Motivated Collective Defensiveness: Group Members Prioritize Counterarguing Out-Group Criticism Over Getting Their Work Done

Abstract

Group members defensively reject out-group criticism in self-reports because they perceive it as more threatening than the same criticism from the in-group (intergroup sensitivity effect). But does this effect motivate action? In five experiments, group members exhibited behavior patterns characteristic of motivated goal pursuit: They prioritized defending their group over completing their individual work (Experiments 1-5), even when work was intrinsically rewarding (Experiment 2) or incentivized (Experiment 3). Lastly, this effect disappeared when group members had attained their goal of protecting their group by other means (i.e., group affirmation; Experiments 4 and 5). Together, the experiments suggest that intergroup sensitivity motivates goal-directed action. We discuss how motivated collective defensiveness may undermine constructive debate and heighten acrimony between groups.

Don’t tell me about my moral failures but motivate me to improve: Increasing effectiveness of outgroup criticism by criticizing one’s competence

“…For example, the critic could make his/ her good intentions explicit or emphasize the opportunity to grow from the criticism. Decreasing defensiveness towards outgroups criticizing is especially needed considering recent research showing that defensiveness can translate into behavioral reactions, for example defending the ingroup or showing hostile actions towards the outgroup (Thürmer & McCrea, 2018;Thürmer et al, 2019).…”

How can we master the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic? The role of planning at social levels

“…For instance, recent research demonstrates that being confronted with negative expectations about a group one belongs to (i.e., stereotype threat) may reduce peoples' social approach motivation (Martiny & Nikitin, 2019). Moreover, group members may engage in costly behavioural defences to protect their group against threatening out-group criticism (Thürmer & McCrea, 2018;Thürmer & McCrea, 2021;Thürmer et al, 2019). Future research should investigate how planning can mitigate these defensive responses to collective threats.…”

The intergroup sensitivity effect in mergers and acquisitions: Testing the role of merger motives

“…(2008) found that outgroup critics are viewed more positively when they combine their criticism with praise of another aspect of the criticized group, or when they acknowledge a similar problem in their own group. In contrast, the ISE is not reduced when the criticism targets only some group members (Hornsey et al., 2008), when the ingroup's identity has been affirmed beforehand (Thürmer et al., 2019), or when the criticism is based on high‐quality arguments (Esposo et al., 2013).…”

“…For example, Thürmer and McCrea (2018) showed in five experiments that critical comments from the outgroup do not only lead to outgroup derogation but also to hostile actions toward outgroup members. Subsequent research showed that criticism from the outgroup leads to counterarguing at the expense of group productivity (Thürmer et al., 2019).…”