Civilised Behaviour: A Chinese Indigenous Intergroup Perception Dimension

Abstract

I n order to check whether (un)civilised behaviour can be a valid indigenous intergroup comparison dimension for Chinese people, three studies were conducted based on stereotypic explanatory bias (SEB). Study 1 examined the media representation of Chinese and Western (un)civilised behaviours, and the SEB results suggested ingroup derogation of Chinese people regarding civilised behaviour. Study 2 aimed to use a more empirical approach to further analyse Chinese intergroup bias for civilised behaviour at both implicit and explicit levels. Chinese participants' SEB results indicated ingroup derogation and outgroup favouritism were at the implicit level; however, ingroup favouritism and outgroup derogation were at the explicit level. Study 3 was designed to examine how stereotypes that were verified in Study 2 would be changed by manipulating the presentation of extreme, stereotype-relevant information in the form of an internet blog. These findings suggest that (un)civilised behaviour can be a valid indigenous intergroup comparison dimension for Chinese people who perceive themselves as a disadvantaged group compared to Westerners on this dimension. Finally, theoretical contribution and practical implications for social change are discussed.

Disease Threat and the Functional Flexibility of Ingroup Derogation

“…In previous studies (e.g., Jost et al, 2002; Ashburn-Nardo et al, 2003; Zhao et al, 2012; Liu et al, 2015; March and Graham, 2015; Bettache et al, 2019), researchers mainly investigated the ingroup derogation phenomenon among actual social groups. With three behavioral experiments, the present study investigated the bias of ingroup derogation by using the minimal group paradigm.…”

“…Although the mainstream psychology has documented the universal tendency of ingroup favoritism, a similar but completely opposite phenomenon of ingroup derogation (or sometimes be referred as outgroup favoritism) has also been reported. That is, some participants were found to show a preference for outgroup members relative to ones’ ingroup members (Jost et al, 2002; Ma-Kellams et al, 2011; Zhao et al, 2012; Liu et al, 2015; March and Graham, 2015; Wu et al, 2015, 2016; Barker and Barclay, 2016; Zuo et al, 2018; Bettache et al, 2019). This counterintuitive bias was initially found in minorities or inferior social groups (Allport, 1958; Jost et al, 2002; Livingston, 2002; Rudman et al, 2002; Ashburn-Nardo et al, 2003; Umphress et al, 2008; March and Graham, 2015; Axt et al, 2018).…”

“…Studies also revealed that participants rated the deviant ingroup members more negatively compared with their outgroup counterparts (i.e., the black sheep effect; see Marques et al, 1988; Reese et al, 2013; Kunstman et al, 2016; Bettache et al, 2019). In addition, studies also showed that, in East Asian cultures, even though the participants were not minorities or deviants, they still seemed to possess a general, status irrelevant, and pervasive negative posture toward ingroup members (Jahoda et al, 1972; Hewstone and Ward, 1985; Lee and Ottati, 1993, 1995; Diener et al, 1995; Heine and Lehman, 1997; Endo et al, 2000; Snibbe et al, 2003; Cuddy et al, 2009; Ma-Kellams et al, 2011; Zhao et al, 2012; Liu et al, 2015; Wu et al, 2015, 2016; Zuo et al, 2018; Xie et al, 2019). For example, researchers found that the Chinese implicitly associated Westerners with more positive traits and more civilized behaviors than their own ethnic group members (Ma-Kellams et al, 2011; Liu et al, 2015), and they were more prone to make outgroup-favoring and ingroup-disfavoring attributions (Hewstone and Ward, 1985).…”

“…In addition, studies also showed that, in East Asian cultures, even though the participants were not minorities or deviants, they still seemed to possess a general, status irrelevant, and pervasive negative posture toward ingroup members (Jahoda et al, 1972; Hewstone and Ward, 1985; Lee and Ottati, 1993, 1995; Diener et al, 1995; Heine and Lehman, 1997; Endo et al, 2000; Snibbe et al, 2003; Cuddy et al, 2009; Ma-Kellams et al, 2011; Zhao et al, 2012; Liu et al, 2015; Wu et al, 2015, 2016; Zuo et al, 2018; Xie et al, 2019). For example, researchers found that the Chinese implicitly associated Westerners with more positive traits and more civilized behaviors than their own ethnic group members (Ma-Kellams et al, 2011; Liu et al, 2015), and they were more prone to make outgroup-favoring and ingroup-disfavoring attributions (Hewstone and Ward, 1985). It was also reported that the Chinese perceived the faces and names of outgroup members as more beautiful and better (Zhao et al, 2012; Wu et al, 2016), and were more inclined to cooperate with outgroup members (Wu et al, 2015, 2016), when actually both the ingroup and outgroup members were having the same neutral average looks.…”

“…Some indirect evidence suggests that this hypothesis could be supported. For example, besides being an area where ingroup derogation attitudes are prevalent (Ma-Kellams et al, 2011; Zhao et al, 2012; Liu et al, 2015; Wu et al, 2015, 2016; Zuo et al, 2018), evidence also indicates that China may have higher pathogen prevalence than other areas (e.g., Europe) by both historical and contemporary measures (Fincher et al, 2008; Chang et al, 2011). Theoretical works also suggest that in face of high pathogen load, ingroup investment is not optimal and thus should be reduced (Thornhill and Fincher, 2014), and they also suggest that individuals may prefer to cooperate with outgroup members instead of ingroup members if the infection risk associated with outgroup members is low (Brown et al, 2016) or when the infection risk associated with ingroup members is high (Hu et al, 2018).…”