Entitativity

Entitativity means the consideration of something as pure entity, i.e., the mental abstraction from attendant circumstances.

In psychology, it typically refers to the perception of a group as pure entity (an entitative group), abstracted from its attendant individuals. It is different from holistic perception. Operationally, entitativity can also be defined as perceiving a collection of social targets (e.g., individuals) as possessing unity and coherence (e.g., a group). Entitativity is highest for intimacy groups, such as the family, lower for task groups, lower yet for social categories (e.g., people of the same religion), and lowest for transitory groups, such as people waiting at the same bus stop (Lickel et al, 2000).

There are two proposed antecedents for the entitativity perception (Ip, Chiu, & Wan, 2006):

• physical similarity
• goal/behavior similarity.

See also

• Collective responsibility
• Collective punishment
• Reification (fallacy)
• Śūnyatā

References

• Ip, G. W. M., Chiu, C. Y., & Wan, C. (2006). Birds of a feather and birds flocking together: Physical versus behavioral cues may lead to trait- versus goal-based group perception. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 368-381.
• Lickel, B., D. L Hamilton, G. Wieczorkowska, A. Lewis, S. J Sherman, and A. N Uhles. (2000). Varieties of groups and the perception of group entitativity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 78, no. 2: 223–246. link to pdf