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Es ist nur schwer vorstellbar, dass ein Mensch völlig isoliert von anderen Menschen lebt. Tatsächlich sind wir in unserem Alltag fast ständig von anderen umgeben; das reicht von Fremden bis zu Menschen, denen wir uns sehr nahe fühlen, mit denen wir befreundet sind oder mit denen wir eine Liebesbeziehung führen. Doch warum empfinden wir überhaupt das Bedürfnis, mit anderen zusammen zu sein, und warum kann es so schmerzvoll sein, von anderen zurückgewiesen zu werden? Warum fühlen wir uns von einigen Menschen angezogen, von anderen jedoch nicht? Was bestimmt darüber, dass einige Beziehungen von Glück erfüllt sind, während andere in eine Katastrophe zu führen scheinen? Mit solchen Fragen beschäftigt sich dieses Kapitel. Wir beginnen mit einer Erklärung des offenbar natürlichen Bedürfnisses von Menschen, mit anderen in Kontakt zu sein. Wir folgen dann der Entwicklung einer Beziehung und beginnen dabei mit einer Erörterung der Faktoren, die über die anfängliche zwischenmenschliche Anziehung bestimmen, und geben einen Überblick über die Prozesse, die eine erfolgreiche bzw. eine erfolglose Liebesbeziehung kennzeichnen. Wir schließen das Kapitel mit einigen allgemeinen Prozessen ab, die in unterschiedlichen Arten von Beziehungen auftreten können.

While some research suggests that ethnic and cultural diversity hinders societal cohesion, other studies show that it promotes intergroup contact opportunities, which, if exploited, help to overcome intergroup prejudice. Recently, however, intergroup contact theory has been criticized for neglecting the wider social context as well as for ignoring potential demobilizing contact effects for minority members. Using two cross‐sectional general population surveys (European Social Survey in 22 countries, Swiss MOSAiCH), we address these criticisms by examining whether ethnic majority members' positive contact influences ethnic minority members' support for ingroup rights at the social context level. Applying multilevel path analysis, we show that minority members are more likely to support anti‐discrimination laws and immigrant rights when living in social contexts in which majority members have positive intergroup contact experiences. Theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed for understanding how minority groups are affected by the climate of the social context they reside in.

Building on and extending prior research demonstrating the role of both quality and quantity of intergroup contact in reducing negative attitudes toward outgroup members (Allport, 1954; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006), the present study takes the novel approach of applying both contact theory and Intergroup Emotions Theory (IET; Mackie & Smith, 2002) to the study of prejudice reduction as a function of intergroup contact. We examined the mediating role of both intergroup emotions and trust in predicting both positive and negative behavioral tendencies toward the outgroup. In a study of intergroup contact between Catholics and Protestant students in Northern Ireland, outgroup contact (measured by the product of quality and quantity of contact) was directly associated with outgroup trust, outgroup emotions (increases in positive emotion and decreases in negative emotions), and outgroup behavioral tendencies (increases in positive behavioral tendencies and decreases in negative behavioral tendencies). Additionally, the relationship between contact and outgroup behavioral tendencies was mediated by general outgroup trust as well as by positive and negative outgroup emotions.

Two experiments examined the effect a leader has when supported by a numericalmajority or minority. In both experiments, participants read a team problem-solving scenario where a solution was supported by either a numerical majority or minority of the team. In some conditions, the team leader also supported the same solution as the majority or minority in other conditions the leader did not. When the leader was supported by the majority, its solution was rated as more favorable by participants than when supported by either the leader or majority on its own. When the leader was supported by the minority, its solution was rated as either less favorable or equally favorable than when supported by the leader or minority on its own. However, when the leader was supported by the minority participants rated an alternative (better) solution that was not discussed by the leader, as more favorable. These findings indicate that leadership endorsement results in greater compliance to a majority-endorsed position but to more elaboration, and better decision-making, to a minority-endorsed position. The policy implications of this research for the role of leaders in team decision-making are discussed.

This research reports a novel investigation into the comparative effects of positive and negative direct and extended intergroup contact on intergroup orientations. It tested the generality of the positive-negative asymmetry effect among majority (N = 357) and minority (N = 101) group members in Iceland. Little evidence of asymmetry was observed: the beneficial effects of positive contact were mostly as strong as the detrimental effects of negative contact, for both direct and extended contact. However, evidence was found for alternative interaction models in which positive contact buffers the negative effects of negative contact, and negative contact enhances the benefits of positive contact. These interaction effects were found only for direct contact and principally in the majority group, but were also found for the minority group, though more weakly. No interaction was observed for extended contact. It appeared that differential group salience elicited by positive and negative contact could partly contribute to the explanation of the observed effects, at least in the majority sample.

