Varieties of Group Self-Centeredness and Dislike of the Specific Other

Abstract

This investigation tests relationships between three kinds of group self-centeredness and their relationship with negativity towards specific outgroups. A questionnaire study with 270 undergraduates focused on three prominent kinds of group self-centeredness: ethnocentrism, fundamentalism, and anthropocentrism. Although overall ethnocentrism, fundamentalism, and anthropocentrism were positively intercorrelated, fundamentalism was positively associated with one ethnocentrism dimension (intragroup) and negatively with the other (intergroup). A path analysis showed that each kind of group self-centeredness was related only to negativity to specific and relevant outgroups and not to other outgroups. Implications of the research, particularly for the study of religiosity and prejudice, are discussed.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This research was supported by the University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship and by the Bright Future Scholarship (Top Achiever Doctoral) of the Tertiary Education Commission in New Zealand. We would like to thank Katherine Reynolds and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.

Notes

¹The term group self-centeredness is used here to denote centeredness on one's own group. In a similar vain, the term group self-hatred (Rosenberg, 1979, p. 178) was used to refer to dislike of one's own group.

²Altemeyer's (2003) Religious Ethnocentrism might be seen as a more appropriate measure of religious group self-centeredness, but this scale was not available during the implementation of the present study. In addition, despite Altemeyer's (2003) view that fundamentalism and religious ethnocentrism are distinct, the existence of powerful correlations (.78 and .82, uncorrected for unreliability) between the two suggests unidimensionality.

Note. N = 270

∗p < .05, ∗∗p < .01, ∗∗∗p < .001

Note. N = 270. NZ = New Zealand. ∗∗∗p < .001

^a NZ Europeans: n = 144

^b Christians: n = 112

Anti–outgroup attitudes: anti–ethnic minority attitudes for NZ Europeans, anti-Christian attitudes for Christians, and anti–animal attitudes for the total sample

Note. n = 57. NZ = New Zealand

∗p < .05. ∗∗p < .01. ∗∗∗p < .001