SOCIAL IDENTITY AND INTERGROUP PERCEPTIONS IN MINORITY MAJORITY CONTEXTS

This study investigates intergroup perceptions between the members of minority and majority factions of a political party. Two hypotheses were tested derivedfrom the social identity approach to intergroup relations. First, it was predicted that minority group members would display higher levels of intergroup differentiation than majority group members, associated with a lower level of intergroup understanding. Second, it was predicted that, within each group, level of ingroup identification would be positively related to intergroup differentiation. A postal questionnaire was completed by 136 members of the British Labour Party, 92 supporters of the majority group, and 44 supporters of the minority group. Findings confirmed both hypotheses, and further investigation suggested that the significance of ingroup identification derived from its impact on ingroup ratings rather than on outgroup ratings. The implications of these findings for the underlying dynamics of intergroup differentiation are discussed. © 1990, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.