The study presented in this article examined the role of social recognition as an equal in group members' motivation to serve their ingroup as well as actual group-serving behavior. We predicted and found that social recognition as opposed to nonrecognition as an equal, communicated by fellow group members, increased participants' group-serving motivation and behavior. In addition, the psychological processes underlying this effect were examined. We theoretically derived a mediational chain, which was then tested empirically. As expected, social recognition as an equal led to experiences of being respected, and perceived equality of self played a mediational role in this relationship. The experience of respect, in turn, was associated with stronger collective identification, which played a mediating role linking the respect experience with higher motivation and better behavioral performance in group-serving tasks. Moreover, these effects operated over and above group members' perceptions of being liked by others. The practical and broader social implications of equality-based respect are discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.In addition to its use in a variety of everyday discourses, various scientific disciplines have also directed their attention to the notion of respect. Whereas respect has already played a significant role in philosophical discourses for some time, social psychological research has only recently turned to the investigation of respect and especially its role in group life. Starting from first correlational research in the realm of procedural justice (Tyler & Blader, 2000), respect was discovered as a meaningful determinant of cooperative behavior in groups. Whereas earlier studies concentrated on respect from group authorities (vertical respect), subsequent research demonstrated that ordinary fellow group members are also an important source of respect (horizontal respect). More specifically, a growing body of social psychological evidence now testifies to the positive effects of intragroup respect on desirable aspects of group life, such as group members' positive self-image or self-esteem, their collective identification, and their willingness to engage in group-serving behavior (Branscombe, Spears, Ellemers, & Doosje, 2002;De Cremer, 2002Ellemers, Doosje, & Spears, 2004;Huo, Binning, & Molina, 2010;Simon & Stürmer, 2003Smith, Tyler, Huo, Ortiz, & Lind, 1998).Unfortunately, social psychology has been rather parochial in its usage of the respect concept ignoring important conceptual advancements in the neighboring social scientific disciplines. In particular, little use has been made so far by social psychologists of Honneth's (1995) otherwise highly influential recognition theory of respect (Honneth, 1995;Fraser & Honneth, 2003; see also the entire volume of the European Journal of Political Theory dedicated to this approach, McBride & Seglow, 2009). Building on Kant (1974) and Hegel (1969), Honneth reserves the notion of respect primarily for social recognition as an eq...

Global identity reflects social identification with the world and the largest, most inclusive human ingroup and is generally associated with behavior that serves the world and all humans, such as transnational cooperation or proenvironmental engagement. While the outcomes of being globally identified are well‐established, the antecedents of global identity are only partially explored. Drawing from research suggesting that respect fosters identification in small groups, we argue that the general experience of being respected as an equal by others increases global identification. In an online study with 469 Germans (students and nonstudents), we tested the relation between equality‐based respect and global identification in a structural equation model, with proenvironmental intentions and donation behavior as outcome variables. As expected, equality‐based respect, but not other forms of social recognition (need‐based care and achievement‐based social esteem), predicted global identity while higher global identity, in turn, predicted proenvironmental activism. These effects were substantial beyond known predictors of proenvironmental behavior and thus suggest that equality‐based respect represents an important facet of responses to global challenges.

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Two laboratory experiments tested the hypothesis that (equality-based) respect from outgroup members facilitates recategorization of the original ingroup and outgroup as a common group. In Experiment 1, we varied respect from outgroup members (low vs. medium vs. high) and measured recipients' willingness to recategorize. As predicted, high respect from an outgroup source increased willingness to recategorize as a common group relative to low respect. In Experiment 2, we orthogonally varied respect (low vs. medium vs. high) and its source (ingroup members vs. outgroup members) and employed a more differentiated recategorization measure including an intermediate or nested-group option (i.e., two subgroups of a common group). While the recategorization effect of high versus low respect from outgroup members was replicated, no such effect was observed for respect from ingroup members. Instead, there was some indication that, when it comes from ingroup members, a medium level of respect may be optimal for inducing a shift towards recategorization as a common group. Implications of the present research for the conceptualization of respect are discussed.

Past research has demonstrated that equality-based respect is an important antecedent of positive social interaction and group-serving behavior. In the present research we tested whether intragroup equality-based respect affects perceptions of being treated as a human as well as self-dehumanization. In Experiment 1, we found that high respect received from fellow work group members heightens group members' sense of being treated as a human being, while low respect diminishes it. In Experiment 2, we secured evidence that (dis)respect also affected recipients' self-views in terms of self-dehumanization. More specifically, if respect was withheld by other ingroup members, fewer human nature and human uniqueness traits, as well as secondary positive emotions, were attributed to the self. This increase in self-infrahumanization was further related to higher endorsement of unethical behavior. We discuss the importance of equality-based respect for (de-)humanization processes in social groups.