Perceiving ingroups as crosscutting reduces discrimination and improves outgroup attitudes

Evidence

Moreover, when individuals rely less on a single category, the likelihood for the occurrence of intergroup discrimination is lower, while the likelihood for positive intergroup attitudes becomes greater. Since social identity complexity refers to multiple crosscutting identity structures and seeks to describe individuals’ subjective varying perceptions of such crosscutting categories, one may assume that a similar logic applies. If individuals are able to perceive their multiple in-groups in a less exclusive, but more differentiated and complex manner, they should also be able to recognize the complexity surrounding others’ multiple category memberships. In short, individuals high in social identity complexity should be aware of the fact that others may be ingroup members on some dimensions, but out-group members on others. This heightened cognitive complexity should then manifest itself in more positive intergroup perceptions and attitudes. — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 532

Categorization

• XREF: Mechanism-level complement to the Allport prejudice reassessment thread: cognitive complexity about ingroup boundaries as a prejudice-reduction lever.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 532