In-group favoritism
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 the evaluation of others, in the allocation of resources, and in many other ways.
This effect has been researched by many psychologists and linked to many theories related to group conflict and prejudice. It is a bias that is consistently observed across cultures and is especially pronounced when mutual dependence is high. The phenomenon is primarily viewed from a social psychology standpoint. Studies have shown that in-group favoritism arises as a result of the formation of cultural groups. These cultural groups can be divided based on seemingly trivial observable traits, but with time, populations grow to associate certain traits with certain behavior, increasing covariation. This then incentivizes in-group bias.
Two prominent theoretical approaches to the phenomenon of in-group favoritism are realistic conflict theory and social identity theory. Realistic conflict theory proposes that intergroup competition, and sometimes intergroup conflict, arises when two groups have opposing claims to scarce resources. In contrast, social identity theory posits a psychological drive for positively distinct social identities as the general root cause of in-group favoring behavior.
Origins of the research tradition
In 1906, the sociologist William Sumner posited that humans are a species that join together in groups by their very nature. However, he also maintained that humans had an innate tendency to favor their own group over others, proclaiming how "each group nourishes its own pride and vanity, boasts itself superior, exists in its own divinities, and looks with contempt on outsiders". This is seen on the group level with ingroup–outgroup bias. When experienced in larger groups such as tribes, ethnic groups, or nations, it is referred to as ethnocentrism.Explanations
Competition
posits that competition between groups for resources is the cause of in-group bias and the corresponding negative treatment of members of the out-group. Muzafer Sherif's Robbers Cave Experiment is the most widely known demonstration of realistic conflict theory. In the experiment, 22 eleven-year-old boys with similar backgrounds were studied in a mock summer camp situation, with researchers posing as camp personnel.The boys were divided into two equal groups and encouraged to bond, to foster an in-group mentality. The researchers then introduced a series of competitive activities that pitted groups against each other for a valuable prize. Hostility and out-group negativity ensued. Lastly, researchers attempted to reverse the hostility by engaging the boys in situations of mutual interdependence, an effort which eventually resulted in relative harmony between the two groups.
Sherif concluded from this experiment that negative attitudes toward out-groups arise when groups compete for limited resources. However, he also theorized that inter-group frictions could be reduced and positive relations created, but only in the presence of an overarching goal, which could only be achieved with the two groups' cooperation.
Self-esteem
According to social identity theory, as well as terror management theory, one of the key determinants of group biases is the need to improve self-esteem. The desire to view oneself positively is transferred onto the group, creating a tendency to view one's own group in a positive light, and by comparison, outside groups in a negative light. That is, individuals will find a reason, no matter how insignificant, to prove to themselves why their own group is superior. This phenomenon was pioneered and studied most extensively by Henri Tajfel, a British social psychologist who looked at the psychological root of in-group/out-group bias. To study this in the lab, Tajfel and colleagues created minimal groups participants did not know each other, b) their groups were completely meaningless, and c) none of the participants had any inclination as to which "style" they like better—participants almost always "liked the members of their own group better and they rated the members of their in-group as more likely to have pleasant personalities". By having a more positive impression of individuals in the in-group, individuals are able to boost their own self-esteem as members of that group. Research using Implicit Association Tests has shown that individuals can simultaneously hold positive implicit attitudes toward both in-group and out-group members, depending on contextual factors.Robert Cialdini and his research team looked at the number of university T-shirts being worn on college campuses following either a win or a loss at the football game. They found that the Monday after a win, there were more T-shirts being worn, on average, than following a loss.
In another set of studies, done in the 1980s by Jennifer Crocker and colleagues using the minimal group paradigm, individuals with high self-esteem who suffered a threat to the self-concept exhibited greater ingroup biases than did people with low self-esteem who suffered a threat to the self-concept. While some studies have supported this notion of a negative correlation between self-esteem and in-group bias, other researchers have found that individuals with low self-esteem showed more bias toward both in-group and out-group members. Some studies have even shown that high self-esteem groups showed more bias than did lower self-esteem groups. This research may suggest that there is an alternative explanation and additional reasoning as to the relationship between self-esteem and in-group/out-group biases. Alternatively, researchers may have used the wrong sort of self-esteem measures to test the link between self-esteem and in-group bias.
Biological basis as an effect of oxytocin
In a meta-analysis and review of the effect of oxytocin on social behavior done by Carsten De Dreu, the research reviewed shows that oxytocin enables the development of trust, specifically towards individuals with similar characteristics—categorized as 'in-group' members—promoting cooperation with and favoritism towards such individuals. This bias of oxytocin-induced goodwill towards those with features and characteristics perceived to be similar may have evolved as a biological basis for sustaining in-group cooperation and protection, fitting with the Darwinian insight that acts of self-sacrifice and cooperation contribute to the functioning of the group and hence improve the odds of survival for members of said group.Race can be used as an example of in-group and out-group tendencies because society often categorizes individuals into groups based on race. One study that examined race and empathy found that participants receiving nasally administered oxytocin had stronger reactions to pictures of in-group members making pained faces than to pictures of out-group members with the same expression. This shows that oxytocin may be implicated in our ability to empathize with individuals of different races, with individuals of one race potentially biased towards helping individuals of the same race rather individuals of another race when they are experiencing pain.
