Status differences and in-group bias: A meta-analytic examination of the effects of status stability, status legitimacy, and group permeability

This work examines the moderating effects of status stability, legitimacy, and group permeability on in-group bias among high- and low-status groups. These effects were examined separately for evaluative measures that were re levant as well as irrelevant to the salient status distinctions. The result s support social identity theory and show that high-status groups are more biased. The meta-analysis reveals that perceived status stability, legitima cy, and permeability moderate the effects of group status, Also, these vari ables interacted in their influences on the effect of group status on in-gr oup bias, but this was only true for irrelevant evaluative dimensions. When status was unstable and perceived as illegitimate, low-status groups and h igh-status groups were equally biased when group boundaries were impermeabl e, compared with when they were permeable. Implications for social identity theory as well as for intergroup attitudes are discussed.