scholarly journals Automatic imitation of in- and out-group members

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Genschow ◽  
Mareike Westfal ◽  
Emiel Cracco ◽  
Jan Crusius
Keyword(s):  
Group Membership ◽  
Critical Test ◽  
Automatic Imitation ◽  
Total N ◽  
Empirical Basis ◽  
Current Discussion ◽  
Imitation Inhibition ◽  
Group Members

Individuals have the automatic tendency to imitate each other. A key prediction of motivational theories explaining automatic imitation is that individuals imitate in-group members more strongly than out-group members. However, the empirical basis for this prediction is rather inconclusive. Only few experiments have investigated the influence of group membership using classic automatic imitation paradigms and these experiments led to mixed results. To put the group membership prediction to a critical test, we carried out six high-powered experiments (total N = 1,538) in which we assessed imitation with the imitation-inhibition task and manipulated group membership in different ways. Evidence across all experiments indicates that group- membership does not modulate automatic imitation. These results have important implications for motivational theories explaining automatic imitation and contribute to the current discussion of whether automatic imitation can be socially modulated.

scholarly journals Group membership does not modulate automatic imitation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Genschow ◽  
Mareike Westfal ◽  
Emiel Cracco ◽  
Jan Crusius
Keyword(s):  
Group Membership ◽  
Perceived Similarity ◽  
Critical Test ◽  
Automatic Imitation ◽  
Empirical Basis ◽  
Current Discussion ◽  
Imitation Inhibition ◽  
Group Members

AbstractIndividuals have the automatic tendency to imitate each other. A key prediction of different theories explaining automatic imitation is that individuals imitate in-group members more strongly than out-group members. However, the empirical basis for this prediction is rather inconclusive. Only a few experiments have investigated the influence of group membership using classic automatic imitation paradigms and these experiments led to mixed results. To put the group membership prediction to a critical test, we carried out six high-powered experiments (total N = 1538) in which we assessed imitation with the imitation-inhibition task and manipulated group membership in different ways. Evidence across all experiments indicates that group membership does not modulate automatic imitation. Moreover, we do not find support for the idea that feelings of affiliation or perceived similarity moderate the effect of group membership on automatic imitation. These results have important implications for theories explaining automatic imitation and contribute to the current discussion of whether automatic imitation can be socially modulated.

scholarly journals Social group membership does not modulate automatic imitation in a contrastive multi-agent paradigm

2021 ◽  
pp. 174702182098652
Author(s):  
Laura De Souter ◽  
Senne Braem ◽  
Oliver Genschow ◽  
Marcel Brass ◽  
Emiel Cracco
Keyword(s):  
Social Group ◽  
Group Membership ◽  
Automatic Imitation ◽  
General Hypothesis ◽  
Multi Agent ◽  
Group Members

A key prediction of motivational theories of automatic imitation is that people imitate in-group over out-group members. However, research on this topic has provided mixed results. Here, we investigate the possibility that social group modulations emerge only when people can directly compare in- and out-group. To this end, we conducted three experiments in which we measured automatic imitation of two simultaneously shown hands: one in-group and one out-group hand. Our general hypothesis was that the in-group hand would be imitated more than the out-group hand. However, even though both explicit and implicit manipulation checks showed that we succeeded in manipulating participants’ feelings of group membership, we did not find support for the predicted influence of group membership on automatic imitation. In contrast to motivational theories, this suggests that group membership does not influence who we do or do not imitate, not even in a contrastive multi-agent paradigm.

scholarly journals Social group membership does not modulate automatic imitation in a contrastive multi-agent paradigm

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura De Souter ◽  
Senne Braem ◽  
Oliver Genschow ◽  
Marcel Brass ◽  
Emiel Cracco
Keyword(s):  
Social Group ◽  
Group Membership ◽  
Automatic Imitation ◽  
General Hypothesis ◽  
Multi Agent ◽  
Group Members

A key prediction of motivational theories of automatic imitation is that people imitate in-group over out-group members. However, research on this topic has provided mixed results. Here, we investigate the possibility that social group modulations emerge only when people can directly compare in- and out-group. To this end, we conducted three experiments in which we measured automatic imitation of two simultaneously shown hands: one in-group and one out-group hand. Our general hypothesis was that the in-group hand would be imitated more than the out-group hand. However, even though both explicit and implicit manipulation checks showed that we succeeded in manipulating participants’ feelings of group membership, we did not find support for the predicted influence of group membership on automatic imitation. In contrast to motivational theories, this suggests that group membership does not influence who we do or do not imitate, not even in a contrastive multi-agent paradigm.

