Leaders gain support by favoring ingroup members over even-handedness

Evidence

As predicted, support and tangible followership depended on the extent to which the leader had displayed ingroup favoritism (i.e., allocating more places on the committee to individuals who were against education cuts) rather than even-handedness, and was thus perceived by participants to embody relevant ingroup norms. — Stephen Reicher, S. Alexander Haslam, and Nick Hopkins, Social identity and the dynamics of…, 49

Categorization

• QUESTION: This experimentally reverses the common expectation that fairness/even-handedness wins followers - worth chasing whether ingroup favoritism is robust across leader types and stakes.
• XREF: Connects to the reading purpose on threat-framing and shared identity - this is the positive cohesion side (favoring insiders) contrasted with the excluded-outgroup side. — connects to: Leadership theory wrestles with celebrating influence without endorsing tyranny. — Stephen Reicher, S. Alexander Haslam, and Nick Hopkins, Social identity and the dynamics of…, 20; Leadership acts on followers through collective group norms, not just individual exchange — Stephen Reicher, S. Alexander Haslam, and Nick Hopkins, Social identity and the dynamics of…, 34; Subordinates sometimes favor dominant groups over their own ingroups — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 3209 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Accountability suppresses ingroup favoritism, especially among majority members #complicates (0.84) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1380
• Ingroup favoritism operates through reward-giving rather than outgroup harm #expands (0.82) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1379
• Ingroup favoritism fades as group membership becomes more secure #qualifies (0.80) — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 887
• Subordinates sometimes favor dominant groups over their own ingroups #complicates (0.78) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 3209
• Ingroup favoritism operates independently of outgroup hatred #expands (0.76) — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 1496
• Effective inclusive leaders build consensus, coordination and shared structure. #complicates (0.75) — Stephen Reicher, S. Alexander Haslam, and Nick Hopkins, Social identity and the dynamics of…, 96