By Dr. Chinta SidharthanReviewed by Susha Cheriyedath, M.Sc.Jul 1 2024 In a recent study published in the journal Science Advances, behavioral scientists in Europe examined whether people belonging to a group based on common language, nationality, or political ideology exhibited in-group favoritism in two situations of competition—one where they were trying to outcompete other in-group members and the other when they were trying to prevent being outcompeted by an in-group member.
For the first part of the study, the researchers obtained data from close to 13,000 participants from 51 countries, at the approximate rate of 250 individuals from each society. The participants were stratified by gender and age. An online survey was used to conduct the experiment, with the researchers designing the survey in English and providing professionally translated versions to the non-English speaking participants.
For the second part of the study, the same experiment was conducted among 552 participants residing in Nairobi, Kenya, but belonging to different ethnocultural groups. This part of the study was to study interactions that could be generalized beyond the online interactions seen between individuals of different countries.
Major findings The study found that while individuals of a group tend to cooperate with and trust members of their group, they also exhibit a tendency to compete, investing more in competing with in-group members than outsiders.