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Updated: May 24, 2026
06:48
The HoneyComb Paradigm for Research on Collective Human Behavior
Published on: January 19, 2019
Outgroup helping as a tool to communicate ingroup warmth.
Esther van Leeuwen1, Susanne Täuber
1VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands. EAC.van.Leeuwen@vu.nl
Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin
|March 9, 2012
Summary
People help outgroups more when they believe the outgroup has negative views of their own group, driven by a desire to manage their ingroup's image, not self-image concerns.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Intergroup Relations
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Previous research explored metastereotype activation's impact on outgroup helping.
- The role of group impression management motives requires further examination.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of group impression management motives on direct outgroup helping.
- To understand helping behaviors when an outgroup holds a negative view of the ingroup.
Main Methods:
- Three experiments were conducted to test the hypotheses.
- Participants' concerns for ingroup image and self-image were assessed.
- Direct helping behaviors towards an outgroup were measured.
Main Results:
- Outgroup helping, in response to a negative metastereotype, was predicted by ingroup image concerns, not self-image concerns.
- Group image concerns predicted outgroup helping but not ingroup helping.
- Helping behavior was specific to negative metastereotype activation compared to other conditions.
Conclusions:
- Direct outgroup helping is communicative, driven by a desire to manage the ingroup's public image.
- Findings highlight the strategic nature of helping behavior in intergroup contexts.
- The study rules out explanations based on denying the self-relevance of metastereotypes.
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