Managing a Social Identity Threat

We examined how members of a low status group react to a social identity threat. We propose that expressing an ambivalent evaluation toward the ingroup may represent a way to manage such a threatening situation. For this study, 131 undergraduates’ identification with Italians was assessed. Participants were divided into groups, according to a situational identity threat (high vs. low). In line with hypotheses, low identifiers expressed more ambivalence toward the ingroup in the high (vs. low) threat condition. The reversed pattern emerged for high identifiers. This effect was mediated by the perception of intragroup variability, a well-known social creativity strategy. Results confirmed our interpretation of ambivalence as a form of social creativity, and are discussed in terms of social identity concerns.

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Self-Depersonalization and Ingroup Favoritism in Minimal Group Hierarchies

Swiss Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1024/1421-0185/a000202 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 77 (1) ◽

pp. 5-14 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Vincenzo Iacoviello ◽

Fabio Lorenzi-Cioldi

Keyword(s):

Social Identity ◽

The Other ◽

High Status ◽

Identity Threat ◽

Minimal Group ◽

Status Group ◽

Social Identity Threat ◽

The Status ◽

Ingroup Favoritism

Abstract. Research suggests that members of low-status groups are more likely than members of high-status groups to show self-depersonalization and to favor ingroup members over outgroup members. The present research tests two alternative explanations of this status asymmetry: One explanation is based on the motive for achieving a positive social identity, and the other explanation is based on the willingness to cope with a social identity threat. Three minimal group experiments examine these two explanations. Supporting the identity motive explanation, the findings show that self-depersonalization (Studies 1–3) and ingroup favoritism (Study 3) are less prominent in the high-status group than in the low-status and the status-unspecified groups. Moreover, the results do not support the identity threat explanation because self-depersonalization and ingroup favoritism were not weaker in the low-status group than in the status-unspecified group.

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Processing of Social Identity Threats

Social Psychology ◽

10.1027/1864-9335/a000133 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 44 (6) ◽

pp. 361-372 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Natascha de Hoog

Keyword(s):

Social Identity ◽

Social Identification ◽

Negative Group ◽

Identity Threat ◽

Neutral Group ◽

Threat Perceptions ◽

Social Identity Threat ◽

Identity Threats ◽

Group Information ◽

Source Study

The underlying process of reactions to social identity threat was examined from a defense motivation perspective. Two studies measured respondents’ social identification, after which they read threatening group information. Study 1 compared positive and negative group information, attributed to an ingroup or outgroup source. Study 2 compared negative and neutral group information to general negative information. It was expected that negative group information would induce defense motivation, which reveals itself in biased information processing and in turn affects the evaluation of the information. High identifiers should pay more attention to, have higher threat perceptions of, more defensive thoughts of, and more negative evaluations of negative group information than positive or neutral group information. Findings generally supported these predictions.

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