Social behavior ranges along a continuum from purely interpersonal to purely intergroup

Evidence

Our point of departure for the discussion to follow will be an a priori distinction between two extremes of social behavior, corresponding to what we shall call interpersonal versus intergroup behavior. At one extreme (which most probably is found in its pure form only rarely in real life) is the interaction between two or more individuals that is fully determined by their interpersonal relationships and individual characteristics, and not at all affected by various social groups or categories to which they respectively belong. The other extreme consists of interactions between two or more individuals (or groups of individuals) that are fully determined by their respective memberships in various social groups or categories, and not at all affected by the interindividual personal relationships between the people involved. Here again, it is probable that pure forms of this extreme are found only infrequently in real social situations. Examples that might normally tend to be near the interpersonal extreme would be the relations between wife and husband or between old friends. Examples that would normally approach the intergroup extreme are the behavior of soldiers from opposing armies during a battle, or the behavior at a negotiating table of members representing two parties in an intense intergroup conflict. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2676

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces the interpersonal-intergroup continuum, the foundational conceptual axis of social identity theory.
• XREF: Connects to the continuum idea in other social psych frameworks (e.g., deindividuation, dehumanization literature) and to how negotiations and conflict research treat role-based versus personal interaction.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2676