Effects of the legitimacy of low group or individual status on individual and collective status-enhancement strategies.

TLDR

Low‑status legitimacy influences how group members accept their status. The study tested social identity and relative deprivation theory predictions about low‑status group membership using a 3×2×2 between‑subject design. In‑group identification and individual and collective mobility attempts were the main dependent variables. Experiment 1 found that illegitimate low‑status assignment increased in‑group identification, whereas Experiment 2 showed that illegitimate allocation of individuals to a low‑status group decreased group identification.

Abstract

Two experiments investigated predictions from social identity theory and relative deprivation theory regarding membership in low-status groups, using a 3 (legitimacy of low status)×2 (permeability of group boundaries)×2 (stability of group status) between-subjects design. Main dependent variables concerned in-group identification and individual and collective mobility attempts. Group members considered their low status more acceptable when it seemed legitimate. In Experiment 1 (N=184), illegitimate assignment of low status to the Ss' group increased in-group identification. In Experiment 2 (N=178), illegitimate allocation of individual Ss to a low-status group decreased group identification