Perceiving Your Group’s Future to Be in Jeopardy: Extinction Threat Induces Collective Angst and the Desire to Strengthen the Ingroup

Abstract

Collective angst reflects concern about the ingroup's future vitality. In four studies, the authors examined the impact of ingroup extinction threat on the experience of collective angst. In Study 1, collective angst was elicited in response to a physical or symbolic ingroup extinction threat compared to a no-threat control group. In Study 2, the extent to which French Canadians expressed collective angst because of the perceived extinction threat posed by English Canada predicted desire to engage in ingroup strengthening behaviors. In Studies 3 and 4, the impact of a historical extinction threat was assessed. The extent to which Jewish people expressed thinking about (Study 3) or were reminded of the Holocaust (Study 4) resulted in an increased desire to engage in ingroup strengthening behaviors. Collective angst acted as a mediator of these effects. Implications of extinction threat for both intragroup and intergroup behavior are discussed.

Will we be harmed, will it be severe, can we protect ourselves? Threat appraisals predict collective angst (and its consequences)

“…Importantly, group-level emotions function to regulate group-relevant or collective behavior (Maitner, Mackie, & Smith, 2006;van Zomeren, Leach, & Spears, 2012), rather than individual behavior (Carver, 2015). In the case of collective angst, behavior is directed towards attempts to secure the future vitality of the in-group.Although there are individual differences in the extent to which group members feel collective angst (Jetten & Wohl, 2012;Wohl, Porat, & Halperin, 2016), appraising a perceived threat to the group's future vitality will elicit this group-based emotion (Lucas et al, 2014;Mashuri & Zaduqisti, 2015;Mols & Jetten, 2014;Wohl, King, & Taylor, 2014;Wohl et al, 2010). This emotional reaction is distinct from other related group-based emotional reactions, such as collective fear (Wohl & Branscombe, 2009;Wohl et al, 2010).…”

“…Yet, social groups are not static; they change-a reality that, when salient, is often perceived as a threat to one's social identity (Riek, Mania, & Gaertner, 2006) and thus produces distress among group members (Chandler & Lalonde, 1998;Lampinen, Odegard, & Leding, 2004). This distress may manifest in collective angst-a group-based emotion that reflects concern for the future vitality of the in-group (Jetten & Wohl, 2012;Wohl, Branscombe, & Reysen, 2010).Importantly, collective angst originates from perceived extinction threats to one's in-group. These threats may take the form of realistic extinction threats posed by adversarial out-groups (Halperin, Porat, & Wohl, 2013;Wohl et al, 2010) but may also take the form of symbolic threats to the group's social identity (e.g., loss of cultural vitality; Wohl, Giguère, Branscombe, & McVicar, 2011).…”

“…This distress may manifest in collective angst-a group-based emotion that reflects concern for the future vitality of the in-group (Jetten & Wohl, 2012;Wohl, Branscombe, & Reysen, 2010).…”

“…In a similar way, a growing body of literature has shown that people feel existential concern or collective angst when a social group to which they belong come under existential threat (for a review, see Wohl et al, 2012). For example, group members experience collective angst when they appraise that an event may inflict harm to the unique features of the in-group that make it distinct from other groups (i.e., a symbolic distinctiveness threat; e.g., language) or the vitality of the group proper (i.e., a realistic threat; Wohl et al, 2010Wohl et al, , 2011 also see Dupuis, Porat, & Wohl, 2015).In this way, collective angst fits well within the rubric of intergroup emotions theory (IET;Smith, 1993). According to IET, when a person's social identity is salient, people appraise ongoing events based on relevance to their socially extended self (i.e., their ingroup) rather than the individual self.…”

The Combined Effect of Ethnic Identity Strength and Profiles on the Mental Health of Acadian University Students

“…These forms of insecurities have been documented by researchers. For example, Wohl, Branscombe, and Reysen (2010), found that French Canadians who feel that their group's existence is being threatened by English Canada display group-based anxiety, referred to as collective angst.…”