Biases in the evaluation of one's own group, its allies and opponents

Abstract

Unrealistic overappraisal or underappraisthe evaluations were affected by winning al of nations depending on whether they are and losing the competition. allies or enemies are common occurrences Methods and Subjects historically. The Japanese were seriously underrated by their American opponents in As part of a ten-day management training World War II. As opponents in 1939-41, laboratory, 33 supervisors and engineers the Russians were judged totally inferior; from the same petrochemical refinery met as allies to America in 1941-45, as superior. the first three days in four sensitivity trainIn 1939, England and France continuously ing groups of 8 or 9 men each. The four overvalued each other as allies and undergroups, Red, Black, Yellow, and Green, had estimated the power of their common enemy, been assembled so that no man was with his Germany. None of the first class powers own boss. group contained equal produring this era, including Germany, was portions of supervisors and engineers and realistic in appraising its own national poequal proportions of men from different tential in comparison to the others. levels in the refinery. Using small competing groups, Blake and The third night, the 33 men were handed Mouton (1961) were able to reproduce conthe following instructions: sistently in the laboratory the common error A Red-Black Plan is to be developed in international perceptions of undervaluing by the Red and Black groups. This Redthe opposition and overvaluing oneself. Black Plan should be a collaborative effort, The present study was concerned with representing the joint opinion of both groups how we value our allies, by attempting to reand all the members of the two groups. In produce in the laboratory conditions of conthe same way, a Yellow-Green Plan is to be flict between allied and competing groups. developed by the Yellow and Green groups The worth we attach to competitors, to which likewise should be a collaborative allies, and to our own group was compared effort, representing the joint opinion of both when two groups collaborate in order to groups and all the members of the two compete against two other groups now allied groups. against us. Also examined was the extent Each of the two Plans should be a oneiases in th evaluati n f one's own group, its lies and o po ents