Psychology Commons^™

Making Us Look Bad Vs. Making Us Uncertain: Examining The Motivations Underlying Derogation Of Ingroup Deviants, Mark Jeffrey Rinella

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Subjective group dynamics theory posits that groups favorably evaluate normative members and derogate deviant members to restore or maintain the subjective validity of their group’s norms. Research supports this explanation; however, the pattern of evaluations differs depending on how deviants are defined. Some research has defined deviants as group members who violate generic, socially valued prescriptions (generic norm deviants), while other research has defined deviants as members who diverge from specific group defining norms (oppositional norm deviants). This dissertation proposes that two different social identity motives—self-esteem and uncertainty reduction—underlie the derogation of these different types of group deviants. Specifically, it …