Evaluating the ‘Us’ in the context of ‘Them’: Contrast effect in social comparison
Main Article Content
Abstract
Intergroup attitudes are shared perceptions that members of one group have for members of another group.
The fact that people belong to the same group or are part of a separate distinct social group often influences perceptions of each other. The social identity approach (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) asserts that social categories provide members with a social identity. It further holds that the process of social comparison in an intergroup setting often leads to intergroup differentiation. The social context in which these groups are placed often governs the nature of stereotypes. This study attempts to explore these dynamics amongst two groups with varying historical experiences. For the study 150 respondents were taken, with 65 belonging to the Hindu community and 85 from the Muslim community. To assess the manner in which people of one group perceived themselves and members of other group they were asked to write five positive and five negative qualities of their group and those associated with the other group. They also rated the ingroup and outgroup on an adjective rating scale. The rating was done on a five-point scale ranging from 1 “very little” to 5 “very much”. The result shows that both Hindus and Muslims rated their group more positively in comparison to the other group. However, on the open-ended question the desire for positive distinctiveness for the ingroup was not very evident.
Article Details
How to Cite
Siddiqui, R. N. (2022). Evaluating the ‘Us’ in the context of ‘Them’: Contrast effect in social comparison. Mind and Society, 11(03), 17–24. https://doi.org/10.56011/mind-mri-113-20223
Section
Research Article
References
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Pavio, A. (1986). Mental representations: A dual coding approach. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rustemli, A. & Mertan, B. (2005). Ingroup favoritism in Positive and Negative Domains. Review of Social, Economic & Business Studies, 7(8), 175-190.
Tajfel, H. (1982). Social Psychology of intergroup relations. Annual Review of Psychology, 33, 1-39.
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Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W. G. Austin, & S. Worchel (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33-37). Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Taylor, S. E. (1981). The interface of cognitive and social psychology. In J. H. Harvey (Ed.), Cognition, social behavior, and the environment (pp. 189–211). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.
Taylor, S. E., Wayment, H. A, & Carrillo, M. (1996). Social comparison, self-regulation, and motivation. In R. M. Sorrentino & E. T. Higgins (Eds.), Handbook of motivation and cognition, Vol. 3. The interpersonal context (pp. 3–27). The Guilford Press.
Turner, J. C., Hogg, M. A., Oakes, P. J., Reicher, S. D., & Wetherell, M. S. (1987). Rediscovering the social group: A self-categorization theory. Basil Blackwell.
Turner, J.C. (1982) Towards a cognitive redefinition of the social group. In H. Tajfel (Ed.), Social Identity and Intergroup Relations, (pp. 15–40). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Turner, J.C., Hogg, M.A., Oakes, P.J., Reicher, S.D. and Wetherell, M.S. (1987). Rediscovering the Social Group: A Self-categorization Theory. Oxford and New York: Basil Blackwell.
Tversky, A. & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgement under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Science, 185, (4157), 1124-1131.
Varshney , A. (2002). Ethnic Conflict and Civic Life: Hindus and Muslims in India. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Wenzel, M. & Mummendey, A. (1996). Positive-negative asymmetry of social discrimination: A normative analysis of differential evaluations of in-group and out-group on positive and negative attributes. British Journal of Social Psychology, 35, 493-507.
Wilson, T. D., Lindsey, S., & Schooler, T. Y. (2000). A model of dual attitudes. Psychological Review, 107, 101–126.
Wittenbrink, B., Judd, C. M., & Park, B. (1997). Evidence for racial prejudice at the implicit level and its relationships with questionnaire measures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 262-274.
Blair, I. V. (2001). Implicit stereotypes and prejudice. In G. B. Moskowitz (Ed.), Cognitive social psychology: The Princeton Symposium on the Legacy and Future of Social Cognition (pp. 359 –374). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Brewer,
M. B., & Pierce, K. P. (2005). Social Identity Complexity and Outgroup Tolerance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31(3), 428–437.
Chen, M., & Bargh, J. (1997). Nonconscious behavioral confirmation processes: The self-fulfilling consequences of automatic stereotype activation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 33, 541–560.
Diehl, M. (1990). The Minimal Group Paradigm: Theoretical Explanations and Empirical Findings. European Review of Social Psychology, 1, 263-292.
Dovidio, J. F., & Fazio, R. H. (1992). New technologies for the direct and indirect assessment of attitudes. In J. Tanur (Ed.), Questions about survey questions: Meaning, memory, attitudes, and social interaction (pp. 204–237). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Dovidio, J., Kawakami, K., & Beach, K. (2001). Implicit and explicit attitudes: Examination of the relationship between measures of intergroup bias. In R. Brown & S. L. Gaertner (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of social psychology: Vol. 4. Intergroup relations (pp. 175–197). Oxford, England: Blackwell.
