People describe ingroup virtues and outgroup vices as traits, not acts

Evidence

A second new direction in research on linguistic factors in prejudice, one not anticipated by Allport in The Nature of Prejudice, involves the way that people make different types of attributions for the behaviors of ingroup and outgroup members. This approach is represented by research on the linguistic intergroup bias (Maass, Salvi, Arcuri, & Semin, 1989), which involves the tendencies to describe ingroup and outgroup behaviors at different levels of abstractness. Specifically, desirable ingroup and undesirable outgroup behaviors tend to be communicated more abstractly (e.g., “we are helpful,” “they are aggressive”), while undesirable ingroup and desirable outgroup behaviors tend to be communicated more concretely (e.g., “we pulled their hair,” “they opened the door”). — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1287

Categorization

Category: Factual Claims

• DEFINE: Defines the linguistic intergroup bias — its abstractness asymmetry is the core mechanism.
• XREF: Strong parallel to Milgrom’s reputation/attribution work — the same abstract-versus-concrete framing asymmetry shows up in how traders describe trustworthy versus untrustworthy partners, and connects to how slurs infrahumanize outgroups (low complexity).

Related

• Intergroup attributions differ in the abstractness of language used (similarity 0.94)
• Desirable ingroup acts are described abstractly, undesirable ones concretely (similarity 0.91)
• Abstract language describes ingroup virtues and outgroup vices as stable traits (similarity 0.87)
• Groups split favorably toward their own members and derogate outgroup attributes (similarity 0.83)
• Abstract language about groups encodes subtle biases favoring ingroups over outgroups (similarity 0.83)
• Most ingroup bias overvalues the ingroup rather than devaluing the outgroup (similarity 0.83)
• Most ingroup bias is overvaluation of one’s own group, not active dislike of outsiders (similarity 0.81)
• Ingroup-favoritism mechanisms can be redirected to reduce outgroup bias (similarity 0.81)
• People attribute uniquely human emotions only to their own group (similarity 0.81)
• All prejudice involves intergroup relations with a built-in ingroup preference (similarity 0.81)
• In-group bias mostly reflects positive self-regard, not hostility toward outsiders (similarity 0.81)
• Ingroup favoritism stems from projecting self onto ingroup, not from self-enhancement striving (similarity 0.80)
• Ingroup love is more fundamental to human life than outgroup hate. (similarity 0.80)
• Ingroup preference need not translate into any particular attitude toward outgroups (similarity 0.80)
• Love of one’s ingroup drives intergroup bias as much as hatred of outgroups (similarity 0.80)