Playing the game: when group success is more important than downgrading deviants

Partisan respondents evaluated a potential party leader (Study 1) or an ingroup political candidate (Study 2) who expressed normative or deviant opinions against a backdrop of public opinion that was either supportive of, or hostile toward, the ingroup's traditional beliefs (Study 1) or the nor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of social psychology 2007-07, Vol.37 (4), p.599-616
Main Authors: Morton, Thomas A., Postmes, Tom, Jetten, Jolanda
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Beliefs
Biological and medical sciences
Candidates
Deviance
Elections
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Group dynamics
Ingroups
Party leadership
Political psychology
Political support
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Public Opinion
Public Support
Social interactions. Communication. Group processes
Social psychology
United Kingdom
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Summary:Partisan respondents evaluated a potential party leader (Study 1) or an ingroup political candidate (Study 2) who expressed normative or deviant opinions against a backdrop of public opinion that was either supportive of, or hostile toward, the ingroup's traditional beliefs (Study 1) or the normative ingroup position on a specific issue (Study 2). Across both studies, high identifiers gave stronger support to a normative candidate over a deviant candidate when public opinion was with the group, but not when public opinion was against the group. Under the latter conditions, high identifiers instead upgraded the deviant candidate. Additional analyses revealed this pattern of differential support for normative and deviant candidates among high identifiers appeared to be related to strategic considerations—specifically, the candidate's perceived chances of gaining public support and being elected. Among low identifiers, support for normative and deviant candidates was less affected by the broader context of public opinion, and was not related to such strategic considerations. These results demonstrate that responses to deviance depend on the broader context in which deviance occurs. Deviance can, at times, be a way through which groups achieve important goals. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ISSN:0046-2772
1099-0992
DOI:10.1002/ejsp.385