Threatened group identity drives scapegoating and reassertion of superiority.

Evidence

Envious stereotypes of the Jews as influential and powerful but ill intentioned and manipulative allowed the Jews to serve as the explanation for Germany’s woes, whereas the contrasting contemptuous stereotype of Jewish inferiority addressed the need to regain a sense of Aryan superiority (allowing the Nazis to restore the positive group image that the loss of World War I had all but demolished). This reassertion of a positive social identity once it has come under threat is predicted by social identity theory (Tajfel, 1981), and Nazi racial (and cultural) theories of Aryan superiority were undoubtedly central to the ideology’s attraction for many Germans. — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide, 824

Categorization

• XREF: Connects Tajfel’s social identity theory to scapegoat ideology — the bridge the reader wants between small-group inclusion needs and group-level targeting. — connects to: People curb death anxiety by identifying evil with out-groups via scapegoating. — Jeff Greenberg and Spee Kosloff, Terror Management Theory: Implications…, 55; Collective narcissism drives hierarchy-reinforcing action in perpetrator groups but hierarchy-challenging action in victim groups. — Nurit Shnabel and Johannes Ullrich, Identity Needs in Intergroup Relations:…, 129; Group identification can function to restore a threatened sense of control. — Immo Fritsche, Agency Through the We: Group-Based…, 42 (+4 more)
• SEED: Angle: why do national humiliations produce mythologies that are simultaneously grandiose and paranoid, and why does that combination sell so well?

Broader Connections

• Threatened identity and low collective self-esteem fuel out-group scapegoating. #corroborates (0.95) — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide, 912
• Threatened self-esteem plus uncertainty drives people into rigid group identity. #expands (0.85) — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide, 913
• Perceived group power and competition, not negative traits, determine stereotyping and scapegoating #contradicts (0.80) — Cristian Tileagă, The Nature of Prejudice, 196
• Groups are scapegoated for perceived power, not weakness #contradicts (0.80) — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 1609