This study concerns discrimination bias in relations between work groups. As new developments in categorisation theory have shown, several factors modulate the effects of inter-group categorisation. Among these, status is viewed as introducing conflict between groups.
We studied the impact of this factor in a work situation where status was not linked to power, choosing a firm in which relations between groups were conflict provoking. Three work groups within the same mobile phone firm were selected on the basis of their status : the “ Hard ” group, considered as high status in relation to the low status “ Administration ” group, and the “ Production ” group with an intermediary position. Thirty-five participants completed a questionnaire evaluating staff members (seven chosen at random from each group) by giving a score (from 0 to 10) for ability, intelligence and sociability.
The results confirm the statutory position of each group : “ Hard ” has the highest status, “ Administration ” the lowest, and “ Production ” an intermediate status relatively close to the production group. The results also confirm the existence of a discrimination bias and show different strategies linked to status. The high status group discriminate against the lower groups through an “ out-group de-favouritism ” bias in order to maintain their dominant position, while the lower groups seek to improve their social standing through an “ in-group favouritism ” bias or even an “ out-group favouritism ”.