Cultural invariance and ideological variance of collective ownership threat in intergroup relations

Abstract

We fear losing control over what we perceive to be ours. This fear is called the collective ownership threat (COT). According to the concept of COT, territorial infringements pose collective ownership threats, which are linked to adverse intergroup relations. Given the distinct features of ethnic homogeneity and collectivism, we examine whether COT can be applied to an East Asian context, Japan. Additionally, the reactive liberal model proposes that liberals are more prone than conservatives to feel threatened by the infringements of an out-group. Integrating COT and reactive liberal models, this study conducted an online experiment with Japanese adults. In the experiment, when the participants were shown an article about a territorial infringement by China, they felt COT and resisted Japan’s support of China’s policies. Furthermore, liberals were more inclined than conservatives to see the infringements as COT and therefore strongly resisted Japan’s support of China’s policies. These results indicate cultural invariance and ideological variance in COT.