Minimal group paradigm

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The minimal group paradigm is a method employed in social psychology. [1] [2] [3] Although it may be used for a variety of purposes, it is best known as a method for investigating the minimal conditions required for discrimination to occur between groups. Experiments using this approach have revealed that even arbitrary distinctions between groups, such as preferences for certain paintings, [4] or the color of their shirts, [5] can trigger a tendency to favor one's own group at the expense of others, even when it means sacrificing in-group gain. [6] [7] [8] [9]

Contents

Methodology

Although there are some variations, the traditional minimal group study consists of two phases. In the first phase, participants are randomly and anonymously divided into two groups (e.g., "Group A" and "Group B"), ostensibly on the basis of trivial criteria (e.g., preference for paintings or the toss of a coin). Sometimes, these participants are strangers to one another. In the second phase, participants take part in an ostensibly unrelated resource distribution task. During this task, participants distribute a valuable resource (e.g., money or points) between other participants who are only identified by code number and group membership (e.g., "participant number 34 of Group A"). Participants are told that, after the task is finished, they will receive the total amount of the resource that has been allocated to them by the other participants.

The main purpose of the procedures in the minimal group paradigm is to exclude "objective" influences from the situation. In the context of in-group favoritism, the anonymity of participants' personal identities excludes the influence of interpersonal favoritism. The omission of the self as a recipient in the resource distribution task excludes the influence of direct personal self-interest. The absence of any link between total in-group gain and individual gain excludes the influence of realistic competition. [10] Finally, the absence of intergroup status hierarchies, together with the triviality and minimal social content of the groups, excludes the influence of normative or consensual discrimination . [11]

Minimal group experiments tend to find that, although participants show a significant degree of fairness in their allocations, [12] they also show a significant tendency to allocate more money or points to in-group members than to out-group members. [13] [14] Importantly, this strategy of maximizing relative in-group gain (maximum differentiation) occurs even when it means sacrificing absolute in-group gain ("Vladimir's choice"). [8]

Development

Henri Tajfel and colleagues originally developed the minimal group paradigm in the early 1970s as part of their attempt to understand the psychological basis of intergroup discrimination. [15] Tajfel's intention was to create groups with as little meaning as possible and then add meaning to discover at what point discrimination would occur. [16] The surprising finding was that, even in the most minimal group conditions, responses favoring the in-group occurred. [6] Although Tajfel and colleagues originally explained minimal group discrimination in terms of a generic norm for social competition that exists across societies, [6] this explanation was later thought to be "uninteresting" and not offering any real explanatory or predictive power. [7] [17] Tajfel instead developed social identity theory's motivational explanation. In social identity theory, people are thought to award more points to their own group than to the out-group in the minimal group paradigm because, in those circumstances, in-group favoritism is the only way in which to achieve positive distinctiveness.

Further uses

Researchers have recently applied minimal group methodology to investigate prejudice against migrants. [18] The researchers created two hypothetical groups, 'Group A' and 'Group B'. Group assignment was random. The members of the groups were all hypothetical people, and therefore, they had no distinguishable differences. The researchers then chose some members of each group at random to leave their original group and join the opposite group; these members were referred to as migrants. Participants then rated each group member on a seven-point Likert scale for favorability. Migrants were rated as significantly less favorable than non-migrants. This is thought to be in part due to the migrant's exclusion from their original group. Another contributing factor was processing fluency in that migrants were prejudiced against due to the increased cognitive load in categorizing them. [18] In addition, the minimal group paradigm has been used to investigate the out-group homogeneity effect. [18] In one study, participants were divided into two minimal groups. Each group was given two positive traits and two negative traits. Participants rated their own group as well as estimated ratings for the other group. They also estimated the minimum and maximum ratings for the traits in each group. Participants rated their own group higher on the positive traits and lower on the negative traits. The findings also showed that raters perceived higher variability among their own group's negative traits as well as the out-group's positive traits. The ratings showed that participants viewed their own group more positively as well as more diverse than the out-group.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prejudice</span> Attitudes based on preconceived categories

Prejudice can be an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived evaluation or classification of another person based on that person's perceived personal characteristics, such as political affiliation, sex, gender, gender identity, beliefs, values, social class, age, disability, religion, sexuality, race, ethnicity, language, nationality, culture, complexion, beauty, height, body weight, occupation, wealth, education, criminality, sport-team affiliation, music tastes or other perceived characteristics.

The out-group homogeneity effect is the perception of out-group members as more similar to one another than are in-group members, e.g. "they are alike; we are diverse". Perceivers tend to have impressions about the diversity or variability of group members around those central tendencies or typical attributes of those group members. Thus, outgroup stereotypicality judgments are overestimated, supporting the view that out-group stereotypes are overgeneralizations. The term "outgroup homogeneity effect", "outgroup homogeneity bias" or "relative outgroup homogeneity" have been explicitly contrasted with "outgroup homogeneity" in general, the latter referring to perceived outgroup variability unrelated to perceptions of the ingroup.

