Skip to main content

Out-Group Members

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science
  • 36 Accesses

Synonyms

In-group; Intergroup conflict; Out-group; Prejudice; Stigma

Definition

A member from a group of people that have either been excluded or do not form part of your own group.

Introduction

Throughout a lifespan, any one individual will be affiliated to a number of different groups. Some groups are assigned at birth, such as belonging to a family. Some groups are selected by the individual, such as supporting a local football team. Recognizing and being affiliated to a particular group is known as being an in-group member. In contrast, those who are outside of this group, particularly those who may affiliate to a rival group, are referred to as out-group members. This entry will explore some of the explanations for why in-group/out-group categorizations are formed, what the consequences are this for out-group members, and what factors can be deployed to minimize the consequences of out-group categorization.

Social Identity Theory

Tajfel and Turner’s (1979) social identity theory...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Ackerman, J. M., Shapiro, J. R., Neuberg, S. L., Kenrick, D. T., Becker, D. V., Griskevicius, V., … & Schaller, M. (2006). They all look the same to me (unless they’re angry) from out-group homogeneity to out-group heterogeneity. Psychological Science, 17(10), 836–840.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allport, G. W. (1954). The nature of prejudice. Cambridge, MA: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anthony, T., Copper, C., & Mullen, B. (1992). Cross-racial facial identification: A social cognitive integration. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18, 296–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dixon, J., Durrheim, K., & Tredoux, C. (2005). Beyond the optimal contact strategy: A reality check for the contact hypothesis. American Psychologist, 60, 697–711.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fiske, A. P. (1992). The four elementary forms of sociality: Framework for a unified theory of social relations. Psychological Review, 99, 689–723.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Navarrete, C. D., & Fessler, D. M. (2006). Disease avoidance and ethnocentrism: The effects of disease vulnerability and disgust sensitivity on intergroup attitudes. Evolution and Human Behavior, 27, 270–282.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pettigrew, T. F., & Tropp, L. R. (2008). How does intergroup contact reduce prejudice? Meta-analytic tests of three mediators. European Journal of Social Psychology, 38, 922–934.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. The Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations, 33, 74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Todd, P. M., Hertwig, R., & Hoffrage, U. (2005). Evolutionary cognitive psychology. In D. M. Buss (Ed.), The handbook of evolutionary psychology (pp. 776–802). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Vugt, M., & Park, J. H. (2010). The tribal instinct hypothesis: Evolution and the social psychology of intergroup relations. In S. Stürmer & M. Snyder (Eds.), The psychology of prosocial behavior: Group processes, intergroup relations, and helping (pp. 13–32). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to David Francis Hunt .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG

About this entry

Cite this entry

Hunt, D.F. (2016). Out-Group Members. In: Weekes-Shackelford, V., Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2980-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2980-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics