An Experimental Test
of the Intergroup Relations Model: Understanding the Origins of
Intergroup Conflict
Intergroup conflict is a leading cause of death,
injury, and illness worldwide. If the origins of intergroup conflict
can be understood and prevented, human health and welfare will be
enhanced worldwide. Proposed are two experiments designed to test a
theoretical model of intergroup relations that will provide intensive
research training for undergraduate students. This model, called the
Intergroup Relations Model (IRM), was developed by the PI and is
designed to explain a broad range of intergroup phenomena. The IRM
predicts that intergroup behavior is most proximally caused by
intergroup emotion, that is itself caused by ethnocentrism (i.e., a
belief that one’s own group is superior to other groups) and negative
out-group stereotypes. Thus, the IRM is a mediational model in which
cognitive processes determine affect that, in turn, causes intergroup
behavior. The IRM has been evaluated in previous studies focusing on
the differences between judgments of one’s in-group and out-groups.
These past studies permitted correlational analyses of the
relationships among the IRM constructs. Some preliminary data are
presented in this proposal, and results are consistent with the
predictions of the IRM. However, the correlational data are inadequate
for testing the validity of the model. The two experiments proposed
will yield data for adequate testing of the theoretical predictions of
the IRM.
