Own-Group Bias in Social Perception: The Role of Caste and Class Membership
Author(s)
Dalal, Ajit K.; Bhagat, Shubha; Ghosh, E. S. K.
Abstract
An examination of own-group biases in the evaluation of members belonging to different caste & class groups. Undergraduate students from Allahabad, India, selected on the basis of their high & low caste as well as social class, evaluated own-group & out-group members for personality traits, liking, expected performance, popularity, life satisfaction, & social distance. The findings reveal that caste differentiation led to positive own-group bias on all response measures, whereas negative own-group bias was found in case of low social classes. The implications of these findings for frequent caste conflicts in India are discussed.
