Conflict, what conflict? Evidence that playing down “conflict” can be a weapon of choice for high‐status groups

Three studies using pre‐existing (Studies 1 and 3) and minimal (Study 2) groups tested the hypothesis that ingroup status shapes whether “conflict’” with an outgroup is strategically acknowledged or downplayed. As predicted, high (vs. low) ingroup status led group members to downplay conflict, but only to an outgroup rather than ingroup audience (Studies 1 and 2; N s = 127 & 292), and only when the status difference was unstable (vs. stable)...