Cognitive Scaffold

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MENTAL MODEL · M10322

Minimum Group Paradigm

Minimum Group Paradigm
CultureHigh supportAnthropology
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Updated 2026-08-13

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INTRODUCTION

English translation pending.

CORE DEFINITION

In the minimal group experiments, people are split into groups on a trivial basis, such as which of two painters they prefer, with no interaction and no real stake. Participants nonetheless allocate more reward to their own group members and less to the others, even at a cost to themselves. The finding is that categorization precedes interest: people do not favor their group because it serves them, they construct favoritism from the bare fact of being sorted, which is why the effect appears with no substance behind it.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

- Check the grouping: ask whether an existing division has any substance behind it at all. - Expect the bias: assume favoritism will appear the moment any split is announced. - Set a superordinate goal: give divided teams one shared target that no subgroup can reach alone.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Categorization gives the self a category to occupy, and self-esteem is then served by raising that category's standing relative to others. Because the comparison only needs a contrast, any basis of division suffices, and the out-group's lower position is valued as evidence of the in-group's higher one. Favoritism toward the in-group is therefore prior to any material interest, which is why arbitrary splits produce it and shared resources cannot abolish it without a shared identity.

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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