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The study of in-group and out-group is done primarily for better Understanding of Intercultural

Communication. Intercultural communication is a form of global communication. It is used to


describe the wide range of communication problems that naturally appear within an organization
made up of individuals from different religious, social, ethnic, and educational backgrounds. It
also involves understanding the different cultures, languages and customs of people from other
countries. Intercultural communication plays a role in anthropology, cultural studies, linguistics,
psychology and communication studies. Intercultural communication is also referred to as the
base for international businesses.

CONCEPT OF INGROUP AND OUTGROUP


An ingroup is a social group towards which an individual feels loyalty and respect, usually due
to membership in the group. This loyalty often manifests itself as an ingroup bias. Commonly
encountered ingroups include family members, people of the same race, culture, gender or
religion, and so on. In-group collectivism is "the degree to which individuals express pride,
loyalty, and cohesiveness in their organizations or families".
HIGH IN-GROUP COLLECTIVISM societies have characteristics such as...
• Duties and obligations are important determinants of social behavior.
• A strong distinction is made between in-groups and out-groups.
• People emphasize relatedness with groups.
• The pace of life is slower.
• Love is assigned little weight in marriage.
LOW IN-GROUP COLLECTIVISM societies have characteristics such as...
• Personal needs and attitudes are important determinants of social behavior.
• Little distinction is made between in-groups and out-groups.
• People emphasize rationality in behavior.
• The pace of life is faster.
• Love is assigned great weight in marriage.
An outgroup is a social group towards which an individual feels contempt, opposition, or a
desire to compete. Members of outgroups may be subject to outgroup homogeneity biases.
An in-group is a social unit an individual belongs to, interacts with, and shares a sense of “we-
ness” with. An out-group, on the other hand, is a social unit or group of people that an individual
neither belongs to nor identifies with. The construction and maintenance of boundaries (physical
or symbolic) are the primary ways by which groups establish what it means to be “in” and, by
contrast, what it means to be “out.” The basis of in-group identity, then, is socially constructed
through symbolic markers (boundaries) such as narratives, creeds, rituals, and social practices.
Moreover, sociologists view such boundaries along a continuum of permeability (open) and
impermeability (closed), which influences group member entrance and exit processes. In-group
identity, in other words, is always an ongoing achievement in which group boundaries are
collectively generated, affirmed, maintained, and employed to mark differences between insiders
and outsiders (Hadden & Lester 1978).In his classic study of folkways, William Graham Sumner
(1906) articulated the enduring notions of in-groups and out-groups and the dialectical relation
between them. Sumner stressed the negative reciprocity between in-groups and out-groups,
especially in the context of conflict over scarce resources. In an environment of scarcity, Sumner
argued, individuals need to band together to compete with other groups. Both the terms have
been originated by the social identity theory.
Social identity theory
According to social identity theory (Tajfel, 1982), people strive for a positive social identity, as a
means for maintaining and enhancing their self-esteem. Social identity refers to 'those aspects of
an individual's self-image that derive from the social categories to which he perceives himself as
belonging' (Ta jfel & Turner, 1979, p.40). Social identity is attainable, in part, by thinking of the
ingroup as distinct from the outgroup on self relevant dimensions. Upon identifying with a group,
people will likely think of ingroup members as distinct and unique. People will individuate the
ingroup. Social identity theory pertains to the case of relative status groups. People, according to
social identity theory, identify sometimes with groups of which they are not members. Whether
people will identify with a particular group or not depends, in part, on whether that group
enhances the positivity of their social identity and their self -esteem. This is likely to occur when
members of that group are perceived to have qualities that are better than those of the ingroup. In
the case of relative status groups, high-status members will identify with the ingroup, because the
ingroup possesses the most desirable qualities. However, low-status members will identify with
the outgroup, because the outgroup possesses the most desirable qualities. Identification with a
group can lead to perceptions of members of this group as unique. This will occur by allocating
attention to new information about group members. Increased attention will lead to cognitive
individuation. High-status group members (i.e. graduate students, sophomores) will individuate
the ingroup, but low-status group members (i.e. undergraduate students, freshpersons) will
individuate the outgroup.
An individuals opinion about ‘in’ and ‘out’-group membership affect the communication with
others, these opinions are based on Social identity theory and Reference group theory

Reference group theory


Reference group theory (Hyman & Singer, 1968; Newcomb, 1965) proposes that, in order to
make belief and attitude formation easier, people look to reference groups to tell them what
beliefs and attitudes to hold. People may belong to a certain group, but, depending on the
situation, choose an alternative and more desired reference group. This desired group will benefit
people by exposing them to valid beliefs and attitudes. Information about group members' beliefs
and attitudes is extracted by paying attention to descriptions of individual group members.
Attention is likely to lead to cognitive elaboration of the information pertaining to each group
member, thus resulting in cognitive individuation. Perceivers are more likely to individuate high-
as opposed to low-status groups, because the former are regarded as having more valid beliefs
and attitudes. In an intergroup context, high-status members will individuate the ingroup.
However, low-status members will individuate the outgroup. Graduate students or sophomores
will pay attention to ingroup members, because they consider their attitudes and beliefs valid.
Thus, graduate students or sophomores will individuate the ingroup. However, undergraduate
students and fresh persons will pay attention to outgroup members in order to extract as much
information as possible about their beliefs and attitudes. Thus, undergraduate students and fresh
person will individuate the outgroup.

