Pretty Privilege vs. Ingroup Bias in Decision Making

Abstract

In-group and attractiveness bias are well-established concepts in social psychology. This study examines the concurrent influence of these concepts on the decision-making process using the Minimal Group Paradigm. Confederates, individuals who appear to be participants, were used to simulate out-group members. Participants (n = 119, aged 20–30 years) answered a series of mathematics questions, followed by a response, agreeing or disagreeing with the participant’s answer, from a confederate. Participants were then asked to rate the attractiveness of the confederates. Results indicated that in-group bias significantly outweighed attractiveness bias. Participants changed answers more frequently when their group disagreed, regardless of the confederate's attractiveness. Results highlighted the robust effects of group membership on decision-making. Additional research is required to explore confounds within decision-making, such as individual differences and familiarity bias.