A FURTHER EXAMINATION OF THE INTERGROUP SENSITIVITY EFFECT: THE MODERATING ROLE OF SOCIAL EXCLUSION, POWER, AND CATEGORY DIFFERENTIATION

Abstract

Past research has demonstrated that people are more receptive to group-directed criticism made by an ingroup member as compared to the same criticism made by an outgroup member – the intergroup sensitivity effect (ISE). Employing a minimal group paradigm, the present research examined motivational factors (social exclusion, lack of power) and social-cognitive factors (category differentiation) as moderators of the ISE. Across two experiments, it was shown that socially included (Experiment 1) and control condition participants (Experiment 2) displayed the ISE, regardless of whether they perceived category (group) boundaries to be distinct or not. On the other hand, for socially excluded participants (Experiment 1) and participants primed with a lack of power (Experiment 2), the ISE was qualified by category differentiation, whereby ISE was stronger amongst those who perceived ingroup-outgroup boundaries to be distinct. Implications of these findings and possible future directions are discussed.