Research frequently demonstrates diverse communities exhibit lower intra-community cohesion. Recent studies suggest there is little evidence perceived ethnic threat plays a role in this relationship. This paper re-examines the roles of ethnic threat and prejudice in the diversity/cohesion relationship. First, we test threat/prejudice as conceptualised in the literature: as mediators of diversity’s effect. Second, we test a reformulation of the roles of threat/prejudice: as moderators of diversity’s effect. Applying multi-level models to cross-sectional and longitudinal data of White British individuals across England and Oldham (a unique English town case-study) we find neighbour-trust lower in diverse communities. However, perceived-threat/prejudice does not mediate this relationship. Instead, we find perceived-threat/prejudice moderate diversity’s impact on neighbour-trust. The result is diversity only reduces neighbour-trust among individuals who already viewed out-groups as threatening. Longitudinal analysis confirms the importance of out-group attitudes in the diversity/neighbour-trust relationship. In diverse communities, residents whose out-group attitudes improve, or worsen, become more, or less, trusting of their neighbours. However, in homogeneous communities, changes in out-group attitudes are not linked to changes in neighbour-trust. We therefore argue and demonstrate that perceived-threat emerges from other societal processes (such as socio-economic precariousness) and it is when individuals who already view out-groups as threatening experience diverse neighbourhoods that local cohesion declines.

The single factor fallacy occurs when social scientists model their applied work largely around a single factor. The problem generally arises when either a highly relevant theory is ignored or when missing key variables distort the results. Examples of this fallacy are drawn from the expanding research literature on intergroup contact, where we discuss the implications of missing critical variables from the analysis (including segregation, effects of negative as well as positive contact, extended contact, and contact when the outgroup is in the majority). The policy issues involved include racially desegregated schools, minority protest, the impact of neighborhood diversity, and anti-immigration voting. Three suggestions for avoiding the fallacy are emphasized – the use of mediation-moderation analysis, longitudinal research and multilevel analysis. We end by outlining five simple principles, based on our own experience in the U.S. and the U.K., that may increase the impact of social scientists’ research on public policy.

While some research suggests that ethnic and cultural diversity hinders societal cohesion, other studies show that it promotes intergroup contact opportunities, which, if exploited, help to overcome intergroup prejudice. Recently, however, intergroup contact theory has been criticized for neglecting the wider social context as well as for ignoring potential demobilizing contact effects for minority members. Using two cross‐sectional general population surveys (European Social Survey in 22 countries, Swiss MOSAiCH), we address these criticisms by examining whether ethnic majority members' positive contact influences ethnic minority members' support for ingroup rights at the social context level. Applying multilevel path analysis, we show that minority members are more likely to support anti‐discrimination laws and immigrant rights when living in social contexts in which majority members have positive intergroup contact experiences. Theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed for understanding how minority groups are affected by the climate of the social context they reside in.

In general, we agree with almost everything mentioned in the commentary by Cross and Campbell (2017). We feel, however, that their line of argumentation is largely based on a misunderstanding that we will try to clarify in this reply.

Two correlational studies investigated the associations between different forms of intergroup contact, on the one hand, and Italians’ prejudice and humanity attributions toward immigrants in Italy, on the other. Study 1 examined the effects of direct contact, extended contact and parasocial contact through mass-media, assessing separately contact through TV news and newspapers and contact through entertainment programs. Study 2 analyzed the distinct effects of positive and negative episodes of the contact forms considered in Study 1. Across the studies, we tested the mediational role of intergroup anxiety, empathy, and trust. Overall, results showed the importance of taking into account different forms of contact and considering the emotional processes during contact experiences to understand intergroup attitudes.

Outgroup projection is the tendency to generalise among members of different outgroups as if their members were all alike. The present study analysed this almost unexplored phenomenon and tested whether intergroup threat enhances the tendency to generalise the members of a negatively-valued outgroup (i.e., Roma) onto another larger (partially) inclusive outgroup (i.e., Romanians). Evidence showed that Roma are generalised to Romanians to a higher extent under realistic and symbolic threat conditions. Outgroup projection is discussed in relation to the ingroup projection bias and the ingroup over-exclusion effect.

