Group Processes & Intergroup Relations

 

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Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, Vol. 8, No. 4, 355-374 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/1368430205056465

Normative Influence and Rational Conflict Decisions: Group Norms and Cost-Benefit Analyses for Intergroup Behavior

Winnifred R. Louis

University of Queensland, wlouis{at}ego.psych.mcgill.ca

Donald M. Taylor

McGill University

Rebecca L. Douglas

Dalhousie University

The present paper articulates a model in which ingroup and outgroup norms inform ‘rational’ decision-making (cost-benefit analysis) for conflict behaviors. Norms influence perceptions of the consequences of the behavior, and individuals may thus strategically conform to or violate norms in order to acquire benefits and avoid costs. Two studies demonstrate these processes in the context of conflict in Québec. In the first study, Anglophones’ perceptions of Francophone and Anglophone norms for pro-English behaviors predicted evaluations of the benefits and costs of the behaviors, and these cost-benefit evaluations in turn mediated the norm-intention links for both group norms. In the second study, a manipulated focus on supportive versus hostile ingroup and outgroup norms also predicted cost-benefit evaluations, which mediated the norm-intention relationships. The studies support a model of strategic conflict choices in which group norms inform, rather than suppress, rational expectancy-value processes. Implications for theories of decision-making and normative influence are discussed.

Key Words: cost-benefit analyses • expectancy-value processes • group processes • intergroup conflict • norms • rational choice


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