Group Processes & Intergroup Relations recent issues

Group Processes & Intergroup Relations 10 Years On: Development, Impact and Future Directions

Abrams, D., Hogg, M. A. — 2008-09-24

The development of this Journal, Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, is reviewed. Throughout its first 10 years, the Journal has been supported by a strong editorial board. It has sustained a significant profile in social psychology in the area of both intergroup and small group processes. Its wider impact includes connection to related disciplines such as organizational behavior and neuroscience, focused special issues, small conferences related to the theme of the Journal and the expansion of group and intergroup research through learned societies. The editors thank authors, editorial board members, editorial assistants, reviewers and readers for their support.

Roommate Relationships: A Comparison of Interracial and Same-Race Living Situations

Shook, N. J., Fazio, R. H. — 2008-09-24

The effects of same-race versus interracial dormitory roommate relationships were explored with regard to relationship dissolution and academic achievement (i.e., grade point average). The present investigation made use of archival data spanning two academic years at a large, relatively diverse university. Of primary interest were White and African American first-year students assigned to White or African American roommates upon their arrival on campus. Another factor that was incorporated into this analysis was whether students requested to live with their roommates or were randomly assigned. Interracial roommate relationships were more likely to dissolve than either same-race White or same-race African American relationships. Randomly assigned living situations were less successful than ones in which roommates requested to share a room. Concerning grade point average at the end of the first academic quarter, African American first-year students tended to do better in interracial living situations, whereas White first-year students' academic success was not affected by roommate race. Instead, White first-year students were more sensitive to the academic abilities of their roommates. Results are discussed with regard to the implications for intergroup contact.

Use of Retroactive Pessimism as a Method of Coping with Identity Threat: The Impact of Group Identification

Wann, D. L., Grieve, F. G., Waddill, P. J., Martin, J. — 2008-09-24

Retroactive pessimism involves retrospectively lowering one's evaluations of a group's chances for success after a failed competition. Although past research has substantiated the existence of this strategy, investigators have yet to examine how level of group identification might impact the use of retroactive pessimism. Given that coping with group threat is most prominent among persons with high levels of group identification, we hypothesized that displays of retroactive pessimism would be magnified in persons with strong allegiances to a group. This hypothesis was tested by having supporters of two college basketball teams evaluate the chances for victory for each team both prior to the game between the teams and subsequent to the contest. Regression analyses confirmed expectations (the greatest magnitude of retroactive pessimism was reported by highly identified supporters of the losing team in their evaluations of the winning team). Subsequent analyses revealed that this effect was not mediated by level of disappointment in the outcome.

Seeing Through Their Eyes: When Majority Group Members Take Collective Action on Behalf of an Outgroup

Mallett, R. K., Huntsinger, J. R., Sinclair, S., Swim, J. K. — 2008-09-24

We examined majority group members' collective action on behalf of a minority group, focusing on the role of outgroup perspective taking and group-based guilt. As expected, outgroup perspective taking was positively associated with heterosexuals' collective action in response to hate crimes against non-heterosexuals and Whites' action in response to hate crimes against Blacks (Studies 1 and 2). This association was partially mediated by group-based guilt (Studies 2 and 3). We also examined the role of group-based anger; although it directly related to collective action, it did not mediate the association between perspective taking and collective action. Finally, we manipulated outgroup perspective taking to demonstrate its causal role in the subsequent outcomes (Study 3).

Colorblind and Multicultural Prejudice Reduction Strategies in High-Conflict Situations

Correll, J., Park, B., Allegra Smith, J. — 2008-09-24

We tested colorblind and multicultural prejudice-reduction strategies under conditions of low and high interethnic conflict. Replicating previous work, both strategies reduced prejudice when conflict was low. But when conflict was high, only the colorblind strategy reduced prejudice (Studies 1 and 2). Interestingly, this colorblind response seemed to reflect suppression. When prejudice was assessed more subtly (with implicit measures), colorblind participants demonstrated bias equivalent to multicultural participants (Study 2). And, after a delay, colorblind participants showed a rebound, demonstrating greater prejudice than their multicultural counterparts (Study 3). Similar effects were obtained when ideology was measured rather than manipulated (Study 4). We suggest that conflict challenges the tenets of a colorblind ideology (predicated on the absence of group differences) but not those of a multicultural ideology (which acknowledges difference).

