**Study 1**
As an initial investigation, we will randomly assign participants to be a part of one group or to change groups using an adapted minimal groups paradigm. We will then measure in-group favoritism with a resource allocation task.
**Method**
Participants will be asked to imagine a scenario where, as a part of a class activity, they are randomly assigned to one of two groups (the Blue or the Green group). After learning the names of their hypothetical group members, participants will encounter a loading screen, followed by an error message that informs them that they will have to restart the section. At this point, they will randomly be assigned to the same group as they were initially, or the other group. Finally, participants will imagine a scenario where the instructor of the class needs to distribute some number of bonus points among the members of both teams. They will read seven options for how the points will be allocated, rating their level of agreement or disagreement with each.
All materials are located in Files. The various pages in this task can be found here.
**Analysis Plan**
As an aggregate measure of in-group favoritism, we will average agreement ratings of the six unequal allocations, reverse scoring the allocations that favor the out-group. Our primary test will be a 2x2 ANOVA, with whether or not participants changed groups and the group they ended up in (Blue vs. Green) as factors. We will investigate whether those who have changed groups show more or less ingroup favoritism than those who have been in the same group the entire time. We expect no difference based upon which color group participants end in.
In follow up exploratory analyses, we will investigate differing patterns of agreement for each of the allocations (including the equal allocation) separately, since each allocation represents a different distribution strategy. For instance, both groups might show in-group favoritism in the aggregate, but those who have switched groups might be more in favor of allocations that maximize total points for both teams. These exploratory analyses will investigate these possibilities.
