Stereotypes and the discursive accomplishment of intergroup differentiation: Talking about ‘the other’ in a global business organization

Hans J. Ladegaard
Abstract

This article analyzes how employees in a global business organization talk about their colleagues in other countries. Employees were asked to discuss their work practices in focus group settings, and give examples of how they experience ‘the other’. Using Discursive Psychology and Politeness Theory as the analytic approaches, the article analyzes pieces of discourse to disclose social psychological phenomena such as group identity, intergroup differentiation, and stereotypes. The analyses show that talking about ‘the other’ is potentially face-threatening, and mitigating discourse features are used repeatedly to soften the criticism. We also see how uncovering stereotypes is a mutual accomplishment in the group, and how group members gradually move from relatively innocent to blatantly negative outgroup stereotypes. The analyses also show that participants engage in meta-reflections on the nature of stereotypes, which may serve as another mitigating device, and that talk about ‘the other’ is used to create intergroup differentiation. Finally, the article discusses the implications of these findings for cross-cultural communication and work practices in organizations.

Keywords:
Quick links
A browser-friendly version of this article is not yet available. View PDF
Abrams, Dominic, and Michael Hogg
(1990) The context of discourse: Let’s not throw out the baby with the bathwater. Philosophical Psychology 3.2/3: 219-225. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Allport, Gordon
(1954) The Nature of Prejudice. Cambridge, MA: Addison-Wesley.Google Scholar
Augoustinos, Martha, and Danielle Every
(2007) Contemporary racist discourse: Taboos against racism and racist accusations. In Ann Weatherell, Bernadette Watson and Cynthia Gallois (eds.), Language, Discourse and Social Psychology. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 233-254. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Augoustinos, Martha, Iain Walker, and Ngaire Danaghue
(2006) Social Cognition. An Integrated Introduction (2nd ed.). London and Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Banaji, Mahzarim R., and Anthony G. Greenwald
(1995) Implicit gender stereotyping in judgments of fame. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 68: 181-198. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Benwell, Bethan, and Elizabeth Stokoe
(2006) Discourse and Identity. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.Google Scholar
Billig, Michael
(1996) Arguing and Thinking. A Rhetorical Approach to Social Psychology (2nd ed.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.  BoPGoogle Scholar
Billig, Michael, Susan Condor, Derek Edwards, Mike Gane, David Middleton, and Alan Radley
(1988) Ideological Dilemmas. A Social Psychology of Everyday Thinking. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Brief, Arthur P
(1998) Attitudes in and around Organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Brown, Penelope, and Stephen C. Levinson
(1987) Politeness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Condor, Susan
(2006) Public prejudice and collaborative accomplishments: Towards a dialogic social psychology of racism. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology 16: 1-18. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Condor, Susan, Lia Figgou, Jackie Abell, Stephen Gibson, and Clifford Stevenson
(2006) ‘They’re not racist …’ Prejudice denial, mitigation and suppression in dialogue. British Journal of Social Psychology 45: 441-462. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Crandall, Christian, and Amy Eshleman
(2003) A justification-suppression model of the expression and experience of prejudice. Psychological Bulletin 129.3: 414-446. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
De Cillia, Rudolf, Martin Reisigl, and Ruth Wodak
(1999) The discursive construction of national identities. Discourse & Society 10.2: 149-173. DOI logo  BoPGoogle Scholar
Edwards, Derek
(1991) Categories are for talking: On the cognitive and discursive bases of categorization. Theory and Psychology 1: 515-542. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(1997) Discourse and Cognition. London: Sage.  BoPGoogle Scholar
Edwards, Derek, and Jonathan Potter
(1992) Discursive Psychology. London: Sage.  BoPGoogle Scholar
Edwards, Derek, and Elizabeth Stokoe
(2004) Discursive psychology, focus group interviews, and participants’ categories. British Journal of Developmental Psychology 22: 499-507. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Edwards, John
(2010) Language Diversity in the Classroom. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Emig, Rainer
(2000) (ed.) Stereotypes in Contemporary Anglo-German Relations. New York: Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fiske, Susan T., and Tiane L. Lee
(2008) Stereotypes and prejudice create workplace discrimination. In Arthur P. Brief (ed.), Diversity at Work. Cambridge & New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 13-52. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Galasinska, Aleksandra, and Dariusz Galasinski
(2003) Discursive strategies for coping with sensitive topics of the Other. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 29.5: 849-863. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Garrett, Peter
(2010) Attitudes to Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Giles, Howard
(1979) Ethnicity markers in speech. In Klaus Scherer and Howard Giles (eds.), Social Markers in Speech. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 251-290.  BoPGoogle Scholar
