ABSTRACT
G roups can be cruel to their members. They pick on specific individualsto torment, ostracize, or use as scapegoats for the group’s shortcom-ings; exiling these poor souls to the margins of the group, casting them out of the group altogether, or treating them as if they no longer exist (e.g., Williams, 2001). Why do groups do this? Why do groups treat fellow members in ways that are often harsher than the way they treat members of outgroups? What is it about the interactions between group dynamics and needs, and the characteristics and actions of specific group members that cause them to be treated in this way? We suggest that this is an important and underexamined question in the context of a modern social psychology that emphasizes that groups are supposed to provide shelter, support, and a collective sense of self for their members; groups are supposed to bring people together to work interdependently to achieve shared goals; groups are supposed to provide people with a sense of belonging.
