When is an individual likely to be accepted or rejected by a group? This research investigates responses towards prospective group members depending on how they compare to the group in terms of... Show moreWhen is an individual likely to be accepted or rejected by a group? This research investigates responses towards prospective group members depending on how they compare to the group in terms of their perceived morality or competence. Because morality is of particular importance to groups, we hypothesized that the perceived morality of prospective group members has more impact on the group's tendency to accept versus reject them than their competence. Across three experiments, employing self‐report, psychophysiological and behavioural measures, results supported this hypothesis: Immoral (vs. incompetent) individuals were perceived as more different from the group and were more likely to be rejected. Additionally, the rejection of prospective group members with perceived inferior morality (but not those with inferior competence) was mediated by the group threat they imply. Inclusion success thus seems to be mainly contingent upon how a group evaluates the individual's morality relative to the group's standards. Show less
People are particularly attracted to groups that value morality. However, in social and work life, team decision-making sometimes involves balancing moral considerations with achievement goals in... Show morePeople are particularly attracted to groups that value morality. However, in social and work life, team decision-making sometimes involves balancing moral considerations with achievement goals in ambiguous situations. We examined how the importance attached to morality and competence in experimentally created task teams influenced perceived team attractiveness and motivational responses. Results showed that team attractiveness was fully determined by value attached to morality in a team. However, cardiovascular responses revealed that when actually engaging in a team interaction where unanimous decisions had to be made about competing considerations, value attached to both morality and competence in a team influenced participants’ motivational states. Congruence between the value attached to morality and competence elicited adaptive challenge responses, while incongruence between these team features elicited maladaptive threat. These results have important theoretical and practical implications. Show less
Morality is of particular importance to people: People want to be considered moral and want to belong to moral groups. Consequently, morality judgments have the potential to motivate individuals to... Show moreMorality is of particular importance to people: People want to be considered moral and want to belong to moral groups. Consequently, morality judgments have the potential to motivate individuals to behave in ways that are considered to be ‘good’. In the current dissertation, I examined the impact of intragroup morality judgments on group members’ motivational responses, and compared those to competence judgments as an alternative domain of evaluation. In three empirical chapters, I investigated the impact of morality (vs. competence) judgments from different perspectives, namely judgments of 1) group member’s own prior behavior, 2) another group member’s behavior, as well as 3) the behavior of a prospective group member. The central hypothesis was that intragroup morality judgments generally impact more strongly on group members’ motivational responses than competence judgments. The results demonstrated that the motivational force of morality largely pertains to immorality. Judgments of immorality elicit a range of motivational responses in group members, such as negative affect, lowered perceived coping abilities, a cardiovascular pattern indicative of threat rather than challenge, and a greater inclination towards social exclusion. In conclusion, morality judgments—generally more so than competence judgments—impact on group members’ striving to be a ‘good’ group member. Show less
