The author discusses the nature of in-group bias and the social motives that underlie ethnocentric attachment to one's own membership groups. Two common assumptions about in-group bias are challenged: that in-group positivity necessitates out-group derogation and that ingroup bias is motivated by self-enhancement. A review of relevant theory and …

Stereotyping effects are typically considered to be assimilative in nature: A member of a group stereotyped as having some attribute is judged to have more of that attribute than a member of some comparison group. This article highlights the fact that stereotyping effects can also occur in the direction of contrast--or even null effects--depending…