You can't sit with us! A psychological review of in-group favoritism and out-group rejection

Abstract

The following paper reviews a large body of literature that addresses why we desire membership to groups, the swift nature by which we are able to identify and group with others, and how easily our love for our social in-groups leads to out-group derogation. The review also relates the topics of shared experiences and collective memories with in-group identity. While these subjects are interrelated, there is not sufficient research that integrates these concepts together. Finally, building upon the reviewed literature, I propose an experiment that may help shed light on how in-group status may function as a moderator for cognition.