IN-GROUP OR OUT-GROUP EXTREMITY - IMPORTANCE OF THE THREATENED SOCIAL IDENTITY

Some reseachers have found that out-group members are responded to more extremely than in-group members; others have found the reverse. The present authors hypothesized that when importance of group membership was low, out-group extremity would be observed. That is, when the target's actions have few or no implications for the perceiver's identity, out-group extremity will occur. In-group extremity was expected when perceivers are high in identification with the in-group. The presence of a threat to one's identity was predicted to intensify the in-group extremity effected for highly identified persons only. Evaluations of a loyal or disloyal in-group or out-group member were made by highly identified or weakly identified in-group participants under threatening or nonthreatening conditions. The results confirmed the predicted pattern of effects. Implications for sports spectators and other self-selected group members are discussed.