Review of “Prejudice and Ingroup Favoritism in a Minimal Intergroup Situation: Effects of Self Esteem”

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The purpose of the study by Crocker and Schwartz (1985) was to contradict prior research that indicated that low self-esteem people are more likely to be prejudiced than those with high self-esteem. The authors hypothesized that individuals with high self-esteem would demonstrate greater ethnocentrism whereas subjects with low self-esteem would demonstrate higher negativity about out-groups and would be less likely to identify large distinctions between the groups. Therefore, those with low-self esteem would rate all lower regardless of group designation. The authors also sought to distinguish between an individual’s comparisons of themselves with other people in general, versus their comparison with the out-group. Forty-two male and female introductory psychology students were studied in groups of six. Their participation fulfilled a course requirement. The students were advised that the purpose of the study was to evaluate group interaction and that the participants would be spending equal time with each other. To ensure privacy the study had participants sit at desks that had dividers between them to prevent them from view of each other. Each person then completed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Inventory, an accepted source for self-evaluation of esteem. Next the individuals were divided up by lottery into two groups referred to as Alphas and Betas. They were then asked to rate their expectations of both groups by rating each of the participants based on ten personality traits, five desirable personality traits and five undesirable personality traits. Once they completed the evaluations, the evaluations were collected and this concluded the data collection used for the study. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Inventory scores were calculated and due to uneven score distribution, slightly more subjects were considered as high self-esteem. Twenty-nine of the subjects
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