How much do I know, to talk out of turn?

I have psychology on the brain right now, and also football. This is easily explained. I'm knee deep in three different psychology classes on three nights a week. When I'm not in class or at work, I am probably reading for class. NFL football season starts officially tonight, and I've already had the chance to watch my Bearcats in action on TV.

All that being said, one of the most interesting things I've been reading about is for my Advanced Social Psychology class. We were assigned an article on a phenomenon known as Moral Hypocrisy among individuals and social groups. Basically, the idea is that an individual will judge a behavior as unacceptable or unfair when done by others, but excusable when done by themselves or a member of their in group. You get the idea. Hypocrisy is not a new thing.

Researchers created an operational definition of hypocrisy by creating a situation in which individuals were told that there were two tasks that they and an unknown partner would have to complete. Each person would have to do one of the tasks. One task was much easier and took less time, and another task was more difficult and time consuming. Subjects were given the option to choose whichever task they would do, or to have the tasks assigned randomly. This gave an individual the choice to take the harder task, make the chances fair, or take the less difficult task for themself. People who acted altruistically or chose randomization were then removed from the study. Participants were then asked to judge the fairness of other individuals who made the same choice to perform the easier task.

Basically, it goes like this. People picked the quick and easy task, leaving the tough stuff for their anonymous partner. Then, when they watched other people do the same, they called it unfair UNLESS the other person was a member of their social or cultural group. They were more likely to make allowances for people who were like them in some way.

To understand this better, I'm comparing it to football. One of my vivid memories of Bearcat football is when I watched one of those MO West classless assholes hit our quarterback HARD after he had already gone out of bounds, injuring him. To me this was a cheap shot, a blatant late hit, and something typical of a MO West player. I was furious. However, if it were a Bearcat that did the same, I would likely see it as a stupid mistake, an accidental continuation of the play in the heat of a game, with an unfortunate consequence. The Bearcats, members of my social in group, are given more leniency and allowances than those dirty Griffins.

In football, that's a typical rivalry. What's scary, is how people can allow this on a much larger level - politics, church, etc. What do you think? Any examples?