This study examines whether a specific type of leader rhetoric, collective victimhood rhetoric, shapes social identity and group normative structure as ultra-distinctive and immutable. Following measures of outgroup (Muslim) vitality and ingroup existential identity-uncertainty, Indian Hindu participants (N = 149) were randomly assigned to read either a leader narrative of ingroup collective victimhood or a pro-diversity narrative. Participants completed measures of leader endorsement and ingroup essentialism of status. Results indicated that support for collective victimhood rhetoric was related to heightened essentialism of ingroup status as naturally endowed. This effect was accentuated under high identity-uncertainty about the ingroup's future. Findings also replicated results from previous research. Identity-uncertainty about the ingroup's (Hindu) religious future mediated the relationship between outgroup (Muslim) vitality and leader support. Support for leader victimhood rhetoric was heightened when identity-uncertainty was high. Implications for populist leader support are discussed, as victimhood rhetoric is central to populist mobilization of followers.
AbramsJ. R. (2010). Asian American television activity: Is it related to outgroup vitality?International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 34, 541–550. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2010.08.002
2.
AbramsJ. R.GilesH. (2007). Ethnic identity gratifications selection and avoidance by African Americans: A group vitality and social identity gratifications perspective. Media Psychology, 9, 115–134. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213260709336805
3.
AikenL. S.WestS. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Sage Publications.
4.
Al-GhazziO. (2021). We will be great again: Historical victimhood in populist discourse. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 24, 45–59. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367549420985851
5.
AslanidisP. (2020). The social psychology of populism. In RonA.NadesanM. (Eds.), Mapping populism: Approaches and methods (pp. 166–174). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429295089-16
BanerjeeS. (2005). Make me a man! Masculinity, Hinduism, and nationalism in India. State University of New York Press.
8.
Bar-TalD.Chernyak-HaiL.SchoriN.GundarA. (2009). A sense of self-perceived collective victimhood in intractable conflicts. International Review of the Red Cross, 91, 229–258. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1816383109990221
9.
BelavadiS. (2018). Norm talk and intergroup communication. In GilesH.HarwoodJ. (Eds.), The Oxford encyclopedia of intergroup communication (Vol. 2, pp. 193–203). Oxford University Press.
10.
BelavadiS.HoggM. A. (2018). We are victims! How observers evaluate a group’s claims of collective victimhood. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 48, 651–660. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12555
11.
BelavadiS.HoggM. A. (2023). If they rise, will we fall? Social identity uncertainty and preference for collective victimhood rhetoric. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 53, 743–751. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12964
12.
BelavadiS.RinellaM.HoggM. A. (2020). When social identity-defining groups become violent: Collective responses to identity uncertainty, status erosion, and resource threat. In IrelandC. A.LewisM.LopezA. C.IrelandJ. L. (Eds.), The handbook of collective violence: Current developments and understanding (pp. 17–30). Routledge.
13.
BourhisR. Y.GilesH.RosenthalD. (1981). Notes on the construction of a ‘subjective vitality questionnaire’ for ethnolinguistic groups. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 2(2), 145–155. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.1981.9994047
14.
ChoiE. U.HoggM. A. (2020). Self-uncertainty and group identification: A meta-analysis. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 23, 483–501. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430219846990
15.
EssesV. M.MedianuS.LawsonA. S. (2013). Uncertainty, threat, and the role of the media in promoting the dehumanization of immigrants and refugees. Journal of Social Issues, 69, 518–536. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12027
16.
ForgasJ. P.CranoW. D.FiedlerK. (2021). The psychology of populism: The tribal threat to liberal democracy. In ForgasJ. P.CranoW. D.FiedlerK. (Eds.), The psychology of populism: The tribal challenge to liberal democracy (pp. 197–218). Routledge.
17.
GaffneyA. M.HackettJ. D.RastD. E.IIIHohmanZ. P.JauriqueA. (2018). The state of American protest: Shared anger and populism. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 18, 11–33. https://doi.org/10.1111/asap.12145
18.
HaslamN.BastianB.BainP.KashimaY. (2006). Psychological essentialism, implicit theories, and intergroup relations. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 9, 63–76. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430206059861
HaslamN.RothschildL.ErnstD. (2002). Are essentialist beliefs associated with prejudice?British Journal of Social Psychology, 41, 87–100. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466602165072
21.
