5/28/2016 1 Are outgroup members perceived as more trustworthy when displaying an ingroup identity signal? Janine Weeting ˡ ², Rafael Wittek ˡ, Russell Spears², & Andreas Flache ˡ Department of Sociology/ ICS ˡ Department of Social Psychology² University of Groningen
5/28/2016 2 Trust and Signaling Identity signals (e.g. Bacharach & Gambetta, 2001) Beliefs about group Categorize: ingroupoutgroup Alice: Bob = Outgroup! J.C.Weetng@rug.nl
5/28/2016 3 Ingroup Outgroup Social Identity Theory (Turner & Tajfel, 1979) Outgroup members Different goals Different norms Less trustworthy
5/28/2016 4 Outgroup members Some instances: trustworthy (e.g. McKnight, Cummings, & Chervany, 1998) Positive beliefs about good will Expectation to help or cooperate with one s group When will ingroup members believe that and perceive an outgroup member as trustworthy?
5/28/2016 5 Showing an ingroup identity signal Costly investment in ingroup Reliably convey quality From the receivers perspective!
5/28/2016 6 Operationalization Ingroup characteristic: Nationality Extra identity signal: Language Context: student house
5/28/2016 7 Language as ingroup identity signal From receivers perspective Language not neccessarily only acquired for student house but may have signaling value for the receiver in this context Dutch student house receivers perspective: the context that matters
5/28/2016 8 Hypotheses 1. Nationality: Dutch > Nationality: German 2. Nationality: German + > Nationality: German Language: Dutch +
5/28/2016 9 Method- Experiment Student house scenario: visitation evening
5/28/2016 10 Experiment 29 Dutch female psychology students 2 (Nationality) x 2 (Language) within- subjects design 4 candidates: German x English language German x Dutch language Dutch x English language Dutch x Dutch language
5/28/2016 11 Example Dear future housemates, I started studying Psychology in Groningen last September. I'm from Germany and now I'm searching for a student house in Groningen. It will be my first time living in a student house and I'm very much looking forward to it. I enjoy meeting new people and will enjoy joining activities with the housemates, like watching movies together, going out, doing sports, or playing board games at home. I also like kayaking on the canals, or trying new cooking recipes. It would be fun if we could do that sometimes together! I think eating together and doing things together makes living together more enjoyable and fun. With regards to cleaning shared facilities like the bathroom and the kitchen you can of course rely on me that I will do my part in cleaning. I hope to hear from you and join your student house!
5/28/2016 12 Example Beste toekomstige huisgenoten, Ik zit in het eerste jaar bij Psychologie in Groningen. Ik kom uit Duitsland maar ik spreek Nederlands want ik heb een taalcursus Nederlands gevolgd. Nu ben ik op zoek naar een kamer in een studentenhuis. Ik ga voor de eerste keer op kamers wonen en kijk er al naar uit. Ik vind het erg leuk om nieuwe mensen te ontmoeten, en samen met gezellige huisgenoten naar een film te gaan, samen te eten, of te gaan stappen. Ook vind ik het heel leuk om spelletjes op de Wii te spelen. Het lijkt me extra leuk om dit met mijn toekomstige huisgenoten te doen! Je kunt erop rekenen dat ik mee zal helpen met het schoonmaken en mijn bijdrage ga leveren aan een schone keuken en badkamer. Ik hoop iets van je te horen en hoop dat ik je nieuwe huisgenote mag zijn!
5/28/2016 13 Measures How trustworthy does the student appear to you? How credible is her statement? How likely is it that she will fullfill her promise? How much would you like her to become your new housemate?
Results- Choice of housemate 5/28/2016 14
5/28/2016 15 Perceived trustworthiness
5/28/2016 16 Perceived friendliness
5/28/2016 17 Perceived intelligence
5/28/2016 18 Perceived conscientiousness
5/28/2016 19 Perceived warmth
5/28/2016 20 Likelihood fulfill promiss to clean
5/28/2016 21 Likelihood fulfill promiss to join social activities
5/28/2016 22 Summary Hypothesis confirmed Identity signaling effect on choice of housemate, friendliness, intelligence, conscientiousness, warmth, trustworthiness No effect on perceived credibility of promisses, morality
5/28/2016 23 Summary Receivers perspective matters! Subjective receiver perspective confronts us with different problems than e.g. objective costliness of the signal
5/28/2016 24 Conclusion Important to take receivers perspective into account Do they perceive it as signal? Investing outgroup members are perceived as more trustworthy, friendly, generally positive No effect on perceived likelihood of future investment in the group
5/28/2016 25 Thank you for your attention!