ERIC Number: EJ761477
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2003
Pages: 4
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0098-6283
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Teaching Students about In-Group Favoritism and the Minimal Groups Paradigm
Isbell, Linda M.; Tyler, James M.
Teaching of Psychology, v30 n2 p127-130 2003
Research on minimal groups demonstrates that arbitrarily creating 2 groups leads to the development of in-group favoritism. Experiments using the minimal groups paradigm show students how easily in-group biases can be created simply by categorizing others. This article describes an in-class activity that demonstrates the power of categorization. Students completed a minimal groups experiment either before or after viewing the video A Class Divided. Regardless of when they viewed the video, students rated their arbitrarily assigned in-group more positively and less negatively than their out-group. These findings spurred lively discussion about the possible relation among categorization, discrimination, and prejudice. Students enjoyed the activity and indicated that it was a valuable technique for demonstrating in-group bias.
Descriptors: Teaching Methods, Models, Classification, Bias, Class Activities, Visual Aids, Discussion (Teaching Technique), Student Attitudes, Demonstrations (Educational), Correlation, Social Discrimination, Psychological Studies
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. 10 Industrial Avenue, Mahwah, NJ 07430-2262. Tel: 800-926-6579; Tel: 201-258-2200; Fax: 201-236-0072; e-mail: journals@erlbaum.com; Web site: http://www.LEAonline.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A