The Impact of Loyalty and Equality on Implicit Ingroup Favoritism

Zogmaister, C., Arcuri, L., Castelli, L., Smith, E. R. — 2008-09-24

Extending recent investigations into the malleability of implicit ingroup favoritism, three experiments examined the role of indirect activation of equality and loyalty. Results showed that priming equality decreased implicit favoritism, measured through the Implicit Association Test and Go/No-Go Association Task, whereas priming loyalty enhanced it; spontaneous behavior (seating distance) was similarly influenced. A boundary condition was observed, namely change of intergroup setting: the effects of priming equality and loyalty ceased when these were primed after an irrelevant ingroup identity was made salient. In general, implicit favoritism can be reduced or increased after the activation of equality and loyalty respectively, and this underlines the importance of tackling discrimination by both lessening its expression, and removing factors that exacerbate it.

Negative Outgroup Leader Actions Increase Liking for Ingroup Leaders: An Experimental Test of Intergroup Leader-Enhancement Effects

Pittinsky, T. L., Welle, B. — 2008-09-24

We conducted two studies to examine how information about outgroup leaders' negative actions affect ingroup leader favorability ratings. Study 1 found that people hold more favorable attitudes toward ingroup leaders (i.e. their own nation's leaders) when learning of negative actions of outgroup leaders (i.e. another nation's leaders). Study 2 replicated the finding, examining social identity strength as a moderator of this effect, and found that participants with strong national identification exhibit this intergroup leader-enhancement effect but participants with weak national identification do not. These data extend previous research on liking for leaders and are consistent with predictions derived from social identity theory. The implications of these findings for intergroup relations research and the psychological study of leadership are discussed.

Choosing None of the Above: Persistence of Negativity after Group Discussion and Group Decision Refusal

Nijstad, B. A. — 2008-09-24

Within psychology and other disciplines, group decision making is a much-studied topic. However, the conditions in which groups do not decide but rather refuse to choose among available options have not been studied systematically. This research begins to fill this void, studying the effects of the initial opinions of group members on group decision refusal. Based on the common knowledge effect, it is predicted and found that groups will often refuse all available options when group members are initially negative about the options. It is further found that, when initial opinions are negative, positive information entered during group discussion does not have much impact. The implications of this negativity bias are discussed.

Communication and Group Perception: Extending the `Saying is Believing' Effect

Hausmann, L. R. M., Levine, J. M., Tory Higgins, E. — 2008-09-24

The saying-is-believing (SIB) effect occurs when tailoring a message to suit an audience influences a communicator's subsequent memories and impressions about the communication topic. Previous studies were restricted to one-person audiences and individuals as the communication topic. The present studies explored the SIB effect with multiple-person audiences and groups as the communication topic. In Study 1, the SIB effect occurred with a 1-person, but not a 3-person, audience. In Study 2, the SIB effect occurred with a 3-person audience when the audience explicitly validated communicators' messages. These findings demonstrate the generalizability of the SIB effect to group contexts, provide further evidence for a shared reality interpretation of this effect, and suggest a potentially important mechanism underlying stereotype development.

Interethnic Interactions: Expectancies, Emotions, and Behavioral Intentions

Ashby Plant, E., Butz, D. A., Tartakovsky, M. — 2008-09-24

Two studies examine Hispanic and non-Hispanic White people's responses to interethnic interactions. Consistent with previous findings regarding White/Black interactions, participants who had negative expectations about intergroup interactions reported more anger and anxiety about interethnic interactions. These negative emotional responses, in turn, were associated with negative behavioral intentions such as the desire to avoid interethnic interactions and the externalization of blame if an interethnic interaction did not go well. Across the studies, White participants who were angry about interethnic interactions wanted to avoid these interactions, whereas anxiety was the key predictor of avoidance for the Hispanic participants. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for developing models of intergroup interactions and designing approaches to improve these interactions.

