Group identification and perceived self-group similarity: differentiating projection from introjection

Abstract

Two studies demonstrate a technique that can clarify to what degree individual differences in perceived self-ingroup similarity reflect differences in projecting the self onto the group (self-anchoring) and/or introjecting the group onto the self (self-stereotyping). In preregistered Study 1 undergraduates described their values and those of fellow students. In Study 2 (a reanalysis of Denning & Hodges, 2022) citizens described their personalities and those of compatriots with similar voting preferences. Across both studies, ingroup identification predicted perceived self-ingroup similarity. Decomposing each participant’s self-ratings and ingroup-stereotype-ratings into normative (average) and distinctive (non-normative) profiles suggested this was primarily attributable to projecting the self-concept onto the group, but in Study 2's intergroup conflict situation perhaps also attributable to ingroup enhancement and introjecting ingroup-stereotypes.