Fazio, R. H. (1990). Multiple processes by which attitudes guide behavior: The MODE model as an integrative framework. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 23, pp. 75–109). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.
Fazio, R. H., Jackson, J. R., Dunton, B. C., & Williams, C. J. (1995). Variability in automatic activation as an unobtrusive measure of racial attitudes: A bona fide pipeline? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 1013-1027.
Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7, 117–140.
Ghosh, E. S. K., Kumar, R., & Tripathi, R. C. (1992). The communal cauldron: Relations between Hindus and Muslims in India and their reactions to norm violation. In De Ridder, R. & Tripathi, R. C. (Eds.), Norm violation and inter group relations. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Greenwald, A. G., & Banaji, M. R. (1995). Implicit social cognition: Attitudes, self-esteem, and stereotypes. Psychological Review, 102(1), 4–27.
Greenwald, A. G., McGhee, D. E., & Schwartz, J. K. L. (1998). Measuring individual differences in implicit cognition: The Implicit Association Test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1464-1480.
Guimond, S. (Ed.). (2006). Social comparison and social psychology: Understanding cognition, intergroup relations, and culture. Cambridge University Press.
Lorenzi‐Cioldi, F. (1991). Self‐stereotyping and self‐enhancement in gender groups. European Journal of Social Psychology, 21(5), 403-417.
Macrae, C.N. & and. Bodenhausen, G. V (2000). Social Cognition: Thinking Categorically about Others. Annual Review of Psychology 51(1), 93-120.
Mummendey, A. (1995). Positive distinctiveness and intergroup discrimination: An old couple living in divorce? European Journal of Social Psychology, 25, 657-670.
Mummendey, A., Otten, S., & Blanz, M. (1994). Social categorization and intergroup discrimination. The asymmetry in positive versus negative outcome allocations. Revue Internationale de Psychologie Sociale, 1, 15-30.
Mummendey, A., Simon, B., Dietze, C., Grünert, M., Haeger, G., Kessler, S., Lettgen, S., & Schäferhoff, S. (1992). Categorization is not enough: Intergroup discrimination in negative outcome allocation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 28(2), 125–144.
Mussweiler, T., & Epstude, K. (2009). Relatively fast! Efficiency advantages of comparative thinking. Journal of Experimental Psychology General,138(1), 1-21.
Mussweiler, T., & Epstude, K. (2009). Relatively fast! Efficiency advantages of comparative thinking. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 138(1), 1–21.
Pavio, A. (1986). Mental representations: A dual coding approach. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rustemli, A. & Mertan, B. (2005). Ingroup favoritism in Positive and Negative Domains. Review of Social, Economic & Business Studies, 7(8), 175-190.
Tajfel, H. (1982). Social Psychology of intergroup relations. Annual Review of Psychology, 33, 1-39.
Tajfel, H. and Turner, J.C. (1986) The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behavior. In: Worchel, S. and Austin, W.G. (Eds.), Psychology of Intergroup Relation. Hall Publishers: Chicago, 7-24.
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W. G. Austin, & S. Worchel (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33-37). Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Taylor, S. E. (1981). The interface of cognitive and social psychology. In J. H. Harvey (Ed.), Cognition, social behavior, and the environment (pp. 189–211). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.
Taylor, S. E., Wayment, H. A, & Carrillo, M. (1996). Social comparison, self-regulation, and motivation. In R. M. Sorrentino & E. T. Higgins (Eds.), Handbook of motivation and cognition, Vol. 3. The interpersonal context (pp. 3–27). The Guilford Press.
Turner, J. C., Hogg, M. A., Oakes, P. J., Reicher, S. D., & Wetherell, M. S. (1987). Rediscovering the social group: A self-categorization theory. Basil Blackwell.
Turner, J.C. (1982) Towards a cognitive redefinition of the social group. In H. Tajfel (Ed.), Social Identity and Intergroup Relations, (pp. 15–40). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Turner, J.C., Hogg, M.A., Oakes, P.J., Reicher, S.D. and Wetherell, M.S. (1987). Rediscovering the Social Group: A Self-categorization Theory. Oxford and New York: Basil Blackwell.
Tversky, A. & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgement under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Science, 185, (4157), 1124-1131.
Varshney , A. (2002). Ethnic Conflict and Civic Life: Hindus and Muslims in India. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Wenzel, M. & Mummendey, A. (1996). Positive-negative asymmetry of social discrimination: A normative analysis of differential evaluations of in-group and out-group on positive and negative attributes. British Journal of Social Psychology, 35, 493-507.
Wilson, T. D., Lindsey, S., & Schooler, T. Y. (2000). A model of dual attitudes. Psychological Review, 107, 101–126.
Wittenbrink, B., Judd, C. M., & Park, B. (1997). Evidence for racial prejudice at the implicit level and its relationships with questionnaire measures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 262-274.