In-group favoritism, sometimes known as in-group–out-group bias, in-group bias, intergroup bias, or in-group preference, is a pattern of favoring members of one's in-group over out-group members. This can be expressed in evaluation of others, in allocation of resources, and in many other ways.

Social dominance orientation (SDO) is a personality trait measuring an individual's support for social hierarchy and the extent to which they desire their in-group be superior to out-groups. SDO is conceptualized under social dominance theory as a measure of individual differences in levels of group-based discrimination; that is, it is a measure of an individual's preference for hierarchy within any social system and the domination over lower-status groups. It is a predisposition toward anti-egalitarianism within and between groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">In-group and out-group</span> Sociological notions

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Social dominance theory (SDT) is a social psychological theory of intergroup relations that examines the caste-like features of group-based social hierarchies, and how these hierarchies remain stable and perpetuate themselves. According to the theory, group-based inequalities are maintained through three primary mechanisms: institutional discrimination, aggregated individual discrimination, and behavioral asymmetry. The theory proposes that widely shared cultural ideologies provide the moral and intellectual justification for these intergroup behaviors by serving to make privilege normal. For data collection and validation of predictions, the social dominance orientation (SDO) scale was composed to measure acceptance of and desire for group-based social hierarchy, which was assessed through two factors: support for group-based dominance and generalized opposition to equality, regardless of the ingroup's position in the power structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henri Tajfel</span> Polish-born British psychologist (1919–1982)

Henri Tajfel was a Polish social psychologist, best known for his pioneering work on the cognitive aspects of prejudice and social identity theory, as well as being one of the founders of the European Association of Experimental Social Psychology.

Social identity is the portion of an individual's self-concept derived from perceived membership in a relevant social group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black sheep</span> Idiom for oddness or disreputability

In the English language, black sheep is an idiom that describes a member of a group who is different from the rest, especially a family member who does not fit in. The term stems from sheep whose fleece is colored black rather than the more common white; these sheep stand out in the flock and their wool is worth less as it will not dye.

Infrahumanisation is the tacitly held belief that one's ingroup is more human than an outgroup, which is less human. The term was coined by Jacques-Philippe Leyens and colleagues in the early 2000s to distinguish what they argue to be an everyday phenomenon from dehumanization associated with extreme intergroup violence such as genocide. According to Leyens and colleagues, infrahumanisation arises when people view their ingroup and outgroup as essentially different and accordingly reserve the "human essence" for the ingroup and deny it to the outgroup. Whether a "subhuman" classification means "human but inferior" or "not human at all" may be academic, as in practice it corresponds to prejudice regardless.

Realistic conflict theory (RCT), also known as realistic group conflict theory (RGCT), is a social psychological model of intergroup conflict. The theory explains how intergroup hostility can arise as a result of conflicting goals and competition over limited resources, and it also offers an explanation for the feelings of prejudice and discrimination toward the outgroup that accompany the intergroup hostility. Groups may be in competition for a real or perceived scarcity of resources such as money, political power, military protection, or social status.

Optimal distinctiveness is a social psychological theory seeking to understand ingroup–outgroup differences. It asserts that individuals desire to attain an optimal balance of inclusion and distinctiveness within and between social groups and situations. These two motives are in constant opposition with each other; when there is too much of one motive, the other must increase in order to counterbalance it and vice versa. The theory of optimal distinctiveness was first proposed by Dr. Marilynn B. Brewer in 1991 and extensively reviewed in 2010 by Drs. Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Cynthia L. Pickett, and Marilynn Brewer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social identity approach</span> Research and theory pertaining to two intertwined, but distinct, social psychological theories.[

"Social identity approach" is an umbrella term designed to show that there are two methods used by academics to describe certain complex social phenomena- namely the dynamics between groups and individuals. Those two theoretical methods are called social identity theory and self-categorization theory. Experts describe them as two intertwined, but distinct, social psychological theories. The term "social identity approach" arose as an attempt to mitigate against the tendency to conflate the two theories, as well as the tendency to mistakenly believe one theory to be a component of the other. These theories should be thought of as overlapping. While there are similarities, self categorisation theory has greater explanatory scope and has been investigated in a broader range of empirical conditions. Self-categorization theory can also be thought of as developed to address limitations of social identity theory. Specifically the limited manner in which social identity theory deals with the cognitive processes that underpin the behaviour it describes. Although this term may be useful when contrasting broad social psychological movements, when applying either theory it is thought of as beneficial to distinguish carefully between the two theories in such a way that their specific characteristics can be retained.

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Intergroup relations refers to interactions between individuals in different social groups, and to interactions taking place between the groups themselves collectively. It has long been a subject of research in social psychology, political psychology, and organizational behavior.

