Groups whose identity means not being an out-group inevitably derogate that out-group

Evidence

Whites who are not white supremacists may be less likely to perceive a dichotomy between their racial in-group and out-groups. When people do perceive an out-group as defining their in-group, they may be more likely to exhibit out-group negativity and show interdependence between in-group and out-group attitudes. In cases where groups are reciprocally defining, it should be very difficult for individuals who identify with their group to achieve positive distinctiveness without derogating the out-group. This idea can be tested in future research by examining groups that define “us” as not being “them.” For example, the identity of some atheists (who are identified as such) may rest heavily on the fact that they are not people who subscribe to religious beliefs. In contrast, the identity of agnostics may not necessarily depend on comparisons with religious people. This difference implies that people who identify themselves as atheists will display reciprocally negative attitudes toward people who are high in religiosity, whereas the intergroup attitudes of agnostic people will not exhibit this relationship. Thus, although evidence of reciprocity in the current research was based on an extreme group, more mainstream groups that have reciprocally defining features may also show a negative relationship between in-group and out-group attitudes. — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1120

Categorization

• SEED: Article angle: whether oppositional identities like ‘atheist’ or ‘ex-Muslim’ structurally require derogation of their defining out-group, paralleling white-supremacist logic.
• QUESTION: Would test this against the reader’s Allport thread: does ‘negative interdependence’ correlate with measurable hostility toward religious Muslims specifically?
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1120
• XREF: connects to: Identity can be formed negationally by focusing on group non-membership. — Chen-Bo Zhong, Adam D. Galinsky, and Miguel M. Unzueta, Negational racial identity and…, 17