies showed that LGBTQs who exhibited low but not high level of GRD were susceptible to the quieting effect of superordinate category.