Goffman, Erving
(1967) The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Harmondsworth: Penguin.Google Scholar
Harré, Rom, and Peter Stearns
(1995) Discursive Psychology in Practice. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Haslam, S. Alexander, Penelope J. Oakes, Katherine J. Reynolds, and John C. Turner
(1999) Social identity salience and the emergence of stereotype consensus. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 25: 809-818. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hobman, Elizabeth V., Prashant Bordia, and Cynthia Gallois
(2003) Consequences of feeling dissimilar from others in a work team. Journal of Business and Psychology 17.3: 301-325. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hogg, Michael A
(1993) Group cohesiveness: A critical review and some new directions. European Review of Social Psychology 4: 85-111. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hogg, Michael A., and Dominic Abrams
(2003) Intergroup behavior and social identity. In Michael A. Hogg and Joel M. Cooper (eds.), The Sage Handbook of Social Psychology. London & Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, pp. 407-431.Google Scholar
Hogg, Michael A., and Deborah J. Terry
(2001) Social Identity Processes in Organizational Contexts. Hove, Sussex: Psychology Press & Philadelphia, PE: Taylor & Francis.Google Scholar
Hornsey, Matthew
(2008) Kernal of truth or motivated stereotype? Interpreting and responding to negative generalizations about your group. In Kashima, Fiedler and Freytag (eds.), pp. Stereotype Dynamics. Language-Based Approaches to the Formation, Maintenance and Transformation of Stereotypes, 316-337.
Janney, Richard, and Horst Arndt
(2005) Intracultural tact versus intercultural tact. In Richard Watts, Sachico Ide and Konrad Ehlich (eds.), Politeness in Language. Studies in History, Theory and Practice. Berlin: Mouton, pp. 21-41.Google Scholar
Jost, John, and Mahzarin Banaji
(1994) The role of stereotyping in system-justification and the production of false consciousness. British Journal of Social Psychology 33: 1-27. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kashima, Yoshihisa, Klaus Fiedler, and Peter Freytag
(2008) Stereotype Dynamics. Language-Based Approaches to the Formation, Maintenance and Transformation of Stereotypes. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Klein, Oliver, Scott Tindale, and Markus Brauer
(2008) The consensualization of stereotypes in small groups. In Kashima, Fiedler and Freytag (eds.), pp. Stereotype Dynamics. Language-Based Approaches to the Formation, Maintenance and Transformation of Stereotypes, 263-292.
Knudsen, Anne
(1996) Her går det godt – send flere penge [Everything is fine – send more money]. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.Google Scholar
Ladegaard, Hans J
(1998a) Assessing national stereotypes in language attitude studies: The case of class- consciousness in Denmark. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 19.3: 182-199. DOI logo  BoPGoogle Scholar
(1998b) National stereotypes and language attitudes: The perception of British, American and Australian language and culture in Denmark. Language & Communication 18: 251-274. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ladegaard
(2001) Popular perceptions of standard language: Attitudes to ‘regional standards’ in Denmark. Language Awareness 10.1: 25-40. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ladegaard, Hans J
(2007) Global culture – myth or reality? Perceptions of ‘national cultures’ in a global corporation. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research 36.2: 139-163. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2008) Pragmatic cooperation revisited: Resistance and non-cooperation as a discursive strategy in asymmetrical discourses. Journal of Pragmatics 41.4: 649-666. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2009) Politeness, power and control: The use of humour in cross-cultural telecommunications. In Winnie Cheng and Kenneth Kong (eds.), Professional Communication: Collaboration between Academics and Practitioners. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, pp. 191-209. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2011a) Stereotypes in the making: Prejudice and cultural generalizations in Hong Kong students’ discourse. Journal of Asian Pacific Communication 21.1: 121-146. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2011b) Discourses of identity: Outgroup stereotypes and strategies of discursive boundary-making in Chinese students’ online discussions about ‘the other’. Journal of Multicultural Discourses(forthcoming).Google Scholar
Lippmann, Walter
(1965) [1922] Public Opinion. New York: The Free Press.Google Scholar
Mackie, Marlene
(1973) Arriving at ‘truth’ by definition: The case of stereotype inaccuracy. Social Problems 20.4: 431-447. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mey, Jacob
(2001) Pragmatics. An Introduction (2nd ed.). Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Mey, Jacob, Hartmut Haberland, and Kerstin Fischer
(2010) Editorial. Pragmatics and Society 1.1: 1-8. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Operario, Don, and Susan T. Fiske
(2001) Causes and consequences of stereotypes in organizations. In Manuel London (ed.), How People Evaluate Others in Organizations. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 45-62.Google Scholar
Pomerantz, Anita, and Alan Zemel
(2003) Perspectives and frameworks in interviewers’ queries. In van den Berg, Wetherell and Houtkoop-Steenstra (eds.), pp.Analyzing Race Talk. Multidisciplinary Approaches to the Interview, 215-231.
