identitate sociala Flashcards
How early do we get the ability to categorise others into those who are like us?
The tendency to categorise others into those who are like us (similar in opinion) and treat them preferentially can be observed in infants.
e.g. Infant chose a cat that preferred the same sweet as them.
In another experiment, the cat chose a different sweet to the baby. Then the baby watched the cat struggle and it was helped by a puppy and another puppy was mean. Baby preferred the puppy that was mean to the cat. Babies will choose the individual who was mean to the one that had a different opinion to you.
The development of the ability to categorise people into groups based on abstract, arbitrary characteristics peaks at adolescence.
Why do we form groups?
Groups satisfy our need of belonging, positive self-esteem and control.
Groups give us sense of who we are.
Groups determine how we see the world around us and help us reduce uncertainty.
