Social Categorization

Getting tuned in to those who are different: The role of empathy as mediator between diversity and performance.

by Sebastian Stegmann

Co-authored with: Maire-Elene Roberge & Rolf van Dick
Zeitschrift für Betriebswirschaft 82:19-44
DOI: 10.1007/s11573-011-0543-y

We present a theoretical model on the processes that mediate and moderate the diversity-performance relationship. Past... more We present a theoretical model on the processes that mediate and moderate the diversity-performance relationship. Past research on this topic – for example the categorization elaboration model (van Knippenberg et al., 2004) – has often focused on information elaboration as mediator. Complementing this cognitive perspective, we propose that group diversity can also stimulate group members to engage with each other emotionally, resulting in higher levels of empathy – an emotional state which arises from the comprehension and apprehension of fellow group members’ emotional state. Empathy, in turn, is likely to enhance performance through processes within a single group member and through processes between group members. At the core of the model lies the proposition that group- as well as individual-level empathy mediate the relationship between diversity of organizational units and the performance of individual members and groups at large (multilevel mediation). Furthermore, we specify moderating conditions for the relationship between diversity and empathy. Diversity beliefs and diversity climates are introduced as second-order moderators.
Keywords: diversity, empathy, social categorization, performance, diversity beliefs, diversity climates
Schlüsselwörter: Diversität, Empathie, Soziale Kategorisierung, Leistung, Diversitätsüberzeugungen, Diversitätsklima

Optimal distinctiveness theory in nested categorization contexts: Moving from dueling identities to a dual identity

by Geoffrey Leonardelli

Leonardelli, G. J., Pickett, C.L., Joseph, J.E., & Hess, Y.D. (2011). Optimal distinctiveness theory in nested categorization contexts: Moving from dueling identities to a dual identity. To appear in R.M. Kramer, G.J. Leonardelli, & R.W. Livingston (Eds.), Social Cognition, Social Identity, and Intergroup Relations: A Festschrift in Honor of Marilynn Brewer (pp. 103-125). Psychology Press Festschrift series. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.

Leonardelli, Pickett, and Hess, integrates Brewer’s (1991) optimal distinctiveness theory with the nested categorical... more Leonardelli, Pickett, and Hess, integrates Brewer’s (1991) optimal distinctiveness theory with the nested categorical context typically descriptive of an organization’s internal structure, where individuals belong to groups (subgroups) nested within more inclusive superordinate groups (such as functional units nested within an organization). It is ideal for employees to simultaneously identify with the subgroup and superordinate group, that is, to engage what is called a “dual identity,” as doing so aligns the loyalty and the interests of subgroup members with the superordinate group as a whole. However, the presenters first review evidence that individuals identify more with the subgroup and less with the superordinate group, what the presenters call “dueling identities,” because individuals prefer the more distinctive subgroups to superordinate groups. The presenters then argue that such dueling identities can be transformed into a dual identity were the subgroup and superordinate group both perceived to be optimally distinct. Some evidence is presented that supports this conclusion and the discussion highlights the different strategies that could be implemented to engineer a dual identity by manipulating individuals’ needs for optimal distinctiveness.

Lost in the Categorical Shuffle: Evidence for the Non-Prototypicality of Black Women.

by Erin L. Thomas

w/J. F. Dovidio

The intersectional invisibility hypothesis (Purdie-Vaughns & Eibach, 2008) posits that people with membership in... more The intersectional invisibility hypothesis (Purdie-Vaughns & Eibach, 2008) posits that people with membership in multiple subordinate social groups experience social invisibility as a result of their non-prototypical social statuses. Thus, for Black women, “invisibility” refers to a general failure to fully recognize them as members of the Black race and female gender (Purdie-Vaughns & Eibach, 2008). The present research provides empirical support for the core assumption of the intersectional invisibility hypothesis – that Black women are non-prototypical within their race and gender ingroups. In a speeded categorization task, participants were slower to associate Black women versus Black men with the category “Black” and slower to associate Black women versus White women with the category “woman.” We discuss the implications of this work for social categorical theory development and future intersectional research.

Governing through biobanks

by Barbara Prainsack

Published in: Herbert Gottweis and Alan Petersen (eds). Biobanks: Governance in comparative perspective. London: Routledge, 210-230. [ISBN-10: 041542738X; ISBN-13: 978-0415427388]

Social categories, identities and time.

by Susan Condor

Published in the British Journal of Social Psychology, 2006.

Social identity time and history.

by Susan Condor

Chapter in P. Robinson (ed) Social Groups and Identities. (1996)

(O)likheter och egen makt: Om ett socialfondsprojekt för ökat arbetskraftsutbud

by Viktor Vesterberg

Perceiving expatriate coworkers as foreigners encourages aid: Social categorization and procedural justice together improve intergroup cooperation and dual identity

by Geoffrey Leonardelli

Co-authored with Soo Min Toh. Published in Psychological Science, 2011.

