Intergroup Helping (eBook)

Esther van Leeuwen received her PhD from Leiden University in 2001. Between 2001 and 2014 she worked as an assistant professor at VU University Amsterdam. Since 2014 she has been an assistant professor at Leiden University in social and organisational psychology. Esther’s research focuses on intergroup helping (for example, between countries or organisations), and the loyalty employers extend towards their employees. She is also interested in corporate reputation, empowerment, and separatism conflict. She is an active blogger on various topics. Please visit her website (www.esthervanleeuwen.nl) for her blogs, and for more information about her research interests, teaching, PhD students, publications, and CV.Dr. Hanna Zagefka is a Reader in Social Psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London, in social psychology. Her research interests are in social psychology, particularly intergroup relations, social identity (especially national or ethnic identity), acculturation, prejudice, and intergroup helping. She is Co-Editor-in-Chief of the British Journal of Socal Psychology. 

Introduction 5
Putting the ‘Intergroup’ into Research on Helping 5
Putting the ‘Helping’ into Intergroup Relations Research 7
Intergroup Helping 8
References 10
Contents 11
Contributors 13
Part I: Intergroup Helping as Subtle Discrimination 16
Chapter 1: Helping Behaviour and Subtle Discrimination 17
Intergroup Relations: Social Categorisation, Identity and Dominance 18
Social Cognition and Categorisation 18
Social Identity 19
Social Dominance 20
Intergroup Relations: Summary 20
Intergroup Bias and Helping Behaviour 21
Social Categorisation, Cooperation and Helping 21
Intergroup Helping as Consequence of Subtle Racism 24
Intergroup Helping as Tool for Subtle Bias 27
Summary, Implications and Future Directions 31
References 34
Chapter 2: Benevolent Sexism and Cross-Gender Helping: A Subtle Reinforcement of Existing Gender Relations 37
The Motivations and Strategic Aims of Intergroup Helping: The Perspective of the IHSR Model 38
Interdependence Between Men and Women and the Ideology of Benevolent Sexism 40
Benevolent Sexism as a Form of Subtle Bias 42
Benevolent Sexism and Engagement in Dependency-Oriented Cross-Gender Helping Relations 43
Support for Empowering Versus Non-Empowering Policies Intended to Help Women 49
Conclusions, Future Directions, and Implications for Social Change 50
Implications for Social Change 52
References 52
Chapter 3: Is Saying “No” to a Request a Subtle Form of Discrimination Against Lesbians and Gay Men? A Fresh Look at Old Findings 58
Introduction 58
Sexual Prejudice and Gay–Straight Intergroup Relations 60
Helping Behaviour as a Reflection of Community Attitudes Towards Social Groups 61
Social Identity and Self-Categorisation: Helping Behaviour as Expression of Ingroup Identification? 62
Helping Behaviour as Interpersonal and Intergroup Behaviour 63
Revisiting Previous Research: Field Experiments on Helping Gay and Straight People 64
Selection of Studies 64
Helping Behaviour Studies 65
Studies for Comparison 65
Summary of Results Reflecting Community Attitudes 66
Discussion 70
Do the Field Experiments Tap into Interpersonal or Intergroup Behaviour? 70
Is Intergroup Helping an Expression of Attitudes or Related to the Relevance of Intergroup Boundaries? 71
Concluding Remarks 72
References 73
Chapter 4: Intergroup Helping: How Do Children See It? 77
Actual Intergroup Helping and Sharing Among Children 79
How Do Children Reason Helping Others? 80
A Social Identity Perspective on Helping 81
Children’s Reasoning About Intergroup Helping 83
Moral Obligation to Help and the Group Context 84
Group Norms and Self-Presentation 86
Promoting Helping Across Group Boundaries: The Role of Empathy 88
Limitations and Future Directions 90
Conclusion 92
References 93
Chapter 5: Helping an Outgroup Member Or the Outgroup: The Identifiability Effect in an Intergroup Context 98
The Identifiable Victim Effect 99
Identifiability of Outgroup Victims: Conflicting Results 100
Studies in which Identification of an Outgroup Member Increased Giving 100
