Seeing the World Through a Group Lens: Effects of Social Identification and Perspective on Perception and Emotion Angela Maitner Université catholique de Louvain May 10, 2007

Social Identification People derive a sense of identity from group memberships Chronic social identification leads people to perceive and interpret events from ingroup perspective Tajfel & Turner (1986)

Seeing the world through a group lens Social Identification Group- based Appraisal Group- based Emotion Intergroup Behavior Gordijn, Yzerbyt, Wigboldus, & Dumont, 2006; Mackie, Devos, & Smith, 2000; Maitner, Mackie, & Smith, 2006; Smith, Seger, & Mackie, in press; Yzerbyt, Dumont, Wigboldus, & Gordijn, 2003

Seeing the world through a group lens Social Identification Group- based Appraisal Group- based Emotion Intergroup Behavior

Seeing the world through a group lens Social Identification Group- based Appraisal Group- based Emotion Intergroup Behavior

Identification biases perceptions and experiences of ingroup actions & intergroup outcomes Social Identification AppraisalEmotionBehavior Outline

Identification biases perceptions and experiences of ingroup actions & intergroup outcomes Perceiving the world through a different lens de-biases appraisals Perspective- taking AppraisalEmotionBehavior Outline

Study 1 Does group identification bias –appraisals of –emotional responses to –behavioral intentions regarding ingroup actions? Maitner, Mackie, & Smith, 2007 Social Identification AppraisalEmotionBehavior

Study 1: Procedure Social Identification AppraisalEmotionBehavior Social Identification Appraisal Emotion Behavior Acts of Ingroup Aggression Being an American is an important reflection of who I am. Dependent Variables Justification Satisfaction Guilt Support future aggression The United States used missiles to destroy a factory in an African country… The United States supported a coup in a South American country…

Study 1: Results Social Identification AppraisalEmotionBehavior Identification Support Future Aggression Satisfaction Guilt Justification.28*.39**.48** ** * CFI = 1.00 RMSEA = p <.10 * p <.05 ** p <.01

Study 1: Conclusion Identification biases how we perceive and experience intergroup events Social Identification AppraisalEmotionBehavior

Study 2 How does identification bias experiences of intergroup events? Social Identification AppraisalEmotionBehavior Maitner, Claypool, Mackie, & Smith, 2007

Study 2: Hypotheses Social Identification AppraisalEmotionBehavior Social Identification Emotion Outcome

Study 2: Procedure Social Identification AppraisalEmotionBehavior Social Identification Emotion Outcome Manipulation Being a UCSB student is an important reflection of who I am. Dependent Variables Satisfaction Perspective Good for Ingroup Good for Individual

Study 2: Results Social Identification AppraisalEmotionBehavior Social Identification Emotion Outcome  =.39**

Study 2: Results Social Identification AppraisalEmotionBehavior  =.44**  = -.15 Interaction F (1, 55) = 9.10, p =.004  =.44**  = -.15

Study 2: Results Social Identification AppraisalEmotionBehavior  =.44**  = -.15  =.4**  =.46**  = -.47** Interaction F (1, 55) = 25.03, p <.001

Study 2: Results Social Identification AppraisalEmotionBehavior UCSB Identification Group Perspective Satisfaction Outcome  =.39**  =.24*

Study 2: Results Social Identification AppraisalEmotionBehavior UCSB Identification Group Perspective Outcome  =.39**  =.24*  =.54 **  =.03 Satisfaction

Study 2: Conclusion Perceiving the world through a group lens is the mechanism through which identification biases experiences People who do not strongly identify perceive more complexity in and have a less biased response to intergroup events Social Identification AppraisalEmotionBehavior

Perspective-taking Perspective-taking: process of imagining the world from another’s vantage point (Galinsky, Ku, & Wang, 2005) –increases self-other overlap (Davis, Conklin, Smith, & Luce, 1996) –decreases stereotyping & prejudice (Galinsky, & Moskowitz, 2000) Perspective- taking AppraisalEmotionBehavior

Study 3 Does perceiving the world through an (outgroup) individual lens de-bias experiences of intergroup events? Perspective- taking AppraisalEmotionBehavior Maitner, Claypool, Mackie, & Smith, 2007

Study 3: Hypotheses Perspective- taking AppraisalEmotionBehavior Experience outcome as ingroup member: When Positive for Ingroup  When Positive for Individual Experience outcome with outgroup individual:  When Positive for Ingroup When Positive for Individual

Study 3: Procedure Perspective- taking AppraisalEmotionBehavior Outcome Manipulation Perspective Manipulation Dependent Variables Emotion Happy Ingroup Individual None Good for Ingroup Good for Individual

Study 3: Results Perspective- taking AppraisalEmotionBehavior * * Interaction F (2, 82) = 18.50, p <.001

Study 3: Conclusion Perspective- taking AppraisalEmotionBehavior Deliberately seeing the world through an individual lens de-biases experiences of intergroup events

Study 4 Perspective- taking AppraisalEmotionBehavior Does perceiving the world through an outgroup lens de-bias experiences of intergroup events? Maitner, Claypool, Mackie, & Smith, 2007

Study 4: Hypotheses Perspective- taking AppraisalEmotionBehavior Experience outcome as ingroup member: When Positive for Ingroup  When Positive for Outgroup Experience outcome with outgroup:  When Positive for Ingroup When Positive for Outgroup

Study 4: Procedure Perspective- taking AppraisalEmotionBehavior Outcome Manipulation Perspective Manipulation Dependent Variables Emotion Happy Ingroup Outgroup None Good for Ingroup Good for Outgroup

Study 4 Perspective- taking AppraisalEmotionBehavior ** * Interaction F (2, 73) = 44.14, p <.001

Study 4: Conclusion Perspective- taking AppraisalEmotionBehavior Perceiving the world through an outgroup lens changes people’s experience of intergroup events

General Conclusions Social Identification AppraisalEmotionBehavior Social identification acts as a biasing filter on the world –People experience events in line with ingroup outcomes

General Conclusions Perspective- taking AppraisalEmotionBehavior Social identification acts as a biasing filter on the world –People experience events in line with ingroup outcomes Perspective-taking can counteract ingroup bias and change how people experience intergroup events

Future Directions Perspective- taking AppraisalEmotionBehavior Do people accurately predict other people’s responses when perspective- taking? –Does perspective-taking introduce new biases in perception? –How does actual vs. implied similarity reduce such bias?

Future Directions Perspective- taking AppraisalEmotionBehavior How does taking the perspective of an individual compare to taking the perspective of a group? –Another individual decategorization –Another group recategorization

Merci

Outcome Experienced Happiness Predicted Happiness Perspective: Individual  = -.98  =.22 (  = -.69)  =.92