ABSTRACT
This chapter builds on past research suggesting that the key to answering such questions lies in the consideration of the regulatory and affective needs that may be fulfilled through ingroup bias. Mackie have recently sought to go beyond a consideration of ingroup bias simply in terms of the positivity and negativity of group evaluations, and have attempted to specify a wider range of emotional and behavioral reactions one may have toward ingroups and outgroups. Social identity theory has proposed a very influential self-regulatory perspective on ingroup bias, in assuming that group membership represents an important component of self-identity, and thus constitutes a significant source of self-esteem. If ingroup bias has emotional consequences, it raises the possibility that such bias may also serve to regulate mood. The present approach suggests that specific attempts at mood regulation may also lead to specific types of intergroup bias, as specified by regulatory focus theory.
