Effects of intergroup threat on mind, brain, and behavior

•We review recent inter-disciplinary research on intergroup threat.•We focus on realistic threats: competition and resource scarcity.•These forms of threat shape empathy, perceptual judgments, and mental representations of out-groups.•These processes likely occur beyond the awareness or control of decision makers.•All of these effects are linked to greater intergroup discrimination and hostility.

Intergroup threat is one catalyst that shifts us from out-group disregard to out-group hostility. We review recent inter-disciplinary research that explores the effects of intergroup threat on mind, brain, and behavior. A rapidly growing literature indicates that several types of intergroup threat — for example, realistic threats such as competition and resource scarcity — have significant effects on empathy toward, perceptual judgments of, and cognitive representations of out-group members. We also briefly consider the emerging research assessing biological markers of intergroup threat sensitivity. Converging evidence from psychology and neuroscience may help to elucidate the precise pathways by which intergroup threat creates subtle discrimination as well as overt conflict.