Integrated threat theory (ITT), also known as intergroup threat theory, is a theory in psychology and sociology which attempts to describe the components of perceived threat that lead to prejudice between social groups. The theory applies to any social group that may feel threatened in some way, whether or not that social group is a majority or minority group in their society. This theory deals with perceived threat rather than actual threat. Perceived threat includes all of the threats that members of group believe they are experiencing, regardless of whether those threats actually exist. For example, people may feel their economic well-being is threatened by an outgroup stealing their jobs even if, in reality, the outgroup has no effect on their job opportunities. Still, their perception that their job security is under threat can increase their levels of prejudice against the outgroup. Thus, even false alarms about threat still have "real consequence" for prejudice between groups.
Original components of the theory ITT was first proposed by Walter G. Stephan and Cookie White Stephan (2000).Stephan, W. G.; Stephan, C. W. (2000). An integrated threat theory of prejudice. In Oskamp, S. (Ed.) Reducing Prejudice and Discrimination (pp. 23–45). Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. The original theory had four components: realistic threats, symbolic threats, intergroup anxiety, and negative stereotypes.
Realistic threats
Realistic threats are threats that pose a danger to the ingroup's well-being. These can include threats to physical safety or health, threats to economic and political power, and threats to the existence of the group. This component was originally developed as a part of realistic conflict theory by Donald T. Campbell (1965).Campbell, D.T. (1965). Ethnocentric and Other Altruistic Motives. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. pp. 283–311.
Symbolic threats
Symbolic threats arise where there is a perceived difference between the values and worldview of an ingroup and outgroup. The difference can make the ingroup feel that the outgroup poses a threat to their group morals, standards, beliefs, and attitudes. These threats are thus strongly tied to a group's sense of identity. The category was derived from Gordon Allport's discussion of the relationship between one's values and one's identity. He proposed that, since values are important to who we are, we will reject other groups that disagree with our values.Allport, G.W. (1954) The nature of prejudice. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. It is also based on the research of Esses et al. (1993), who found that groups had more negative feelings towards an outgroup if that outgroup interfered with the ingroup's customs.Esses V., Haddock G., and Zanna M. (1993) Values, stereotypes, and emotions as determinants of intergroup attitudes. In Mackie, D.M. & Hamilton, D.L. (Eds.), Affect, cognition, and stereotyping - interactive processes in group perception (pp. 137-166) San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Intergroup anxiety
Intergroup anxiety refers to the expectation that interacting with someone from a different group will be a negative experience. People with intergroup anxiety fear that they will feel uncomfortable, embarrassed, unsafe, or judged, either by members of the outgroup or by people of their own ingroup. Before creating the ITT framework, Stephan & Stephan (1985) had been conducting research on intergroup anxiety.Stephan, W.G. & Stephan, C.W. (1985) Intergroup Anxiety. Journal of Social Issues, 41, 157-175. The concept of intergroup anxiety also draws from the Aversive Racism theory, which argues that subconscious negative feelings about Black Americans are an important part of racism against them.Gaertner, S.L. & Dovidio, J. F. (1986). "The aversive form of racism". In Gaertner, S.L. & Dovidio, J. F. (Eds.), Prejudice, Discrimination, and Racism (pp. 61–89). Orlando: Academic Press.
Negative stereotypes
Stereotypes are a strategy of simplifying a complex situation by relying on popular pre-set judgements.Stephan, W.G. & Stephan, C.W. (1993) Cognition and affect in stereotyping : parallel interactive networks. In Mackie, D.M. & Hamilton, D.L. (Eds.), Affect, cognition, and stereotyping - interactive processes in group perception (pp. 137-166). San Diego, CA: Academic Press. ITT predicts that negative pre-set judgments about another group can lead to prejudice. This component of ITT draws from research that found that belief in negatively-rated stereotypical traits was linked to higher levels of prejudice against the stereotyped group. Stephan & Stephan (2000) acknowledged that some research has not found links between prejudice and general stereotypes. Thus, it seems that, while general stereotypes assume some positive things about other groups, only the negative aspects of stereotypes are relevant to prejudice.
Updated two-component theory
Stephan & Renfro (2002) proposed an updated version of the theory which reduced the four components to two basic types: realistic and symbolic threats.Stephan, W. G., & Renfro, C. L. (2002). The role of threat in intergroup relations. In D. M. Mackie & E. R. Smith (Eds.), From prejudice to inter-group emotions: Differentiated reactions to social groups (pp. 191–207). New York, NY: Psychology Press. The categories of negative stereotypes and intergroup anxiety were removed from the basic framework of the theory because they were found to be better understood as subtypes of threat. They can lead to either realistic or symbolic threats rather than standing as their own separate categories. For example, intergroup anxiety can be based on expectations of physical danger, a realistic threat, as well as on expectations of damage to one's identity, a symbolic threat.
