Outgroup Derogation

Out-group derogation is the tendency to perceive members of a group one does not belong to as threatening to one's own group, and to view or treat them negatively as a result. The phenomenon is distinct from the out-group homogeneity effect, which describes the separate tendency to see members of an out-group as more similar to one another than members of one's own in-group; out-group derogation is specifically about perceived threat and negative attitude rather than about perceived uniformity. Research suggests derogation is especially likely when an out-group is seen as blocking or hindering the in-group's goals, and it typically appears alongside in-group favoritism, since both responses depend on a person's underlying attachment to their own group. In evolutionary psychology, out-group derogation and related biases are theorized as mechanisms that were selected for the advantages they gave to coalition membership, though researchers note the underlying categorization process that produces them can be modified through social recategorization.