ABSTRACT
Intergroup emotions theory (IET) predicts that individuals for whom group membership is part of the self will experience specific emotions toward outgroups depending on their appraisals of the intergroup context. The theory also assumes that the experience of specific emotions will in turn increase the likelihood of particular behavioral options directed toward the outgroup. Stephan and Stephan coined the term intergroup anxiety to denote anxiety that a person may feel when experiencing or anticipating contact with outgroup members and suggested various possible antecedents of such anxiety. Cialdini, Borden, Thorne, Walker, Freeman, and Sloan suggested that ingroup members who were in all likelihood not members of the sports teams actually producing an intergroup victory or defeat nevertheless felt happy or sad as appropriate. In intergroup contexts, these emotional and behavioral responses often derive from appraisals related to social identity concerns.
