University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California, USA.
Br J Soc Psychol. 2021 Jul;60(3):765-785. doi: 10.1111/bjso.12445. Epub 2021 Jan 20.
Intergroup conflict and bias often occur between subgroups nested within a superordinate group. In these situations, the leader of the superordinate group plays a key role, as an intergroup leader, in reducing conflict. To be effective, an intergroup leader should avoid (1) threatening the subgroups' distinctive identities, and (2) being viewed by one or both groups as 'one of them' rather than 'one of us'. Intergroup leadership theory (Acad Manag Rev, 37, 2012a, 232) posits intergroup leaders can improve subgroup relations by promoting an intergroup relational identity. Two studies (Ns = 178 and 223) tested whether an out-subgroup or in-subgroup leader could improve intergroup attitudes, even among strong subgroup identifiers, by promoting either an intergroup relational identity or a collective identity. We hypothesized an interaction of these variables demonstrating the effectiveness of an intergroup relational identity message for an out-subgroup leader in lessening ingroup bias, especially among strong subgroup identification. Our results, and a meta-analytic summary across both studies (N = 401), supported our hypothesis and intergroup leadership theory, demonstrating an intergroup relational identity is an effective strategy for improving intergroup relations.
群体间冲突和偏见通常发生在一个上级群体内部的亚群体之间。在这些情况下，上级群体的领导者作为群体间领导者，在减少冲突方面起着关键作用。为了有效，群体间领导者应避免 (1) 威胁亚群体的独特身份，以及 (2) 被一个或两个群体视为“他们中的一员”而不是“我们中的一员”。群体间领导理论（《管理学会评论》，37，2012a，232）假设群体间领导者可以通过促进群体间关系认同来改善亚群体关系。两项研究（N=178 和 223）检验了一个外群体或内群体领导者是否可以通过促进群体间关系认同或集体认同来改善群体间态度，即使在强烈的亚群体认同者中也是如此。我们假设这些变量的相互作用表明，对于外群体领导者来说，群体间关系认同信息对于减轻内群体偏见是有效的，尤其是对于强烈的亚群体认同者。我们的结果，以及两项研究的元分析总结（N=401），支持了我们的假设和群体间领导理论，表明群体间关系认同是改善群体间关系的有效策略。