Prospects for Group Processes and Intergroup Relations Research: A Review of 70 Years' Progress

Randsley de Moura, G., Leader, T., Pelletier, J., Abrams, D. — 2008-09-24

Three archival analyses are presented substantially extending empirical reviews of the progress of group-related research. First, an analysis of social psychological research from 1935 to 2007 (cf. Abrams & Hogg, 1998) showed that group-related research has a steadily increasing proportion of titles in the principal journals and currently accounts for over a sixth of all the research in our list of social psychological journals. Second, analysis of the most cited papers from a set of principal social psychology journals from 1998 to 2007 showed that a third of high-impact articles in social psychology focus on groups. Third, analysis of the content of two major specialist journals in the field, Group Processes & Intergroup Relations and Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, showed that together these journals cover a broad range of group-related research, and that the only keyword common to both journals was social identity. These findings demonstrate the health and major contributions of research into group processes and intergroup relations to social psychology as a whole.

Acknowledgement of Reviewers

2008-09-24

The Difficulty of Making Reparations Affects the Intensity of Collective Guilt

Schmitt, M. T., Miller, D. A., Branscombe, N. R., Brehm, J. W. — 2008-06-24

We examined how the difficulty of making reparations for the harm done to another group affects the intensity of collective guilt. Men were confronted with information documenting male privilege and were told that they would have a chance to help women and reduce patriarchy by collecting signatures on a petition. We manipulated the difficulty of making reparations by asking participants to collect 5, 50, or 100 signatures. As predicted by Brehm's (1999) theory of emotional intensity, collective guilt was a non-monotonic function of the difficulty of making reparations. Men in the moderate difficulty (50 signatures) condition expressed greater collective guilt than participants in the low (5) or high (100) difficulty conditions. Results are discussed in terms of the implications for the theory of emotional intensity, collective guilt, and collective emotions more generally.

Reactions to Outgroup Authorities' Decisions: The Role of Expected Bias, Procedural Fairness and Outcome Favorability

Stahl, T., Vermunt, R., Ellemers, N. — 2008-06-24

It is argued here that expectations of bias (vs. no bias) play a key role in explaining reactions to decisions made by outgroup authorities. Two experiments demonstrate that decision acceptance (Experiment 1) and intentions to protest against an outgroup authority's decisions (Experiment 2) are affected by procedural fairness when the authority has a reputation of being unbiased, but not when the authority's reputation suggests bias. By contrast, some evidence is also found suggesting that reactions to an outgroup authority's decisions are affected by the favorability of the outcome when the authority has a reputation of being biased, but not when the authority has a reputation of being unbiased. Mediation analyses indicate that two different processes account for these effects.

Situational Flexibility of In-Group-Related Attitudes: A Single Category IAT Study of People with Dual National Identity

Bohner, G., Siebler, F., Gonzalez, R., Haye, A., Schmidt, E. A. — 2008-06-24

An experiment was conducted to examine the situational flexibility of in-group-related attitudes at the implicit and explicit level. Seventy-one men and women with dual, Turkish-German, national identities were asked to think about positive aspects of either their German or their Turkish identity. Later, attitudes toward Germans and Turks were assessed using a single category implicit association test (SC-IAT) and self-report scales. Results showed that attitudes toward Turks were generally more positive than attitudes toward Germans, that SC-IAT scores reflecting attitudes toward Turks and Germans were unrelated, and that the identity priming affected men's, but not women's, SC-IAT scores. This finding is discussed in terms of men's greater flexibility in national identification. Explicit attitude measures were largely unaffected by the priming.

Group-to-Individual Problem-Solving Transfer

Laughlin, P. R., Carey, H. R., Kerr, N. L. — 2008-06-24

Many scientific, educational, business, military, and political groups assume that people who solve problems in groups and teams will solve subsequent problems better as individuals than people without previous group problem-solving experience. In order to assess such group-to-individual transfer, sets of three people solved four letters-to-numbers decoding problems as groups (G) or individuals (I) in five conditions: GGGG, GGGI, GGII, GIII, or IIII. Results supported four hypotheses: (a) groups performed better than individuals, (b) positive group-to-individual transfer occurred, (c) one group experience was sufficient for transfer, (d) transfer was at the level of group performance (complete) on problems 2 and 3 but incomplete on problem 4, due to exceptional performance in the GGGG condition.