Felicia Pratto is a social psychologist known for her work on intergroup relations, dynamics of power, and social cognition. She is Professor of Psychological Sciences at the University of Connecticut. Pratto is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science.

Social identity threat is a theory in social psychology derived from social identity theory to explain the different types of threats that arise from group identity being threatened as opposed to personal identity. This theory distinguishes between four distinct types of social identity threats: categorization threat, distinctiveness threat, threats to the value of social identity, and acceptance threat. Each type is associated with particular social contexts that make the threats more or less likely to occur. This theory emphasizes how the level of commitment with the social identity shapes the nature of the threat experienced.

References

  1. ↑ Tajfel, H. (1970). "Experiments in intergroup discrimination (abstract)". Scientific American . 223 (5): 96–102. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican1170-96. JSTOR   24927662. PMID   5482577.
  2. ↑ Tajfel, H. (1970). Experiments in Intergroup Discrimination = Tajfel, H. (1970). Experiments in Intergroup Discrimination.
  3. ↑ Tajfel, H. (1970). Experiments in Intergroup Discrimination.
  4. ↑ See "Kandinsky versus Klee experiment", Tajfel et al. (1971) in Tajfel, H. (1970).
  5. ↑ Frank, M. G.; Gilovich, T. (January 1988). "The dark side of self and social perception: Black uniforms and aggression in professional sports". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology . 54 (1): 74–85. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.554.8573 . doi:10.1037/0022-3514.54.1.74. PMID   3346809.
  6. 1 2 3 Tajfel, H.; Billig, M. G.; Bundy, R. P. & Flament, C. (April–June 1971). "Social categorization and intergroup behaviour". European Journal of Social Psychology . 1 (2): 149–178. doi:10.1002/ejsp.2420010202.
  7. 1 2 Tajfel, H. (1974). Social Identity and Intergroup Behavior Archived 2012-01-06 at the Wayback Machine .
  8. 1 2 Sidanius, Jim; Haley, Hillary; Molina, Ludwin; Pratto, Felicia (April 2007). "Vladimir's choice and the distribution of social resources: A group dominance perspective" (PDF). Group Processes & Intergroup Relations . 10 (2): 257–265. doi:10.1177/1368430207074732. S2CID   143850748.
  9. ↑ Sidanius, Jim; Pratto, Felicia (2001) [1999]. Social Dominance. An Intergroup Theory of Social Hierarchy and Oppression. Cambridge University Press. p.  18. ISBN   978-0-521-80540-7. Vladimir's choice [is] based on a well-known Eastern European fable. Vladimir was a dreadfully impoverished peasant. One day God came to Vladimir and said, "Vladimir, I will grant you one wish; anything you wish shall be yours!" Naturally, Vladimir was very pleased at hearing this news. However, God added one caveat: "Vladimir, anything I grant you will be given to your neighbor twice over." After hearing this, Vladimir stood in silence for a long time, and then said, "OK, God, take out one of my eyes.
  10. ↑ Sherif, M. (1967) Group conflict and co-operation. London: Routledge.
  11. ↑ Rubin, M.; Hewstone, M. (December 2004). "Social Identity, System Justification, and Social Dominance: Commentary on Reicher, Jost et al., and Sidanius et al". Political Psychology . 25 (6): 823–844. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9221.2004.00400.x. hdl: 1959.13/27347 .
  12. ↑ Rubin, M.; Badea, C.; Jetten, J. (September 2014). "Low status groups show in-group favoritism to compensate for their low status and to compete for higher status". Group Processes & Intergroup Relations . 17 (5): 563–576. doi:10.1177/1368430213514122. S2CID   144009575.
  13. ↑ Mullen, B.; Brown, R.; Smith, C. (March–April 1992). "Ingroup bias as a function of salience, relevance, and status: An integration". European Journal of Social Psychology . 22 (2): 103–122. doi:10.1002/ejsp.2420220202.
  14. ↑ Brewer, M. B. (March 1979). "Ingroup bias in the minimal intergroup situation: A cognitive motivational analysis". Psychological Bulletin . 86 (2): 307–324. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.86.2.307.
  15. ↑ Haslam, A. S. (2001). Psychology in Organizations. London, SAGE Publications.
  16. ↑ Tajfel, H. (1978). Tajfel, Henri (ed.). "Interindividual behaviour and intergroup behaviour". Differentiation Between Social Groups: Studies in the Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations: 27–60.
  17. ↑ Wetherell, M. (1982). Tajfel, H. (ed.). "Cross-cultural studies of minimal groups: Implications for the social identity theory of intergroup relations". Social Identity and Intergroup Relations: 207–240.
  18. 1 2 3 Rubin, M.; Paolini, S.; Crisp, R. J. (January 2010). "A processing fluency explanation of bias against migrants". Journal of Experimental Social Psychology . 46 (1): 21–28. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2009.09.006. hdl: 1959.13/930247 .
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