Group position and the genesis of threat: a sociological approach of Integrated Threat Theory

• In Event: Joint Roundtables: Social Psychology Section and Sociology of Emotions Section
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 7 - Theory

Abstract

Integrated Threat Theory (ITT) has significantly advanced our understanding of prejudice by showing that perceptions of realistic and symbolic threats from outgroupslead to negative attitudes. However, ITT offers an incomplete sociological picture. It doesn't explain how the perception of threat itself develops, nor does it account for inconsistent empirical findings in which the importance of threat types varies widely across national contexts and target groups. This paper addresses this gap by proposing a theoretical synthesis that reverses ITT’s causal pathway. We combine Hubert Blumer’s macro-sociological framework of prejudice as a sense of group positioning with reference group theory and the V-curve hypothesis of relative deprivation and gratification. We argue that pre-existing collective prejudice—defined as a dominant group’s shared feeling of superiority, entitlement, and distinction—is not caused by threat but forms its foundation. This sense of group position influences which reference groups are relevant for social comparison. Through these comparisons, groups experience either fraternalistic relative deprivation or relative. The V-curve hypothesis confirms that both experiences can increase prejudice. We suggest that the fear of losing a privileged status (gratification) creates symbolic and realistic threats, while experiencing material disadvantage (deprivation) does as well. By situating the threat's origin in group position dynamics and social comparison, this synthesis explains why a secure but culturally anxious majority may be sensitive to symbolic threats, while a marginalized group may focus on realistic threats. Ultimately, this framework redefines threat not just as an individual psychological state but as a social process— a collective mechanism through which group identities and hierarchies are continually defended and reproduced.

Author

• René Rosado González, The Chinese University of Hong Kong