Exaggerating differences back and forth: Two levels of intergroup accentuation

Br J Soc Psychol. 2023 Nov 22. doi: 10.1111/bjso.12699. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTSocial perceivers tend to exaggerate existing differences between groups, a phenomenon known as intergroup accentuation. In two preregistered experiments, we tested the hypothesis that accentuation originates in the initial learning of information about a novel group. In both experiments, perceivers exaggerated differences between two fictitious social groups that differed probabilistically in two dimensional traits. As hypothesized, accentuation was stronger for the group encountered second, confirming that accentuation originates partly in processes operating during the acquisition of group information. However, accentuation was also robust for the group encountered first, suggesting that it also occurs 'backward' even when group learning was unbiased. We discuss implications for stereotype formation generally and the perception of social minorities and out-groups specifically. As these groups are often encountered second in social reality, stereotypes of them might be particularly polarized.PMID:37991175 | DOI:10.1111/bjso.12699

Source: The British Journal of Social Psychology - November 22, 2023 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Patrick Rothermund Roland Deutsch Source Type: research