Abstract: Group distinctiveness has an influence on group identity. Both high and low group distinctiveness would underlie intergroup bias in certain conditions which are labeled as “ reflective distinctiveness hypothesis” and “ reactive distinctiveness hypothesis”. Research on moderators indicate that when group members are highly identified with in-group, low group distinctiveness inclines to lead to intergroup bias. Conversely, when group members are lowly identified with in-group or when superordinate categories are available and salient, high group distinctiveness tends to arouse intergroup bias. Research on the effect of motivation demonstrate that instrumental and identity motivation were found to drive these two processes respectively in the condition with intergroup competitive goal. Furthermore, research focused on cognitive and emotional mediation effect show that group-level anxiety and complexity of social identity would significantly mediate the effect of low group distinctiveness on intergroup bias.

Key words: group distinctiveness, intergroup bias, cognitive effect, motivational effect, emotional effect