Ingroups & OutgroupsIntergroup Confl ict

Attr ibut ions

Factors contributing to the development of prejudice

Ingroups and Outgroups

Gordon Allport (1897–1967)

American psychologist Gordon Allport proposed people tend to

categorise themselves and others into groups

this influences their attitudes towards the group members

Ingroups

Allport described any group that you belong to or identify with as an ingroup. your friendship groups peer group family school religion sex race culture the country in which you live AFL team you barrack for

Outgroups

An outgroup is any group you do not belong to or identify with.

When we categorise our social world in this way, we tend to believe that people belonging to our ingroups have individual differences but are generally more like us.

Blue Eyes and Brown Eyes

American primary school teacher Jane Elliot conducted a controversial classroom activity in 1968.

One Monday, Elliot announced to her year 3 class of 28 children in a small, all-white, rural community that those with brown eyes were superior and those with blue eyes were inferior.

Jane Elliot’s Activity Questions

1. How did Jane Elliott create the divide between the blue eyed and brown eye students?

2. What behaviours were seen by the blue eye group (whilst they were the ingroup)

3. What behaviours were seen by the brown eye group (whilst they were the outgroup)

4. What happened when the groups were switched?

5. In what way does Elliot's activity illustrate how ingroups and outgroups can contribute to the development of prejudice and discrimination?

6. Identify three ethical issues that may be relevant to Elliot's activity.

Jane Elliot’s Activity Questions

1. How did Jane Elliott create the divide between the blue eyed and brown eye students?

2. What behaviours were seen by the blue eye group (whilst they were the ingroup)

3. What behaviours were seen by the brown eye group (whilst they were the outgroup)

4. What happened when the groups were switched?

5. In what way does Elliot's activity illustrate how ingroups and outgroups can contribute to the development of prejudice and discrimination?

6. Identify three ethical issues that may be relevant to Elliot's activity.

Intergroup Conflict

Intergroup Conflict

Intergroup conflict occurs when members of different groups compete to achieve or control something that is wanted by the members of each group.

In particular, competition over economic resources like jobs and housing, social status (‘standing’), positions of power or even political advantage is more likely to lead to prejudice, especially in times of hardship when desired resources are limited.

Limited Resources

When people compete for sought-after resources that they do not have, they may develop negative attitudes towards those who do have them.

Similarly, when people acquire sought-after resources, they seek to maintain them.

Consequently, they may develop negative attitudes towards people who do not have them but want them, and may therefore be a potential threat.

Attributions

Attribution

In an attempt to understand our world and the people in it, we often draw on our experiences with others and try to evaluate the causes and consequences of both their behaviour and our behaviour.

This process of trying to explain observed behaviour in terms of a particular cause is called attribution.

When you get a poor grade on a quiz, you might blame the teacher for not adequately explaining the material, completely dismissing the fact that you didn't study.

When a classmate gets a great grade on the same quiz, you might attribute his good performance to luck, neglecting the fact that he has excellent study habits

According to psychologists, an attribution can be either internal (from within the person) or external (from the environment).

Internal:

If we attribute behaviour to internal factors, we tend to blame one or more characteristics of the person for causing the behaviour.

External:

If we attribute behaviour to external factors, we tend to blame things that are outside of the person, generally outside their control.

Fundamental Attribution Error

Research studies have found that people tend to overestimate the influence of personal characteristics and underestimate the influence of the situation they are in when explaining a person's behaviour. This is called the fundamental attribution error (Gilbert & Malone, 1995; Ross, 1977).

Just World Error

The just world hypothesis, also known as the just world error, is the tendency for individuals to believe that they live in a world where people generally get what they deserve and deserve what they get (Lerner, 1980).