We propose that social categorization can encourage particular forms of intergroup cooperation because it... more We propose that social categorization can encourage particular forms of intergroup cooperation because it differentiates a group in need from a group that can give aid. Moreover, social categorization is most likely to occur when individuals perceive procedural justice (i.e., fair treatment) from authorities in a superordinate group that includes the individuals’ subgroup. Two field studies investigating relations between local and foreign coworkers tested not only this prediction, but also whether high social categorization and procedural justice would yield a dual identity, in which group members identify simultaneously with their social category and the superordinate group. Both studies supported our predictions: Local employees engaged a dual identity and offered knowledge to aid a foreign coworker’s adjustment more often when local-foreign categorization and procedural justice from organizational authorities were high than when these variables were low. These discoveries point to controllable mechanisms that enable intergroup cooperation, and our findings have important implications for intergroup aid, expatriate adjustment, immigration, and multiculturalism.

At face value: Categorization goals modulate vigilance for angry faces

by Daniel Lakens

Authors: Lotte F. Van Dillen, Daniël Lakens, and Kees van den Bos

The present research demonstrates that the attention bias to angry faces is modulated by how people categorize these... more The present research demonstrates that the attention bias to angry faces is modulated by how people categorize these faces. Since facial expressions contain psychologically meaningful information for social categorizations (i.e., gender, personality) but not for nonsocial categorizations (i.e., eye-color), angry facial expressions should especially capture attention during social categorization tasks. Indeed, in three studies, participants were slower to name the gender of angry compared to happy or neutral faces, but not their color (blue or green; Study 1) or eye-color (blue or brown; Study 2). Furthermore, when different eye-colors were linked to a personality trait (introversion, extraversion) versus sensitivity to light frequencies (high, low), angry faces only slowed down
categorizations when eye-color was indicative of a social characteristic (Study 3). Thus, vigilance for angry facial expressions is contingent on people’s categorization goals,
supporting the perspective that even basic attentional processes are moderated by social influences.

The Influence of ingroup/outgroup categorization on same- and other-race face processing: The moderating role of inter-versus intra-racial context

by Kevin D. Cassidy

Co-authored with Dr. Kimberly Quinn and Professor Glyn Humphreys. Published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

We investigated the impact of ingroup/outgroup categorization on the encoding of same-race and other-race faces... more We investigated the impact of ingroup/outgroup categorization on the encoding of same-race and other-race faces presented in inter-racial and intra-racial contexts (Experiments 1 and 2, respectively). White participants performed a same/different matching task on pairs of upright and inverted faces that were either same-race (White) or other-race (Black), and labelled as being from the same university or a different university. In Experiment 1, the same- and other-race faces were intermixed. For other-race faces,participants demonstrated greater configural processing following same- than other-university labelling. Same-race faces showed strong configural coding irrespective of the university labeling. In Experiment 2, faces were blocked by race. Participants demonstrated greater configural processing of same- than other university faces, but now for both same- and other-race faces. These results demonstrate that other-race face processing is sensitive to non-racial ingroup/outgroup status regardless of racial context, but that the sensitivity of same-race face processing to the same cues depends on the racial context in which targets are encountered.

Cognitive and Affective Factors in Social Identity and Social Categorization Reactions to Terrorism

by Omar V. Rosas

Working paper: do not cite or quote without permission. Comments welcome!

Negational categorization and intergroup behavior

by Geoffrey Leonardelli

Zhong, C., Phillips, K.W., Leonardelli, G.J., & Galinsky, A. (2008). Negational categorization and intergroup behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(6), 793-806. DOI: 10.1177/1054773804271935

Individuals define themselves, at times, as who they are (e.g., a psychologist) and, at other times, as who they are... more Individuals define themselves, at times, as who they are (e.g., a psychologist) and, at other times, as who they are not (e.g., not an economist). Drawing on social identity, optimal distinctiveness, and balance theories, four studies examined the nature of negational identity relative to affirmational identity. One study explored the conditions that increase negational identification and found that activating the need for distinctiveness increased the accessibility of negational identities. Three additional studies revealed that negational categorization increased outgroup derogation relative to affirmational categorization and the authors argue that this effect is at least partially due to a focus on contrasting the self from the outgroup under negational categorization. Consistent with this argument, outgroup derogation following negational categorization was mitigated when connections to similar others were highlighted. By distinguishing negational identity from affirmational identity, a more complete picture of collective identity and intergroup behavior can start to emerge.