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Intergroup Threat and Experienced Affect: The Distinct Roles of Causal Attributions, Ingroup Identification, and Perceived Legitimacy of Intergroup Status

University of Trento, Italy, sandro.costarelli{at}unitn.it

Across three studies, it was predicted and found that in the case of intergroup threat, low ingroup identifiers experience greater negative affect when they make an ingroup-internal rather than an outgroup-internal attribution, and high ingroup identifiers experience greater negative affect when they make an outgroup-internal rather than an ingroup-internal attribution. These effects were mediated by the perceived legitimacy of ingroup— outgroup status differences that results from their reflecting social reality (i.e., actual differences in the groups' standing on a relevant comparison dimension). Combining the findings of two distinct literatures, the current work provides new insights into the yet-unexplored distinct roles played by intergroup attributions as a predictor and ingroup identification as a moderator of the affective responses produced by social identity threat.

Key Words: threat • attributions • legitimacy • group-based emotions • social identity • group identification • group processes

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