Social and Intergroup Psychology

Intergroup and social psychology examines how people's membership in groups — defined by race, class, nationality, gender, or countless other categories — shapes perception, behavior, and the distribution of power in society. Researchers in this space investigate why prejudice and discrimination persist even among individuals who consciously reject them, how contact between groups can reduce hostility under the right conditions, and why people often defend the very social systems that disadvantage them. A central tension driving current work is understanding when and how attitudes actually translate into changed behavior, given that implicit biases and stereotype threat can operate below conscious awareness and resist straightforward intervention. Open questions about the role of morality and justice in legitimizing or challenging group hierarchies continue to push the field toward both basic social theory and applied work on policy, institutional design, and conflict resolution.

Works

68,787

Total citations

2,678,590

Keywords

Intergroup ContactSocial IdentityImplicit BiasStereotype ThreatPrejudice ReductionPower Dynamics