scholarly journals Imitation and interindividual differences: Belief in free will is not related to automatic imitation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mareike Westfal ◽  
Jan Crusius ◽  
Oliver Genschow
Keyword(s):  
Free Will ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Imitative Behavior ◽  
Automatic Imitation ◽  
Total N ◽  
Interindividual Differences ◽  
Imitation Inhibition ◽  
Interpersonal Factor

It is well known that individuals have the tendency to automatically imitate each other and that such imitative behavior is fostered by perceiving intentions in others’ actions. That is, past research has shown that perceiving an action as internally driven enhances the shared representation of observed and executed actions increasing automatic imitation. An interpersonal factor that increases the perception that a behavior is internally driven is belief in free will. Consequently, we hypothesized that the more individuals believe in free will, the more they automatically imitate others. To test this prediction, we conducted two high-powered (total N = 642) and preregistered studies in which we assessed automatic imitation with the imitation-inhibition task. Contrary to our predictions, belief in free will did not correlate with automatic imitation. This finding contributes to current findings challenging the assumption that automatic imitation is modulated by interindividual differences. Further theoretical implications are discussed.

scholarly journals Whites for racial justice: How contact with Black Americans predicts support for collective action among White Americans

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 893-912 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hema Preya Selvanathan ◽  
Pirathat Techakesari ◽  
Linda R. Tropp ◽  
Fiona Kate Barlow
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Intergroup Contact ◽  
Black Americans ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Racial Justice ◽  
Group Efficacy ◽  
Total N ◽  
Group Members ◽  
White Guilt

Advantaged group members have an important role to play in creating social change, and intergroup contact has tremendous implications in shaping intergroup relations. However, little research has examined how intergroup contact predicts advantaged group members’ inclinations toward collective action to support the interests of disadvantaged groups. The present research investigates how contact with Black Americans shapes White Americans’ willingness to engage in collective action for racial justice and support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Three studies of White Americans (total N = 821) consistently reveal that positive contact with Black Americans predicts greater support for collective action through a sequential process of fostering greater feelings of empathy for Black Americans and anger over injustice. These findings hold even when taking into account other relevant psychological factors (i.e., White guilt and identification, negative contact, group efficacy, and moral convictions). The present research contributes to our understanding of how advantaged group members come to engage in social change efforts.

Referencing Race = Racist? Examining Perceptions of References to a Target’s Race as Offensive

2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 459-481
Author(s):  
Conor J. O’Dea ◽  
Bayleigh N. Smith ◽  
Donald A. Saucier
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
Social Dominance ◽  
Important Implication ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Total N ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
Majority Group ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Linguistic Functions

We examined majority group members’ perceptions of racial slurs, compared to what we have labeled as combination terms. These combination terms possess the same semantic and pragmatic linguistic functions as racial slurs, functioning to express negative emotion toward, and to describe, a target. Across three studies (total N = 943) racial slurs were not perceived as significantly different from combination terms. We then examined whether participants higher in social dominance beliefs reported greater perceived justification for using combination terms over racial slurs because of their lack of historical denigration of marginalized groups that racial slurs have. Participants, even those higher in socially dominant attitudes, did not perceive greater justification for the use of combination terms than racial slurs. Indeed, an important implication is that race-marking, an understudied area of social psychology, paired with general derogative terms produces terms which may function similarly to racial slurs, but, fortunately, are also similarly vilified in modern society.

Copy the In-group: Group Membership Trumps Perceived Reliability, Warmth, and Competence in a Social-Learning Task

2021 ◽  
pp. 095679762110322
Author(s):  
Marcel Montrey ◽  
Thomas R. Shultz
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Learning Strategy ◽  
Group Membership ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Minimal Group Paradigm ◽  
Learning Game ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Cumulative Cultural Evolution

Surprisingly little is known about how social groups influence social learning. Although several studies have shown that people prefer to copy in-group members, these studies have failed to resolve whether group membership genuinely affects who is copied or whether group membership merely correlates with other known factors, such as similarity and familiarity. Using the minimal-group paradigm, we disentangled these effects in an online social-learning game. In a sample of 540 adults, we found a robust in-group-copying bias that (a) was bolstered by a preference for observing in-group members; (b) overrode perceived reliability, warmth, and competence; (c) grew stronger when social information was scarce; and (d) even caused cultural divergence between intermixed groups. These results suggest that people genuinely employ a copy-the-in-group social-learning strategy, which could help explain how inefficient behaviors spread through social learning and how humans maintain the cultural diversity needed for cumulative cultural evolution.

