Article summary with More about when I's meet: The intergroup ramifications of I-sharing, part II by Pinel a.o. - 2018

Summary of the article: More about when I's meet: The intergroup ramifications of I-sharing, part II - Pinel, Long, Johnson & Yawger - 2018. The most important concepts in this article are intergroup processes, prejudices, stereotyping, self, help, and pro-social behavior.

What is meant by I-sharing?

The concept of I-sharing means the belief that someone has shared the same subjective experience with another person at exactly the same time. Previous investigations into I-sharing showed that more research is needed into improving intergroup relationships (intergroup dimensions encompasses concepts such as nationality, age, race, religion, political preference, and gender).

When researching the effects of I-sharing, it is important to share I-sharing through Me-sharing. Participants must receive information on both forms regarding their interaction partner. With Me-sharing dimensions, think for example of how someone would describe themselves, someone's social identity, their values and beliefs.

The writers further expand the research in three ways, chiefly:

1. Pursuit of the mechanism that underlies the I-sharing effects;
2. Try to find an answer to the question whether I-sharing promotes positive, behavioral intergroup results;
3. Investigate whether the effects of I-sharing have a generalizing effect on the outgroup in general.

According to the authors, various studies show that I-sharing prefers a member of an outgroup through a process of subtypes. The reason for this appears in a second study in which it appears that a member of an outgroup promotes a general sense of subjective connection with an I-divisor. I-sharing also promotes help within intergroup lines and shows that with one member of the I-sharing outgroup, the infra humanization of the outgroup in general is reduced.

Several studies show that I-sharing prefers others who are objectively unequal. It also ensures that people adapt less quickly and promotes thinking about their existential isolation What the writers mean by this is the fundamental inability to know someone else's ego. People with a Me-sharing do not do that.

How was I-sharing manipulated?

They did this by allowing participants to associate freely on nonsensical subjects and by an approach in which the participants shared their in-the-moment experience with their interaction partner. They then immediately noticed whether their interaction partner had identical experiences.

What are the most important results from the authors' second study of I-sharing?

In the second study, the authors expanded their research into I-sharing and intergroup processes in two different ways. The strongest evidence is that I-sharing is opposing the preferences of group members among African-American participants. This also applies to the preferences of incomes between whites, heterosexuals, women, and medium and lightweight individuals. Secondly, the results show that I-sharing has an effect that increases people's sense of being subjective to the I-divisor. According to the authors, these results show that these two measures cannot be attributed to one and that one is not more effective than the other.

The writers note that in addition to explicit and implicit forms of prejudice, people regard out-group members as less human than in-group members. They call this the infrahumanization effect. This effect manifests itself over a range of intergroup dimensions. In addition, it predicts tangible results for out-groups. Consider, for example, a reduced desire to help someone else.

What do writers think is the effect of I-sharing experiences on existential isolation?

I-sharing experiences can be a good antidote to existential isolation. This is because when we share something of ourselves, we feel more existentially connected to the other. This can be for a short moment.

In the future, research can be useful for a series of social behavioral outcomes. For example, the ability to compromise on an important task that affects both parties at the same time. But also consider answering the question whether the effect of I-sharing on feelings of subjective likeness, or existential connection, in turn, promotes feelings of faith validation and wants to belong. It is therefore a comprehensive approach. This builds directly on the growing evidence and can serve to complete the understanding of the positive intergroup results.