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.