Shall I leave or shall we fight? Effects of threatened group-based self-esteem on identity management strategies

We examined the interplay of social identity threat and group-based self-esteem on the motivation to use two identity management strategies, namely social competition and individual mobility. Following social identity theory, we postulated that threatened high group-based self-esteem leads to an increased motivation to use competitive identity management strategies. Furthermore, following realistic conflict theory and the rejection-identification model, we hypothesized that threat might reduce the desire for individual mobility among group members low in group-based self-esteem. Results of Study 1 (N = 67), Study 2 (N = 109), and Study 3 (N = 101) supported these hypotheses. The results showed that threat leads to the motivation to show social competition for group members high in group-based self-esteem and that for group members low in group-based self-esteem threat decreases the motivation to leave the group. The results are discussed in relation to recent theories of intergroup relations.