Mine is Merrier: A Process Description of the Robust In-Group Bias Across Contexts Using Perceptual-Matching Task

Research suggests that individuals consistently demonstrate favorable attitudes towards members of their ingroups compared to those belonging to other social groups. Such ingroup biases are observed not only in well-established historical groups but also in minimal group settings. The current study investigates the robustness of the said ingroup bias across different contexts through four experiments. In Experiment 1, participants were merely assigned to one of the two minimal groups, and their ingroup bias was assessed. In the next three experiments (Exps 2a- 2c), the relationship between the minimal ingroups and outgroups was manipulated. In Experiment 2a, both groups were described as good and in a mutually harmonious relationship; in Experiment 2b, the two groups were in a conflicted relationship, with the ingroup described as good and the outgroup as bad; and finally, in Experiment 2c, both groups were again in a conflicted relationship with the ingroup being described as bad and the outgroup as good. The degree of ingroup bias was indexed in terms of faster response times, higher accuracy, and greater sensitivity on a perceptual-matching task. Interestingly, while the preliminary analysis showed a significant moderation of bias measures across the four experiments, a more detailed examination using Bayesian regression analysis and Drift-Diffusion Modeling established a strong persistence of ingroup favoritism despite changing group characteristics and relations. The changing relations didn’t affect the robust ingroup bias much as the general trend for favoring one’s own group persisted across all experiments. The minimal yet robust nature of ingroup favoritism is explicated.