Linguistic intergroup bias

Linguistic Intergroup Bias is a model of stereotype maintenance.

Definition
Coined by Anne Maass and her colleagues, linguistic intergroup bias is a model of stereotype maintenance (Whitley & Kite, 2010). This model states that positive ingroup descriptions and negative outgroup descriptions are abstract and vague, while negative ingroup descriptions and positive outgroup descriptions are specific and observable. Abstract statements are vague and harder to prove wrong, while, concrete statements are specific, and easy to brush off as exceptions to the rule, therefore keeping stereotypes intact (Whitley & Kite, 2010). Linguistic intergroup bias is more likely to occur when outgroup members are performing a group stereotype consistent action. This implies that the linguistic intergroup bias is a cognitive process that requires little motivation (Maass, et al. 1989).

Research
B. W. Gorham performed an experiment in which he presented an actual newscast to white individuals who took a pre-study survey about the amount of time they spent watching cable news TV, network news TV, regular television and news websites such as CNN.com. These subjects were then shown an actual news clip where a murder investigation is presented and the suspect had been described as either a black male or a white male. Interestingly, there were significant differences in responses of participants who saw the white man portrayed as the suspect rather than the black man: Participants said the white suspect  “probably hurt the victims”. However, when the black man was presented as the suspect, the participants said the suspect “is probably violent” (Gorham, 2006). Gorham found that participants were more likely to describe the (negative) incident with adjectives, the most abstract description, if the suspect was presented as black and therefore outgroup, while using more concrete terms to describe the white (ingroup) suspect.