Experimental Support Since ITT makes a causal claim that perceived threat causes prejudice, studies using an experimental design are necessary. Some researchers have taken on this task to experimentally manipulate types of realistic and perceived threat in order to examine if they cause prejudice. For example, Esses et al. (1998) and Esses et al. (2001) carried out research studies in which they manipulated the research participants' understanding of economic threat posed by immigrants. Esses et al. (1998) had Canadian undergraduate student participants read one of two editorials that were written for the study. One editorial discussed a new group of immigrants with no mention of the job market while the other editorial discussed the same group and emphasized their success in finding jobs despite the scarcity of jobs in Canada. They then studied the effects of perception of economic threat, a type of realistic threat, on attitudes about immigrants and reported willingness to help immigrants. Results showed that participants that read the editorial that emphasized competition had less favorable attitudes towards immigrants and were less likely to approve of programs to empower immigrants.Esses, V.M., Jackson, L.M., Armstrong, T.L. (1998). Intergroup competition and attitudes toward immigrants and immigration: An instrumental model. Journal of Social Issues, 54, 699-724. Esses et al. (2001) carried out similar experiments with very similar editorials. Their results showed that participants that read articles that emphasized the tough job market had more negative attitudes towards the immigrants, were less supportive of their immigration into Canada, and were less supportive of programs to empower immigrants.Esses, V.M., Dovidio, J.F., Jackson, L.M., Armstrong, T.L. (2001). The immigration dilemma: The role of perceived competition, ethnic prejudice, and national identity. Journal of Social Issues, 57, 389-412. The data from these research studies provide some support for the causal influence of realistic threat on prejudice against immigrants.
The causal influence of symbolic threat on prejudice was partially explored in a study by Branscombe & Wann (1994), who focused on perceived threat to ingroup identity in particular. The participants, undergraduate females from the U.S., answered questionnaires about their levels of pride in their American identity at the beginning of the study. They then manipulated the participants' perceived threat to ingroup identity using video clips, which either showed an American or a Russian boxer beating the other in a match. After seeing one version of the video, participants completed a questionnaire that measured their desire to distance themselves from the outgroup, in this case, Russians. The results of this study showed that increased perception of threat to ingroup identity raises a desire to distance oneself from the outgroup.Branscome, N. & Wann, D. (1994). Collective self esteem consequences of outgroup derogation when a valued social identity is on trial. European Journal of Social Psychology, 24, 641-657 This provides some experimental evidence that perception of threat to ingroup identity may cause greater prejudice towards outgroups. However, further experimental research is necessary in order to more firmly and widely establish the causal role of realistic and symbolic threats in prejudice.
Factors that influence levels of perceived threat There are several factors that can lead to increased or decreased levels of group perceived threat.
Power Dynamics The updated ITT theory draws from the findings of contact hypothesis, which claims that it is important to have equality between groups. Power dynamics between two groups are shown to have an influence on how the groups relate to and perceive each other. High-power groups are more likely to influence and threaten other groups. Low-power groups are often vulnerable to the influence and threats of other groups. Thus, low-power groups tend to be on alert and perceive more threats than high power groups do.Stephan, Walter G.; Ybarra, Oscar; Morrison, Kimberly Rios (2009). "Intergroup Threat Theory". In Nelson, Todd D. Handbook of Prejudice, Stereotyping, and Discrimination. Psychology Press. Taylor and Francis Group. p. 44. Corenblum & Stephan (2001) found, for example, that Native Canadians felt more threatened by White Canadians than White Canadians felt about them.Corenblum, B. & Stephan, WG. (2001). White fears and native apprehensions: An integrated threat theory approach to intergroup attitudes. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science- Revue Canadienne des Sciences du Comportement, 33, 251-268. However, when high-power groups do perceive threat from another group, they "will react more strongly" than low-power groups. This is likely because they have more to lose if the threat is real and have more resources that allow them to counter to such threats. Two groups of relatively equal power status can be especially sensitive to feeling threatened if they are in competition with each other for resources, such as jobs.Garcia, S.M., Torr, A., Gonzales, R. (2006) Ranks and rivals: A theory of competition. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32, 970-982.
Identity Stephan & Renfro (2016) predicted that, the more important group membership is to ingroup members' sense of personal identity, the more likely those people will feel threatened by and uncomfortable when interacting with other groups. According to this prediction, people with strong ingroup identification are likely to be more focused on differences between the groups, thus giving them more motivation to hold negative stereotypes of other groups so that they can believe that their group is the best.Stephan, W.G., & Renfro, C.L. (2016). The Role of Threat in Intergroup Relations. In Mackie, D.M. & Smith, E.R. (Eds.), From Prejudice to Intergroup Emotions: Differentiated Reactions to Social Groups, (191-207). ProQuest Ebook Central.
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