The Minimal Group Paradigm and Its Maximal Impact in Research on Social Categorization

The minimal group paradigm was developed by Sabine Otton and colleagues in 2016. They found that even without factors such as religion, race, nationality or socioeconomic class, humans form factions and discriminate against others. The groups were entirely made up by chance but it was enough to generate a sense of group belonging. It created an us and it also created a them, which you then see born out in the study results.