Group representations and intergroup bias: Positive affect, similarity, and group size Author John Dovidio, Samuel Gaertner, Alice Isen Publication Year 1995 Type Journal Article Abstract This study examined how social (group size: two, three, or four persons), appearance (similar or dissimilar dress), and affective (positive or neutral mood) factors can influence social categorization and, consequently, intergroup bias. As expected, positive affect increased the extent to which subjects formed inclusive group representations, anticipating that the members of two groups would feel like one, superordinate group. Also as predicted, subjects in dissimilarly dressed groups expected the memberships to feel less like one group. Consistent with the common in-group identity model, stronger superordinate group representations, in turn, predicted more positive out-group evaluations and lower levels of intergroup bias. The conceptual and applied implications of affect and social representations for improving intergroup relations are considered. Keywords emotional states, group size, social structure, social categorization Journal Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin Volume 21 Pages 856-865 Type of Article Journal Article DOI 10.1177/0146167295218009 Full text The following is an excerpt of the intervention methodology. For more information, please see the full text of the article on the publisher's website or through your institution's library. Method Subjects Subjects were 49 male and 83 female undergraduates randomly assigned to groups of size two (n = 12 groups), three (n = 16), or four (n = 15). Procedure Subjects, participating in groups of two, three, or four, were informed that they were involved in a study concerning how people solved problems "either in groups or alone." They were told that they had been assigned to the "group problem-solving" condition. [...] [...] To create a visually distinct entity, the members of some groups (n = 20 groups) were asked to wear white laboratory coats with color-coded buttons [...]. In the control condition for dress (n = 23 groups), subjects were asked to wear only the color-coded buttons under the same pretense. The problem-solving task that subjects were assigned involved survival on the moon. This problem [...] asks participants to imagine that their spacecraft has crash-landed on the moon and to rank-order 10 items salvaged from the craft. [...] [...] At this point, the affect manipulation occurred. Some groups of subjects, in the intended positive affect condition, were given candy—a Snickers bar in special wrapping. [...] In the affect control condition, no mention of candy bars was made. [...] All subjects then saw the same 5-min videotape of one male and two female college students, not wearing laboratory coats, working on a similar problem. [...] As soon as the tape was over, subjects completed questionnaires about their group, the other group, and their problem-solving task. [...] Specifically, subjects were asked to rate (1 = not at all to 7 = very much), "When your group is with the other group, how much do you think it will feel like (1) one group, (2) two groups, and (3) separate individuals?" A second set of questions asked subjects to rate (1-7) the other group and their own group on a series of dimensions [...]. A third set of questions was designed to assess the impact of the affect manipulation. [...] Type of Prejudice/Bias Minimal/Artificial Country United States Method Lab Setting College/University Google ScholarDOIBibTeX
