Periodic Reporting for period 2 - CEC (The Cognitive-Ecological Challenge of Diversity)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2022-10-01 do 2024-03-31
As globalization progresses, societies are becoming increasingly diverse regarding ethnicities, religions, customs, values, and beliefs. This diversity brings forth both significant opportunities and complex challenges for Europe and the broader global community. One major challenge is the human inclination to view those from different groups or minorities less favorably (i.e. intergroup bias), which can hinder peace and cooperation within and between societies. Traditional psychological theories often attribute negative attitudes and stereotypes towards others to self-interest or personality traits. However, this approach has limitations, as it can lead to a circular argument and leaves our understanding of the basic learning processes underlying the formation of intergroup bias incomplete.
The CEC research program offers a novel theoretical model to explain why negative perceptions and stereotypes about different groups and minorities emerge. This cognitive-ecological framework suggests that such attitudes are not necessarily the result of malicious intent but can also arise as unintended consequences of basic cognitive processes and the nature of the information environment surrounding us. According to this model, individuals naturally notice and remember distinctive characteristics that set outgroups and minority groups apart from ingroups and majorities. In the information environment, distinctive traits are statistically likely to be negative, giving rise to negatively biased views of outgroups and minorities at an inherent disadvantage.
Moreover, the framework helps to understand why stereotypes are usually negative. In the context of media reporting, it explains why people often overestimate the frequency of negative traits and actions in minority groups. It also sheds light on why efforts by politicians and journalists to correct these misconceptions can sometimes be counterproductive. The ERC Starting Grant enables our research team to rigorously test this theoretical framework with the aim of providing a deeper, more nuanced perspective on the societal challenges of diversity and to provide novel solutions to overcome intergroup conflict and foster peace and cooperation.
The CEC research program offers a novel theoretical model to explain why negative perceptions and stereotypes about different groups and minorities emerge. This cognitive-ecological framework suggests that such attitudes are not necessarily the result of malicious intent but can also arise as unintended consequences of basic cognitive processes and the nature of the information environment surrounding us. According to this model, individuals naturally notice and remember distinctive characteristics that set outgroups and minority groups apart from ingroups and majorities. In the information environment, distinctive traits are statistically likely to be negative, giving rise to negatively biased views of outgroups and minorities at an inherent disadvantage.
Moreover, the framework helps to understand why stereotypes are usually negative. In the context of media reporting, it explains why people often overestimate the frequency of negative traits and actions in minority groups. It also sheds light on why efforts by politicians and journalists to correct these misconceptions can sometimes be counterproductive. The ERC Starting Grant enables our research team to rigorously test this theoretical framework with the aim of providing a deeper, more nuanced perspective on the societal challenges of diversity and to provide novel solutions to overcome intergroup conflict and foster peace and cooperation.
In the first half of the project’s timeline, we conducted several experimental and correlational studies that tested some of our main hypotheses regarding the formation of negative attitudes towards outgroups and minority groups. In some of these studies, participants formed impressions of artificial alien groups or real groups, while we manipulated the order in which these groups were encountered, whether they were minority or majority groups, whether they were ingroups or outgroups, and whether the groups’ distinct attributes were positive or negative. The studies confirmed that people form impressions about novel (i.e. later-encountered) groups primarily based on their distinct attributes. When distinct group attributes were negative, participants’ evaluations, memory content, and stereotypes of novel groups were negatively biased. This suggests that outgroups and minorities are often seen more negatively because, in most contexts, people encounter these groups only after they have encountered ingroups and majorities. In another line of studies, we manipulated the number of groups that participants formed impressions about and confirmed that when the social environment comprises a larger number of groups, people’s impressions of these groups become more negative. In a large cross-country study, we collected stereotypes that people hold toward majority and minority groups and confirmed that stereotypes towards minorities are indeed more negative than stereotypes toward majorities.
We have also begun working on several novel research questions related to our CEC project. In these projects, we collaborate with several researchers inside and outside the EU. One project further examines how interpersonal trust is influenced by the number of groups in the social environment. Our studies have found that a larger number of (minimal) groups increases intergroup bias with regard to the perceived trustworthiness of group members. Another line of research has found that attitudes towards social groups are more strongly influenced by individual experiences with group members than by aggregated descriptions of the positivity or negativity of group members' behavior (e.g. news reporting). These findings provide another cognitive-ecological explanation for why people often hold more positive attitudes towards groups they encounter on a daily basis (e.g. ingorups and majorites), and why descriptive interventions that label minorities and outgroups as positive, are often ineffective.
We have also begun working on several novel research questions related to our CEC project. In these projects, we collaborate with several researchers inside and outside the EU. One project further examines how interpersonal trust is influenced by the number of groups in the social environment. Our studies have found that a larger number of (minimal) groups increases intergroup bias with regard to the perceived trustworthiness of group members. Another line of research has found that attitudes towards social groups are more strongly influenced by individual experiences with group members than by aggregated descriptions of the positivity or negativity of group members' behavior (e.g. news reporting). These findings provide another cognitive-ecological explanation for why people often hold more positive attitudes towards groups they encounter on a daily basis (e.g. ingorups and majorites), and why descriptive interventions that label minorities and outgroups as positive, are often ineffective.
Our findings thus far confirm that intergroup bias in general and negatively biased perceptions of outgroups and minorities more specifically can arise beyond perceivers’ self-serving motives as “innocent” by-products of cognitive learning processes and the structure of the external information ecology.
In the remainder of the project, we expect to further confirm our model and to answer a number of open questions regarding the generality of our findings and its implications, the robustness of our model’s assumptions, and the effectiveness of potential interventions to reduce intergroup bias and stereotype negativity. Lastly, we will address the domain of news reporting where our model helps to identify and explain a “minority dilemma”. Accordingly, negative events (e.g. crimes) are overrepresented in the news because these are distinct events, and minority group labels (e.g. “Muslim terrorist”) are also overrepresented because minority group membership is a distinct attribute as well. Consequently, people often form the impression from news reporting that minority groups are dangerous, or otherwise negative. When news outlets decide to not report group labels, this can create a backlash, as news recipients consider the identification of minority group members informative. In the final step, we will use our cognitive-ecological model to develop and test several possible solutions to this minority dilemma in news reporting.
In the remainder of the project, we expect to further confirm our model and to answer a number of open questions regarding the generality of our findings and its implications, the robustness of our model’s assumptions, and the effectiveness of potential interventions to reduce intergroup bias and stereotype negativity. Lastly, we will address the domain of news reporting where our model helps to identify and explain a “minority dilemma”. Accordingly, negative events (e.g. crimes) are overrepresented in the news because these are distinct events, and minority group labels (e.g. “Muslim terrorist”) are also overrepresented because minority group membership is a distinct attribute as well. Consequently, people often form the impression from news reporting that minority groups are dangerous, or otherwise negative. When news outlets decide to not report group labels, this can create a backlash, as news recipients consider the identification of minority group members informative. In the final step, we will use our cognitive-ecological model to develop and test several possible solutions to this minority dilemma in news reporting.