IRM – The Intergroup Relations Model

Arie Nadler, Jeff Fisher and I collaborated on an edited volume titled The Social Psychology of Intergroup Reconciliation (2008) that was published by Oxford University Press.  The volume contains chapters by leading experts in intergroup relations and reconciliation focused on the basic question: “How can groups engaged in intractable conflict, reconcile and move past hostility?”

Intergroup Relations Model and Implications for Reconciliation

The Intergroup Relations Model (IRM, Malloy, 2008) was presented in this book.  The intergroup relations model rests on the logic of realistic conflict theory (Campbell, 1965; Levine & Campbell, 1972) and social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979).  The IRM assumes that groups compete for finite resources and that personal identity derives from membership in a collective.  The model specifies that relative group status (sometimes called ethnocentrism) and out-group stereotypes affect intergroup affect that, in turn, affects intergroup behavior.   These intergroup processes are moderated by the equality or inequality of groups’ opportunities for achieving material (e.g., a job) and social (e.g., respect) resources.  The IRM is a moderated-mediational model of intergroup processes.

 

A path model of the IRM is presented below.

 

 

Malloy and Kinney’ (2017) paper in Self and Identity tested hypotheses regarding benevolence and self-protection in intergroup relations derived from the IRM.  A link to this paper is:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15298868.2016.1241822?journalCode=psai20

 

Learn more about this book by following the links below:

 

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/social-psychology-of-intergroup-reconciliation-9780195300314?cc=us&lang=en&

https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=b1D2RqpjhEwC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=social+psychology+of+intergroup+reconciliation&ots=X_2jcqw2iw&sig=PZUJTAUNJDOHc61TAxkJUAcLsT8#v=onepage&q=social%20psychology%20of%20intergroup%20reconciliation&f=false

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01609510802308321?scroll=top&needAccess=true