Groups can be perceived as groups through agency and purpose

Evidence

Brewer et al.’s (2004) second intuitive theory of entitativity is referred to as an agency conception, capturing the perception of group entitativity as a group’s ability to get things done and to have the means to accomplish its goals. It is here that Brewer et al.’s ideas truly become a view of “dynamic entitativity,” as this conception highlights the importance of group organization, planning and coordination, and meaningful activity. In this view, groups are seen as groups because they are coherent, cohesive action centers: they are alive, they are doing, and they have purpose. In comparison, other conceptions and analyses of entitativity seem quite static. In our view, Brewer et al.’s recognizing that the perception of group entitativity can be based on these qualities is a valuable extension of past thinking and offers the opportunity to explore the interface between the perception of entitativity and actual group functioning. — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 243

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces the agency conception of entitativity as distinct from static similarity-based views.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 243
• XREF: connects to: Group rights recognition centers on respecting each group’s moral agency. — Nurit Shnabel and Johannes Ullrich, Identity Needs in Intergroup Relations:…, 36