Greater similarity to the Other heightens rather than eases intergroup fear

Evidence

Freud’s theory of narcissism seemingly sanctions the conflation between “fear of the stranger,” xenophobia, national chauvinism, and racism. But is that actually consistent with his formulation? He starts by stating what amounts to a law: the greater the proximity/similarity of the Other the greater its perceived threat to the Ideal Self, hence the greater the fear evoked and the stronger the urge to invent difference and assert distance. So far so good. This is a great advance on all the liberal and humanist platitudinizing that suggest that the more alike we are the easier it should be for us to get on, and that after all there is only one race - the human race. Where Marx saw merely a dumb generality, without purchase on the real world, Freud detects a cover story which seeks to deny the narcissistic dynamics at work in these identifications. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 1386

Categorization

• XREF: Contradicts the vault’s implicit liberal-humanist assumption that shared humanity should produce tolerance; connects to Lofland’s world-of-strangers material where similar-status strangers were read differently. — connects to: Salient categorization during intergroup contact can breed anxiety rather than reduce prejudice. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1811; Intergroup anxiety narrows thinking and worsens intergroup judgment; Cross-group friendships reduce prejudice partly by lowering intergroup anxiety. — Miles Hewstone and Joanne Hughes, Reconciliation in Northern Ireland: the…, 11 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Threat from similar outgroups drives more bias than threat from dissimilar ones. #corroborates (0.95) — Blake M. Riek, Eric W. Mania, and Samuel L. Gaertner, Intergroup Threat and Outgroup Attitudes, 59
• Salient categorization during intergroup contact can breed anxiety rather than reduce prejudice. #corroborates (0.90) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1811
• Cross-group friendships reduce prejudice partly by lowering intergroup anxiety. #complicates (0.85) — Miles Hewstone and Joanne Hughes, Reconciliation in Northern Ireland, 11
• Intergroup anxiety arises from anticipated negative consequences and perceived threats #expands (0.80) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1832
• Intergroup anxiety narrows thinking and worsens intergroup judgment #expands (0.75)
• Observing ingroup friends interact with outgroups reduces one’s future intergroup anxiety #corroborates (0.75) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1834
• Perceived outgroup threats damage intergroup relations even without hostility #qualifies (0.70) — Walter G. Stephan, Oscar Ybarra, Kimberly Rios Morrison, Intergroup Threat Theory, 38