The Effect Of Executive Intention On In-group Preference Of Primary School Students After In-group Competition And Its Educational Implications

In-group Favoritism is the phenomenon In which individuals,aware that they belong to a Group,systematically favor their own Group and Group members over those outside the Group In their attitudes and behaviors.In-group preference arises naturally,and the classification of groups alone is enough to produce in-group preference.Previous studies have shown that in-group competition destroys in-group preference,and executive intention is a mental representation of a simple plan to transform target intention into behavior under certain conditions.Therefore,we will explore whether executive intention can mitigate the destructive effects of in-group competition on in-group preference,and propose corresponding educational strategies accordingly.Experiment 1 explored the effect of executive intention focusing on self-progress on in-group preference after in-group competition.The results showed that :(1)group division can produce in-group preference;(2)The loss of in-group competition results in the loss of the control group’s preference for the in-group winner;(3)Executive intention focusing on self-progress alleviated the negative effect of in-group competition failure on in-group preference;(4)Both the control group and the executive-intention group showed increased preference for the external group.In experiment 2,we investigated the effect of executive intention focusing on opponent’s advantages on in-group preference among primary school students after in-group competition.The results showed that :(1)the loss of in-group competition resulted in the loss of control group’s preference for in-group winner;(2)Executive intention to focus on opponent’s advantages alleviates the negative effect of in-group competition failure on in-group preference;(3)Both the control group and the executive-intention group showed increased preference for the external group.Conclusion :(1)in-group competition destroys the preference of losers for in-group winners;(2)The executive intention to focus on self-progress and the opponent’s advantages can maintain the in-group preference after the in-group competition failure;(3)After losing the competition in the control group and the executive intention group,the losers in the control group and the executive intention group increased their preference for the losers out of the group,which showed that the psychological distance between them and the losers out of the group was closer,and their interpersonal trust level and credibility were higher.Based on the above research results,the following educational enlightenment is proposed :(1)to guide students to correctly understand themselves and learn to accept themselves;(2)Guide students to learn to discover the advantages of others and give full play to their role as models;(3)Master emotional regulation skills,cultivate students to develop a healthy state of mind.