INGROUP FAVORITISM VERSUS BLACK SHEEP EFFECTS IN OBSERVATIONS OF INFORMAL CONVERSATIONS

This research was designed to gain further insight into the psychologi cal mechanisms underlying the ''black sheep effect'' (e.g., Marques, Y zerbyt, & Leyens, 1988) using a paradigm that allowed us to address 2 potential limitations of previous research in this area First, unlike earlier work, this research varied the group membership of the observe r in combination with that of the target (i.e., an Observer x Target d esign), which is necessary to provide a strict test of the black sheep effect. Second, we relied on a manipulation of group membership that was more subtle than that employed by previous research. This allowed us to test whether participants would spontaneously (i.e., without pro mpting by the experimenter) use group membership as a basis for deroga ting dislikeable members of the ingroup. These issues were explored us ing a ''get acquainted paradigm'' in which male or female participants read transcripts of a conversation between 2 students whose apparent gender was manipulated by varying only their first names (e.g., Jim vs . Am). The existence of both ingroup favoritism and black sheep effect s was successfully demonstrated in this paradigm, although the magnitu de of these effects was stronger for female than for male participants . Implications of these results for a theoretical framework presented by Marques and his colleagues as well as recent models of assimilation and contrast are discussed.