HoggM. A. (2016). Social identity theory. In McKeownS.HaajiR.FergusonN. (Eds.), Understanding peace and conflict through social identity theory: Contemporary global perspectives (pp. 3–17). Springer.
22.
HoggM. A. (2018). Self-uncertainty, leadership preference, and communication of social identity. Atlantic Journal of Communication, 26, 111–121. https://doi.org/10.1080/15456870.2018.1432619
23.
HoggM. A. (2021a). Uncertain self in a changing world: A foundation for radicalization, populism, and autocratic leadership. European Review of Social Psychology, 32(2), 235–268. https://doi.org/10.1080/10463283.2020.1827628
24.
HoggM. A. (2021b). Self-uncertainty and group identification: Consequences for social identity, group behavior, intergroup relations, and society. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 64, 266–307. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.aesp.2021.04.004
25.
HoggM. A.BelavadiS. (in press). Leadership as social influence. In PrislinR. (Ed.), The research handbook of social influence. Expected 2024.
26.
HoggM. A.GilesH. (2012). Norm talk and identity in intergroup communication. In GilesH. (Ed.), The handbook of intergroup communication (pp. 373–3870). Routledge.
27.
HoggM. A.Gøtzsche-AstrupO. (2021). Self-uncertainty and populism: Why we endorse populist ideologies, identify with populist groups, and support populist leaders. In ForgasJ. P.CranoW. D.FiedlerK. (Eds.), The psychology of populism: The tribal challenge to liberal democracy (pp. 197–218). Routledge.
28.
HoggM. A.MeehanC.FarquharsonJ. (2010). The solace of radicalism: Self uncertainty and group identification in the face of threat. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 46, 1061–1066. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2010.05.005
29.
HoggM. A.ShermanD. K.DierselhuisJ.MaitnerA. T.MoffittG. (2007). Uncertainty, entitativity, and group identification. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43, 135–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2005.12.008
30.
JuergensmeyerM. (2011). Rethinking the secular and religious aspects of violence. In CalhounC.JuergensmeyerM.Van AntwerpenJ. (Eds.), Rethinking secularism (pp. 185–203). Oxford University Press.
31.
KelleyK. (2007). Methods for the behavioral, educational, and social sciences: An R package. Behavior Research Methods, 39, 979–984. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03192993
32.
KelleyK.MaxwellS. E. (2012). Sample size planning. In CooperH.CamicP. M.LongD. L.PanterA. T.RindskopfD.SherK. J. (Eds.), APA Handbook of research methods in psychology, vol 1: Foundations, planning, measures, and psychometrics (pp. 181–202). American Psychological Association.
33.
KinnvallC. (2019). Populism, ontological insecurity and Hindutva: Modi and the masculinization of Indian politics. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 32, 283–302. https://doi.org/10.1080/09557571.2019.1588851
34.
KrausM. W.KeltnerD. (2013). Social class rank, essentialism, and punitive judgment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105, 247. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032895
35.
McNeillA.PehrsonS.StevensonC. (2017). The rhetorical complexity of competitive and common victimhood in conversational discourse. European Journal of Social Psychology, 47, 167–179. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2255
36.
MohanD.PadmanabhanA. (2022). Strongmen saviours: A political economy of populism in India, Turkey, Russia and Brazil. Routledge.
37.
MortonT. A.PostmesT. (2009). When differences become essential: Minority essentialism in response to majority treatment. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35, 656–668. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167208331254
38.
NoorM.VollhardtJ. R.MariS.NadlerA. (2017). The social psychology of collective victimhood. European Journal of Social Psychology, 47, 121–134. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2300
39.
PehrsonS.BrownR.ZagefkaH. (2009). When does national identification lead to the rejection of immigrants? Cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence for the role of essentialist in-group definitions. British Journal of Social Psychology, 48, 61–76. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466608X288827
40.
PreacherK. J.RuckerD. D.HayesA. F. (2007). Addressing moderated mediation hypotheses: Theory, methods and prescriptions. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 42(1), 185–227. https://doi.org/10.1080/00273170701341316
RastD. E.IIIHoggM. A.van KnippenbergD. (2018). Intergroup leadership across distinct subgroups and identities. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 44, 1090–1103. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167218757466
43.
