Categorical differentiation and intergroup relationships.

In this study we attempted to replicate the well-known Doise & Sinclair (1973) procedure for manipulating category salience, in a different social context. We considered the relationship between two groups of professionals: doctors and nurses, as perceived by 40 members of the superior group. The results did not confirm those obtained by Doise & Sinclair since they showed reduced categorical differentiation when the out-group was evoked in advance of the intergroup evaluations. The implications of these findings for theories of social categorization and social identity are discussed.