Desire to be in a group leads to harsher judgment of others

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-08/du-dtb081720.php

 

News Release 17-Aug-2020
Duke University

 

If you're reluctant to identify as a Democrat or Republican even though you are staunchly liberal or conservative, you're probably also less prone to bias in other ways.

In a time where political affiliations can feel like they're leading to tribal warfare, a research team from Duke University's Trinity College of Arts & Sciences has found that the desire to be part of a group is what makes some of us more likely to discriminate against people outside our groups, even in non-political settings.

"It's not the political group that matters, it's whether an individual just generally seems to like being in a group," said Rachel Kranton. She is an economist who conducted the research with Scott Huettel, a psychologist and neuroscientist.

"Some people are 'groupy' - they join a political party, for example," Kranton said. "And if you put those people in any arbitrary setting, they'll act in a more biased way than somebody who has the same political opinions, but doesn't join a political party."


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