Two studies investigated the role of intergroup contact in predicting collective action tendencies along with three key predictors proposed by the social identity model of collective action (SIMCA; Van Zomeren, Postmes, and Spears, 2008). Study 1 (N= 488 Black South African students) tested whether social identity would positively, whereas intergroup contact would negatively predict collective action and support for policies benefiting the ingroup. Study 2 (N= 244 White South African students) predicted whether social identity would positively predict collective action benefiting the ingroup, and intergroup contact would positively predict support for policies to benefit the Black outgroup. Both studies yielded evidence in support of the predictive power of social identity and contact on collective action and policy support. Additionally, Study 1 confirmed that intergroup contact moderated the effects of social identity on relative deprivation, and relative deprivation on collective action. Overall findings support an integration of SIMCA and intergroup contact theory, and provide a fuller understanding of the social psychological processes leading to collective action.

The combined use of high resolution X-ray computed tomography with digital image correlation allows quantitative observations of the three-dimensional deformations that occur within a material when it is strained. In suitable microstructures, the displacement resolution is sub-voxel (a voxel is the three-dimensional equivalent of a pixel), and both elastic and plastic deformations can be studied. This paper reviews recent work in which three-dimensional in situ observations of deformation have provided unique insights that support both continuum and heterogeneous microstructure-dependent models of damage development in a range of materials. The examples presented include; crack propagation in a quasi-brittle porous material (polygranular graphite), sub-indentation radial and lateral cracking in a brittle polycrystalline ceramic (alumina); plastic deformation and damage development underneath indentations in a ductile metal (Al-SiC composite) and a ceramic matrix composite (SiC-SiCfibre). These examples show how material properties can be obtained by analysis of the displacement fields, how such measurements can be used to better define the applied loading on small test specimens and how crack opening magnitude and mode may be extracted also. Some new directions for research are outlined, including the combined use of diffraction and imaging techniques on synchrotron X-ray facilities to map both elastic and inelastic strains.

Unconditional respect for persons is an orientation that rests on the assumption that all people have intrinsic worth and deserve respect simply by their being human. This paper reports three cross-sectional studies concerning unconditional respect in intergroup relations in three very different contexts. In all three studies, unconditional respect was positively related to positive action tendencies, and negatively related to negative action tendencies, toward other groups. Regression analyses showed that respect was a significant predictor of negative action tendencies even when attitude to the other group, social dominance orientation, empathy, and the quality and quantity of intergroup contact were statistically controlled. Moderation analyses showed that respect was particularly important under conditions of high threat. The implications of unconditional respect for intergroup relations are discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.

We review 50-odd years of research on Allport's (1954)'contact hypothesis', to assess progress, problems, and prospects. We chart the progress that has been made in understanding two distinct forms of contact: direct and indirect. We highlight the progress made in understanding the effects of each type of contact, as well as both moderating and mediating factors, and emphasize the multiple impacts of direct contact, especially. We then consider some of the main critiques of inter-group contact, focusing on empirical issues and whether contact impedes social change, and provide a research agenda for the coming years. We conclude that this body of work no longer merits the modest title of 'hypothesis', but fully deserves acknowledgement as an integrated and influential theory.

Demographic trends reveal that modern societies have become increasingly diverse. Within the social sciences, these changes have been reflected in concerns about the implications of social diversity. Although early research noted that diversity may have negative consequences for societies and individuals, more recent scholarship has indicated that diversity is not always translated into negative outcomes. These inconsistent findings initiated a scholarly debate concerning the impact of many different forms of diversity for a host of social outcomes. It is now clear that the boundary conditions of these effects are yet to be fully understood. This Special Issue offers a collection of research advances identifying mediating and moderating variables addressing when and why diversity impacts intergroup relational outcomes. By focusing on different levels of diversity (i.e., in the society and in groups), this research also sheds light on the effectiveness of ideologies and policies for managing diversity. info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion

