Groups are judged by fit with a superordinate prototype that favors the majority

Evidence

This position is consistent with the in-group projection model of Wenzel et al. (2007), which holds that the superordinate group supplies the basis for comparing and differentiating in-group from out-group, or for integrating the (former) out-group into the in-group. Favorable (ingroup) features are projected onto the superordinate group, and the minority will be valued to the extent that it possesses these features. As such, it is essential that minority group members, whether ingroup or out-group, draw attention to their fit with features of the superordinate category and avoid comparisons involving the features that were responsible for their nonmajority status in the first place. Differences between out-group features and those projected onto the prototype (the superordinate group) are the bases for out-group rejection and discrimination. — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1425

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the in-group projection model - the evaluative prototype mechanism by which minorities are judged.
• XREF: Prototype-projection discrimination grounds the claim that outgroupers are rejected for possessing features that deviate from an implicit majority-standard norm. — connects to: Influence within groups accrues to members seen as prototypical of the group’s position. — Stephen Reicher, S. Alexander Haslam, and Nick Hopkins, Social identity and the dynamics of…, 45
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1425