ABSTRACT
This chapter presentes a framework for conceptualizing some of the affective, cognitive, and behavioral correlates of outgroup paranoia. In the social sciences, distrust has generally been conceptualized as a psychological state that reflects individuals' negative beliefs and pessimistic expectations regarding the trustworthiness of other individuals or groups with whom they are interdependent. Outgroup paranoia is triggered by situations where individuals from one social group experience high dependence on an outgroup, coupled with significant uncertainty or doubt regarding that outgroup's trustworthiness. Because many of the social behaviors affected by paranoid cognition play a critical role in the development of trust, such paranoia leads to a self-fulfilling pattern of suspicious and mistrustful interaction. The construct of outgroup paranoia is useful, for understanding the conditions under which extreme and exaggerated forms of distrust and suspicion are likely to flourish between interdependent social groups.
