Despite the omnipresence of inter-group conflicts, little is known about the heterogeneity and stability of individuals’ social preferences toward in-group and out-group members. To identify the prevalence and stability of social preferences in inter-group conflict, we gather quota-representative, incentivized data from a lab-in-the-field study during the heated 2016 Austrian presidential election. We assess social preferences toward in-group and out-group members one week before, one week after, and three months after the election. We find considerable heterogeneity in individuals’ group-(in)dependent social preferences. Utilizing various econometric strategies, we find largely stable social preferences over the course of conflict. Yet, there is some indication of variation, particularly when the conflict becomes less salient. Variation is larger in social preferences toward in-group members and among specific preference types. We discuss the theoretical implications of our findings and outline potential avenues for future research.

尽管群体间冲突无处不在，但人们对个体对群体内成员和群体外成员的社会偏好的异质性和稳定性知之甚少。为了确定群体间冲突中社会偏好的普遍性和稳定性，我们从激烈的2016年奥地利大选期间的实地研究中收集了具有代表性的激励数据。我们在选举前一周，选举后一周和选举后三个月评估对团体内和团体外成员的社会偏好。我们发现个人的群体依赖性社会偏​​好存在很大的异质性。利用各种计量经济学策略，我们发现在冲突过程中社会偏好基本稳定。但是，还是有一些变化的迹象，特别是当冲突变得不那么突出时。对小组内成员的社会偏好和特定偏好类型之间的差异更大。我们讨论了我们的发现的理论含义，并概述了未来研究的潜在途径。