Mind your language: The effect of linguistic abstractness on ingroup bias and black sheep effect

0350578 - PSÚ 2011 PL eng A - Abstrakt
Bilewicz, M. - Kouřilová, Sylvie - Finell, E. - Geschke, D.
Mind your language: The effect of linguistic abstractness on ingroup bias and black sheep effect.
Book of Abstracts: 3rd Biennial Symposium on Personality and Social Psychology. Warsaw: Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2010. s. 21-21.
[3rd Biennial Symposium on Personality and Social Psychology. 22.09.2010-2509.2010, Warsaw]
Grant CEP: GA ČR GAP407/10/2394
Výzkumný záměr: CEZ:AV0Z70250504
Klíčová slova: linguistic abstractness * ingroup bias * blacksheep effect
Kód oboru RIV: AN - Psychologie

Linguistic abstractness has an impact the social cognition thus influencing intergroup relations (Semin & Fiedler, 1988; Maass et al., 1989). Recent research shows that using grammatically more abstract forms (nouns) for target descriptions leads to more essentialist perceptions and higher category salience than using more concrete linguistic forms like adjectives (Carnaghi et al., 2008). Higher category salience implies that using more abstract forms (nouns) for group membership should also lead to more pronounced intergroup bias (as a phenomenon related to salient social categories). In a series of three experiments we examined effects of linguistic abstractness on intergroup bias. The level of linguistic abstractness was manipulated using either nouns or adjectives for nationality labels. In the first, cross-linguistic study, participants from 4 European countries evaluated abstract paintings, supposedly created by an ingroup and outgroup painter. Nouns denoting the painters´ nationality led to a higher level of ingroup favoritism in terms of liking the ingroup painter´s work more, in comparison to adjectives. In the second study, we replicated findings from the first study in a more realistic context of a football match. In the description we manipulated the linguistic abstractness of players’ nationalities. Nouns for nationality labels led to more pronounced ingroup favoritism and increased blacksheep effect. In the third study, we confirmed the findings using a nation-wide representative Polish sample. Participants were asked to indicate their opinion about socially relevant issues. All three studies support the hypothesis that more abstract grammatical forms (nouns) increase the ingroup bias, as compared to adjectives. Implications will be discussed.
Trvalý link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0190545