Supportive relationships are key to a healthy, long, and fulfilled life (Umberson & Karas Montez, 2010). While much is known about the general structure of our personal relationships (i.e., ego networks; Sutcliffe et al., 2012) and self-bounded communities (i.e., complete or cohort networks; Zhou et al., 2005), we still know relatively little about how these social networks adapt to critical life events, such as the transition of entering university (Wrzus et al., 2013). This thesis investigates the effects of this first major transition on young adults’ personal relationships, social integration, and mental health. In Chapter 1, I introduce the theoretical and empirical background underlying my research and present my unique prospective, longitudinal social network design in which students of two consecutive cohorts at a College of Oxford University participated (five assessments, across 2.5 years in Study 1, N = 90; and seven, across 1.5 years in Study 2, N = 81). In Chapter 2, I examine how these students manage their personal relationships and find that ego networks are overall remarkably robust and grow uniformly within just the first two months at university. In Chapter 3, I investigate how students socially integrate into their new social environment and find that cohort networks driven by homophily factors form rapidly and stabilise just as quickly. In Chapter 4, I study the mental health trajectories of these young adults and find uncommonly high levels of anxiety and depression that temporarily or gradually worsen during the transition. Finally, in Chapter 5, I discuss the main findings and outline their theoretical, methodological, and practical implications. Overall, this thesis shows that the impact of the transition to university on students’ social relationships and mental health occurs rapidly. Future research might focus on the first few weeks of this transition in more detail and differentiate students’ individual experiences further.

A wealth of research examining intergroup contact theory (Allport, 1954; Brown & Hewstone, 2005) has shown that outgroup contact improves outgroup attitudes. Few studies have examined the corresponding role of ingroup contact, despite its prevalence and evidence suggesting it may detrimentally affect intergroup relations (e.g., Levin et al., 2003; Wilder & Thompson, 1980), or the corresponding effects on ingroup attitudes. This thesis addresses these lacunae by investigating the ways in which ingroup contact, in addition to outgroup contact, shapes both ingroup and outgroup attitudes. In so doing, this thesis aims to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of how contact influences intergroup relations through the incorporation of ingroup contact in intergroup contact theory. Chapter 1 details the theoretical and empirical rationale that underpins this thesis, introduces the 10 studies (total N = 34,944) comprising this thesis, and outlines the analysis techniques used to test the proposed hypotheses (i.e., latent growth modelling, meta-analysis, random-intercept cross lagged panel modelling, and longitudinal social network analysis). Chapter 2 examines the relationship between ingroup and outgroup contact and finds that, at least for friendships, more ingroup contact is associated with less outgroup contact, and vice versa. Chapter 3 investigates the effects of contact on attitudes and identifies positive between-person associations for ingroup contact and ingroup attitudes, and for outgroup contact and outgroup attitudes, yet obtains little evidence for the corresponding within-person effects. Chapter 4 explores the socialisation of ingroup and outgroup attitudes and reports that individuals’ attitudes are influenced by the attitudes held by their ingroup, but not their outgroup, friends. Finally, Chapter 5 discusses the research presented in this thesis and outlines its theoretical, methodological and practical implications. Overall, this thesis shows that ingroup contact has an important role in shaping both ingroup and outgroup attitudes, which highlights the imperative need for further research in this nascent area of study.

This thesis aimed to investigate the concepts of trust and forgiveness, in the context of post-conflict reconciliation in Northern Ireland. Chapter 1 gives an overview of the historical background of the conflict in Northern Ireland, the current situation in terms of the divided relationship between the Catholic and Protestant communities and argues that reconciliation initiatives need to encompass social, psychological and emotional aspects of the conflict. Chapter 2 outlines the theoretical framework for the empirical research in the following chapters. Social-psychological theories of conflict are discussed, with particular emphasis on the social identity perspective. These theories are then applied to the conflict, intergroup relations and reconciliation in Northern Ireland. The concepts of trust and forgiveness are defined and conceptualised from this theoretical background. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 present empirical research which investigates aspects of trust and forgiveness in the context of Northern Ireland. Studies 1 and 2 examined the evaluation of the extension of trust and distrust to the outgroup, in relation to level of threat to one's community and strength of group identification. The findings from Studies 1 and 2 demonstrate that group identification is a predictor of evaluations of the extension of trust or distrust toward the outgroup under high/ low threat; the extension of distrust toward the outgroup elicited a greater negative evaluation in terms of damage to intergroup relations than the extension of trust. Study 3 investigated the mediating role of group-level forgiveness and guilt in the relationship between victimhood, exposure to violence and group identity, on the one hand, and mild psychiatric morbidity on the other. Results from Study 3 suggest that forgiveness and guilt can act as mediators in the relationship between impact of ethno-political conflict and mental health, at the group-level. Studies 4, 5 and 6 investigated the mediators of the relationship between cross-community contact (in the form of cross-group friendship) and ingroup identification on the one hand, and intergroup forgiveness and outgroup trust on the other. Together results from these studies showed that collective guilt, perspective-taking and empathic affect mediate the relationship between cross-group friendship and group identification on the one hand, and intergroup forgiveness and outgroup trust, on the other. Together, the findings from this thesis further our knowledge of the concepts of trust and forgiveness in the context of conflict and reconciliation in Northern Ireland. Extensions of distrust to the outgroup were evaluated as damaging to intergroup relations between the two communities. Forgiveness was found to mediate the relationship between exposure to the conflict and well-being. Crossgroup friendship, group identification, collective guilt, perspective-taking and empathic affect were found to be important predictors and mediators of outgroup trust and intergroup forgiveness. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings for intergroup relations are discussed, along with directions for future research in this area.

