ingroup outgroup
Definition
Ingroup outgroup refers to the psychological distinction between one's own group (ingroup) and other groups (outgroup), which influences how people evaluate and respond to transgressions by group members and leaders. Party identification and national identification (a superordinate identity) differentially predict forgiveness patterns of political leadership.
Sources: Lalot & Abrams (2025)
Related Terms
Applications
Ingroup Outgroup and Party Identification
Party identification operates as a key moderator of ingroup-outgroup forgiveness dynamics, with stronger party identification negatively associated with forgiveness of outgroup leaders. This pattern reflects how voters extend greater leniency to leaders from their own party while maintaining harsher judgments toward opposing party leaders.
Sources: Lalot & Abrams (2025)
Ingroup Outgroup and National Identification
National identification, conceptualized as a superordinate identity that encompasses both ingroup and outgroup, positively predicts forgiveness of outgroup leaders. This suggests that identification at a broader categorical level can mitigate the harshness typically directed toward outgroup transgressors.
Sources: Lalot & Abrams (2025)
Ingroup Outgroup and Trust
Pre-election trust operates differentially across ingroup and outgroup contexts: high trust strongly predicts greater willingness to forgive outgroup leaders, whereas trust shows no statistically significant relationship with forgiving one's own ingroup leader.
Sources: Lalot & Abrams (2025)
