Leiden University Student Repository

Hagemeijer, Sammie (2024)

The influence of “Indulgence versus Restraint” on Ingroup Bias: A Dictator Game Experiment

Bachelor thesis | Psychologie (BSc)

Members of a group often show ingroup bias: the tendency to favor one’s own group. An important factor moderating ingroup bias is culture. Hofstede introduced several cultural dimensions, of which indulgence versus restraint (IVR) is one. There has already been extensive research on most of these dimensions and their influence on ingroup bias and prosocial behavior, but less is known about the influence of IVR on ingroup bias. Due to this research gap, this paper aims to answer the question whether the degree to which an individual is indulgent or restrained affects their ingroup bias. Students (N = 75) participated in a three-part experiment. First, a minimal group paradigm was created. Then, a dictator game was played. Finally, participants filled in a questionnaire measuring personal IVR score. A significant ingroup bias was found using a simple T-test. However, no correlation was found between IVR and ingroup bias after performing a simple linear regression. This suggests that...Show moreMembers of a group often show ingroup bias: the tendency to favor one’s own group. An important factor moderating ingroup bias is culture. Hofstede introduced several cultural dimensions, of which indulgence versus restraint (IVR) is one. There has already been extensive research on most of these dimensions and their influence on ingroup bias and prosocial behavior, but less is known about the influence of IVR on ingroup bias. Due to this research gap, this paper aims to answer the question whether the degree to which an individual is indulgent or restrained affects their ingroup bias. Students (N = 75) participated in a three-part experiment. First, a minimal group paradigm was created. Then, a dictator game was played. Finally, participants filled in a questionnaire measuring personal IVR score. A significant ingroup bias was found using a simple T-test. However, no correlation was found between IVR and ingroup bias after performing a simple linear regression. This suggests that the degree to which a person is indulgent or restrained does not have an influence on the person’s ingroup bias. However, the results are inconsistent with previous research, so more research needs to be conducted.Show less

Ingroup bias

Indulgence versus restraint

Dictator game

Author

Hagemeijer, Sammie

Faculty

Faculty of Social & Behavioural Sciences

Supervisors

Fariña, A.

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en