Multiethnic people constitute an increasingly prominent share of the population in the UK and beyond. Nevertheless, most research on intergroup relations continues to focus on people on either side of a clearly defined group divide. The aim of this thesis is to integrate multiethnic populations into research on intergroup relations and to investigate a question that is often raised about multiethnic individuals: whether they build bridges between members of different monoethnic groups. Chapter 1 outlines the theoretical and empirical context of my research, as well as the multi-method approach adopted throughout this thesis. Across three empirical chapters, I then present research on monoethnic individuals’ context-level exposure to multiethnic people, and on their individual-level contact experiences with multiethnic friends. This thesis includes research conducted in England, South Africa, and the US, and combines experimental, social network, and multi-level survey data. Chapter 2 investigates whether the presence alone of multiethnic individuals in a social environment can improve relations between members of different monoethnic groups. I report that context-level exposure to multiethnic people is unlikely to affect monoethnic individuals’ intergroup relations. Chapter 3 addresses further the bridge- building potential of multiethnics by studying their location within friendship networks and how they are evaluated by monoethnics. I find that multiethnics tend to be evaluated with intermediate levels of favourability, that they often occupy broker positions within their friendship networks, but that this may have both positive and negative implications for intergroup relations. Chapter 4 focusses on monoethnic individuals’ contact experiences with multiethnic friends and suggests that the bridge-building potential of multiethnic individuals may be realised most effectively through direct and indirect intergroup contact. I discuss these findings further in Chapter 5, which also addresses the implications of my research for our understanding of intergroup relations in the increasingly heterogeneous societies of the 21st century.

This thesis examines whether intergroup contact can foster more continuous, fluid, and inclusive social identities—and, if so, how more continuous, fluid, and inclusive social identities relate to intergroup bias and support for social change. Chapter 1 introduces relevant research on social identification along a single category and across multiple categories, and develops the hypotheses tested throughout this thesis. Chapter 2 gives an overview of the empirical research, and introduces the statistical methods used to analyse findings from that research. Chapter 3 reports research developing and validating a novel measure of social identity continuity and fluidity, and examines whether contact with sexual and gender minorities fosters more continuous and fluid conceptions of sexuality and gender. Studies 1–3 found that intergroup contact was associated with more continuous and fluid social identities, but that more continuous and fluid social identities were not, in turn, associated with less intergroup bias. Chapter 4 reports research testing whether contact with caste or religious outgroups fosters more inclusive social identities in South India. Study 4 found that, as hypothesised, cross-group friendship was associated with more inclusive identities, while more inclusive identities were associated with less intergroup bias. Chapter 5 reports research testing how intergroup contact relates to support for social change in advantaged and disadvantaged groups. Studies 1 and 3 found that for disadvantaged-group members, negative contact, but not positive contact, was associated with more collective action. For advantaged-group members, positive contact predicted more solidarity-based collective action. More continuous and fluid identities did not mediate any of these relationships. Study 4 found neither intergroup contact nor more inclusive identities to be associated with support for or opposition to social change. Chapter 6 summarises and discusses the research presented in this thesis, highlighting its implications for intergroup relations research.

