When failing feels good—Relative prototypicality for a high-status group can counteract ego-threat after individual failure

Abstract

To cite this version:Marc-André Reinhard. When failing feels good -Relative prototypicality for a high-status group can counteract ego-threat after individual failure. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Elsevier, 2009, 45 (4) This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Two studies demonstrate that members of high-status groups (i.e., men and students of business administration) but not members of low-status groups (i.e., women and education students) react with an increase in state self-esteem after an alleged poor performance on a fictitious intelligence test. This Failure-as-an-Asset (FA) effect is only observed when the high-status ingroup (i.e., men) is outperformed by a low-status outgroup (i.e., women). In this case, a poor performance will lead to a strong identification with the ingroup due to high ingroup prototypicality. As predicted, the effects of experiencing success or failure on selfesteem were mediated by identification with the ingroup. ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT

Claiming the Validity of Negative In-group Stereotypes When Foreseeing a Challenge: A Self-handicapping Account

“…Previous research has suggested that the members of high-status groups engage in different reactions to failure, compared to those of low-status groups (Reinhard, Stahlberg, & Messner, 2009); research also suggests that high-status group members do not value the domains in which lower status groups excel (Schmader et al, 2001). Thus, it is noteworthy that we replicated this effect using a FIGURE 2 Stereotype endorsement as a function of gender and version (Experiment 2).…”

In‐group representation and social value affect the use of in‐group identification for maintaining and enhancing self‐evaluation

“…People therefore strive to affiliate with groups that are positively distinct from other groups lower in prestige or social value (Hogg, 2006). Reinhard, Stahlberg, and Messner (2009) also demonstrated that members of high‐status groups, but not members of low‐status groups, reacted with an increase in self‐esteem through heightened in‐group identification after a poor performance on a fictitious intelligence test. Moreover, based on social identity theory, identifying with an in‐group with low social value has little impact on restoring positive self‐evaluation because it ensures a negative social identity.…”

Male Role Endorsement Explains Negative Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men Among Students in Mexico More Than in Germany

“…Recent research has investigated the male role norm, a role ''imposed upon men to shape the way they act'' (Thompson, Grisanti, & Pleck, 1985, p. 414). The male role norm comprises aspects such as achievement, dominance, toughness, and importantly, avoiding everything feminine (Thompson et al, 1985), for example, success on a ''feminine knowledge test''-a test on which women typically score higher than men (Rudman, Dohn, & Fairchild, 2007; also see Reinhard, Stahlberg, & Messner, 2009). Relatedly, recent theorizing has considered psychological (heterosexual) maleness to be a precarious status (Vandello, Bosson, Cohen, Burnaford, & Weaver, 2008) that must be earned and demonstrated over and over (for a review, see Bosson & Vandello, 2011).…”