The in-groups and be identified as a function of defining personal characteristics and group-
related phenomena. Five studies provide evidence for the validity of a qualitative distinction
between centrality, social, communal, and interdependent identification and examine the way in
which culture, gender, group status, relationship attachment style, and group type predicted each
type of identification with groups.

Ethnicity
An ethnic group (or ethnicity) is a group of people whose members identify with each other,
through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture (often
including a shared religion) and an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy
Members of an ethnic group are conscious of belonging to an ethnic group; moreover ethnic
identity is further marked by the recognition from others of a group's distinctiveness. Processes
that result in the emergence of such identification are called ethnogenesis.

The modern usage of "ethnic group" further came to reflect the different kinds of encounters
industrialised states have had with external groups, such as immigrants and indigenous peoples;
"ethnic" thus came to stand in opposition to "national", to refer to people with distinct cultural
identities who, through migration or conquest, had become subject to a state or "nation" with a
different cultural mainstream The opposing interests that divide the working classes are further
reinforced through appeals to "racial" and "ethnic" distinctions. Such appeals serve to allocate
different categories of workers to rungs on the scale of labor markets, relegating stigmatized
populations to the lower levels and insulating the higher echelons from competition from below.

Lifestyle
A set of behaviors, and the senses of self and belonging which these behaviors represent, are
collectively used to define a given lifestyle. The term is defined more broadly when used in
politics, marketing, and publishing. A lifestyle typically reflects an individual's attitudes, values
or worldview. Therefore, a lifestyle is a means of forging a sense of self and to create cultural
symbols that resonate with personal identity. Not all aspects of a lifestyle are entirely
voluntaristic. Surrounding social and technical systems can constrain the lifestyle choices
available to the individual and the symbols she/he is able to project to others and the self

A lifestyle is a characteristic bundle of behaviors that makes sense to both others and oneself in a
given time and place, including social relations, consumption, entertainment, and dress. The
behaviors and practices within lifestyles are a mixture of habits, conventional ways of doing
things, and reasoned actions.

Prejudice, Discrimination & Racism


• Prejudice describes an individual’s feelings and predisposition toward outgroup
members in a pejorative or negative direction, but it can also mean the opposite: One can
be indiscriminately for or against members of a particular group.
Prejudice can be explained on the basis of 4 theories namely:

• Exploitation theory: Maintenance of higher status and power restraints over lower status
groups.
• Scapegoating theory: Prejudiced individuals blame minority groups for their own
failures.

• Authoritarian personality approach: This type rigidly adheres to norms and completely
accepts those in authority.
• Structural approach: Institutions promote a “pecking” order among group members.
Discrimination
• Discrimination refers to the verbal and nonverbal actions that carry out prejudiced
attitudes. Four basic practices of discrimination which an individual indulge into are:

• Isolate discrimination: harmful verbal & nonverbal action intentionally targeted toward
an outgroup member on an individual basis.
• Small-group discrimination: group of individuals in ingroup engage in hostile and
abusive actions against outgroup members—but not supported by larger ingroup

• Direction institutional discrimination: community-prescribed endorsement of


discrimination
• Indirect institutional discrimination: broad practice that indirectly affects group
members without intending to.

Racism
It is nothing but discriminating people on the basis of their caste or religion. Racism involves 3
principles:
• Feelings of superiority
• Strong ingroup preferences and the rejection of outgroups different in customs or
beliefs.
• Doctrine that conveys special advantages to those in power

The concept of in-group and out-group has aroused from the stereotyping process.

De-individuation into a group results in a loss of individual identity and a gaining of the social
identity of the group. There are ways, however of losing ourselves, including:

• Becoming a part of a large group, such as a mob or army.

• Becoming engrossed in an interesting task, such as a hobby.

• Meditation and other contemplative activities.

In-groups are viewed as normal and superior, and are generally the group that one associates with
or aspires to join. An out-group is simply all the other groups. They are seen as lesser than or
inferior to the in-groups.

A second perspective is that of automatic and explicit or subconscious and conscious. Automatic
or subconscious stereotyping is that which everyone does without noticing. Automatic
stereotyping is quickly preceded by an explicit or conscious check which permits time for any
needed corrections. Automatic stereotyping is affected by explicit stereotyping because frequent
conscious thoughts will quickly develop into subconscious stereotypes.

A third perspective is to categorizing stereotypes is general types and sub-types. Stereotypes


consist of hierarchical systems consisting of broad and specific groups being the general types
and sub-types respectively. A general type could be defined as a broad stereotype typically
known among many people and usually widely accepted, whereas the sub-group would be one of
the several groups making up the general group. These would be more specific, and opinions of
these groups would vary according to differing perspectives.

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