Intergroup Relations

Definitions

Prejudice & Discrimination

Individual Differences Theories

Intergroup Theories

  1. Relative Deprivation Theory
  • Perceived gap between expectations & achievements
    = frustrating -> intergroup aggression
  • Gap visible in J-curve: attainments suddenly fall short -> acute rel. dep. -> collective unrest
  • Fraternal relative deprivation: group has less than entitled, compared to aspirations or other groups
  1. Realistic Conflict Theory
  • Mutually exclusive goals -> competition -> conflict & ethnocentrism
  • Shared goals -> cooperation -> group formation, harmony

  • Sherif's experiment: boys on camp, divided into groups, competed, superordinate goals (achieved only with coop)


  • BUT competitive even with shared goals & non-comp relations ->


  1. Social identity theory

Social Identity Theory

Collective Behaviour

Collective Behaviour

  • Large no. of people, in same place at same time, behaving uniformly / with common focus
  • Because of injustice, high efficacy, ID with group / purpose

Deindividuation

  • Conditions (anonymity, arousal, focus on external, group unity) -> reduced self-awareness & personal identity salience -> unsocialised behaviour ->
  • IF less private self-awareness (thoughts/feelings):
    ** More impulsive
    ** More sensitive to cues / emotional states
    ** Less monitoring / regulation of behaviour
    ** Less concern about others' evaluation
    ** Less ability to rationally plan
  • IF less public self-awareness:
    ** Disinhibition
    ** Anti-normative behaviour

Emergent norm theory

  • Collective behaviour = adhering to norms
  • Normless crowd
  • -> distinctive behaviour becomes norm
  • -> normative influence
  • -> majority inaction confirms norm
  • -> collective behaviour
  • BUT crowds not formless, self-awareness if low in crowds

Improving Intergroup Relations

Prejudice: unfavourable attitude / evaluation towards a person, based on their group membership = attitude

Stereotypes: beliefs / expectations about what members of a social group are like

Discrimination: differential treatment / action based on group membership = behaviour

Intergroup relations: individuals' behaviour that is regulated by their awareness of and identification with, social groups

Dehumanisation: stripping people of dignity & humanity
-> violent acts

3 discriminatory behaviours

  1. Reluctance to help
  2. Tokenism: small, public act
  3. Reverse discrimination: extreme tokenism
    => lower self-esteem
  • 'Milder' due to legislation & social disapproval

Stigma: individuals' attribute -> -ve social evaluation

  • Visibility: cost of concealment may be high
  • Controllability: cost of controlling may be high

Stereotype threat: feeling we will be judged according to stereotypes & confirm them -> anxiety -> worse performance

Prejudice -> material & psych disadvantage, stigma, depressed aspirations => sense of failure, low self-esteem

Attributional ambiguity -> suspicion

  • Under-attribute +ve outcomes to self
  • Under-attribute others' -ve reactions to prejudice

Self-fulfilling prophecy

  • Expectations that influence our interaction with others, changing their behaviour to match expectations
  • For gender
  • Stereotype threat contributes
  1. Mere exposure: lack of exposure -> fear -> prejudice
  1. Social learning: modelling, operant conditioning (reinforcement), classical (learnt associations)
  1. Personality
  • Right wing authoritarianism: positions of power come from correct / moral behaviour
    -> people should be suppressed if don't behave correctly
    ** Comes from autocratic childrearing
  • Social dominance orientation: legitimises hierarchy
    -> dominant groups should have more power/wealth -> some should stay at bottom
  • System justification: people support ideology that supports status quo

Minimal Group Paradigm

  • People categorised on random/trivial criteria
  • -> bias to ingroup
  • Tajfel's experiment: people divided randomly (artist preference), distribute $

Social Identity Theory

  • Consequences of social identity (Tafjel)
  • Self-concept from group membership
  • Ingroup favouritism: behaviour that favours own group over others
  • vs Ethnocentrism: evaluations/attitudes that favour own group
  • Functions: self-enhancement + reduce uncertainty

Social Categorisation Theory

  • What leads to social identity - cognitive explanation of how & why we social ID
  • Classification in social group is enough -> ID -> ethnocentrism + competitive behaviour
  • BUT more likely if people ID with category, or categorisation reduces uncertainty
  • Use prototypes to describe groups
  • Meta-contrast principle: diff between groups > diff within groups
  • Depersonalise: perceive / treat self & others as prototypes of group, not individuals

Belief systems

Social mobility system

  • Intergroup boundaries permeable
  • Individualist socieities
  • Individual mobility -> move from lower to higher status group

Social change system

  • Intergroup boundaries not permeable
  • IF status quo secure -> no cognitive alternatives -> social creativity
    * New dimensions of comparison (e.g. compare gardens, not hut)
    * Redefine existing dimensions (e.g. 'Black is beautiful')
    * Comparison with diff / lower outgroup (e.g. compare to novice)
  • IF status quo insecure -> cognitive alternatives -> social competition -> action/protest/war

Early theories - LeBon

  • Assume antisocial, violent, impulsive
  • Anonymity -> irresponsibility
  • Contagion -> rapid, unpredictable changes in behaviour
  • Suggestibility -> primitive, savage instincts emerge

Social identity model of deindividuation

  • Crowds exhibit intergroup behaviour (e.g. rioters vs police)
  • Loss of individual ID (personal) ID -> assume ID of crowd (social ID augmented)
  • Crowd members look to core members for guidance

Strategies from theories

Relative deprivation -> prevent frustration

  • Lower expectations
  • Distract
  • Provide harmless activities to vent frustration
  • Minimise aggressive associations

Realistic conflict -> goals

  • Provide superordinate goals
  • Avoid mutually exclusive goals

Social identity

  • Stereotypes less derogatory & polarised
  • Intergroup competition without violence

Individual

  • Change personality
  • Change beliefs
  • Raise children differently

Mere exposure -> Contact hypothesis (Allport)

  • Contact can reduce anxiety & improve intergroup contact if:
  1. Prolonged, cooperative activity
  2. With official / institutional support
  3. Equal status of groups / people
  • Positive contact
  • Outgroup members seen as typical
  • Contact -> highlight similarity -> liking
  • BUT contact -> highlight differences OR conflict of interest OR like individual not group

Society identity -> Common ingroup identity model (Gaertner)

  • Members recategorise themselves as members of same group

Negotiation strategies

  • Bargaining: less effective (bargain more fiercely as rep.)
  • Mediation: effective if mediator powerful + impartial
  • Arbitration: effective last resort

Social learning

  • Effective if: outgroup members viewed as whole (not exemplars)
  • Not effective if: experience prejudice elsewhere, role play

Realistic conflict -> Superordinate goals

  • Must be superordinate + achieved to be effective

Types: ethnicity, sex, age, sexual orientation, physical & mental handicap