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Effects of Intergroup Vicarious Ostracism on Individual Prejudicial Attributions and Aggressive Intentions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 February 2021

Xiaoli Yang Open the ORCID record for Xiaoli Yang [Opens in a new window] ,
Tongtong Xin  and
Qinghua Zhao
Xiaoli Yang
Affiliation:
Northwest Normal University (China)
Tongtong Xin*
Affiliation:
Shanghai Normal University (China)
Qinghua Zhao
Affiliation:
Gansu Normal University for Nationalities (China)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Tongtong Xin. Shanghai Normal University, Education. E-mail: tongtxin@163.com
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Abstract

This study explores the effects of intergroup vicarious ostracism on individual prejudicial attributions and aggressive intentions. It takes Tibetan and Hui college students in northwestern China as participants. Study 1 and Study 2 explore the difference in observers' prejudicial attributions and aggressive intentions, respectively, when the group members who experienced ostracism (Tibetan college students) observed an in-group member being ostracized by out-group members versus an in-group member being ostracized by in-group members. Results show that those in-group participants, i.e., the Tibetan college students, who observed an in-group member being ostracized by out-group members, showed much higher prejudicial attributions, F(1, 106) = 19.65, p < .001, ηp2 = .156, and aggressive intentions, F(1, 108) = 10.51, p = .002, ηp2 = .089, toward ostracizers than those who observed an in-group member being ostracized by in-group members. In Study 3, Hui college students were recruited as participants to further test the results of Study 1 and Study 2. In addition, we also found that under the out-group conditions, prejudicial attribution mediates the effects of inclusionary status on aggressive intentions (95% bias-corrected confidence interval did not include zero; 95% CI [0.15, 0.69]). This study shows that ostracizers’ group membership could affect observers' prejudicial attributions and their aggressive intentions toward the ostracizers.

Keywords

aggressive intentionintergroup vicarious ostracismprejudicial attribution
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 24 , 2021 , e15
Copyright
© Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2021

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Footnotes

Conflicts of Interest: None.

Funding Statement: This research was funded by major projects of the social science fund of the Ministry of Education(17JZD043).

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