Chapter 14

Question 1

Realistic group conflict theory

Answer 1

conflict occurs because groups must compete with one

another for scarce resources.

Question 2

Discontinuity effect

Answer 2

the markedly greater competitiveness of groups when interacting with other groups, relative to the competitiveness of individuals interacting with other individuals.
Causes of discontinuity effect:
1. Groups are greedier than individuals.
2. Fearing groups more than fearing individuals.
3. Tendency to maximize group’s collective outcomes.
4. Diffusion of responsibility: responsibility is not directly on you, because of the
presence of other group members.

Question 3

Sidanius & Pratto: social dominance theory

Answer 3

conflict between groups results from

dynamic tensions between hierarchically ranked groups within society.

Question 4

Insko’s generational studies

Answer 4

groups exploit other groups both economically and

coercively, but coercive influence is associated with greater increases in conflict.

Question 5

Frustration aggression hypothesis

Answer 5

individuals become more aggressive whenever

external conditions prevent them from reaching their goals.

Question 6

General aggression model

Answer 6

factors that influence the expression of hostile, negative
behavior: 
(1) Personal and situational inputs
(2) Cognitive, affective, and arousal
states
(3) Cognitive appraisals.

Question 7

Scapegoat theory

Answer 7

intergroup conflict whereby hostility that is caused by frustrating environmental circumstances is released by taking hostile actions against members
of other social groups.

Question 8

The interpersonal factors that disrupt relations between groups:

Answer 8

• Realistic group conflict theory
• Discontinuity effect
• Conflict increases when one group attempts to dominate and exploit another group, and the
  target group resists exploitation.
• Emotional reactions can trigger impulsive intergroup aggression.
• The norm of reciprocity, cultural norms, and group norms can instigate and sustain conflict.
• Evolutionary psychology: natural selection favoured individuals who preferred ingroup
  members over outgroup members. > Evolutionary pressures have resulted in the tendency
  to respond more negatively to outgroup members who are male rather than female.

Question 9

Psychological foundations of conflict between groups

Answer 9

• Social categorization causes perceivers to distinguish between ingroup and outgroup
  members, even in minimal intergroup situation (= crating temporary groups of anonymous,
  unrelated people).
• During intergroup conflict, group members’ judgments are often distorted by a number of
  cognitive biases
• When conflicts become more intense, members may display more extreme reactions to
  outgroup
• Social identity theory suggest that individuals protect and sustain their identity and self-
  esteem by championing the ingroup.

Question 10

minimal intergroup situation

Answer 10

crating temporary groups of anonymous,

unrelated people

Question 11

Ingroup-outgroup bias

Answer 11

perceiving own group as better than other groups.

Question 12

Summer: ethnocentrism

Answer 12

ingroup-outgroup bias in larger groups

Question 13

Double-standard thinking

Answer 13

judging the actions and attributes of one’s own group
positively, but viewing these very same behaviors negatively when the outgroup
performs them.

Question 14

Linguistic intergroup bias

Answer 14

tendency to describe positive ingroup and negative
outgroup behaviors more abstractly, and negative ingroup and positive outgroup
behaviors more concretely.

Question 15

Outgroup homogeneity bias

Answer 15

tendency to assume that the members of other
groups are very similar to each other, whereas membership of one’s own group is
more heterogeneous.

Question 16

Law of small numbers

Answer 16

basing generalizations about the outgroup on observations

of a small number of individuals from that group.

Question 17

Group attribution error

Answer 17

mistakenly assuming that specific group members’
personal characteristics and preferences are similar to the preferences of the group
to which they belong to.

Question 18

ultimate attribution error

Answer 18

attributing negative actions performed by members of

the outgroup to dispositional qualities, and positive actions to situational, fluctuating circumstances.

Question 19

Stereotype content model

Answer 19

people’s stereotyped views about social groups
reflect their beliefs about the warmth and competence of the stereotyped
group. Elicits four basic emotional reactions in intergroup situation:

1. Pity: low competence, high warmth.
2. Admiration: high competence, high warmth.
3. Envy: high competence, low warmth.
4. Contempt: low competence, low warmth.

Question 20

Moral exclusion

Answer 20

opponents in a conflict come to view each other as undeserving of morally mandated rights and protections.

Question 21

Dehumanization

Answer 21

believing that other individuals or groups lack the qualities thought to distinguish human being from other animals, causes to rationalize the
extremely negative treatment afforded to members of other groups.

Question 22

Social identity theory

Answer 22

suggest that individuals protect and sustain their identity and self-esteem by championing the ingroup.

Question 23

Improvement of intergroup relations:

Answer 23

• Contact hypothesis
• Cognitive approaches to conflict reduction seek to reverse the negative biases that follow
  from parsing individuals into ingroups and outgroups.
• Kelman: recommends managing conflict by teaching group members the skills they need to
  resolve interpersonal disputes.

Question 24

Contact hypothesis

Answer 24

relations between groups are improved when groups interact together in a positive contact situation.

• Allport: contact is most effective in situations that maintain: (1) equal status, (2)
  intergroup cooperation, (3) common goals, and (4) support of authorities, law, or
  custom.
• Sherif: Robbers Cave experiment: reduced conflict by prompting the boys to work
  toward superordinate goals (= goal that can only be attained if two or more
  individuals/groups work together by pooling their efforts and resources).
• The effectiveness of contact increases if contact is: (1) lengthy in duration, (2) results
  in success, and (3) creates opportunities for the development of cross-group
  friendships.
  > Extended contact hypothesis = cross-group friendships increase the two
  friends’ acceptance of the respective outgroups and cause other members of
  their groups to become more positive toward the outgroup as well.
  > Virtual contact hypothesis = online contact between members of different
  groups will improve relations between these groups

Question 25

Robbers Cave experiment

Answer 25

reduced conflict by prompting the boys to work
toward superordinate goals (= goal that can only be attained if two or more
individuals/groups work together by pooling their efforts and resources)

Question 26

Extended contact hypothesis

Answer 26

cross-group friendships increase the two
friends’ acceptance of the respective outgroups and cause other members of
their groups to become more positive toward the outgroup as well.

Question 27

Virtual contact hypothesis

Answer 27

online contact between members of different

groups will improve relations between these groups.

Question 28

Decategorization

Answer 28

reducing social categorization tendencies by minimizing the notability of group memberships and stressing the individuality of each person in the
group.

Question 29

Common ingroup identity model

Answer 29

intergroup conflict can be reduced by
emphasizing membership in inclusive social categories (= recategorization) and the
interdependence of the individuals in the groups.

Question 30

Cross-categorization

Answer 30

reducing social categorization by making their
membership in two or more social groups or categories, that are not related to the categories that are generating ingroup-outgroup bias, very noticeable.

Question 31

Aronson: jigsaw method

Answer 31

educational intervention that reduces prejudice by

assigning students from different racial or ethnic groups to a single learning group.