Prejudice- Social Identity Theory

Question 1

What does social identity theory state?

Answer 1

Social identity theory states that simply being in a group, or perceiving that you are in a group, is enough to create in-group loyalty & out-group hostility.

Question 2

What is an in-group?

Answer 2

Group to which we have membership.

Question 3

What is an out-group?

Answer 3

A rival group or group to which we do not have membership.

Question 4

What can group membership alone cause?

Answer 4

Prejudice

Question 5

Social identity theory & the process of generating in-group loyalty and out-group hostility is made of 3 features. What are they?

Answer 5

Social categorisation
Social identification
Social comparison

Question 6

Social categorisation

Answer 6

Categorising ourselves as members of a particular group; these categories are ones we learn to be important. Eg goths.

Question 7

Social Identification

Answer 7

Adopting the identity of the group to which we have categorised ourselves, adopting consistent behaviours with this categorisation, adopting attitudes & behaviour of the in-group to distinguish oneself from non-members.

Question 8

Social comparison

Answer 8

Comparing your group favourably to others; we need to compare ourselves and our in-group favourably to others to maintain our self esteem. In and out- groups are measured against each other, the out-group is devalued and the self-esteem or the in-group members is thus raised.

Question 9

Steele and Aronson 1995

Answer 9

Found that when African-American students were asked to identify their ethnicity on a pre-test questionnaire, their performance on the test was significantly reduced compared to when they were not asked this beforehand.
One explanation of this is that the negative stereotypes associated with African-Americans & academic ability affected students’ personal identity, self esteem & cognitive performance (stereotype threat).

Question 10

Humans continually strive to achieve a positive self-image, so that they look good in the eyes of others & achieve high personal self-esteem. How does this lead to personal identity?

Answer 10

This self-image FORMS our personal identity. However, our personal identity is often inextricably linked to our social identity, as we are almost inevitably members of certain social groups and this group membership is often an important part of our SELF ESTEEM.

Question 11

When social identity is ………, the group we identify ourselves with is seen as ……., our personal identity is also positive, as we are members of this positive group, increasing our ……-……..
However, if it becomes negative, this may have a …………. impact on our personal identity a potentially lowers our self-esteem. If we strongly identify with the group, a shared ……….. is formed: our personal identity is inextricably linked the groups perceived ……….

Answer 11

1- favourable
2- positive
3- self-esteem
4- detrimental
5- identity
6- identity

Question 12

Describe Lemyre & Smith 1985 study

Answer 12

-They followed the minimal group paradigm procedure…… found similar results to Tajfel.
-Found that discriminating PPS had improved self-esteem following the experiment.
-This supports the notion that personal identity is bound up with social identity and that discrimination enhances both personal and social identity.

Question 13

Describe Cialdini et Al. 1976 study.

Answer 13

-Non-minimal group paradigm study.
-Analysed the results of US university football scores & observed the clothing supporters’ wore after a big game.
- They observed that supporters were more likely to wear clothing related to the football team after their team had won a game rather than when they lost a game.
-Supporters referred to the team as ‘us’ when the team had won. Referred to as ‘they’ when they lost.
-This study demonstrates that an individuals personal identity is affected by their association with a football team (social identity), supporting Social Identity Theory.

Question 14

Describe Aronson & Osherow 1980 (Jane Elliott) study.

Answer 14

-Jane Elliott was a lower school teacher who used a school lesson to teach her third grade class about discrimination.
-A+O recorded the lessons as the “brown eyes/ blue eyes” study.
-Elliott told her pupils that eye colour determined academic ability & personal traits like honesty/ laziness.
-This was reinforced in Elliott’s lessons.
-On measures of performance, the dominant group performed better academically, were more attentive and demonstrated discrimination towards the perceived “inferior” group.
-This supports social identity theory as it shows social categorisation leading to active prejudice.

Question 15

Describe Locker & Luhtanen 1990 study.

Answer 15

-Showed that those who think highly of the group they are in have high collective (or group) self esteem and show loyalty to the in-group in a minimal group situation.
-This supports social identity theory and suggests supporting the group lifts self esteem.

Question 16

Describe Lalonde 1992 study.

Answer 16

-Studied a poorly performing hockey team, they had to admit the other teams were more skilled than them but claimed they were “dirtier”.
-Shows claiming moral superiority even if not technically- so there was still in-group favouritism.
-Lalonde studied all the teams and concluded the poorly performing team were actually themselves the least sportsmanlike (they were not telling the truth and there was bias in their out-group prejudice).
-They claimed the other teams were dirtier players to maintain their own self-esteem.

Question 17

Describe Mummendey et Al. 1992 study.

Answer 17

-Studied in group membership & punishment
-If a person had to expose their in-group and out-group to a loud noise, PPS are fair.
-However, if the in-group is told they’re a minority (20%) and weren’t good at the task, then they were more biased in allocating punishment.
-If we know we are in the minority with a low status, we are more willing to deliver punishment to the out-group.

Question 18

Describe Marques & Yzerbyt 1988 study.

Answer 18

-Suggests minimal group research had revealed the “black sheep” effect. Members of the in group are willing to say bad things about 1 member of their group.
-This is because by identifying one weak member, the group are enhancing their own self-esteem, by showing that they can be critical of their own group.

Question 19

Describe Fein and Spencer 1997 study.

Answer 19

-Induced high or low self-esteem in student PPS by giving false feedback on their IQ tests.
-Those with low self esteem after the IQ test rated a Jewish applicant for a job less favourably than an Italian candidate (in-group preference).
-HOWEVER, PPS with high self-esteem after the IQ test showed no such bias.
-Thus, suggesting self-esteem does affect out-group hostility & can be reduced with higher self-esteem.

Question 20

Describe Weatherell 1982 (confounding) study.

Answer 20

-Suggests that we should not conclude from the research that intercrop conflict is the inevitable consequence of group membership and identification.
-In her observations of New Zealand Polynesians, she found them much more likely to favour the out-group than show bias towards their own in-group.
-Cultures that emphasis collectivism & cooperation are less likely to demonstrate group prejudice.

Question 21

Describe the Reichar and Haslam 2006 study.

Answer 21

-The guards were reluctant to use their authority against the prisoners, resulting in a lack of role identification & no shared identity was formed, whereas the prisoners, when the chance of promotion to guard status was removed, began to develop a strong sense of shared identity and solidarity against the guards.

Question 22

Describe Dobbs & Crano 2001 study.

Answer 22

-Showed that where individuals perceived that their in-group was in the majority there was much less in-group favouritism & out-group hostility than when they perceived their in-group was in the majority.
-IE more likely to be anti-English if you are Welsh or Scottish then the other way around because Welsh and Scottish are more of a minority in the UK.