Oxytocin has also been implicated in lying when lying would prove beneficial to other in-group members. In a study where such a relationship was examined, it was found that when individuals were administered oxytocin, rates of dishonesty in the participants' responses increased for their in-group members when a beneficial outcome for their group was expected. Both of these examples show the tendency to act in ways that benefit in-group members.
In social psychology, aside from its biological effects, this study is among the most cited on the relationship between prosociality and one’s social category. Research on oxytocin indicates that trusting, cooperative responding, and empathy are expressed internally, whereas these behaviors are absent or occur at lower levels among out-group members. Theories of intergroup bias complement this; they assert that individuals can exhibit bias toward their ingroup without being hostile toward the outgroup. Therefore, the biological effects of oxytocin have increasingly been recognized as supporting the maintenance of group boundaries rather than prosociality in general.
Self-identity and social identity
As noted in two recent theoretical reviews, the theoretical basis for the inclusion of self-identity in the theories of reasoned action and planned behavior has many similarities to social identity theory and its extension, self-categorization theory. According to social identity theory, an important component of the self-concept is derived from memberships in social groups and categories. When people define and evaluate themselves in terms of a self-inclusive social category two processes come into play: categorization, which perceptually accentuates differences between the in-group and out-group, and similarities among in-group members on stereotypical dimensions; and self-enhancement which, because the self-concept is defined in terms of group membership, seeks behaviorally and perceptually to favor the in-group over the out-group. Social identities are cognitively represented as group prototypes that describe and prescribe beliefs, attitudes, feelings and behaviors that optimize a balance between minimization of in-group differences and maximization of intergroup differences.More specifically, according to social identity theory, there is a continuum between personal and social identity shifts along this continuum that determines the extent to which group-related or personal characteristics influence a person's feelings and actions. If a particular social identity is a salient basis for self-conception, then the self is assimilated to the perceived in-group prototype, which can be thought of as a set of perceived in-group norms such that self-perception, beliefs, attitudes, feelings and behaviors are defined in terms of the group prototype. Thus, social identities should influence behavior through the mediating role of group norms. People will be more likely to engage in a particular behavior if it is in accord with the norms of a behaviorally relevant group membership, particularly if the identity is a salient basis for self-definition. If the group membership is not salient, then people's behavior and feelings should be in accord with their own personal and idiosyncratic characteristics rather than group norms.
On the other hand, the self-identity theory poses that the self is often a reflection of expected norms and practices in a person's social role. At the center of it is the proposition that the self is made up of multi-faceted and differentiated components that exist in an organized manner for the sake of filling in roles in society. People are able to create an identity for themselves only through talking to others, and often, the roles they are taking on differ from one group to another. These differing roles and positions people fill are a result of their interactions with others and are called role identities. Role identities may be self-realized, or may be facts like being a mother, a social worker, or a blood donor. Role identities lead people to act in certain ways due to assumed expectations for the roles. Because there is satisfaction in complying with expectations of the role, there is often distress behind an inability to appear congruent with one's identity as defined by societal norms. There is also an existing hierarchy of importance for roles that individuals take on, and according to the hierarchical standing of roles, people become more representative of roles that stand higher hierarchically, according to them.
Identity salience, the likelihood of role identities being invoked in different situations, is the result of role identities being placed hierarchically in different orders from person to person. People who hold the same roles may act differently because some roles are valued over others. For example, a working mother may have less time to spend with her child as opposed to a mother who does not work. Behaviors are reflective of the identities that are held higher hierarchically by people, so people act out in self-worth and self-meaning according to these hierarchies. Someone who holds the identity of being a psychologist higher than the identity of being a linguist will find that while he/she may become competitive when meeting another person who is better at psychology than he/she, he/she will not care when in contact with someone much better at being a linguist than he/she. In a similar way, social relationships are influenced by this salience. Self-identity often places individuals in social contexts and a commitment to the role within that context becomes a big part of perpetuating the idea of self. It also finds people relating more to others who hold similar role identities at the top of their hierarchies.
Because people have self-concepts that are derived from a role they define for themselves within the context of a group, when staying within their roles, intergroup similarities are accentuated while intergroup differences are diminished. In an attempt to assimilate oneself according to the tendencies of a group, often people reconfigure their intragroup representations or identities. Certain prototypes form about these groups that reaffirm the rules that members of the group are encouraged to follow. Shared information and views are discussed more often than novel and unshared information within a group, a norm is established where the majority's views are perpetuated and others silenced. This norm is fluid and changing according to different contexts, but those within the group who want to keep up with the majority views in all matters have to keep an active role in affirming the views of the in-group in contrast to out-groups.