Research Article
Full Access
Profit maximization versus disadvantageous inequality: the impact of self-categorization
Stephen M. Garcia,
Avishalom Tor, Max H. Bazerman, Dale T. Miller,
Corresponding Author
Stephen M. Garcia
University of Michigan, USA
University of Michigan, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1220, USA.Search for more papers by this authorStephen M. Garcia,
Avishalom Tor, Max H. Bazerman, Dale T. Miller,
Corresponding Author
Stephen M. Garcia
University of Michigan, USA
University of Michigan, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1220, USA.Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Choice behavior researchers (e.g., Bazerman, Loewenstein, & White, 1992) have found that individuals tend to choose a more lucrative but disadvantageously unequal payoff (e.g., self—$600/other—$800) over a less profitable but equal one (e.g., self—$500/other—$500); greater profit trumps interpersonal social comparison concerns in the choice setting. We suggest, however, that self-categorization (e.g., Hogg, 2000) can shift interpersonal social comparison concerns to the intergroup level and make trading disadvantageous inequality for greater profit more difficult. Studies 1–3 show that profit maximization diminishes when recipients belong to different social categories (e.g., genders, universities). Study 2 further implicates self-categorization, as self-categorized individuals tend to forgo profit whether making a choice for themselves or another ingroup member. Study 3, moreover, reveals that social categorization alone is not sufficient to diminish profit maximization; individuals must self-categorize and identify with their categorization. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
REFERENCES
- Abrams, D., & Hogg, M. A. (1988). Comments on the motivational status of self-esteem in social identity and intergroup discrimination. European Journal of Social Psychology, 18, 317–334.
- Adams, J. S. (1963). Toward an understanding of inequality. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67, 422–436.
- Bazerman, M. H., Loewenstein, G. F., & White, S. B. (1992). Reversals of preference in allocation decisions: judging an alternative versus choosing among alternatives. Special Issue: process and outcome: perspectives on the distribution of rewards in organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 37, 220–240.
- Bazerman, M. H., Schroth, H. A., Shah, P. P., Diekmann, K. A., & Tenbrunsel, A. (1994). The inconsistent role of comparison others and procedural justice in reactions to hypothetical job descriptions: implications for job acceptance decisions. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 60, 326–352.
- Bazerman, M. H., White, S. B., & Loewenstein, G. F. (1995). Perceptions of fairness in interpersonal and individual choice situations. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 4, 39–43.
- Blount, S., & Bazerman, M. H. (1996). The inconsistent evaluation of absolute versus comparative payoffs in labor supply and bargaining. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 30, 227–240.
- Brewer, M. B. (1979). In-group bias in the minimal intergroup situation: a cognitive-motivational analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 86, 307–324.
- Deaux, K. (1996). Social identification. In E. T. Higgins, & A. W. Kruglanski (Eds.), Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles (pp. 777–798). New York: Guilford Press.
- Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison. Human Relations, 7, 117–140.
- Gaertner, S. L., & Dovidio, J. F. (2000). Reducing intergroup bias: The common ingroup identity model. Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press/Taylor & Francis.
- Gaertner, S. L., Dovidio, J. F., Anastasio, P. A., Bachman, B. A., & Rust, M. C. (1993). The common ingroup identity model: recategorization and the reduction of intergroup bias. In W. Stroebe, & M. Hewstone (Eds.), European review of social psychology (Vol. 4, pp. 1–26). Chichester, UK: Wiley.
- Gaertner, L., Sedikides, C., & Graetz, K. (1999). In search of self-definition: motivational primacy of the individual self, motivational primacy of the collective self, or contextual primacy? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 5–18.
- Grieve, P. G., & Hogg, M. A. (1999). Subjective uncertainty and intergroup discrimination in the minimal group situation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, 926–940.
- Guth, W., Schmittberger, R., & Schwarz, B. (1982). An experimental analysis of ultimatum bargaining. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 3, 367–388.
- Hogg, M. A. (2000). Social identity and social comparison. In J. Suls, & L. Wheeler (Eds.), Handbook of social comparison: Theory and research (pp. 401–421). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
10.1007/978-1-4615-4237-7_19 Google Scholar
- Hogg, M. A. (2001). Self-categorization and subjective uncertainty resolution: cognitive and motivational facets of social identity and group membership. In J. P. Forgas, & K. D. Williams (Eds.), Social mind: Cognitive and motivational aspects of interpersonal behavior (pp. 323–349). New York: Cambridge University Press.
- Hogg, M. A., & Abrams, D. (1990). Social motivation, self-esteem and social identity. In D. Abrams, & M. A. Hogg (Eds.), Social identity theory: Constructive and critical advances (pp. 28–47). London: Harvester Wheatsheaf.
- Hogg, M. A., Cooper-Shaw, L., & Holzworth, D. W. (1993). Group prototypicality and depersonalized attraction in small interactive groups. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 19, 452–465.
- Hogg, M. A., & Haines, S. C. (1996). Intergroup relations and group solidarity: effects of group identification and social beliefs on depersonalized attraction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 295–309.
- Hogg, M. A., & Mullin, B. A. (1999). Joining groups to reduce uncertainty: subjective uncertainty reduction and group identification. In D. Abrams, & M. A. Hogg (Eds.), Social identity and social cognition (pp. 249–279). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
- Hsee, C. K., Loewenstein, G. F., Blount, S., & Bazerman, M. H. (1999). Preference reversals between joint and separate evaluations of options: a review and theoretical analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 576–590.
- Loewenstein, G. F., Thompson, L., & Bazerman, M. H. (1989). Social utility and decision making in interpersonal contexts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 426–441.
- Messick, D. M., & Sentis, K. P. (1985). Estimating social and nonsocial utility functions from ordinal data. European Journal of Social Psychology, 15, 389–399.
- Mullin, B. A., & Hogg, M. A. (1998). Diminensions of subjective uncertainty in social identification and minimal intergroup discrimination. British Journal of Social Psychology, 37, 345–365.
- Oaker, G., & Brown, R. (1986). Intergroup relations in a hospital setting: a further test of social identity theory. Human Relations, 39, 767–778.
- Pillutla, M., & Murnighan, K. (1996). Unfairness, anger, and spite: emotional rejections in ultimatum games. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 68, 208–224.
- Rabin, M. (1993). Incorporating fairness into game theory and economics. American Economic Review, 83, 1281–1302.
- Rosenthal, R., & Rosnow, R. (1991). Essentials of behavioral research: Methods and data analysis. New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Roth, A. E. (1995). Bargaining experiments. In J. H. Kagel, & A. E. Roth (Eds.), The handbook of experimental economics (pp. 253–348). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
- Tajfel, H. (1981). Human groups and social categories: Studies in social psychology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Turner, J. C. (1975). Social comparison and social identity: some prospects for intergroup behavior. European Journal of Social Psychology, 5, 5–34.
- Turner, J. C. (1982). Towards a cognitive redefinition of the social group. In H. Tajfel (Ed.), Social identity and intergroup relations (pp. 15–40). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Turner, J. C., Brown, R. J., & Tajfel, H. (1979). Social comparison and group interest in ingroup favoritism. European Journal of Social Psychology, 9, 187–204.
- Turner, J. C., Hogg, M. A., Oakes, P. J., Reicher, S. D., & Wetherell, M. S. (1987). Rediscovering the social group: A self-categorization theory. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
