When Subcategorization Facilitates Group Cohesion: A Temporal Study of the Relational Regulation of Ingroup Opinion Divisions

This paper analyzes the conditions under which groups composed of two opposing factions are able to preserve group cohesion and subgroup opinion divisions simultaneously. Results from two experimental studies conducted with small interactive groups showed that groups with opposing factions were able...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Swiss journal of psychology 2012-10, Vol.71 (4), p.205-213
Main Authors: Gianettoni, Lavinia, Clémence, Alain, Staerklé, Christian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Female
Group Cohesion
Human
Ingroup Outgroup
Male
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Summary:This paper analyzes the conditions under which groups composed of two opposing factions are able to preserve group cohesion and subgroup opinion divisions simultaneously. Results from two experimental studies conducted with small interactive groups showed that groups with opposing factions were able to preserve subgroup divergence without jeopardizing superordinate group cohesion. A process termed relational regulation of ingroup opinion divisions explains these findings: The more group members perceived the group as promoting good relations, the more they maintained or even radicalized their initial opinions. In contrast, in an experimental context in which opinion divergences were not reinforced by subcategorization, we observed convergence toward a unique group position destined to maintain group cohesion that was independent of the perceived relational norm.
ISSN:1421-0185
1662-0879
DOI:10.1024/1421-0185/a000089