Social Discrimination and Tolerance in Intergroup Relations: Reactions to Intergroup Difference

TLDR

When an outgroup’s difference is perceived as non‑normative and inferior, it tends to provoke devaluation, discrimination, and hostility, whereas a normative or positive appraisal promotes acceptance and appreciation. The study examines how individuals respond to intergroup differences. Using self‑categorization theory, the authors argue that norms for judging intergroup differences are derived from the prototype of an inclusive superordinate category, and that discrimination emerges when ingroup attributes are generalized to that inclusive category.

Abstract

In this article, we present a theoretical approach to social discrimination on the one hand and intergroup relations characterized by tolerance and plurality on the other hand. Central to the analysis is the question of how members deal with intergroup difference. If the outgroup's difference is judged to be non-normative and inferior, devaluation, discrimination, and hostility are likely responses toward the outgroup. Judging the outgroup's difference to be normative or positive leads to acceptance and appreciation of this group. Following self-categorization theory, the criteria being norms and values for judging intergroup differences are derived from the superordinate category that is perceived to include both groups. More specifically, they are derived from the prototype, or representation, of this inclusive category. Social discrimination results from the generalization of ingroup attributes to the inclusive category, which then become criteria for judging the outgroup. Tolerance, on the other hand, is conceptualized as either a lack of inclusion of both groups in a higher order category or as the representation of the inclusive category in such a way as to also include the other group and designate it as normative.