Potter, Jonathan
(2003) Discursive psychology: Between method and paradigm. Discourse & Society 14: 783-794. DOI logo  BoPGoogle Scholar
Potter, Jonathan, and Margaret Wetherell
(1987) Discourse and Social Psychology: Beyond Attitudes and Behaviour. London: Sage.  BoPGoogle Scholar
Reynolds, Kate J., and Michael J. Platow
(2003) On the social psychology of power and powerlessness: Social power as a symptom of organizational division. In S. Alexandra Harlem, Dan v. Knippenberg, Michael J. Platow, and Naomi Ellemers (eds.), Social Identity at Work: Developing Theory for Organizational Practice. New York, NY & Hove, Sussex: Psychology Press, pp. 173-188.Google Scholar
Reynolds, Jill, and Margaret Wetherell
(2003) The discursive climate of singleness: The consequences for women’s negotiation of a single identity. Feminism and Psychology 13.4: 489-510. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Said, Edward
(1978) Orientalism. Harmondsworth: Penguin.Google Scholar
Speer, Susan A
(2002) ‘Natural’ and ‘contrived’ data: a sustainable distinction? Discourse Studies 4.4: 511-525.Google Scholar
Stubbe, Marie, Chris Lane, Jo Hilder, Elaine Vine, Bernadette Vine, Meredith Marra, Janet Holmes, and Ann Weatherall
(2003) Multiple discourse analyses of a workplace interaction. Discourse Studies 5.3: 351-388. DOI logo  BoPGoogle Scholar
Tajfel, Henri
(1981) Social stereotypes and groups. In John Turner and Howard Giles (eds.), Intergroup Behavior. Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 132-145.Google Scholar
(1982) Social psychology of intergroup relations. Annual Review of Psychology 33: 1-39. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tajfel, Henri, and John Turner
(1979) An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In William G. Austin and Stephen Worchel (eds.), The Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, pp. 33-35.Google Scholar
(1986) The social identity of intergroup behavior. In Stephen Worchel and William Austin (eds.), Psychology of Intergroup Relations (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL: Nelson-Hall, pp. 7-24.Google Scholar
Tileaga, Cristian
(2005) Accounting for extreme prejudice and legitimating blame in talk about Romanies. Discourse & Society 16.5: 603-624. DOI logo  BoPGoogle Scholar
Tusting, Karin, Robert Crawshaw, and Beth Callen
(2002) ‘I know ’cos I was there’: How residence abroad students use personal experience to legitimate cultural generalizations. Discourse & Society 13.5: 651-672. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Van den Berg, Harry
(2003) Contradictions in interview discourse. In van den Berg, Wetherell and Houtkoop-Steenstra (eds.), pp.Analyzing Race Talk. Multidisciplinary Approaches to the Interview, 119-137.
Van den Berg, Harry, Margaret Wetherell, and Hanneke Houtkoop-Steenstra
(eds.) (2003) Analyzing Race Talk. Multidisciplinary Approaches to the Interview. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Van Dijk, Teun
(1992) Discourse and the denial of racism. Discourse & Society 3.1: 87-118. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2008) Discourse and Power. Basingstoke & New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Verkuyten, Maykel
(2001) ‘Abnormalization’ of ethnic minorities in conversation. British Journal of Social Psychology 40: 257-278. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wetherell, Margaret
(2001) Debates in discourse research. In Margaret Wetherell, Stephanie Taylor and Simeon J. Yeates (eds.), Discourse Theory and Practice. A Reader. London: Sage, pp. 380-399.  BoPGoogle Scholar
(2003) Racism and the analysis of cultural resources in interviews. In van den Berg, Wetherell and Houtkoop-Steenstra (eds.), pp.Analyzing Race Talk. Multidisciplinary Approaches to the Interview, 11-30.
Wetherell, Margaret, and Jonathan Potter
(1992) Mapping the Language of Racism. London: Harvester Wheatsheaf.  BoPGoogle Scholar
Wodak, Ruth, Rudolf de Cillia, Martin Reisigl, and Karin Liebhart
(2009) The Discursive Construction of National Identity (2nd ed.). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.Google Scholar