In-Group and Out-Group Perspectives on Content of Social Groups
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Philipps-Universität Marburg
Abstract
Content of social groups essentially describes what it means to belong to a group. Content of a social group can be construed from an in in-group and an out-group perspective of social group membership. The research question of this dissertation is how in- and out-group perspective of social group content is related to intergroup action and to each other. I identify two prominent ways how content has been studied in an in-and out-group perspective and take a deeper look into both: firstly, I adopt the concept of stereotype content of groups as specified in the Stereotype Content Model (Fiske et al., 2002) which identifies two dimensions of content, warmth and competence, which can serve to evaluate social groups. Secondly, I argue that opinion-based group identification (i.e. social identification based on shared opinions) based in moral convictions (i.e. a moralized attitude on an issue reflecting core values and beliefs) is a way to understand content of in-groups. I dive into both in an exemplary manner to study the importance of content and what consequences it may have for a specific type of group-based behavior: solidarity-based collective action (i.e. action undertaken by advantaged group members on behalf of disadvantaged groups). I then investigate stereotype content of social groups from both perspectives in conjunction. This way, in three manuscripts included in this thesis, I zoom in on and investigate three aspects of the in- and out-group perspective.
In manuscript #1 I examined the in-group perspective of social group content by focusing on a violation of moral convictions and their role in forming a bridge from individual values to collective action. Specifically, we investigated if a moral violation motivates normative and nonnormative collective action via a reaffirmation of moral convictions and relevant opinion-based group identification. In two experiments and one cross-sectional study we found confirmation for such effects.
In manuscript #2 I focused on the effects of in-group members’ perceptions of an out-group on solidarity-based collective action. Specifically, in a three-wave longitudinal study, I investigated if perceived out-group competence positively and perceived threat from an out-group negatively predicted solidarity-based collective action. Additionally, I postulated a moderation effect of threat: competence perceptions should motivate solidarity-based collective action when threat is low. Cross-lagged analyses showed no significant effects on action intentions, indicating that the here identified out-group perceptions do not motivate solidarity-based collective action.
In manuscript #3 I examined the in-group perspective in relation to the out-group perspective of content of social groups. Specifically, we investigated the SCM dimensions warmth and competence from an in-group perspective and an out-group perspective on the same groups (women and men). Coding open associations of a male and propensity matched female sample in study 1 and analyzing cross-sectional data using exploratory factor analyses and network analyses in study 2 showed the complexity and diversity of stereotype content. The findings suggest that while the quantity of warmth and competence is comparable across perspectives, their qualitative meaning may differ.
I aggregate the findings from the manuscripts and discuss the insights of specifying the content of social groups and matching it to the context of the involved groups. My findings accentuate the importance of the in-group perspective for mobilizing action. This thesis highlights the impact of in- and out-group perspective, the complexity of intergroup dynamics and the need for a nuanced understanding of group content.