Intergroup behavior (VL 10) Flashcards
Intergroup behavior - Definition
Any behavior that is influenced by group members perceptions of an outgroup
Relative Deprivation - Definition
- Group members may engage in collective protest to the extent that they feel deprived as a group relative to their aspirations or to other groups
How relative deprivation leads to collective violence
- Relative deprivation
- Frustation
- Aversive environmental conditions amplifies (verstärken) frustration
- Individual acts of aggression
- Individual acts of aggression exacerbated (verschlimmern) by aggressive stimuli
- Aggression becomes more widespread and assumes role of dominant response
- Aggression spreads rapidly through social facilitation process
- Collective violence
Conflict
A situation that occurs when it is perceived by the parties involved that gains made by the other party decrease their own change of gaining rewards their goals are incompatible
Competition
almost always the result of conflicts, attempts by each party to gain as many of the limited rewards as possible and to reduce the likelihood of success for the other parties
Realistic and perceived conflicts
Realistic conflicts:
goals of the interacting parties are incompatible, ex. winning a soccer game (only one team can win)
Perceived conflicts:
based upon misperceptions of the intentions of others or the nature of the potential awards
Outcomes of Cooperation and Conflict
- David Johnson: members of cooperative groups reported more positive attitudes, more effective learning and better performance (in comparison to members of groups with competitive environments)
- Conflict within groups can produce innovation and creativity (Coser), it changes existing norms and ways of making decisions
- Rapoport: Matrix Games
o Simulation to study cooperation and conflict
o Ex. prisoner dilemma (Luce and Raiffa)
o Assumption: individuals try to maximize their own rewards in their interactions with others
Realistic Conflict Theory – Muzafer Sherif
- Competition for scarce resources tends to produce intergroup conflict, cooperation to achieve a shared goal reduces conflict
- Robber´s Cave Study: Boys at summer camp were divided into groups and competition fostered negative perceptions on one part of each group, which was quickly followed by overt hostility. But hostility was reduced when the boys had to work together on a shared problem
Social identity approach
- Social categorization: people identify with the category, precondition for being a group and engaging in intergroup behavior
- Self-categorization: process of identifying with a group and behaving as a group member
- Social comparison and the need for self-esteem motivate groups to compete in different ways for relatively positive social identity
Categories that are used to describe others
- Categorization is influenced by the characteristics of the person that categorizes and that is being categorized
- Salience: characteristics that are immediately apparent when we see someone, ex. sex, age, race
- Accessibility: how often a category is used and how important it is to the individual that categorizes
Negative outcome of social categorization
Stereotypes associated with a category may be activated, judgement might be influenced
In-Group Favoritism (Tajfel)/ Minimal Intergroup effect
More positive attitudes or behavior are shown towards in-group members compared to outgroup members
- Occurs on the basis of arbitrary (Willkür)
- Occurs also when there is little similarity among the members within a group
Individual Mobility
- Attempts on the part of individuals to leave a low-status group and move to a higher-status group
- Give up the social identity with the original group and direct communication and behavior towards the higher-status group in the hope of joining the group
Individual Mobility - Problems
- Loss of identity: People may not wish to leave a group if they are highly identified with the group
- Permeability (Durchlässigkeit): Mobility is only likely if the individual perceives that movement is possible
- Membership constraints: Memberships can be constrained by physical appearance or cultural norms
- Individual constraints: Individuals are unlikely to attempt moving if they feel they do not have the skills or ability
Social creativity
Use of strategies that allow members of a low-status group to perceive their group as better than other groups, at least in some dimensions, that allows them to gain some positive social identity