intergroup behaviour
Behaviour among individuals that is regulated by those individuals’ awareness of identification with different social groups.
intergroup disharmony
- relative deprivation
long hot summer theory
j curve hypothesis
relative deprivation
a sense of having less than we feel entitled to.
○ Perception of having less than you deserve.
Stouffer, Suchman, DeVinnet, Star and Williams in 1949.
long hot summer theory
the theory by Berkowitz that individual acts of aggression are caused by aversive environmental conditions (heatwave) that amplify frustration.
j curve hypothesis
○ Relative deprivation is particularly acute when attainments suffer a sudden setback in the context of expectations which continue to rise.
§ When things go downhill when they assume they will continue to rise.
egoistic vs fraternalistic disharmony
- Runciman distinguished between egoistic vs Fraternalistic disharmony.
○ Egoistic is feeling that YOU are getting less than you are entitled to
○ Fraternalistic is feeling that YOUR GROUP is getting less than they deserve- For Fraternalistic relative deprivation to have sufficient impact for people to take action, they must identify strongly with the in-group.
Sherif’s camp studies
- Role of superordinate goals (requires cooperation by both groups)
- Realistic group conflict theory
Goal relations between individuals and groups determine cooperative or competitive interdependence, and thus the nature of interpersonal and intergroup behaviour.
- Realistic group conflict theory
realistic group theory experimental games.
- Prisoner’s dilemma (will people cooperate to get the best outcome for each possible).
- Common’s dilemma (idea that there are limited resources and if everyone does the right thing there will be sustainability).
○ Looks into the free rider effect, ‘perhaps I can do the wrong thing but it will still be alright because other will’.
○ Issue is that if everyone develops this mentality, there will be a downfall. - Minimal group studies
Looked at how close/connected a person has to be to their group to support the group over others.
- Common’s dilemma (idea that there are limited resources and if everyone does the right thing there will be sustainability).
social identity theory
(Tajfel and colleagues)
- Theory of group membership and intergroup relations and was an alternatives to interpersonal explanations. - Argued that social identify provided members with a definition and a value of being a group member. - Looked at parts of our identity that are social and parts that are personal. - Even with minimal information, people tend to favour the ingroup (favour their own group). - joining groups is found to increase self-esteem.
ethnocentrism
the idea that we belong to the best group
self-categorisation theory
- Categories based on cognitive representations of groups.
- Use to prototypes to:
○ Minimise difference within groups.
○ Maximise differences between groups. - In groups, there is often depersonalisation. Thus, we don’t treat others as individuals but rather as protypical group members (they belong to that group).
- Use to prototypes to:
relative homogeneity effect
Outgroup members are viewed as all the same, while ingroup members are more differentiated.
category based memory effects
People are more likely to remember that unfavourable behaviours belong to out group members.
brewer’s optimal distincitveness theory
○ We strive for balance between being included and being separate.
○ i.e. understanding that while someone does belong to a group, they also have personal characteristics.
○ The idea that we, as humans, do want to differentiate rather than pigeon-holing people.
LeBon’s theory of crowd behaviour
○ The idea that group situations can let out primal instincts.
Diener’s Halloween study
De-individualisation and anonymity
○ Groups can take away individual characteristics.
○ People are more likely to behave badly or antisocial if their identity is unknown.
○ However, anonymity doesn’t necessarily promote aggression.
emergent norm theory
○ The idea that the reason crowds can be more dangerous is because distinctive behaviours are the basis for a relevant norms to emerge.
Once people see a distinctive (noticeable, memorable) behaviour or person, this becomes what is expected, and thus other members follow it.
social identity perspective
○ Takes the approach that other theories ignore the intergroup component.
○ Thus its not that we lose our personal identity, but instead that we develop a social identity and thus we follow this social behaviour.
strategies to create intergroup harmony
- Propaganda and education
- Contact hypothesis
- Superordinate goals
Communication and conciliation.
Klanderman’s four steps to social movement participation
○ Becoming part of the mobilization potential. First, you must be a sympathizer and believe you are being deprived as a group.
○ Becoming a target of mobilization attempts, you must also be informed about what you can do and about what is going on.
○ Developing the motivation to participate. You must be motivates to participate, this motivation arises from the value that you place on the outcome of protest and the extent to which you believe that the protest will actually deliver.
○ Overcoming barriers to participation. Often there are insurmountable obstacles, these will only be overcome by someone who has very high motivation.
frustration-aggression hypothesis
theory that all frustration leads to aggression and all aggression comes from frustration. Used to explain prejudice and intergroup aggression.
prototype
a fuzzy set of attributes that describes one group and distinguishes it from relevant other groups.
self-esteem and group behaviour
- Self esteem motivation has shown that:
○ Intergroup differentiation tends to elevate self esteem
○ Depressed self-esteem does not motivate intergroup differentiation
○ It is collective self-esteem, not personal self esteem that is related in group processes.
○ In groups people are highly creative and competent at protecting themselves from the low self–esteem consequences of low status group membership.
emergent norm theory
Collective behaviour is regulated by norms based on distinctive behaviour that arises in the initially normless crowd.
- In a crowd, attention is directed to distinctive behaviour which then creates a norm and pressure against non-conformity. - Rather than losing identity in a crowd, it is argued that people actually assume the identity provided by the crowd.