Studies in which Identification of an Outgroup Member Did not Increase Giving 101
Controlled Studies Examining the Identifiability Effect in an Intergroup Context 102
Groups Based on Nationality 102
Groups in Conflict 104
Political Rival Groups 105
Groups in Non-Conflict Rivalry 106
Group’s Cohesiveness 107
Perceptions and Stereotypes of Outgroups 109
Conclusion 110
References 111
Chapter 6: A Group-Level Theory of Helping and Altruism Within and Across Group Boundaries 114
A Group-Level Theory of Helping and Altruism Within and Across Group Boundaries 115
Empirical Research Programme 123
Studies Testing Proposition 1 and Corollaries 1a and 1b 123
Studies 1–6: Do Perceived Group-Based Self-Other (Dis)similarities Moderate the Role of Empathy and Cost–Benefit-Related Variables in Helping? 123
Studies 7, 8 and 9: Resolving Motivational Conflict Through Systematic Information Processing 124
Studies 10 and 11: The Interactive Effects of Perceived Intergroup (Dis)similarity and Perceived Group-Level Reciprocal Benefits 126
Studies Testing Proposition 2 and Corollaries 2a, 2b and 2c 127
Study 12: Meeting Recipients’ Needs—When the Nature of the Helper’s Motivation Matters 127
Studies Testing Proposition 3 128
Studies 13 and 14: The Dis-Inhibiting Effect of Perspective-Taking 128
Study 15, 16 and 17: The Dis-Inhibiting Effect of the Recipient’s Perceived Benevolence 129
Summary 130
Discussion 131
References 133
Part II: Strategic Motives for Intergroup Helping 139
Chapter 7: The SOUTH Model: On the Pros and Cons of Strategic Outgroup Helping 140
Ingroup Helping 141
Non-strategic Outgroup Helping 142
Intergroup Contact 142
Empathy 142
Common Ingroup 143
Self-Expansion 144
Strategic Outgroup Helping: Introducing the SOUTH Model 145
Power 146
Warmth and Competence 147
Meaning 148
Collective Guilt and Pride 148
Inclusion 149
Distinctiveness 150
Comparing Strategic and Non-strategic Outgroup Helping 151
Equal Treatment or Outgroup Favouritism? 152
The Consequences of a Shared Identity 152
Psychological Consequences for Help Recipients 153
A Closer Look at the Different Motives Behind Strategic Outgroup Helping 154
Power 154
Warmth and Competence 155
Meaningful Existence 155
Collective Guilt and Pride 156
Inclusion 157
Distinctiveness 157
When Needs Are Not Aligned 158
Overcoming the Downside of Receiving Help: Paying It Forward 159
Discussion 160
Summary of Predictions 161
Limitation 161
Practical Implications 162
References 163
Chapter 8: Help that Helps: Exploring Strategic Motivations in Intergroup Helping Transactions 168
Labels and Social Categories 169
Intergroup Helping and Group Image 171
Helping as General Image Promotion 171
Helping and Stereotype Disconfirmation 173
Intergroup Help-Seeking and Group Image 176
Help-Seeking and Image Promotion 177
Meta-Stereotypes and Intergroup Help-Seeking 178
The Strategic Construction of Identities and Helping 182
Conclusion 185
References 186
Chapter 9: The Path from Helping One to Helping the Group and Beyond 191
The Triangle of Group Helping 192
The Helpee 193
The Helper 194
The Situation 197
One-Among-Others Effect: Helping at a Level Between the Individual and the Group 198
One-Among-Others Presentation 199
Awareness of Others 200
Empathic Concern Towards the Others 201
Motivational Duality 201
Matching the Target in Need and the Beneficiary of Potential Help 202
Summary 203
Quixoteism: Beyond the Group 203
Antecedents 204
Consequences 205
Current Applications and Future Research 206
Conclusions 207
References 208
Chapter 10: The Intergroup Status as Helping Relations Model: Giving, Seeking and Receiving Help as Tools to Maintain or Challenge Social Inequality 213
The Intergroup Helping as Status Relations (IHSR) Model: Theoretical Background and Basic Determinants 214
Help-Seeking as Stigma-Consistent Behaviour 218
From Dependency to Autonomy: The Positive Effects of Sense of Control, Trust and Common Identity on Intergroup Helping Relations 220
Summary and Implications 223
References 225
Chapter 11: A Conceptualisation of Help Avoidance as Motivated Inaction: Implications for Theory, Research and Society 230
An Illustration of Help Avoidance and Help Refusal 231
