Superordinate Identities and Minority Solidarity: Contrasting Person of Color and American Identification

Abstract

Can common ingroup identification predict intra-minority solidarity? Common ingroup identification reduces prejudice but could have an “ironic” effect of reducing minority group members’ support for political change. But do ironic effects apply to all common ingroup identities? Using two 3-wave panel studies, I examined whether identification with a common ingroup that includes Whites (American) and with a common ingroup that does not include Whites (person of color) have different relationships with Asian (Study 1), Black (Study 2), and Latino (Study 2) Americans’ attitudes toward policies that benefit minority groups (immigration, criminal justice reform, and affirmative action). American identification was inconsistently negatively associated with attitudes toward these policies, and POC identification was positively associated with attitudes toward these policies, though identification did not consistently predict attitudes later in time. These results suggest inclusion of the majority group matters for how common ingroup identification relates to intra-minority solidarity.