When Attribution of Consistency Depends on Group Value: Social Valorization of Preference for Consistency in Equivalent and Asymmetric Intergroup Relations

Cécile Sénémeaud (1) , Jessica Mange (2) , Alain Somat (3)

1 CERREV - Centre d'étude et de recherche sur les risques et les vulnérabilités
2 NIMEC - Normandie Innovation Marché Entreprise Consommation
3 CRPCC EA 1285 - Centre de Recherches en Psychologie Cognition et Communication

The social valorization of Preference For Consistency (PFC) was examined via a minimal group paradigm activating either equivalent or asymmetric intergroup relations. After an aesthetic judgment task and assignment to one of two groups, participants (N = 298) completed the PFC scale according to three instructions: on their own behalf, as an ingroup member, or as an outgroup member (order counter-balanced). Results showed that in equivalent intergroup relations, participants attributed greater PFC to the ingroup and to the self than to the outgroup. In asymmetric intergroup relations, participants attributed greater PFC to the high-status group and to the self than to the low-status group, and this was independent of the participants’ group membership. We discuss the contribution the minimal group paradigm can make to revealing the social valorization of psychological constructs and the mechanisms underlying the social value accorded to PFC.

Keywords: Equivalent and asymmetric intergroup relations; Minimal group paradigm; Social valorization; Preference for consistency

Domains: Humanities and Social Sciences; Psychology; Cognitive science; Psychology

Cécile Sénémeaud, Jessica Mange, Alain Somat. When Attribution of Consistency Depends on Group Value: Social Valorization of Preference for Consistency in Equivalent and Asymmetric Intergroup Relations. Revue Internationale de Psychologie Sociale = International review of social psychology, 2016, 29 (1), pp.127-135. ⟨10.5334/irsp.13⟩. ⟨hal-02180715⟩