Numerical representation of groups in cooperative settings: Social orientation effects on ingroup bias

Investigates whether the greater ingroup favoritism typically expressed by numerical minorities. compared with numerical majorities, could be minimized by encouraging an interpersonal social orientation during intergroup cooperation. Study 1 examined how the type of social orientation adopted during cooperation affected the intergroup attitudes of numerical majorities and minorities. The outcomes of Study I showed that, compared to both a no-focus control and an interpersonally focused condition, a task-focus orientation was associated with an increase in ingroup bias among numerical majorities but a decrease in ingroup bias among numerical minorities. The results of Study 2 replicated those of Study 1 and showed support for the hypothesis that the effect of social orientation on ingroup bias among numerical majority and minority groups is mediated by ingroup identification and cohesion. Implications of these findings for understanding numerical representation effects and cooperative intervention outcomes are discussed. (C) 1997 Academic Press.