A Model of the Ingroup as a Social Resource
The Model
We proposed a theoretical model of the ingroup as a social resource (MISR), which attempts
to explain the self-serving functions of group membership (Correll & Park, 2005). This model
suggests that the ingroup's psychological utility to any individual member depends on the
combined influence of three factors: value or the degree to which the individual perceives
the group positively, the individual's level of identification with the group, and the
group's entitativity or the degree to which it is perceived as internally coherent and
distinct from other groups (see figure).
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The dimensions of value and identification (and to some extent, entitativity) have each
received research attention (e.g., Luhtanen & Crocker, 1992; Ellemers, Kortekaas, & Ouwerkerk,
1999; Jackson, 2002), but to the best of our knowledge, MISR is the first approach to treat
these three factors as interactive determinants of the group's psychological utility. We feel
that this framework helps to both integrate existing research and highlight new avenues for
research. It is interesting that, according to this model, a group's entitativity can and
does affect its psychological utility. However, and in line with our other work, the model
also suggests that increased entitativity (including heightened differentiation between
ingroup and outgroup) need not promote hatred for an outgroup. Rather, we suggest that
intergroup comparison or competition, which threatens ingroup value, is the primary cause of
outgroup hate. Our research supports this contention, showing that entitativity does not
predict antipathy for an outgroup over and above perceptions of conflict.
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