Inductive Reasoning can Facilitate Tribalism

Abstract

We discuss the concept of tribalism and the role of personal beliefs and cultural stereotypes in shaping social perceptions, arguing that social categorization is the result of psychological processes occurring within individual minds. We further argue that people perceive the social world through the lens of their own scheme of categorization, failing to recognize that others may see a different tribal landscape. The Inductive Reasoning Model (IRM) relies on the individual mind to explain social perceptual phenomena such as intergroup accentuation, ingroup favoritism, and the better-than-average effect. Based on the core premises that individuals view themselves positively and project their own attributes onto those who share their group membership, the IRM explains how intergroup accentuation and ingroup favoritism arise through the use of the Minimal-Group-Paradigm. This projection of self-ascribed attributes onto others who share the same group membership explains accentuation and favoritism, rather than the operation of norms and needs or economic rationality.