Dr Grit Hein, a social psychologist at the University of Jena in Germany, recently headed an international team. Collectively, they carried out a groundbreaking study that taps into the depths of prejudice and group bias. The study, published in Royal Society Open Science, shows that financial incentives are a potent tool to help overcome bias against foreign groups. Hein’s recent research illustrates how cultivating social learning experiences in everyday life can transcend barriers that often exist between people of different countries. This method stands to be an important force in uniting cultures.
Specifically, they wanted to know how financial incentives or penalties affect people’s readiness to go near members of opposing nationalities. Hein and her team studied how test subjects behaved. They wanted to find out if monetary incentives were enough to overcome biases that were apparently quite inherent and hardwired. On the surface, their findings may seem dispiriting for the cause of equality and overcoming prejudice.
The Study’s Framework
Hein’s research was conducted with participants from many different cultural backgrounds, including German and East Asian nationalities. The study used an innovative experimental paradigm, in which participants earned cash prizes to approach members of a different cultural group. This approach really “bribed” participants [2] into interacting with foreign teams, forcing them to confront their biases and stereotypes.
In the experiment, German subjects were first asked to generate five adjectives that would describe their own nationality. Next, they defined five specific traits shared by those coming from China. This two-part social science exercise gave the researchers an opportunity to both measure in-group bias and assess the participants’ perceptions of out-group members. The experimental design was employed to dispense abstract geometric symbols as an indirect means to represent group dynamics. A diamond signaled the in-group, and a hexagon signaled the out-group.
The team discovered that financial incentives played a key role in determining whether participants took the most direct route to people from other cultures. Jasper Amadeus Bischofberger, a co-author of the study, noted that “learning from financial rewards and punishments reduces the in-group bias in social approach without changing the in-group bias in impressions.” This difference is a very important one. In all cases, it demonstrates that despite an individual’s ability to be incentivized into changing their behavior towards out-group members, their underlying perceptions of these groups usually don’t change.
Insights on Group Dynamics
These results from Hein’s study offer us some important clues as to why people seem to prefer their in-group over out-groups. Grit Hein stated, “People prefer to approach their own kind and favor individuals who belong to their own group.” This preference is rooted in social identity theory. It proposes that individuals develop an aspect of their self-identity from the social categories they identify with. As a result, people are predisposed to cultivate prejudices in support of their in-group and to be cautious, even distrustful, of outsiders.
Hein’s research, which looks at this process in greater depth, explores how financial incentives might be the magic bullet that spurs change. The study revealed that East Asian participants modified their attitudes towards their own group only if they did not strongly identify with it. Indeed, this finding underscores the complex nature of social identity. It’s a peek backstage to see the varying degrees of bias that permeates each of the cultural groups.
In addition, drawing on literature from public policy on change management, Hein discusses designing reward systems as a great move to spur that first bridge-building contact. She makes the case that financial carrots can unlock doors. People have to believe they are evolving from their experiences. Supportive community reactions can build on this development and lead to long-term, constructive relationships between advocacy and electeds.
The Role of Social Learning
Hein writes about the contributions of social learning experiences to everyday life in furthering the fight against prejudice. By fostering spaces where people are able to engage with a variety of communities, countries can help provide avenues for personal and relevant conversations to occur. These kinds of encounters encourage empathy and understanding and work to break down the prejudices that so often create these rifts in the first place.
Our study results indicate that financial incentives are successful in initiating first contacts. We need to balance these more social learning experiences to help reinforce those interpersonal connections. When they meet and interact positively with people of other backgrounds, they start building that empathy. This experience results in a deeper appreciation for how others are feeling and thinking.