Abstract
Seeking help from an outgroup can be difficult, especially when the outgroup is known to stereotype the ingroup negatively and the potential recipient cares strongly about its social image. However, we ask whether even highly identified ingroup members may seek help from a judgmental outgroup if doing so allows them to disconfirm the outgroup’s negative stereotype of the ingroup. We presented participants with one of two negative outgroup stereotypes of their ingroup. One could be disconfirmed through seeking help, the other could not. Study 1 (n = 43) showed group members were aware of the strategic implications of seeking help for disconfirming these stereotypes. Study 2 (n = 43) showed high identifiers acted on such strategic knowledge by seeking more help from the outgroup when help-seeking could disconfirm a negative stereotype of their group (than when it could not). Implications for the seeking and acceptance of help are discussed.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 89-113 |
| Number of pages | 25 |
| Journal | Small Group Research |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 5 Dec 2013 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 7 Jan 2014 |
Keywords
- Help-seeking
- Stereotypes
- STRATEGY
- Social identity
- meta-stereotypes