How Are We Similar? Group Level Entitativity in Work and Social Groups

• Published in: Small group research Vol. 54; no. 3; pp. 369 - 395
• Main Authors: Blanchard, Anita L., McBride, Andrew G., Ernst, Brittany A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.06.2023; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Social groups; entitativity; multilevel modeling; social groups; prosocial behavior; identification; self-categorization; similarity; workgroups; social identity
• ISSN: 1046-4964; 1552-8278
• DOI: 10.1177/10464964221117483

Entitativity is essential for individuals to experience a grouping of people as a “group.” However, entitativity is primarily studied at the individual level. If it is truly a fundamental component of group outcomes and processes, it should be considered a group-level construct. We establish that group members can share entitativity perceptions. We propose that entitativity develops in work and social groups through different self-categorization processes. Social groups can take advantage of top-down processes to establish similarity of goals and characteristics. Workgroups use both top-down and bottom-up processes with differing effects on these two forms of similarity. We propose that shared entitativity affects individual level attitudes and behavior. Results support our theoretical model. Shared entitativity explains between 2% and 11% of outcome variance in workgroups and 3% to 14% of the outcome variance in social groups. Shared similarity relates to shared entitativity differently for social and workgroups. Shared entitativity is theoretically and practically important for successful groups.