Intergroup threat and experienced affect: the distinct roles of causal attributions and in-group identification.
Research shows that under manipulated conditions of intergroup threat, individuals experience greater negative affect to the extent that low in-group identifiers make an in-group-internal attribution rather than an out-group-internal attribution, and high in-group identifiers make an out-group-internal attribution rather than an in-group-internal attribution for outcomes of intergroup comparison that threaten their social identity. The author predicted and found that under conditions of making an out-group-internal attribution, such an effect of in-group identification is mediated by the general proneness to perceiving in-group-out-group differences, or intergroup distinctiveness, at high, but not low, levels of in-group identification. Combining the findings of 2 different literatures, the author provides new insights into the distinct roles played by intergroup attributions as a predictor, in-group identification as a moderator, and intergroup distinctiveness as a mediator of the affective responses produced under conditions of social identity threat instantiated by individuals' making out-group-internal attribution for the in-group unfavorable outcomes of intergroup comparison.
Costarelli
Sandro
S
Department of Cognitive Sciences and Education, University of Trento, Via M. Del Ben, 5, 38068-Rovereto, TN, Italy. sandro.costarelli@unitn.it
D000293:Adolescent; D000339:Affect; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007600:Judgment; D011287:Prejudice; D012649:Self Concept; D012919:Social Behavior; D012928:Social Desirability; D012930:Social Dominance; D012933:Social Identification; D013240:Stereotyping; D055815:Young Adult