Intergroup discrimination and self-esteem in the minimal group paradigm.

This experiment was designed to test the hypothesis that intergroup discrimination in the minimal group paradigm is related to self-esteem. According to Social Identity Theory, intergroup discrimination is a strategy for achieving self-esteem via social competition aimed at increasing the positive distinctiveness of one's own group. However, other elements of the procedure, such as categorization into groups, or the opportunity to engage in a meaningful experimental task irrespective of its value for social competition, might also affect self-esteem. One hundred thirty-five undergraduates were randomly assigned to eight concurrent experimental conditions. A two-way multivariate analysis of variance on the core design produced a significant interaction effect, whereby categorized subjects who had the opportunity to discriminate between groups and noncategorized subjects who did not discriminate showed higher self-esteem than did both categorized subjects who could not engage in discrimination and noncategorized subjects who could discriminate. These results support social identity theory and also suggest that social categorization by itself may constitute a threat to self-esteem that can be resolved via social competition. Results from the supplementary conditions support the conclusion that it is intergroup discrimination, and not merely the completion of an experimental task, that redeems self-esteem.