scholarly journals Children’s restorative justice in an intergroup context

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Yang ◽  
Zhen Wu ◽  
Yarrow Dunham
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Restorative Justice ◽  
Group Membership ◽  
Color Preference ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Total N ◽  
Research Challenges ◽  
Standard Response

The present study investigated 3- to 6-year-old (total n = 158) children’s restoration behaviors both when they were second-party victims (Experiment 1) and when they were third-party bystanders (Experiment 2) of transgressions. We also explored how group membership (based on color preference) affects these behaviors. We found that children preferred restoration to punishment, and that they emphasized restorative justice not only for themselves but also for others. Furthermore, when they were victims of transgressions, the tendency to choose restoration over punishment was stronger in older than younger children. Second-party restoration behavior was influenced by group concerns in that children treated ingroup transgressors more leniently than outgroup and unaffiliated transgressors, but third-party restoration behavior was not. Our research challenges the view that punishment is the standard response to transgressions and suggests that alternative options like restoration are sometimes preferred over punishment by young children.

scholarly journals Money priming and self-other focus

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Genschow ◽  
Johannes Schuler ◽  
Emiel Cracco ◽  
Marcel Brass ◽  
Michaela Wänke
Keyword(s):  
Meta Analysis ◽  
The Self ◽  
Order Effects ◽  
Automatic Imitation ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
Imitation Inhibition ◽  
Trial Basis ◽  
Cautious Interpretation ◽  
The Common ◽  
Explicit Measures

The self-sufficiency hypothesis suggests that priming individuals with money makes them focus more strongly on themselves than on others. However, recently, research supporting this claim has been heavily criticized and some attempts to replicate have failed. A reason for the inconsistent findings in the field may lay in the common use of explicit measures, because they tend to rely on one or just a few items and are thus prone to demand effects and low reliability. In the present research, we administered, in two experiments, the imitation-inhibition task—a robust, unobtrusive and reliable paradigm that is sensitive to self-other focus on a trial-by-trial basis. A pilot study found an increased focus on the self as compared to others when primed with money. Building on this finding, a preregistered high-powered experiment replicated this effect, suggesting that money primes may indeed increase a focus on the self. An additionally carried out meta-analysis indicates that automatic imitation is modulated by self-other focus and that money primes lead to a smaller focus on the self than conventional methods. Overall the found effects are rather small and several limitations, such as order effects, call for a cautious interpretation of the findings.

scholarly journals Preference for hierarchy is associated with reduced empathy and increased counter-empathy towards others, especially out-group targets

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sa-kiera Tiarra Jolynn Hudson ◽  
Mina Cikara ◽  
Jim Sidanius
Keyword(s):  
Social Dominance ◽  
Group Membership ◽  
Social Dominance Orientation ◽  
Group Setting ◽  
Group Boundaries ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Prejudicial Attitudes ◽  
Status Differences

The capacity to empathize with others facilitates prosocial behavior. People’s willingness and capacity to empathize, however, is often contingent upon the target’s group membership – people are less empathic towards those they categorize as out-group members. In competitive or threatening intergroup contexts, people may even feel pleasure (counter-empathy) in response to out-group members’ misfortunes. Social dominance orientation (SDO), or the extent to which people prefer and promote group-based inequalities, is an ideological variable that is associated with a competitive view of the world, increased prejudicial attitudes, and decreased empathy. Thus, higher levels of SDO should be associated with reduced empathy and increased counter-empathy in general, but especially towards those whose subjugation maintains group inequalities. Across three studies we show that among White individuals, higher SDO levels are associated with less empathy, and more counter-empathy in response to others’ good and bad fortunes. More importantly, these reductions in empathy and increases in schadenfreude as a function of SDO were significantly stronger for Asian and Black targets than for in-group White targets when group boundaries were made salient prior to the empathy ratings. Finally, in a fourth study we show that this phenomenon is not dependent upon a history of status differences: higher SDO scores were associated with decreased empathy and increased counter-empathy for competitive out-group (relative to in-group) targets in a novel group setting. We discuss implications of these effects for hierarchy maintenance.

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