I Belong, therefore, I Exist: Ingroup Identification, Ingroup Entitativity, and Ingroup Bias

TLDR

Merging insights from the intergroup relations literature and terror management theory, the authors conducted an experiment assessing the impact of death‑related thoughts on a series of ingroup measures. The mortality‑salience manipulation increased ingroup identification, perceived entitativity, and bias, with entitativity and identification mediating the effect, and the results suggest a new perspective on the function of group belonging.

Abstract

Merging insights from the intergroup relations literature and terror management theory, the authors conducted an experiment in which they assessed the impact of death-related thoughts on a series of ingroup measures. Participants in the mortality-salience condition displayed stronger ingroup identification, perceived greater ingroup entitativity, and scored higher on ingroup bias measures. Also, perceived ingroup entitativity as well as ingroup identification mediated the effect of the mortality salience manipulation on ingroup bias. The findings are discussed in relation to theories of intergroup relations and terror management theory. A new perspective on the function of group belonging also is presented.