Social categorization allows individuals to place other people into social groups. It explains how in-group members perceive themselves in relation to the out-group members. The social classification may lead to intergroup bias as individuals show favoritism to their group and discriminate against the out-group. The political continuum provides a significant illustration of the link between social categorization and intergroup bias. The United States political system offers a good example that demonstrates this relationship.
The two political parties in the United States provide a view of politics as a sport where individuals support one political party and despise the other. The Democrats and the Republicans view each other as rivals and strive to beat each other in the political arena. As a result, the stand of both Democrats and Republicans on various is significantly influenced by the intergroup rivalry. For instance, in the current COVID-19 crisis in the United States, the partisan reactions widely vary across the political spectrum. Majority of Republicans perceive President Donald Trump's response to the crisis as excellent. According to a survey conducted two months ago, 83% of Republicans believe that the Trump administration has responded well to the outbreak while only 18% of Democrats hold a similar view (Green & Tyson, 2020). In this example, there is a significant link between social categorization and the intergroup bias.
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In social categorization, individuals subjectively classify other people as either member of their own group (in-group) or members of another group (out-group). The in-group members are perceived to be similar to the perceiver, and the out-group members are viewed as dissimilar. The out-group members are considered as relatively less variable in the social context compared to the in-group members. Study shows that the need for positive self-esteem encourages the perceiver to favor their in-groups and devaluate the out-groups in comparisons (Perdue et al., 1990). The in-group members are evaluated positively while out-group members are likely to be negatively evaluated. Research shows that the collective pronouns such as us in reference to the in-group and them in reference to the out-group introduce evaluative bias (Perdue, et al., 1990). Similarly, the Republicans positively evaluate President Trump since he is a Republican while the Democrats negatively evaluate him since he is an out-group member. The intergroup bias occurs due to the social categorization of the Democrat supporters and the Republican partisans.
To reduce the partisan bias in the social categorization between the Republicans and the Democrats, the media can strive to produce content that is not biased in political journalism (Holland, 2017). This will allow the gradual disintegration of the social categorization based on political affiliation and reduce the intergroup bias. The media plays a significant role in informing the masses, both Republicans and Democrats on the current events. When the media presents biased content that favors one side of the political spectrum, partisan bias is more likely to occur.
References
Perdue, C. W., Dovidio, J. F., Gurtman, M. B., & Tyler, R. B. (1990). Us and them: social categorization and the process of intergroup bias. Journal of personality and social psychology , 59 (3), 475.
Holland, E. (2017). Reducing Partisan Bias in Political Reporting for a Better Informed Public.
Green, T. V., & Tyson, A. (2020, April 2). 5 facts about partisan reactions to COVID-19 in the U.S . Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/04/02/5-facts-about-partisan-reactions-to-covid-19-in-the-u-s/
