Ingroup–Outgroup Bias

Evidence of conflict and discrimination between groups is all around, which is not to say that this is inevitable, as many groups coexist peacefully most of [Page 484]the time. Ingroup bias refers to a form of favoritism toward one's own group or derogation of another group. Many theories of intergroup relations in social psychology try to explain this phenomenon. Ingroups are groups to which a person belongs, and outgroups are groups to which a person does not belong (and which could therefore become target for ingroup bias). There is an almost infinite number of groups to which a person belongs, depending on how he or she categorizes the social world. Gender, ethnicity, occupation, economic and social position are all meaningful dimensions by which a person ...