Tajfel's Paradigm

Tajfel's Paradigm refers to a series of experiments by social psychologist Henri Tajfel that demonstrate how people tend to favor their own group, often unconsciously, a phenomenon called "ingroup bias." Participants were divided into arbitrary groups, like based on preferences or even random assignment, and then asked to allocate rewards or points. Results showed that individuals often preferred to give more to their own group, even when there was no meaningful reason to do so. This illustrates how group identity can influence behavior, leading to favoritism toward one's own group and sometimes even unfair treatment of others, highlighting basic social tendencies around belonging and bias.