L3 - Self-categorization theory (SCT) Flashcards
How is social-categorisation theory similar to social identity theory?
Shares key assumptions but provides a more detailed account of the psychological mechanisms involved for categorization than SIT
SIT is primarily a motivational theory (e.g. why do subjects discriminate in the MG studies?)
SCT on the other hand is primarily a _____ theory
Cognitive
(e.g. why do subjects identify with minimal groups at all?)
Is SCT supposed to replace or extend SIT?
Extend
What are the core tenets of SCT?
- Different levels of categorization
- Processes involved in categorization
- Determinants of categorization
What are the three different levels of categorization?
- Subordinate
- Intermediate
- Superordinate
What mechanism does SCT originally use to conceptualise how individuals self-categorize?
The ‘identity mechanism’
Operates as a continuum between personal identity and social identity.
personal identity <————————> social identity
According to SCT, when we categorize ourselves as individuals in contrast to other individuals (subordinate level), what identity is salient?
Personal Identity
According to SCT, when we categorize ourselves as group members and compare our group to outgroups (intermediate level), which identity is salient?
Social Identity
According to SCT, when we categorize ourselves at a superordinate level, what is made salient?
Our shared and universal humanity
In SCT, what are the three processes involved in categorization?
- Meta-contrast
- Proto-typicality
- Depersonalization and self-stereotyping
Describe the meta-contrast process involved in categorization.
The act of choosing a classification/category based on perceptions of inter-group and intra-group differences and similarities.
(we choose to identify with the group which is most similar to us based on comparative context to other groups)
What is the principle behind meta-contrast?
The same relations between people can be perceived either as differences forcing them into different social categories or as similarities binding them within the same social category, depending on the comparative context.
Describe the proto-typicality process involved in categorisation according to SCT.
A category ‘prototype’ may be thought of as a ‘representative exemplar’ of a particular category.
(e.g. the popularity of specific in-group members is a direct function of individual proto-typicality)
What is proto-typicality dependent on?
Context
What is prototypical of a category is contingent on the context in which the category is encountered.
Describe ‘depersonalization’ and how this relates to self-stereotyping in regards to the process of categorization according to the SCT.
Depersonalization is shifting one’s identity away from their personal identity and towards a social identity.
This process is called ‘self-stereotyping’
(they come to see themselves as interchangeable exemplars of a social category)
What effect does depersonalization have on an individuals mindset towards their group?
They gain a heightened sense of similarity between themselves and other in-group members.
What are individuals likely to self-stereotype as when going through the process of depersonalization?
A ‘typical’ group member
They are likely to compare their group to a contrasting out-group (this process makes collective group action possible)
Does SCT view stereotypes as ‘psychologically valid’?
Yes
They orient us to the “actualities of group life”
According to SCT, perception, including person-based, group-based and self-based perception is relative and involves the dual cognitive process of _______ and ______
Categorization and Stereotyping
What are the two determinants of categorization?
- Perceiver readiness
- Fit
2a. Comparative fit
2b. Normative fit
According to perceiver readiness in SCT, a person’s ‘readiness’ to use a particular self category is dependent on If the self category is….
- Relevant
- Useful
- Likely to be confirmed by evidence/reality
What does individuals perceiver readiness rely on?
Their past experiences, present expectations, and current motives, values goals and needs.
(also the relative accessibility of these)
What is relevant to determining if there is a comparative fit for an individual to feel properly categorized?
- Determined by the meta-contrast principle
- Whether the comparison is relevant
- Variations in self-categorization is a function of comparative context.
This difference in comparison is an example of:
Variation in self-categorization as a function of comparative context (comparative fit)
