Evaluations of ingroup and outgroup as a function of threat moderated by procedural just world beliefs.

Abstract

Ingroup and outgroup evaluations were investigated as a function of prototypicality threat and distinctiveness threat manipulations, with Procedural Just World beliefs as a moderator. Ninety university undergraduates were randomly assigned to 4 groups: high prototypicality-high distinctiveness, high prototypicality-low distinctiveness, low prototypicality-high distinctiveness, and low prototypicality-low distinctiveness. Participants were given bogus feedback on a bogus personality test. Levels of favouritism and derogation on both ingroup and outgroup were measured. Results supported that predictions of Brewer (1991, 2007)‟s optimal distinctiveness theory may only be reflective of public but not private manifestations of individuals‟ behaviours. In the present study, Procedural Just World beliefs failed to moderate the effects of social identity threats.