Intergroup Relations

Social Categorization and Intergroup Relations

Social categorization involves identifying people primarily on the basis of overt similarities and presumed group membership. Because group membership is critical to human functioning and survival, the tendency to categorize people as members of different groups is fundamental to social perception. This social categorization process, however, involves more than distinguishing people by group membership. The recognition of different group memberships initiates a number of biases that influence intergroup relations in systematic ways. Social identity theory and, more recently, self-categorization theory address the fundamental processes associated with social categorization.

When people are categorized into groups, even if the groups have no obvious functional relationship or enduring meaning, actual differences between members of the same category tend to be perceptually minimized, whereas differences between groups tend to be exaggerated. Moreover, people critically distinguish between individuals who are members of their group (the in-group) and those who are members of other groups (the out-groups). In general, when the intergroup boundary between the in-group and outgroup is salient, people remember positive information better about in-group than about out-group members, discount negative actions by in-group members more than for out-group members, and ascribe positive attributes more strongly to the character of in-group than of out-group members. In addition, people behave in more favorable, intimate, and helpful ways toward in-group members. Feeling more positively about one's own group relative to others can enhance one's self-esteem. Thus, the mere awareness of the existence of different group memberships, when the groups are not interdependent and group membership is arbitrarily determined, typically produces bias.

These intergroup biases are particularly evident when people's social identity (their identity based on group membership) is more salient than their personal identity (their identity as a unique individual). For example, people are less trusting and behave in a greedier fashion when collective identities are salient than when personal identities are salient.

Individual Differences and Intergroup Relations

In addition to differences in the strength of group identity, individual differences in personality and values can influence the nature of intergroup relations. The personality variable of authoritarianism has historically received substantial attention with respect to intergroup attitudes and relations. Research in the 1950s concluded that the authoritarian personality, which is rooted in unhealthy family dynamics, is associated with unusual respect for authority and hierarchy, as well as strong distinctions between the ingroup and out-group. Recent research has found that people high on right-wing authoritarianism have negative attitudes toward members of a number of other groups, particularly when the groups are perceived to violate society's morals and standards.

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