New Word: “Variegated” and In-Group/Out-Group Bias

By Deane Barker • • tags: words •
AI Summary

This post explores the concepts of “variegated,” relating to diversity, and “ingroup/outgroup bias,” which refers to preferential treatment towards one’s own group. The author discusses the implications of these ideas on social dynamics and interactions, highlighting their importance in understanding human behavior and relationships.

An adjective which seems to related originally to colors:

Varied in appearance or color; marked with patches or spots of different colors; varied; diversified; diverse.

It seems to just be another way to state “varied,” perhaps with more emphasis on a series of discrete states or gradients.

Found in the book The Organized Mind in a discussion of “In-Group/Out-Group” bias, which is the concept where we find numerous variations of those people in our “in-group,” but we tend to view the “out-group” as a single, monolithic block.  The example from the book:

Oh Democrats are a very diverse group – we come from all walks of life. Oh those Republicans – all they care about is lower taxes. They’re all alike.

And the usage of the word…

In cases on in-group/out-group bias, each group thinks of the other as homogeneous and monolithic, and each group views itself as variegated and complex.