Status hierarchy and the role of disidentification in discriminatory perception of outgroups1

Abstract: The present study proposes that disidentification is distinct from non‐identification and investigates its relationship to outgroup perceptions. One hundred and ninety‐six Japanese university students completed a university identification/disidentification scale. They then engaged in an idiosyncratic stereotyping task where they listed and rated attribute characteristics of their own and three other universities (superior, equal, and inferior to their own in terms of academic standards). Prior to the stereotyping task, the level of threat to ingroup status was manipulated. Results showed that disidentification was associated with the tendency to select derogating inferior outgroup targets. Results were discussed based on the role of disidentification in the discriminatory perception of outgroups in a status hierarchy.