Cognitive Scaffold

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MENTAL MODEL · M6348

Minimal Group Paradigm

Minimal Group Paradigm
BehaviorHigh supportSocial Psychology
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Updated 2026-08-06

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INTRODUCTION

English translation pending.

CORE DEFINITION

Developed by Henri Tajfel and colleagues in the early 1970s, the minimal group paradigm assigns participants to groups on a trivial basis, such as a coin toss or a preference between two painters, with no interaction and no conflict of interest. Participants still allocate more resources to their own group. The finding established that mere categorization is sufficient to generate in-group bias, so intergroup discrimination does not require real competition or material stakes.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

- Watch the label: notice when a trivial category is being treated as a meaningful division. - Test the stakes: ask what real conflict actually exists behind a group boundary. - Reduce the lines: remove arbitrary labels from decisions where they carry no information.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Categorization separates the world into us and them, and social identity draws part of its value from how the in-group compares with others. Even a meaningless label supplies a comparison that can be won, so members favour their own side in order to secure a positive identity. Because the motive is identity rather than resources, no material conflict is needed to trigger the effect.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimal_group_paradigmZH · Explicit
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