Chapter 6: Social identity Flashcards
Which of the 8 social-psychological processes does group membership fulfill?
striving for mastery & seeking connectedness
self-categorization
the process of seeing oneself as a member of a social group.
social identity
aspects of self concept we derive from an individuals knowledge and feelings about the group memberships they share with others. (how we feel about the group memberships we share with others)
factors that activate our knowledge of group membership:
- presence of out-group members
- being a minority
- conflict or rivalry
- direct reminders (symbols, language)
BIRG
= bask in reflected glory, a way of boosting self-esteem by identifying oneself with the accomplishments or good qualities of fellow in-group members
out-group homogeneity effect
The tendency to perceive out-group members as relatively more homogeneous and less diverse than the in-group.
Why does the out-group homogeneity effect happen?
- we know more about in-group members and therefore see the diversity
- interactions with out-group members are usually constrained
- people look at characteristics that make them unique from others in the in-group
minimal intergroup situation
research situation where people are randomly categorized, they had no history or past conflict
social identity theory
the theory that peoples motivation to derive self-esteem from their group membership is one driving force behind in-group bias
When does hate toward an out-group arise?
When they form a threat to our individual self-esteem or when they are competing or out-doing us.
What 2 things do groups do when they see a huge threat?
- exalt in-group values and symbols
- Start to hate the out-group
moral exclusion
viewing out-groups as subhuman and outside the domain in which the rules of morality apply
stigmatized groups
groups negatively evaluated by others
stereotype threat
the fear of confirming others negative stereotype of your group. (can become a self-fulfilling prophecy)
Ways to reduce or eliminate effects of stereotype threat:
- self-affirmation
- focusing on positively stereotyped group identities they have
- presence of a role model
- when stereotype-relevant tasks are framed as a challenge
attributional ambiguity
When a member of a devalued group is treated badly and they do not know if it is due to their membership to the group.
attributional ambiguity: positive effects of attributing it to prejudice
can protect self-esteem against feelings of failure
attributional ambiguity: negative effects of attributing it to prejudice
- disregarding negative feedback can prevent accurate self-assessment
- may cause feelings of hopelessness or loss of control
- they may face social penalties
- Can destroy trust in positive feedback as well
individual mobility
strategy of individual escape either physical or psychological, from a stigmatized group
ways to disidentify from a group:
- avoid reminders of membership to the group
- publicly criticizing and devaluing an in-group members poor performance
- consider oneself to be an exception rather than a typical group member
what is the difference between misidentifying from a group and dissociating from a group?
misidentifying takes place in the mind, dissociating involves actual escape from the disadvantaged group.
social creativity
the strategy of introducing and emphasizing new dimensions of social comparison, on which a negatively regarded group can see itself as superior
Social change
the strategy of improving the overall societal situation of a stigmatized group
social competition
the strategy of directly seeking to change the conditions that disadvantage the in-group
