Group Identity

Question 1

primordial identities

Answer 1

identities we are born with i.e. ethnicity, nationality

Question 2

what is the purpose of social groups? Van Vugt & Hart (2004)

Answer 2

because individual members are willing to make investments in these groups.

Question 3

to remain in a group means loyalty to the group. Loyalty made up of 3 subsections…what are they?

Answer 3

Emotive
Cognitive
Behavioural

Question 4

what does the theory of rejection mean to someone who desires to leave a group?

Answer 4

people stay because they don’t think they will be accepted by other groups. Therefore, the fear of rejection is greater drive for choices than the desire to leave the current group.

Question 5

group stability is enhanced by what? (Van Vugt & Hart, 2004)

Answer 5

by the ‘social glue’, even though there is little evidence of this when individuals are able to exit the group (social mobility)

Question 6

in-group summary and the reason for in-group loyalty:

Answer 6

~Membership increases self-worth & self-esteem
~Inconsistent in-group information is ‘filtered-out’
~‘Explanations’ offered for negative actions

Group identification results in social agreement.
Increased loyalty encourages group cohesion.
This results a group only concerned for the benefit of itself, no concern of what their impact thinking and of what other groups are saying.

Question 7

Optimal Distinctiveness Model (Brewer, 1991) refers to the basic requirements of social identifications. What are the two?

Answer 7

the need for acceptance- we want to be similar to others so that we can connect with and identify with a group.
the need for differentiation- the need for us to be similar, but still room for uniqueness so that you can be identified differently from the group.

Question 8

in order to fulfil the ODM needs, we may…

Answer 8

alter our own identities. the ODM emphasises the importance of social context and that social identities are best understood in terms of the social structures that motivate the individual.

Question 9

what are the variables of Differentiation in group identification? (Tajfel & Turner, 1979)

Answer 9

Group identification and the nature of the group
The relevance of the dimension of comparison
The relevance of the out-group
…in order to differentiate from other groups, a group must have something meaningful

Question 10

According to Tajfel & Turner (1979), how can one deal with a negative in-group?

Answer 10

Social mobility (individual strategy)
Social creativity (collective strategy)
Social change (collective strategy)

Question 11

Social Mobility

Answer 11

Individual attempts to leave the group and join another group, aiming to enhance individual identity without altering the status of the group. We employ psychological technique to accomplish that.

Question 12

Social Creativity

Answer 12

Involve attempts to change the comparative situation

, aiming to improve the status of the entire group

Question 13

Social Change

Answer 13

Involves direct comparisons with the out-group in order to achieve real changes in status of the groups. Downward comparisons are common. Aim is to improve the entire status of the group.

Question 14

Individual vs. Collective Strategies (Tajfel & Turner, 1979)

Answer 14

Individual strategies are dominant

Collective strategies only employed if social mobility is impossible or unsuccessful.

Question 15

Wright, Taylor & Moghaddom (1990) Individual vs. Collective Strategies

Answer 15

Believed that Individual and collective strategies can be used simultaneously.