The Structure and Management of Conflict: Fighting or Defending the Status Quo

De Dreu, C. K. W., Kluwer, E. S., Nauta, A. — 2008-06-24

Although conflict and negotiation studies have examined symmetrical structures in which both parties want change, or asymmetrical structures in which one party wants change and the other to maintain the status quo, no research provided a direct comparison of both structures. Two experiments were conducted to fill this void. Results show that in asymmetrical structures challengers engage in more problem solving and more contending, have less of a loss frame and perceive less control than defendants, and are perceived be less successful. In symmetrical structures, behavior and attitudes of parties are more alike and there is more reciprocation of problem solving and yielding. Furthermore, findings reveal that challengers see their defendant as less friendly and more dominant than defendants see their challengers. Finally, no evidence was obtained that social value orientation moderates these effects. Implications for conflict theory and research, and for third party interventions in symmetrical versus asymmetrical conflicts, are discussed.

Leader--Follower Effects in Resource Dilemmas: The Roles of Leadership Selection and Social Responsibility

De Cremer, D., van Dijk, E. — 2008-06-24

Previous research on the allocation of scarce resources shows that when people are assigned labels of leader or follower in their group, leaders allocate more of the scarce resources to themselves than followers do. In three laboratory studies, we examine the idea that how people are selected for the leader role (i.e. election or appointment) determines whether leaders take more or equal shares (relative to followers) from a common resource. In a first experiment, we show that participants were more accepting of norm violating behavior by an appointed versus elected leader. In a second experiment, we show that when participants were assigned to a leader or follower role, allocations of appointed leaders differed significantly from those of elected leaders and followers, whereas there was no difference between the two latter conditions. Moreover, elected leaders were shown to feel more social responsibility than both appointed leaders and followers. In a final experiment, we show that when participants were primed with the concept of social responsibility (relative to a neutral condition) no difference in allocations between appointed and elected leaders emerged.

Are Individualistic Orientations Collectively Valuable in Group Negotiations?

Schei, V., Rognes, J. K., De Dreu, C. K. W. — 2008-06-24

This experiment examines how members' individualistic or cooperative motivational orientations affect the processes and outcomes of negotiating groups. A total of 228 students participated in a three-person negotiation simulation where motivational orientations were induced through written instructions and members were aware of each other's orientations. Results showed that groups with only cooperative members were more satisfied with their negotiations than were groups with other member compositions. Conversely, groups with only individualistic members achieved higher joint gains than did groups with other member compositions. Process analyses indicated that individualistic groups increased their integrative activities and decreased their distributive activities toward the end of their negotiations. Our results challenge the dominant view that individualistic orientations are detrimental for group processes and outcomes.

`How Many of Us Are There?': Group Size Uncertainty and Social Value Orientations in Common Resource Dilemmas

de Kwaadsteniet, E. W., van Dijk, E., Wit, A., De Cremer, D. — 2008-06-24

In two studies, we investigate the effects of group size (un)certainty and social value orientations in common resource dilemmas. By focusing on this largely unexplored type of environmental uncertainty, we show that, in contrast to the often replicated finding that resource size uncertainty leads to over-harvesting in common resource dilemmas, group size uncertainty is not necessarily detrimental to the collective interest. Furthermore, we argue and show that whereas under group size certainty people base their individual harvests on the equal division rule, under group size uncertainty they base their harvests on their own social value orientations: whereas under group size certainty both proselfs and pro-socials harvest about an equal share of the common resource, under uncertainty prosocials show self-restraint in order to further their group's outcomes.

Attribution and Categorization Effects in the Representation of Gender Stereotypes

Krueger, J. I., Hall, J. H., Villano, P., Jones, M. C. — 2008-06-24

Social stereotypes involve judgments of how typical certain personality traits are of a group. According to the attribution hypothesis, judgments of trait typicality depend on the perceived prevalence of the trait in the target group. According to the categorization hypothesis, such judgments depend on the degree to which a trait is thought to be more or less prevalent in the target group than in a relevant comparison group. A study conducted with women and men as target groups showed that the attribution hypothesis fit the data best when typicality ratings were made in an absolute format. When, however, typicality ratings were made in a comparative format (how typical is the trait of women as compared with men?), both hypotheses received support. Analytical derivation, supported by empirical evidence, showed an inverse relationship between the size of perceived group differences and their weight given in stereotyping. Implications for stereotype measurement and the rationality of social perception are discussed.

