Social identity theory was developed to explain how individuals create and define their place in society. According to the theory, three psychological processes are central in that regard:
social categorization, social comparison, and social identification.
Thus, social identity theory, like identity theory, has at its core three elements:
(1) personal quantitative characteristics, observed in subgroups and at the superordinate level; (2) personal qualitative characteristics, which give rise to the subgroups or social categories which are the explicit focus; and (3)
…
Tajfel and Turner (1979) proposed that there are three mental processes involved in evaluating others as “us” or “them” (i.e. “in-group” and “out-group”. These take place in a particular order.
What are the three levels of identity according to self Categorisation theory?
They derogate the out-group with the aim of increasing their own self-esteem. Self-categorization theory proposes that, depending on salience in a situation, either
personal identity and interpersonal behavior, social identity and intergroup behavior
, or dynamic interplay prevails.
Examples of social identities are
race/ethnicity, gender, social class/socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, (dis)abilities, and religion/religious beliefs
. Some instructors may believe that social identities are not relevant to their courses.
To maintain positive social identity,
people engage in intergroup comparisons that demonstrate a favorable bias toward their in-group, display discriminatory behaviors toward out-groups, and use coping mechanisms such as internal/external causal attributions for group failures
(Brewer, 1979; Brewer, Manzi, & Shaw, 1993 …
What are examples of identities?
Examples of identities include
heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual
(people who are attracted to people of two genders), pansexual (a term referring to the potential for attractions or love toward people of all gender identities and sexes), asexual (people who either do not feel sexual attraction or do not feel desire …
Social identity can be defined as
an individual’s knowledge of belonging to certain social groups
, together with some emotional and valuational significance of that group membership.
It is
through interaction and community that individuals can perceive the shared task and goal between group members
, which can characterize the shared identity (Wegge & Haslam, 2003). … (2012) argued that individual contributions of group members may contribute to the formation of a social identity.
In 1979
British psychologists Henri Tajfel and John Turner
introduced the Social Identity Theory, where our ‘social identity’ within a group shapes our norms, attitudes and behaviour.
For example, when you
compare yourself to your friends you might feel that you are pretty physically fit
. So, you might sign up for a marathon believing that you have the ability to finish with no problem.
SOCIAL IDENTITY EXPLAINS PREJUDICE. … Social Identity Theory (SIT) says
we get our self-esteem from the groups we belong to
. It opposes “Realist” theories because it suggests that group membership by itself is sufficient to create prejudice, without any need for competition over resources.
Explain how stereotypes about Americans would have been created by each theory. … Tajfel would argue that stereotypes form because people associate negative traits to the Out-groups and positive traits to the In- Groups. This helps us maintain a positive self-image.
What are self categories?
Self-categorization theory is a theory in social psychology that describes the circumstances under which
a person will perceive collections of people (including themselves)
as a group, as well as the consequences of perceiving people in group terms.
Social identity theory focuses on how group memberships guide intergroup behavior and influence an individual’s self-concept. Closely tied to self-categorization is
an individual’s evaluation of the in-group
. To reach positive evaluations of one’s own in-group, people engage in processes of social comparison.
What is the Metacontrast principle?
Meta-contrast principle states
that we tend to exaggerate our differences and emphasis the similarities
. Cross categorization occurs when someone shares a group or category with us (i.e., is an in-group member) but not others (i.e., belongs to out-groups as well).
