Japanese and American perceptions of group entitativity and autonomy: A multilevel analysis

The authors examined cross-cultural differences in the relationships of essence and dynamic group properties to perceived group entitativity (i.e., perceived "groupiness") and the influence of entitativity, essence properties, and dynamic properties on group autonomy beliefs. American and Japanese college students completed questionnaires that assessed perceptions of essence properties (e.g., similarities in group members' physical and personality traits), dynamic properties (e.g., common goals and outcomes), entitativity, and autonomy for nine target groups. Multilevel analyses indicated that essence and dynamic properties predicted entitativity among both Americans and Japanese. However, between-person effects indicated that essence properties more strongly predicted entitativity in the United States than in Japan, whereas within-person effects indicated that dynamic properties more strongly predicted entitativity in Japan. Finally, dynamic properties and entitativity were independently associated with group autonomy and their effects were stronger when essence properties were high. However, as expected, these autonomy relationships were only evident in the United States.