Ingroup identification causally precedes intergroup threat

Evidence

Bizman and Yinon (2001) have found that high identifiers react more strongly to group-level realistic threats than low identifiers, whereas low-identifiers’ attitudes are more influenced by intergroup anxiety, which can be seen as an individual-level threat. — Blake M. Riek, Eric W. Mania, and Samuel L. Gaertner, Intergroup Threat and Outgroup Attitudes, 151

Ingroup identification appears to have a weak, though statistically significant, effect on intergroup threat; high identifiers experience higher levels of intergroup threat than low identifiers. This makes sense, because the more important the ingroup is to individuals the more sensitive they may be to anything that could harm their group. However, it is important to note that because the majority of studies included in our analyses were correlational in nature, where the direction of causality is unclear, it is also possible that threats to the ingroup could cause an increase in ingroup identification. — Blake M. Riek, Eric W. Mania, and Samuel L. Gaertner, Intergroup Threat and Outgroup Attitudes, 126

This makes sense, because the more important the ingroup is to individuals the more sensitive they may be to anything that could harm their group. However, it is important to note that because the majority of studies included in our analyses were correlational in nature, where the direction of causality is unclear, it is also possible that threats to the ingroup could cause an increase in ingroup identification. Some experimental evidence has shown that threats increase identification (Jetten, Branscombe, Schmitt, & Spears, 2001) and therefore the relationship between identification and intergroup threat should be examined experimentally to determine the direction of causality. — Blake M. Riek, Eric W. Mania, and Samuel L. Gaertner, Intergroup Threat and Outgroup Attitudes, 126

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the MOC’s threat-perception claims about how group identification moderates whether members perceive threats as personal or collective. — connects to: Ingroup identification strength moderates whether group-level or individual-level threats drive attitudes. — Blake M. Riek, Eric W. Mania, and Samuel L. Gaertner, Intergroup Threat and Outgroup…, 151; Threats can increase ingroup identification, not merely follow from it — Blake M. Riek, Eric W. Mania, and Samuel L. Gaertner, Intergroup Threat and Outgroup…, 126; Rising uncertainty across identity boundaries amplifies and sharpens collective violence — Charles Tilly, Regimes and Repertoires, 775
• QUESTION: The causal direction between identification and threat remains untested experimentally — exactly the kind of ambiguity worth chasing.
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — Blake M. Riek, Eric W. Mania, and Samuel L. Gaertner, Intergroup Threat and Outgroup…, 151; Blake M. Riek, Eric W. Mania, and Samuel L. Gaertner, Intergroup Threat and Outgroup…, 126
• recurring: this claim recurs 3 times within its source