R Development Core Team. (2011). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. http://www.Rproject.org
44.
RiosK.SosaN.OsbornH. (2018). An experimental approach to intergroup threat theory: Manipulations, moderators, and consequences of realistic vs. symbolic threat. European Review of Social Psychology, 29, 212–255. https://doi.org/10.1080/10463283.2018.1537049
45.
RobertsS. O.HoA. K.RhodesM.GelmanS. A. (2017). Making boundaries great again: Essentialism and support for boundary-enhancing initiatives. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 43, 1643–1658. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167217724801
46.
RothbartM.TaylorM. (1992). Category labels and social reality: Do we view social categories as natural kinds? In SeminG. R.FiedlerK. (Eds.), Language and social cognition (pp. 11–36). Sage.
47.
SeyranianV. (2014). Social identity framing communication strategies for mobilizing social change. The Leadership Quarterly, 25, 468–486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2013.10.013
48.
ShermanD. K.HoggM. A.MaitnerA. T. (2009). Perceived polarization: Reconciling ingroup and intergroup perceptions under uncertainty. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 12, 95–109. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430208098779
49.
ShnabelN.NadlerA. (2008). A needs-based model of reconciliation: Satisfying the differential emotional needs of victim and perpetrator as a key to promoting reconciliation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94, 116. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.94.1.116
50.
ShnabelN.NoorM. (2012). Competitive victimhood among Jewish and Palestinian Israelis reflects differential threats to their identities: The perspective of the needs based model. In JonasR. J.MertonT. A. (Eds.), Restoring civil societies: The psychology of intervention and engagement following crisis (pp. 192–207). Wiley-Blackwell.
51.
StephanW. G.YbarraO.RiosK. (2016). Intergroup threat theory. In NelsonT. D. (Ed.), Handbook of prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination (pp. 255–278). Psychology Press.
52.
TajfelH.TurnerJ. C. (1986). The social identity theory of intergroup behaviour. In WorchelS.AustinW. G. (Eds.), Psychology of intergroup relations (2nd ed, pp. 7–24). Nelson-Hall.
53.
TurnerJ. C.HoggM. A.OakesP. J.ReicherS. D.WetherellM. S. (1987). Rediscovering the social group: A self-categorization theory. Blackwell.
54.
VarshneyA. (2001). Ethnic conflict and civic life: Hindus and Muslims in India. Yale University Press.
55.
VerkuytenM. (2003). Discourses about ethnic group (de-)essentialism: Oppressive and progressive aspects. British Journal of Social Psychology, 42, 371–391. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466603322438215
56.
WagonerJ. A.BelavadiS.JungJ. (2017). Social identity uncertainty: Conceptualization, measurement, and construct validity. Self and Identity, 16, 505–530. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2016.1275762
57.
WirthW.EsserF.WettsteinM.EngesserS.WirzD.SchulzA.MüllerP. (2016). The appeal of populist ideas, strategies, and styles: A theoretical model and research design for analyzing populist political communication. NCCR Democracy Working Paper No. 88. http://www.nccrdemocracy.uzh.ch/publications/workingpaper/pdf/wp88.pdf
58.
WohlM. J. A.BranscombeN. R.ReysenS. (2010). Perceiving your group’s future to be in jeopardy: Extinction threat induces collective angst and the desire to strengthen the ingroup. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36, 898–910. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167210372505
59.
WohlM. J.GiguèreB.BranscombeN. R.McVicarD. N. (2011). One day we might be no more: Collective angst and protective action from potential distinctiveness loss. European Journal of Social Psychology, 41, 289–300. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.773
60.
WohlM. J.StefaniakA.SmeekesA. (2020). Days of future past: Concerns for the group’s future prompt longing for its past (and ways to reclaim it). Current Directions in Psychological Science, 29, 481–486. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721420924766
61.
YzerbytV. Y.RocherS. J.SchadronG. (1997). Stereotypes as explanations: A subjective essentialistic view of group perception. In SpearsR.OakesP.EllemersN.HaslamA. (Eds.), The psychology of stereotyping and group life (pp. 20–50). Blackwell.