The Neural Underpinnings of Group Life

Prentice, D. A., Eberhardt, J. L. — 2008-04-25

Gender Differences in Emotion Regulation: An fMRI Study of Cognitive Reappraisal

McRae, K., Ochsner, K. N., Mauss, I. B., Gabrieli, J. J. D., Gross, J. J. — 2008-04-25

Despite strong popular conceptions of gender differences in emotionality and striking gender differences in the prevalence of disorders thought to involve emotion dysregulation, the literature on the neural bases of emotion regulation is nearly silent regarding gender differences (Gross, 2007; Ochsner & Gross, in press). The purpose of the present study was to address this gap in the literature. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we asked male and female participants to use a cognitive emotion regulation strategy (reappraisal) to down-regulate their emotional responses to negatively valenced pictures. Behaviorally, men and women evidenced comparable decreases in negative emotion experience. Neurally, however, gender differences emerged. Compared with women, men showed (a) lesser increases in prefrontal regions that are associated with reappraisal, (b) greater decreases in the amygdala, which is associated with emotional responding, and (c) lesser engagement of ventral striatal regions, which are associated with reward processing. We consider two non-competing explanations for these differences. First, men may expend less effort when using cognitive regulation, perhaps due to greater use of automatic emotion regulation. Second, women may use positive emotions in the service of reappraising negative emotions to a greater degree. We then consider the implications of gender differences in emotion regulation for understanding gender differences in emotional processing in general, and gender differences in affective disorders.

The Neuroscience of Stigma and Stereotype Threat

Derks, B., Inzlicht, M., Kang, S. — 2008-04-25

This article reviews social neuroscience research on the experience of stigma from the target's perspective. More specifically, we discuss several research programs that employ electroencephalography, event-related potentials, or functional magnetic resonance imaging methods to examine neural correlates of stereotype and social identity threat. We present neuroimaging studies that show brain activation related to the experience of being stereotyped and ERP studies that shed light on the cognitive processes underlying social identity processes. Among these are two projects from our own lab. The first project reveals the important role of the neurocognitive conflict-detection system in stereotype threat effects, especially as it pertains to stereotype threat `spillover'. The second project examines the role of automatic ingroup evaluations as a neural mediator between social identity threats and compensatory ingroup bias. We conclude with a discussion of the benefits, limitations, and unique contributions of social neuroscience to our understanding of stigma and social identity threat.

A Foot in Both Worlds: Asian Americans' Perceptions of Asian, White, and Racially Ambiguous Faces

Willadsen-Jensen, E. C., Ito, T. A. — 2008-04-25

Past research on racial perception has often focused on responses from White participants, making it difficult to determine the role of perceiver race in the perception of others. Similarly, studies examining perceptions of individuals whose racial category membership is unclear have not systematically examined responses from non-Whites. This was addressed by showing Asian participants pictures of Whites, Asians, and racially ambiguous White-Asian faces. Event-related potentials were recorded to measure early attention responses. Participants initially oriented more to outgroup White than ingroup Asian or racially ambiguous faces. Shortly after that, they showed sensitivity to the racial context in which the faces were presented, more deeply processing ingroup Asian and racially ambiguous faces when they were seeing lots of other Asians, but more deeply processing outgroup White and racially ambiguous faces when they were seeing lots of other Whites. Still later, responses were more sensitive to the objective physical properties of the faces, with racially ambiguous faces differentiated from both Whites and Asians. These results demonstrate the fluidity of racial processing, and when compared to responses obtained from White participants, show how perceiver race and racial context influences attention to racial cues.

Knowing Who's Boss: fMRI and ERP Investigations of Social Dominance Perception

2008-04-25

Humans use facial cues to convey social dominance and submission. Despite the evolutionary importance of this social ability, how the brain recognizes social dominance from the face is unknown. We used event-related brain potentials (ERP) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the neural mechanisms underlying social dominance perception from facial cues. Participants made gender judgments while viewing aggression-related facial expressions as well as facial postures conveying dominance or submission. ERP evidence indicates that the perception of dominance from aggression-related emotional expressions occurs early in neural processing while the perception of social dominance from facial postures arises later. Brain imaging results show that activity in the fusiform gyrus, superior temporal gyrus and lingual gyrus, is associated with the perception of social dominance from facial postures and the magnitude of neural response in these regions differentiates between perceived dominance and perceived submissiveness.

