THE EFFECT OF MULTIPLE CATEGORY MEMBERSHIP ON INTERGROUP EVALUATIONS IN A NORTH INDIAN CONTEXT - CLASS, CASTE AND RELIGION

In this study north Indians' evaluation of their own group and out‐groups differing in religious and social status is investigated. Respondents were 317 high school pupils in Benares and Mughalserai. Three hypotheses derived from social identity theory (SIT) research for the effects of crossed‐category membership and the effects of intergroup status differences were tested: 1. High‐caste Hindus and upper‐class Muslims will evaluate out‐groups differing in either status or religion less positively than the in‐group and will evaluate groups differing in both respects least positively (‘double out‐group response’). 2. Low‐caste Hindus and lower‐class Muslims will show a ‘minority‐group’ response, that is, evaluate high‐status out‐groups more positively than the in‐group and low‐status out‐groups. 3. Lower‐class/high‐caste Hindus will show a ‘communalized’ pattern of intergroup evaluations in which Muslims are evaluated less positively than Hindus. The first hypothesis was confirmed for high‐caste Hindu respondents, but not for upper‐class Muslims. The second hypothesis could not be tested sufficiently for Muslims because only 12 lower‐class Muslims participated in the survey. The evaluations by low‐caste Hindus, however, revealed a communalized response rather than the expected minority group response. The third hypothesis was confirmed. The disconfirmations are interpreted as an effect of the majority/minority positions of Hindus and Muslims in India and the consequences of these results for SIT are further evaluated in this light. 1991 The British Psychological Society