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🎠social psychology review

Minimal Group Paradigm

Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025

Definition

The minimal group paradigm is a psychological concept that explores how individuals can show favoritism towards their own group, even when group distinctions are based on trivial or arbitrary criteria. This phenomenon illustrates how easily people can form in-groups and out-groups, leading to discrimination and bias without any significant basis for those divisions. It highlights the powerful role of social identity in shaping attitudes and behaviors, often manifesting in intergroup conflict and prejudice.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

  1. The minimal group paradigm was developed by Henri Tajfel in the 1970s through experiments where participants were assigned to groups based on random criteria, such as preference for certain paintings.
  2. Even when groups were created arbitrarily, participants demonstrated a strong tendency to allocate resources favorably towards their own group members while disadvantaging others.
  3. This phenomenon reveals that group membership can trigger biases and affect decision-making processes without the need for competition or prior history between groups.
  4. The minimal group paradigm has been used to study the roots of prejudice and discrimination, showing how easily negative attitudes can form against out-groups based solely on superficial differences.
  5. Research stemming from the minimal group paradigm has implications for understanding social conflict and suggests that fostering positive intergroup relations may require addressing these underlying biases.

Review Questions

  • How does the minimal group paradigm illustrate the formation of in-groups and out-groups, and what implications does this have for understanding social behavior?
    • The minimal group paradigm illustrates that individuals can quickly develop strong in-group identities based on arbitrary criteria, leading to favoritism towards their own group. This demonstrates that social categorization occurs even when there is no meaningful basis for division. The implications for social behavior are significant; understanding this tendency helps explain how prejudice can arise in various contexts, often without prior interaction or conflict between groups.
  • Discuss how the findings from the minimal group paradigm challenge traditional views of competition as a necessary factor for intergroup conflict.
    • The findings from the minimal group paradigm challenge the idea that competition is a prerequisite for intergroup conflict by showing that individuals will exhibit bias towards their own group even when no real competition exists. Participants displayed in-group favoritism simply based on arbitrary classifications. This suggests that merely belonging to different groups can be sufficient to generate conflict and discrimination, emphasizing the importance of social identity over competition.
  • Evaluate the significance of the minimal group paradigm in addressing broader issues of prejudice and discrimination in society today.
    • The minimal group paradigm holds significant relevance in addressing issues of prejudice and discrimination today by highlighting how quickly biases can emerge from mere social categorization. Understanding this process is crucial for developing interventions aimed at reducing intergroup conflict. By recognizing that arbitrary distinctions can lead to real-world consequences, strategies can be formulated to foster empathy and cooperation across groups, thereby mitigating discrimination and promoting social harmony.