Perspective-Taking from a Social Neuroscience Standpoint

Mason, M. F., Macrae, C. N. — 2008-04-25

A primary focus of research undertaken by social psychologists is to establish why perceivers fail to accurately adopt or understand other people's perspectives. From overestimating the dispositional bases of behavior to misinterpreting the motivations of out-group members, the message that emerges from this work is that social perception is frequently imperfect. In contrast, researchers from disciplines outside social psychology seek to identify the strategies and skill sets required to successfully understand other people's perspectives. These investigations attempt to identify the mechanisms through which perceivers intuit mental states that underlie behavior (e.g. wants, motivations, beliefs). In this article, we review findings from perspective-taking research in developmental psychology, primatology (i.e. primate cognition) and cognitive neuroscience. We then discuss why understanding how accurate perspective-taking occurs may inform understanding of when and why this process fails.

Eye-Gaze Direction Modulates Race-Related Amygdala Activity

Richeson, J. A., Todd, A. R., Trawalter, S., Baird, A. A. — 2008-04-25

Although previous research has found greater activity in the human amygdala in response to Black male compared with White male targets, the basis of this effect remains unclear. For example, is it race alone that triggers amygdala activity, or do other stimulus cues, in conjunction with racial group membership, also play a critical role in this regard? To address this issue, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure amygdala activity in response to Black and White male targets displaying different eye-gaze directions (i.e. direct or averted gaze), as gaze cues have been shown to influence the socio-emotional aspects of person construal. The results revealed that eye-gaze direction significantly moderates race-related amygdala activity. Specifically, Black targets only generated greater amygdala activity than White targets when the faces bore direct gaze. This finding is noteworthy as it demonstrates the importance of compound stimulus cues in the appraisal of social targets.

Social Psychology and Neuroscience: Strange Bedfellows or a Healthy Marriage?

Dovidio, J. F., Pearson, A. R., Orr, P. — 2008-04-25

In this paper, we assess what neuroscience theory and method have contributed to the study of group processes and intergroup relations and what we see as potential future contributions to the discipline. We briefly review the historical relation between neuroscience and social psychology, identify issues that may limit the value of neuroscience to the study of group processes and relations, and then argue that social neuroscience indeed holds significant promise for understanding many key elements of group processes and intergroup relations. Both the potential problems and the potential benefits of bridging neuroscience and social psychology are considered in terms of theoretical considerations, empirical issues, and practical implications. We conclude that, although not all group phenomena may be reducible to neural activity and pathways, there are significant benefits to social psychology by having an even broader multidisciplinary orientation within social psychology, one that incorporates the complementary perspectives, techniques, and knowledge of neuroscience.

Intraorganizational Respect and Organizational Participation: The Mediating Role of Collective Identity

Sturmer, S., Simon, B., Loewy, M. I. — 2008-02-14

A panel study with two points of measurement throughout a four-month interval (N = 189) in the context of a socio-political organization was conducted to examine the role of collective identity in mediating the relationship between perceived respect and organizational participation. Path analyses confirmed that the effect of perceived respect at Time 1 on organizational participation at Time 2 was fully mediated by the cognitive component of collective identity (`importance-to-identity'). Interestingly, although perceived respect at Time 1 also had a significant effect on the evaluative component of collective identity (`private collective self-esteem'), this component was not involved in the mediation. Including perceived individual benefits as statistical controls in the model did not change this picture. In fact, with regard to the link between perceived benefits and participation results also point to a mediating role of the cognitive component of collective identity. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Dimensions of Majority and Minority Groups

Seyranian, V., Atuel, H., Crano, W. D. — 2008-02-14

Several definitions of majority and minority groups can be found in the social psychological literature. They involve numeric size, power/status, and counternormative position, but size is most commonly used in experimental research to manipulate minority/minority status. Does this practice mirror real-world conceptualizations? To address this question, 77 participants were asked to describe majority and minority groups using a structured openended measure. Content analysis of their responses revealed that majority and minority groups were conceptualized along eight dimensions, which included power, number, distinctiveness, social category, group context, dispositions, and being the source or target of behavior. Although these dimensions were relevant to both majorities and minorities, they often were applied differentially. Also, minorities were associated with more divergent thinking and viewed more negatively than were majorities. On the basis of these findings, a new typology of groups was proposed that could be used in future experimental research to advance our understanding of majorities and minorities.

