Self-Anchoring and In-Group Favoritism: An Individual Profiles Analysis

Abstract The current report deals with determinants of in-group favoritism in the minimal group paradigm (MGP). More specifically, valence of comparison dimension and self-evaluations were analyzed as predictors of in-group–out-group evaluations. Self- and intergroup judgments were obtained with regard to a set of positive and negative traits. Data reveal a significant in-group favoritism effect. In addition, there was further evidence for the positive–negative asymmetry in social discrimination; in-group favoritism was stronger on positive than on negative comparison dimensions. Evidence for self-anchoring as the crucial basis for in-group favoritism was found by virtue of individual multiple regression analyses. The self-rating was a better predictor for in-group favoritism than was the valence of the trait. Data imply that a self–in-group generalization, rather than a striving for positive in-group distinctiveness, might underlie in-group favoritism in the MGP, and they demonstrate individual multiple regression analyses as a powerful means to analyze self-anchoring in social judgment.

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