The notion of the self as distinct from other people is fundamental to the study of human psychology. Closely tied to this sense of self is the profound importance of belonging to social groups. The cognitive prioritisation of self- and ingroup-related information, known as self-bias and ingroup-bias, occurs across a multitude of cognitive domains. Although adaptively beneficial, biases arising from social categorisation are the source of prejudiced attitudes, discriminatory behaviours and intergroup conflict. Several studies have demonstrated enhanced response times and accuracy performance in perceptual matching for self and ingroup stimuli compared to others and outgroups. However, the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying these effects are relatively unexplored. The present thesis examines five core outstanding research questions: 1. What is the relationship between perceptual prioritisation for the self and social ingroups? 2. How does social context modulate ingroup-bias? 3. How quickly does group affiliation affect early perceptual processing? 4. Do trait differences underlie the strength of perceptual prioritisation for the self and social groups? 5. What are the commonalities and distinctions in the neural regions that underpin biases for the self and social ingroups? Broadly, the findings of this thesis suggest that: 1. There is an overlap in the representation of stimuli associated with the self and ingroups but the performance advantages are likely to be driven by partly distinct processes. 2. Perceptual biases for ingroups are robust across differing social contexts. 3. Social categorisation quickly enhances low-level perceptual processing even when this categorisation is novel and random. 4. There is no evidence to suggest that individual trait differences in group identification or self-concept underpin the perceptual biases. 5. Cognitive prioritisation for the self and ingroups are supported at least in part by distinct neural mechanisms. Together, these findings provide a novel perspective on the relations between self and ingroup representation in brain and behaviour.

Two studies investigated outgroup-to-outgroup generalization, addressing whether members of negatively perceived minority outgroups are perceived as prototypical of larger partially-inclusive outgroups and whether this tendency is enhanced under intergroup threat. Both experimental studies were conducted with Italian undergraduate participants. Experiment 1 (N = 186) tested whether Roma are generalized onto (i.e., perceived as prototypical of) Romanians to a higher extent under intergroup realistic and symbolic threat than under no-threat. It also explored the direction of the phenomenon and its underlying mechanism. Experiment 2 (N = 90) provided additional evidence on the effect of threat on such generalization phenomenon considering a different pair of groups (Islamic terrorists, Arabs) and employing a less blatant measure of generalization. Overall, these studies provided consistent evidence of outgroup-to-outgroup generalization, clarifying the conditions of its occurrence. These results contribute to the understanding of the phenomenon of outgroup-to-outgroup generalization and of its impact on outgroup perception and prejudice.

This thesis investigates 'self-segregation,' the voluntary separation and clustering of ethnic groups within a diverse environment that ostensibly provides opportunities for intergroup contact. While previous research has demonstrated self-segregation within such settings, using either self-reports, observations of behaviour, or social network analysis (SNA), such studies tend to be mono-methodological and cross-sectional. I review this literature in Chapter 1. I then present three empirical chapters which provide both longitudinal data and comparisons between observations, surveys, and SNA: Chapter 2, with two observational studies of seating patterns in a diverse sixth form cafeteria (Studies 1 and 2), and a third observational study in a diverse secondary school (Study 3); Chapter 3, where I report an SNA study collected from the first-year students at the same secondary school (Study 4); and Chapter 4, where I report the results from a self-report survey in the sixth form college, where students indicate their cafeteria seating preferences (Study 5). In Chapter 5, I discuss these findings, summarising 1) the strong self-segregation, and inclination towards self-segregation, found in all studies; 2) the comparisons between the two educational settings, where younger students were both more likely to be gender segregated, and to increase in ethnic integration over time; 3) the greater inclination of Asian British students than White British students to ethnically integrate; and 4) the need for further research triangulating multiple methods. From these conclusions, I suggest implications for targeted interventions, and argue the continued (and indeed, heightened) need for the contributions of social psychologists in public and policy discourse on ethnic integration.

To what extent is the tendency to act more prosocially towards ingroup than outgroup members a 'default' tendency that is based on intuitive processes activated across different social contexts and with different social groups? Here I report three sets of targeted empirical studies that use economic games to explore ingroup favouritism in prosocial behaviour. In Chapter 2, I use a newly developed measure to explore whether simply categorizing people into groups is sufficient to induce ingroup favouritism in both gains and losses frames. I find that minimal groups are significantly more prosocial to ingroup members than outgroup members, regardless of the economic cost of helping, whether decisions were public or private, and whether the decision is framed in terms of gains and losses. In Chapter 3 I apply dual-process models to intergroup prosocial behaviour and show that even under time pressure without the potential to deliberate, participants cooperate more with minimal ingroup than outgroup members in both gains and losses frames. In Chapter 4, I explore ingroup favouritism in the context of real religious groups using games that either have (Trust Game) or lack (Dictator Game) interdependent outcomes. I find ingroup favouritism only by atheist participants in a Dictator Game. In both games, Christian participants transferred more to both Christian and atheist recipients, and this was driven by the frequency of thinking about religious ideas. Together, my results support the thesis that ingroup favouritism is a default, intuitive, tendency robust across different contexts and even with novel groups, and charts a course for future research.