Finding Teammates Who Are Not Prone to Sucker and Free-Rider Effects: The Protestant Work Ethic as a Moderator of Motivation Losses in Group Performance

Abele, S., Diehl, M. — 2008-02-14

This study examined whether differences in the endorsement of the `Protestant Work Ethic' (PWE) are related to motivation losses in group work. Three factors were derived from male student scores on the Mirels—Garrett Protestant Work Ethic Scale, Ho's Australian Work Ethic Scale and a scale designed to assess preferences for reward distributions: instrumental value of work, ethical value of work and normative value of equity. The study assessed motivation loss in two situations; one designed to promote free-rider effects and another designed to promote sucker effects. Results showed that the sucker effect was moderated by all three factors but in qualitatively different ways whereas the free rider effect was not strongly moderated by any of the PWE factors.

Do Groups Exclude Others More Readily Than Individuals in Coalition Formation?

van Beest, I., Andeweg, R. B., Koning, L., van Lange, P. A. M. — 2008-02-14

The present research compared interindividual and intergroup coalition processes. We examined whether groups are more likely to form small coalitions than individuals, and whether this tendency would depend on the social value orientation of the coalition party. Consistent with our hypothesis, results revealed that proselfs formed more small coalitions in intergroup settings than in interindividual settings whereas prosocials formed a similar number of small coalitions in both intergroup and interindividual settings. These and complementary findings add credence to the claim that people who are self-oriented are more likely to exclude others to maximize their own payoff and that such processes are especially pronounced in intergroup settings.

Implicit and Explicit Attitudes and Interracial Interaction: The Moderating Role of Situationally Available Control Resources

Hofmann, W., Gschwendner, T., Castelli, L., Schmitt, M. — 2008-02-14

The present research examined whether implicit and explicit racial attitudes predict interracial interaction behavior differently as a function of situationally available control resources. Specifically, we investigated how implicit attitudes (Implicit Association Test) and explicit attitudes (Blatant/Subtle prejudice) were related to interracial interaction behaviors of Italians toward an African interviewer (Study 1) and of Germans toward a Turkish interviewer (Study 2). For half of the interview questions, participants' control resources were reduced via a memory task. Across both studies, the Race IAT was more predictive of behavior when participants were taxed than when untaxed. Conversely, explicit attitudes were somewhat more predictive under full resources. Taken together, our findings suggest that available control resources moderate the predictive validity of implicit and explicit attitudes.

Relative Deprivation, Attitude Contrast Projection, and Opinion Certainty

Holtz, R., Nihiser, T. H. — 2008-02-14

This research examines social projection between relatively deprived groups and its effect on opinion certainty. In Study 1, disadvantaged and advantaged group members indicated their own attitudes on six issues, and then estimated the positions either of their in-group, their respective rival out-group, a control out-group, or they received no opportunity to project. As expected, disadvantaged participants projected attitudinal contrast onto their advantaged rival out-group. Negative thoughts about the rival mediated subsequent increments in opinion certainty. Alternatively, advantaged participants assumed moderate consensus with their disadvantaged rival. They also exhibited ambivalent out-group thoughts and low opinion certainty. Study 2 replicated the effect of disadvantaged status on contrast projection and opinion certainty. Discussion focuses on the different perspectives of relatively deprived groups.

`They Cooperate With Us, So They Are Like Me': Perceived Intergroup Relationship Moderates Projection from Self to Outgroups

Riketta, M., Sacramento, C. A. — 2008-02-14

Whereas projection of self-attributes to ingroups is ubiquitous, projection of self-attributes to outgroups (outgroup projection) is an elusive phenomenon. Two experiments examined the moderating effect of perceived intergroup relationship on outgroup projection and explored underlying mechanisms. Perceived cooperation versus competition between ingroup and outgroup was manipulated using fictitious (Experiment 1) or natural groups (Experiment 2). In both experiments, participants judged the outgroup as more similar to the self in the cooperation condition than in the competition condition. This effect was independent of recategorization, perceived intergroup similarity, and ingroup-to-outgroup projection. These studies demonstrate the very existence of outgroup projection and extend previous work on moderators of projection from self to groups.