I Like My Group Because I Like Myself: Underlying Mechanisms of Implicit and Explicit Intergroup Bias

Intergroup bias refers to the systematic tendency to evaluate one’s own membership groups more favorably than nonmembership groups. The present investigation tested a new mechanism underlying intergroup bias. Specifically, it is argued that categorizing oneself as a member of a group is sufficient to create an associative link between that group and the self. By consequence, implicit evaluations of the self tend to transfer to the ingroup, thus providing a basis for favoring one’s ingroup over outgroups. Drawing on these assumptions, it was predicted that individuals with higher levels of implicit self esteem would show higher levels of implicit intergroup bias. In addition, it was predicted that implicit intergroup bias would mediate explicit intergroup bias. Using a minimal group paradigm, results partially supported the predictions. First, higher levels of implicit self-esteem (using an IAT) were associated with more favorable implicit ingroup evaluations. Second, mediational analyses showed partial support for the role of implicit intergroup bias as a mediator of explicit intergroup bias. Results were interpreted in terms of associative self-anchoring processes, such that self-attitudes automatically extend to minimal ingroups leading to an implicit intergroup bias that may then serve as a basis for explicit intergroup bias.

Name thesis:degree_name

M Sc

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Grantor dc:publisher

The University of Western Ontario

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• LeBel, Etinne P.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Gawronski, Bertram

• implicit intergroup bias
• explicit intergroup bias
• ingroup bias
• ingroup favoritism
• outgroup derogation
• implicit self-esteem
• explicit self-esteem
• self-anchoring

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/38857

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/38857