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Processing goal as moderator of in-group-serving illusory correlations
D van Knippenberg1, A van Knippenberg, A Dijksterhuis
1University of Leiden, Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, The Netherlands.
The British Journal of Social Psychology
|January 24, 1998
Summary
Processing goals influence in-group biases. Memorizing information, rather than forming impressions, amplified in-group favoritism in memory and judgments, impacting social stereotyping.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- In-group favoritism and biases in memory and judgment are well-documented phenomena.
- Processing goals can significantly influence cognitive processes, including impression formation and memory recall.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether processing goals moderate in-group-serving expectancy biases.
- To examine how focusing on memorization versus impression formation affects recall and judgments of in-group and out-group behavior.
Main Methods:
- An illusory correlation experiment was conducted.
- Participants were instructed to either memorize information or form group impressions while reading behavioral descriptions of in-group and out-group members.
Main Results:
- Memorization led to stronger in-group-serving illusory correlations in recall and frequency estimates compared to impression formation.
- In-group bias was also more pronounced in group evaluations when participants focused on memorization.
- Infrequency bias affected recall and judgments regardless of the processing goal.
Conclusions:
- Processing goals play a crucial role in moderating in-group-serving biases.
- Strategies focused on memorization can exacerbate social stereotyping by strengthening in-group favoritism.