Is there an "I" in "team"? The role of the self in group-serving judgments.
Why do people make judgments that favor their groups, attributing outcomes to internal factors to a greater extent when their group succeeds than when their group fails? The present research demonstrates that group-serving judgments serve a self-protective function. In Study 1, participants in team sports competitions made more internal team attributions after experiencing victory than defeat; this group-serving bias was eliminated among those who completed an affirmation of personal values. Study 2 replicated Study 1 and found that affirmed people were less likely to use their self-judgments as an anchor for judgments about the group. Study 2 also found that self-affirmation secured feelings of being a worthy group member, and this was associated with the reduction of group-serving judgments. The present research examines the motivational factors that promote, reduce, link, and separate self-serving and group-serving judgments.
Sherman
David K
DK
Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9960, USA. david.sherman@psych.ucsb.edu
Kim
Heejung S
HS
D004532:Ego; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D012649:Self Concept; D012933:Social Identification; D012938:Social Perception; D013177:Sports / Q000523:psychology*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology