Recently, the emphasis of prejudice reduction in research on intergroup relations has been challenged and discussed by a variety of scholars, several of them asking for a more relational focus in intergroup theory and research. This theoretical talk presents such a relational approach building on social identity theory and relational models theory. It assumes that if people share a social identity they also share a common understanding of the nature of their relations as ingroup members to members of one or more outgroups. We assume that similar to other social relations, intergroup relations rely on only four relational models of coordination: Communal sharing, authority ranking, equality matching and market pricing, coordinated by the use of equivalence, legitimate asymmetric status, dynamic additive balance, and proportionality, respectively. These universal cognitive models are implemented by culturally specific rules and prototypes and inform group members’ relational thoughts, emotions and actions. In contrast to social identity theory, our approach puts an emphasis on intrinsic relational motivation rather than on desire for positive distinctiveness and positive self-esteem. Group members manage their intergroup relations depending on their often moral appraisal of relational interaction. Accounting for both intergroup cooperation and social change, we hypothesize that intergroup misunderstanding results from different cultural rules in the implementation of relational models, intergroup conflict from disagreement about the most desirable or appropriate implementation of relational models, and intergroup competition from antagonistic goals within a shared relational framework. We review supporting evidence from the fields of ingroup favoritism, intergroup emotions, and social justice. This theoretical talk presents a relational approach to intergroup relations building on social identity theory and relational models theory. Group members manage intergroup relations depending on often moral appraisal of relational interaction, dealing with cooperation, misunderstanding, conflict and competition.

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Relational Models, Intergroup relations