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Proximity under Threat: The Role of Physical Distance in Intergroup Relations
Throughout human history, social groups have invested immense amounts of wealth and time to keep threatening out-groups at a distance. In the current research, we explored the relationship between intergroup threat, physical distance, and discrimination. Specifically, we examined how intergroup thre...
Autores principales: | , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Public Library of Science
2016
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4965044/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27467267 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0159792 |
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author | Xiao, Y. Jenny Wohl, Michael J. A. Van Bavel, Jay J. |
author_facet | Xiao, Y. Jenny Wohl, Michael J. A. Van Bavel, Jay J. |
author_sort | Xiao, Y. Jenny |
collection | PubMed |
description | Throughout human history, social groups have invested immense amounts of wealth and time to keep threatening out-groups at a distance. In the current research, we explored the relationship between intergroup threat, physical distance, and discrimination. Specifically, we examined how intergroup threat alters estimates of physical distance to out-groups and how physical proximity affects intergroup relations. Previous research has found that people judge threatening out-groups as physically close. In Studies 1 and 2, we examined ways to attenuate this bias. In Study 1 a secure (vs. permeable) US-Mexico border reduced the estimated proximity to Mexico City among Americans who felt threatened by Mexican immigration. In Study 2, intergroup apologies reduced estimates of physical proximity to a threatening cross-town rival university, but only among participants with cross-group friendships. In Study 3, New York Yankees fans who received an experimental induction of physical proximity to a threatening out-group (Boston Red Sox) had a stronger relationship between their collective identification with the New York Yankees and support for discriminatory policies toward members of the out-group (Red Sox fans) as well as how far they chose to sit from out-group members (Red Sox fans). Together, these studies suggest that intergroup threat alters judgment of physical properties, which has important implications for intergroup relations. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-4965044 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2016 |
publisher | Public Library of Science |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-49650442016-08-18 Proximity under Threat: The Role of Physical Distance in Intergroup Relations Xiao, Y. Jenny Wohl, Michael J. A. Van Bavel, Jay J. PLoS One Research Article Throughout human history, social groups have invested immense amounts of wealth and time to keep threatening out-groups at a distance. In the current research, we explored the relationship between intergroup threat, physical distance, and discrimination. Specifically, we examined how intergroup threat alters estimates of physical distance to out-groups and how physical proximity affects intergroup relations. Previous research has found that people judge threatening out-groups as physically close. In Studies 1 and 2, we examined ways to attenuate this bias. In Study 1 a secure (vs. permeable) US-Mexico border reduced the estimated proximity to Mexico City among Americans who felt threatened by Mexican immigration. In Study 2, intergroup apologies reduced estimates of physical proximity to a threatening cross-town rival university, but only among participants with cross-group friendships. In Study 3, New York Yankees fans who received an experimental induction of physical proximity to a threatening out-group (Boston Red Sox) had a stronger relationship between their collective identification with the New York Yankees and support for discriminatory policies toward members of the out-group (Red Sox fans) as well as how far they chose to sit from out-group members (Red Sox fans). Together, these studies suggest that intergroup threat alters judgment of physical properties, which has important implications for intergroup relations. Public Library of Science 2016-07-28 /pmc/articles/PMC4965044/ /pubmed/27467267 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0159792 Text en © 2016 Xiao et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
spellingShingle | Research Article Xiao, Y. Jenny Wohl, Michael J. A. Van Bavel, Jay J. Proximity under Threat: The Role of Physical Distance in Intergroup Relations |
title | Proximity under Threat: The Role of Physical Distance in Intergroup Relations |
title_full | Proximity under Threat: The Role of Physical Distance in Intergroup Relations |
title_fullStr | Proximity under Threat: The Role of Physical Distance in Intergroup Relations |
title_full_unstemmed | Proximity under Threat: The Role of Physical Distance in Intergroup Relations |
title_short | Proximity under Threat: The Role of Physical Distance in Intergroup Relations |
title_sort | proximity under threat: the role of physical distance in intergroup relations |
topic | Research Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4965044/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27467267 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0159792 |
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