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Helping Behaviour and Subtle Discrimination

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Intergroup Helping

Abstract

In counties in which egalitarian principles represent central cultural values, intergroup bias may be expressed in subtle rather than blatant ways. This subtle bias is commonly expressed in terms of differential helping for ingroup and outgroup members. In this chapter, we attempt to illuminate ways that intergroup helping can perpetuate and reinforce intergroup hierarchy that provides relative advantage to ingroup members. We discuss the roles of social categorisation, social identity and social dominance in shaping intergroup orientations. Then we briefly review the differential social forces that affect the expression of these orientations, highlighting the significant but often overlooked contribution of systematic favouritism in the expression of social bias. After that, we focus on research on intergroup helping behaviour and its relationship to subtle discrimination. Specifically, we consider the roles of ingroup favouritism, contemporary racism and strategic use of helping behaviour as a tool for social control. We conclude by identifying theoretical and practical implications of recognising the role of prosocial behaviour in social bias.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Yale University, 2 Hillhouse Ave, 208205, New Haven, CT, 06520-8205, USA

    John F. Dovidio & Silvia Abad-Merino

  2. Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA

    Samuel L. Gaertner

Authors
  1. John F. Dovidio
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  2. Samuel L. Gaertner
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  3. Silvia Abad-Merino
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Correspondence to John F. Dovidio .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social and Organisational Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Esther van Leeuwen

  2. Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey, United Kingdom

    Hanna Zagefka

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Dovidio, J.F., Gaertner, S.L., Abad-Merino, S. (2017). Helping Behaviour and Subtle Discrimination. In: van Leeuwen, E., Zagefka, H. (eds) Intergroup Helping. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53026-0_1

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