Low Status Groups Show in-Group Favoritism to Compensate for Their Low Status and to Compete for Higher Status
Résumé
The present research investigated the intergroup allocation behavior of members of low-status groups. In two studies where status relations were either relatively illegitimate (Study 1, N = 139) or legitimate (Study 2, N = 114), undergraduate students completed a minimal group resource allocation task that took into account the intergroup status hierarchy. In both studies, members of low-status groups showed two forms of in-group favoritism. They selected resource allocation choices that (a) compensated for their low status and led to intergroup fairness (compensatory favoritism) and (b) competed with the out-group for status and led to positive distinctiveness for the in-group (competitive favoritism). These results suggest that members of low-status groups use in-group favoritism to make their group (a) as good as the high-status out-group and (b) better than the high-status out-group. The findings support the idea that in-group favoritism can serve different functions.
Mots clés
Discrimination
Group Processes & Intergroup Relations
high status groups
Ingroup Favoritism
Intergroup Conflict
Intergroup Relations
intergroup status hierarchy
low status groups
minimal group paradigm
positive distinctiveness
Prejudice
Social Cognition
Social identity
Social identity theory
Social Psychology