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Social categorization as a function of relative group size
Author(s) -
Twuyver Mariette,
Knippenberg Ad
Publication year - 1999
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 - 10.1348/014466699164095
Subject(s) - categorization , psychology , salience (neuroscience) , recall , social psychology , perception , social group , social perception , social category , developmental psychology , cognitive psychology , philosophy , epistemology , neuroscience
The present study investigates effects of numerical group composition on categorization and individual recall of group members in a name‐matching paradigm. Relative group size was independently varied for sex (male minority, equal sex groups, female minority) and academic status (teacher minority, equal academic groups, student minority). The results show that, overall, sex and academic status were used to categorize the stimulus persons, and that the male female categorization was stronger than the student teacher categorization. Furthermore, across the stimulus groups studied (males, females, students, teachers), members of minority groups were (a) categorized to a larger extent than members of majority groups and (b) better individually recalled than members of majority groups. In addition, the overall use of the male female categorization was stronger when the size of the sex groups was equal than it was, on average, when the size of these groups was unequal. The results are discussed in terms of theories about category salience and perception of group members.