Violating Unwritten Rules: Help Avoidance as Motivated Inaction 232
Empirical Support for Help Avoidance as Motivated Inaction 234
Boundary Conditions: When Is Inaction Likely an Act of Resistance? 236
Consequences of Motivated Inaction on Group Processes and Intergroup Relations 238
Lost in Translation: Audiences’ Interpretation of Inaction 241
Why Are Insights into Motivated Inaction Lacking? 244
Motivated Inaction: A Research Agenda 246
Conclusion 249
References 249
Part III: Intergroup Helping in the Field 254
Chapter 12: Are They In or Are They Out? Questioning Category Relations in the Study of Helping 255
Mobilising Solidarity for Jews under the Nazis 258
Mobilising Support for Migrants in Contemporary Britain 262
Milgram and the Dynamics of Identification 265
Conclusion 271
References 271
Chapter 13: The Importance of National Identities and Intergroup Relations in Disaster Aid 274
Social Identity Theory and How It Pertains to Intergroup Donation Behaviour 275
Group Identification and Familiarity 276
The Donor–Perpetrator Relationship 277
The Victim–Donor Relationship 282
The Importance of Intergroup Relations Between National Groups 284
Discussion 286
References 287
Chapter 14: Promoting Helping Behaviour Across Group Boundaries Through the Restoration of the Agentic Identities of Conflicting Groups 291
Applying the Needs-Based Model to Dual Conflicts: The Primacy of Agency Effect 293
Promoting Prosociality in Dual Conflicts Through Agency Affirmation Interventions 295
Implications, Future Directions and Conclusions 302
References 304
Chapter 15: In the Aftermath of Natural Disasters: Fostering Helping Towards Outgroup Victims 308
Ingroup Versus Outgroup Helping 309
Natural Disasters and Intergroup Helping from Bystanders 309
The Role of Prejudice 310
Perceived Threat to Social Identity, Outgroup Image, and Intergroup Conflict 311
Helping the Outgroup from Inside the Multi-ethnic Community: A Theoretical Model from the Perspective of the Victims 312
The Italian 2012 Earthquakes 312
A New Theoretical Model 313
Intergroup Helping Among Adult Victims 315
Perceived Disaster Exposure and Intergroup Helping 315
Outgroup Threats and Distress 317
The Role of Negative Intergroup Contact 319
Intergroup Helping Among Child Victims 320
Distress and Prosocial Behaviour in the Absence of a Salient Social Categorisation 321
Perceived Disaster Exposure and Prosocial Behaviour When Group Membership Is Salient 322
The Proposed Theoretical Model: A Critical Evaluation 325
Future Research and Suggestions for Practical Interventions 326
Closing Remarks 328
References 329
Chapter 16: Sense of Responsibility and Empathy: Bridging the Gap Between Attributions and Helping Behaviours 334
Attribution Theory and Poverty 336
Attributions and Helping 338
Mediators of the Attribution–Helping Association 338
Empathy and Helping Behaviour 339
Feelings of Social Responsibility and Helping 340
The Proposed Model 341
Testing the Attribution of the Poverty-Helping Mediational Model: The Chilean Context 342
General Description of the Survey 343
Main Results 343
Theoretical and Practical Implications 345
References 347
Chapter 17: Promoting Third-Party Prosocial Behaviour: The Potential of Moral Emotions 351
Prosociality 353
The Relatively Advantaged and Prosociality 353
Third-Party Prosociality 354
Potential of Emotions 354
Prototypical Moral Emotions 355
Moral Elevation 357
Moral Outrage 358
Specificity of Prosocial Effects: The Appraisal Tendency Framework 360
The Appraisal Tendency Framework and Moral Judgements 361
Specificity of Prosocial Effects: Moral Elevation and Moral Outrage 362
Insights for Practical Interventions 365
Summary 366
References 366
Chapter 18: When Giving Isn’t Enough: Responding to Humanitarian Emergencies Through Benevolent and Activist Support 371
Responding to Humanitarian Disadvantage 373
Giving or Doing? 373
Individual or Collective Action? 378
Promoting Humanitarian Action 380
Promoting Humanitarian Action Through Small Group Interactions 381
The Role of Social Media in Promoting Humanitarian Action 382
Practical Implications and Concluding Comments 385
References 386
Index 391