In matters of opinion, what matters is the group: Minority group members' emotional reactions to messages about identity expression

Sjoerd F. Pennekamp*, Bertjan Doosje, Sven Zebel, Alejandra Alarcon Henriquez

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)
15 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Two studies investigated the reactions of minority group members to messages about identity expression by ingroup and outgroup sources. Our main hypothesis was that compared to ingroup sources, outgroup sources arouse more anger when they argue for identity suppression. In the first study homosexuals evaluated an outgroup source arguing for identity suppression more negatively than an ingroup source, felt more threatened by this source and as a result, experienced stronger feelings of anger towards this source. The second study among members of a language-based minority replicated and extended these findings. Furthermore we showed that the anger that is experienced towards an outgroup source causes a willingness to change the opinion of this source. When ingroup or outgroup sources supported identity expression, evaluations and experience of anger did not differ in both studies. The importance of a source's group membership in reactions to opinions about one's group is discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)778-787
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of experimental social psychology
Volume45
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2009
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Communication
  • Emotions
  • Identity expression
  • Intergroup relations
  • Minorities

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'In matters of opinion, what matters is the group: Minority group members' emotional reactions to messages about identity expression'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this