7.1:
In- and Out-Groups
In a social setting, people often cluster into groups—whether it’s based on a category like gender, or, some special interest.
Such categorization can induce favoritism and emotional connections toward fellow members—separating the social world into “us” versus “them”—that is, creating an in-group—the particular unit that individuals identify as belonging to—versus an out-group—the set of people who are viewed as fundamentally different.
In this case, everyone’s armed with commanding sources of identity and self-esteem within their group, and the strong ties can create in-group biases—preferences for the connected group over other groups.
As individuals maintain positive self-views, prejudice and discrimination may occur to protect those within the specific in-group.
Consequently, the in-group may then blame the out-group for any misfortunes that they perceive. This concept is called scapegoating—the act of accusing an out-group when the in-group experiences any annoyance or alleged threat in accomplishing an outcome.
The good news is that social instability can be reconciled between groups. For instance, through deliberate communication, the in-group could recognize and empathize with the experiences of the out-group to stimulate positive change.
7.1:
In- and Out-Groups
People all belong to a gender, race, age, and social economic group. These groups provide a powerful source of our identity and self-esteem (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) and serve as our in-groups. An in-group is a group that we identify with or see ourselves as belonging to.
A group that we don’t belong to, an out-group, is a group that we view as fundamentally different from us. For example, if you are female, your gender in-group includes all females, and your gender out-group includes all males. People often view gender groups as being fundamentally different from each other in personality traits, characteristics, social roles, and interests.
Because we often feel a strong sense of belonging and emotional connection to our in-groups, we develop in-group bias: a preference for our own group over other groups. This in-group bias can result in prejudice and discrimination because the out-group is perceived as different and is less preferred than our in-group. One function of prejudice is to help us feel good about ourselves and maintain a positive self-concept. This need to feel good about ourselves extends to our in-groups: We want to feel good and protect our in-groups. We seek to resolve threats individually and at the in-group level. This often happens by blaming an out-group for the problem. Scapegoating is the act of blaming an out-group when the in-group experiences frustration or is blocked from obtaining a goal (Allport, 1954).
Despite the group dynamics that seem only to push groups toward conflict, there are forces that promote reconciliation between groups: the expression of empathy, of acknowledgment of past suffering on both sides, and the halt of destructive behaviors.
The Cats and Rabbits in This Video
The cats and rabbits were used as a metaphor here, representing the in- and out-groups of your choice. For instance, if you're a sports fan, maybe you can think of your team versus an opposing team.
This text is adapted from OpenStax, Psychology. OpenStax CNX.