Arbitrary Groups Breed Ingroup Favoritism, Fueling Societal Divisions
Ingroup favoritism can happen even when there's no real reason for it, just because people find it easier to recognize those in their own group. A study using a prisoner's dilemma model found that when people have trouble telling apart members of different groups, they tend to favor their own group in interactions. This bias can be reduced by increasing the benefits of cooperation, having a more diverse population, or having stricter social rules.