Group-based control is a motive distinct from resource acquisition or self-esteem striving.

Evidence

The motive for group-based control is distinct from other social-identity motives that have been proposed. According to the realistic-conflict approach (Esses et al., 1998), it is people’s desire for material resources and safety that binds them to groups that are instrumental in gaining these resources through intragroup cooperation and intergroup competition. However, although possessing resources can sometimes be an indicator of control, it does not have to be. Having a sufficient amount of resources available should satisfy people’s material needs, but the perception of group-based control requires the perception that the group had, or has, control over these resources (e.g., because they obtained the resources through autonomous, goaldirected collective effort). Indeed, threatened control (e.g., in the context of ownership) has been shown to have effects independent of the effects of realistic (e.g., economic) threat (Nijs et al., 2021). — Immo Fritsche, Agency Through the We, 34

Categorization

• DEFINE: Sharpens what group-based control is NOT: not realistic-conflict resource pursuit, the key being perceived agency over resources rather than mere possession.
• XREF: Connects to the reader’s test of whether negational/hollowed-out identities function via control restoration rather than material or status gains. — connects to: In-group identification boosts well-being through gains in perceived control, not self-esteem. — Immo Fritsche, Agency Through the We: Group-Based…, 24; Mere group membership suffices to trigger self-esteem-linked favoritism. — Anthony G. Greenwald and Mahzarin R. Banaji, Implicit Social Cognition: Attitudes,…, 126; People pursue self-worth through favorable evaluations of their groups — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 1495

Broader Connections

• In-group identification boosts well-being through gains in perceived control, not self-esteem. #corroborates (0.95) — Immo Fritsche, Agency Through the We, 24
• Mere group membership suffices to trigger self-esteem-linked favoritism. #complicates (0.85) — Anthony G. Greenwald and Mahzarin R. Banaji, Implicit Social Cognition, 126
• People pursue self-worth through favorable evaluations of their groups #complicates (0.85) — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 1495