Social Identity and Person Perception

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Social identity, or perceived memberships in relevant social groups, can influence a wide range of processes, including how we perceive, evaluate, and interact with others. The proposed research examines the role of group membership on person perception, theorizing that it will be easier to perceive in-group members as having their own thoughts, goals and feelings relative to members of other groups. This is important, as the ability to infer states in others can facilitate social interactions, appropriate responding to others' emotions, and the perception that others have moral rights and responsibilities. Conversely, when people do not perceive others as having their own thoughts, goals and feelings, they may be more likely to respond with prejudice and discrimination. Therefore, this work has the potential to provide new ways of understanding how group identity influences perceptual processes, suggest novel techniques to reduce real world prejudice and discrimination, and to improve cooperation between members of different groups.Jay Van Bavel (New York University) will conduct a series of studies to examine how perceptions of others are influenced by individuals' group identity (e.g., team membership, national identity). The research team will examine this question in relation to: [1] the importance people place on their group memberships and whether people believe that their group is threatened by an out-group; [2] the neural systems that underlie this relationship; [3] how biases against an out-group affect behavior (e.g., aggression, intergroup conflict, and care); and [4] methods to reduce bias against out-groups. By examining these factors, this proposed research will result in new theorizing about the role of social identity on perceptions of others.