Responding to Membership of a Low-Status Group: The Effects of Stability, Permeability and Individual Ability

Abstract

This study tested predictions based on social identity theory and the five-stage model concerning membership of a disadvantaged group. Participants (187 male teenagers) believed that they belonged to a low-status group and were offered a choice between five behavioral alternatives. These alternatives symbolized acceptance and combinations of individual/collective and normative/nonnormative action. The stability of the intergroup stratification (stable/unstable), the openness of the high-status group (open/minimally open/closed), and the individual ability of the subordinate group members (high/low) were manipulated. The results showed that the manipulated factors were indeed important determinants of participants' behavioral preferences. However, no support was found for the individualistic action tendency assumed by both theories. On the other hand, the data yield further evidence for the `tokenism' effect.