Hornsey, M.J. and Robson, E. and Smith, J. and Esposo, S. and Sutton, R.M. (2008) Sugaring the pill: Assessing rhetorical strategies designed to minimize defensive reactions to group criticism. Human Communication Research, 34 (1). 70-U119. ISSN 0360-3989.
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Abstract
People are considerably more defensive in the face of group criticism when the criticism comes from an out-group rather than an in-group member (the intergroup sensitivity effect). We tested three strategies that out-group critics can use to reduce this heightened defensiveness. In all studies, Australians received criticism of their country either from another Australian or from a foreigner. In Experiment 1, critics who attached praise to the criticism were liked more and agreed with more than were those who did not. In Experiment 2, out-group critics were liked more and aroused less negativity when they acknowledged that the problems they identified in the target group were shared also by their own in-group. In both experiments, the ameliorative effects of praise and acknowledgment were fully mediated by attributions of constructiveness. Experiment 3 tested the strategy of spotlighting; that is, of putting on the record that you intend your comments to apply to just a portion of the group rather than to the whole group. This strategy-which did not directly address the attributional issues that are presumed to underpin the intergroup sensitivity effect-proved ineffective. Practical and theoretical implications for intergroup communication are discussed.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology |
| Divisions: | Faculties > Social Sciences > School of Psychology |
| Depositing User: | Jane Griffiths |
| Date Deposited: | 20 Apr 2009 15:36 |
| Last Modified: | 25 Jun 2012 13:56 |
| Resource URI: | http://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/15693 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes) |
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