Outgroup

The second sentence is the whole reason the entry exists, since it corrects the mistake the ordinary term invites. An outgroup is outside. A negative image is inside, holding the vice, guilt and shame the endo-ideal deflects, and the two roles behave entirely differently. Confusing them collapses the distinction Marsh's framework depends on, because a group's treatment of its own scapegoat is not the same operation as its treatment of a rival population, even where the visible cruelty is similar. The mechanisms differ accordingly. Outgroups are perceived as an existential threat and despised by endogroups, and the perception is not corrected by evidence, since facts do not change it, in the same way that discovering a convicted person was innocent does not restore how they are seen. Fear is the operative emotion, since fear is the primary catalyst for endogroup formation and the existential threat is an important piece of endoreality. With the negative image the operative transaction is guilt rather than fear. Empathy is the pressure point in both cases. Establishing empathy for outgroups can produce guilt over their mistreatment, so the guilt is rejected in order to preserve the endosocial barriers, which means the barrier is maintained precisely because lowering it would create a debt. Absorbing an outgroup is possible where a transcendental endogroup expands to include those formerly mistreated, and absorbing a negative image is not, since the role is required.

Outgroup is standard in social psychology, where social identity theory demonstrates favouritism towards one's own group and derogation of others on minimal criteria, and the realistic conflict tradition after Sherif ties hostility to competition over resources. Allport's contact hypothesis proposes that structured contact reduces prejudice, with substantial supporting evidence. Marsh's usage matches the standard sense of the word and adds the distinction the literature generally lacks, since social psychology has no separate term for the despised group inside the boundary and tends to treat internal scapegoating and external hostility as instances of one phenomenon.