Does the correlation between self and ingroup/outgroup depend on group favorability?

Abstract

There is considerable evidence that predictions about others’ behavior are anchored to comparable judgments about the self. There is also strong evidence that while self-judgments predict ingroup members’ behavior more strongly than outgroup members, the correlation between self and group remains positive for both ingroups and outgroups (Robbins & Krueger, 2005). The present study examined two related questions. First, could the differences in correlation between self and ingroup versus outgroup be attributed to differences in group favorability? Second, would a negative correlation between self and outgroup be found for intensely disliked outgroups? Using an idiographic design that assessed self—group correlations for ingroups and outgroups ranging in favorability from highly disliked to highly liked, we found: (1) group favorability did not explain ingroup—outgroup differences; and (2) there was no evidence for a negative correlation between self and outgroups, even highly disliked outgroups. Discrepancies with earlier research are discussed.