Attitudinal Projection and Opinion Certainty: Capitalizing On Intergroup Bias

The effects of intergroup dialogues on intercultural relations in digital societies and the growing conflict, inflammatory and hate speech phenomena characterizing these environments are receiving increasing attention in socio-psychological studies. Based on Allport’s contact theory, scholars have shown that online intercultural contact reduces ethnic prejudice and discrimination, although it is not yet clear when and how this occurs. By analyzing the role of the Dialogical Self in online intercultural dialogues, we aim to understand how individuals position themselves and others at three levels of inclusiveness—personal, social, and human—and how this process is associated with attitudes towards the interlocutor, intergroup bias and prejudice, whilst also considering the inclusion of the Other in the Self and ethnic/racial identity. An experimental procedure was administered via the Qualtrics platform, and data were collected among 118 undergraduate Italian students through an anonymous questionnaire. From ANOVA and moderation analysis, it emerged that the social level of inclusiveness was positively associated with ethnic/racial identity and intergroup bias. Furthermore, the human level of inclusiveness was associated with the inclusion of the Other in the Self and ethnic/racial identity, and unexpectedly, also with intergroup bias. We conclude that when people interact online as “human beings”, the positive effect of online dialogue fails, hindering the differentiation processes necessary to define one’s own and the interlocutor’s identities. We discuss the effects of intercultural dialogue in the landscape of digital societies and the relevance of our findings for theory, research and practice.

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Credibility assessments of alibi accounts: the role of cultural intergroup bias

Psychiatry Psychology and Law ◽

10.1080/13218719.2021.1938274 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-14

Author(s):

Nir Rozmann ◽

Galit Nahari

Keyword(s):

Intergroup Bias

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Wise reasoning, intergroup positivity, and attitude polarization across contexts

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-021-23432-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Justin P. Brienza ◽

Franki Y. H. Kung ◽

Melody M. Chao

Keyword(s):

Intergroup Relations ◽

Intergroup Bias ◽

Future Research ◽

Reasoning Process ◽

Attitude Polarization ◽

Experimental Induction ◽

Epistemic Humility ◽

Polarization Studies

AbstractWe hypothesized that a wisdom-based reasoning process comprised of epistemic humility, accounting for context, and integrating different perspectives and interests, would be helpful in overcoming intergroup bias and attitude polarization in societal conflicts. Here we test the hypothesis using both the Situated Wise Reasoning Scale and experimental induction. In each study, we recruited participants who self-identified as members of a group implicated in an ongoing intergroup situation. In five correlational studies (Studies 1-5) we examined the relations between measured wise reasoning and intergroup positivity and attitude polarization. In two experiments, we tested the effects of a brief online wise-reasoning thought exercise on intergroup positivity and polarization (Studies 6-7), and charitable behaviors to an outgroup (Study 6). We found that wise reasoning relates to more positivity toward outgroups and less attitude polarization across different groups and conflicts. The results have implications for theory and may also have implications for future research on interventions to improve intergroup relations.

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Reflexive intergroup bias in third-party punishment.

Journal of Experimental Psychology General ◽

10.1037/xge0000190 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 145 (11) ◽

pp. 1448-1459 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Daniel A. Yudkin ◽

Tobias Rothmund ◽

Mathias Twardawski ◽

Natasha Thalla ◽

Jay J. Van Bavel

Keyword(s):

Intergroup Bias ◽

Third Party

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Priors and Prejudice: How prior knowledge shapes intergroup perception

10.31234/osf.io/3tyrg ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Hugh McGovern ◽

Marte Otten

Keyword(s):

Social Psychology ◽

Prior Knowledge ◽

Cognitive Processes ◽

Social Neuroscience ◽

Intergroup Bias ◽

Predictive Processing ◽

Future Research ◽

Intergroup Perception ◽

The Brain ◽

Processing Framework

Bayesian processing has become a popular framework by which to understand cognitive processes. However, relatively little has been done to understand how Bayesian processing in the brain can be applied to understanding intergroup cognition. We assess how categorization and evaluation processes unfold based on priors about the ethnic outgroup being perceived. We then consider how the precision of prior knowledge about groups differentially influence perception depending on how the information about that group was learned affects the way in which it is recalled. Finally, we evaluate the mechanisms of how humans learn information about other ethnic groups and assess how the method of learning influences future intergroup perception. We suggest that a predictive processing framework for assessing prejudice could help accounting for seemingly disparate findings on intergroup bias from social neuroscience, social psychology, and evolutionary psychology. Such an integration has important implications for future research on prejudice at the interpersonal, intergroup, and societal levels.

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Who would Iranian Muslims help? Religious dimensions and moral foundations as predictors

Archive for the Psychology of Religion ◽

10.1177/00846724211062944 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 008467242110629

Author(s):

Mehdi Mikani ◽

Kazem Rasoolzadeh Tabatabaei ◽

Parviz Azadfallah

Keyword(s):

Prosocial Behavior ◽

Female Gender ◽

Intergroup Bias ◽

Religious Fundamentalism ◽

Moral Foundations ◽

Religious Activity ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Religious Dimensions ◽

Nuanced Understanding

Religiosity has been linked with prosocial behavior and a preference for religious ingroups over outgroups. Yet, there are important differences in religious people’s beliefs, values, and practices. Fundamental and quest orientation toward religion may differentially predict intergroup bias in prosociality. Also, individualizing and binding moral foundations may have diverse effects on ingroup and outgroup bias in helping, as moral foundations theory (MFT) suggests that individualizing and binding foundations differ in how much they focus on ingroup and outgroup moral considerations. In this study, we examined the relationship between religious dimensions (quest religion, religious fundamentalism, intrinsic religiosity, and religious activity), moral foundations, prosocial behavior, and intergroup bias in helping. We found evidence for the effect of individualizing foundations, religious fundamentalism, and quest religion above and beyond demographics and other religious dimensions on intergroup bias in helping. Furthermore, there were independent positive effects of individualizing foundations, religious activity, and age, and independent negative effects of female gender and religious fundamentalism on prosocial behavior. This study provides a more nuanced understanding of the relations between religion, prosociality, and moral intuitions in a Muslim context.

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