Differentiated bureaucracies suffer in-group bias and out-group derogation

Evidence

Part of the problem is simply that complex bureaucracies are highly differentiated social systems. The deleterious effects of such differentiation reflect two closely related psychological biases. The first is the tendency for individuals to perceive their own in-group and its members in comparatively positive terms (as being, for instance, more honest, cooperative, fair, and trustworthy). This bias is termed, aptly enough, “in-group bias” (Brewer, 1979). The second is a tendency for individuals to devaluate the attributes, values, and practices of out-groups and their members—a process known as “out-group derogation.” — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1973

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines in-group bias and out-group derogation clearly and concisely, the two mechanisms underlying intergroup cooperation failures.
• XREF: connects to: Bureaucratic functionality makes bias officially unacknowledgeable and contested — Michael Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of…, 847; News headlines systematically frame minority agency negatively while favoring the ingroup — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 1090