Can emotions be truly group level? Evidence regarding four conceptual criteria.

TLDR

Emotions are key to understanding reactions to social groups, and intergroup emotions theory posits that such emotions arise when individuals identify with a group, making the group part of the self. The study investigates what distinguishes group-level emotions from purely individual-level emotions. The authors define four criteria for group-level emotions: distinctness from individual emotions, dependence on group identification, social sharing within the group, and influence on intragroup and intergroup attitudes and behavior. Two studies confirm all four criteria, demonstrating that group-level emotions are meaningful, coherent, and functional.

Abstract

Recent advances in understanding prejudice and intergroup behavior have made clear that emotions help explain people's reactions to social groups and their members. Intergroup emotions theory (D. M. Mackie, T. Devos, & E. R. Smith, 2000; E. R. Smith, 1993) holds that intergroup emotions are experienced by individuals when they identify with a social group, making the group part of the psychological self. What differentiates such group-level emotions from emotions that occur purely at the individual level? The authors argue that 4 key criteria define group-level emotions: Group emotions are distinct from the same person's individual-level emotions, depend on the person's degree of group identification, are socially shared within a group, and contribute to regulating intragroup and intergroup attitudes and behavior. Evidence from 2 studies supports all 4 of these predictions and thus points to the meaningfulness, coherence, and functionality of group-level emotions.