Dual identity reduces bias in some contexts but increases it in others.

Evidence

The impact of a dual identity on prejudice is presently not well understood. Current research indicates that a dual identity can sometimes lead to reduced bias, as hypothesized in the Common Ingroup Identity Model, but other times it can increase prejudice. For example, in the multiethnic high-school setting, a strong dual identity, in which groups recognized their own cultural identity as well as their superordinate national connection (e.g., African American) was related to both positive conditions of contact and to more positive intergroup relations (Gaertner et al., 1996). However, among East Germans, a strong superordinate German identity, together with a strong East German identity, predicted increased bias toward West Germans (Waldzus, Mummendey, Wenzel, & Weber, 2003). — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 592

Categorization

• QUESTION: What exactly distinguishes the school context where dual identity helps from the East German context where it fuels bias? The conceptual reconciliation proposed later is thin — worth chasing the underlying mechanism.
• XREF: connects to: Dual-identity members cannot elevate one ingroup’s status at the other’s expense. — Anna X. Huang, Jacqueline M. Chen, and Juliane Degner, Being One or the Other, Both or…, 75; Superordinate identities reduce bias and can mitigate perceived threat between groups. — Blake M. Riek, Eric W. Mania, and Samuel L. Gaertner, Intergroup Threat and Outgroup…, 174