Prejudice: Social Identity Theory Tajfel

Question 1

Who made Social Identity Theory and when?

Answer 1

TAJFEL AND TURNER (1979, 1986)

Question 2

What do humans desire according to Tajfel and Turner?

Answer 2

To belong.

Question 3

Where do humans derive their self-esteem from according to Tajfel and Turner?

Answer 3

From group membership and the acceptance of others.

Question 4

What is our social behaviour driven by according to Tajfel and Turner?

Answer 4

The motivation to maintain a positive sense of self as a valued member of the group.

Question 5

define ingroup

Answer 5

The group in which we see ourselves as belonging to (like me, us)

Question 6

define outgroup

Answer 6

Anyone not belonging in the ingroup (not like me, them).

Question 7

define social categorisation

Answer 7

The separation of individuals into in- and out- groups.

Said to be a basic characteristic of human thought - we have little control over it.

Question 8

What do Tajfel and Turner argue to cause prejudice?

Answer 8

The mere existence of an outgroup is enough to cause prejudice.

Question 9

define the social identification

Answer 9

The individual adopts beliefs, values, and attitudes of their ingroup as well as adopting behaviours to fit the ingroups norms.
A shift in a person’s thinking and self-concept also occurs as this new social identity is formed.

Question 10

How may an individual boost their self esteem?

Answer 10

Through social comparisons between in- and out- groups.
Since the outcomes of these comparisons affect our self esteem they may not be subjective (we perceive the ingroup as better because that means we are better).

Question 11

define positive distinctiveness

Answer 11

The desire to see the ingroup as different and better.

Similarities will be ignored/minimalised and differences will be exaggerated.

Question 12

What can positive distinctiveness lead to and why?

Answer 12

Discrimination and prejudice, because we think about and treat the outgroup differently.

Question 13

strength of social identity theory

Answer 13

supporting evidence from Tajfel’s (1970) experiment in which he told boys which other boys behaved like them (in-group) or not like them (out-group). Later, when the boys gave points to each other they gave more points to the in-group than the out-group members. This is a strength because it shows how social categorisation is sufficient to trigger in-group favouritism and discrimination against the out-group.

Question 14

competing argument of social identity theory

Answer 14

refuting evidence from Sherif (1954) who discovered that two groups of boys became aggressive and prejudiced towards the other group when manipulated to compete for a zero-sum resource (trophy). This is a weakness because it refutes the idea that membership of a group alone is enough to create prejudice, and rather that competition must be introduced.

Question 15

supporting evidence of social identity theory

Answer 15

it can be effectively applied to explain the process of radicalisation whereby marginalised individuals who are seeking an identity are targeted and moulded into accepting the extreme views of a group. This is a strength because the theory can be applied usefully in society to identify individuals vulnerable to radicalisation and put preventative measures in place.

Question 16

weakness of social identity theory

Answer 16

it ignores the idea that personality may play a role in the development of prejudice; for example, Adorno suggested that those with an Authoritarian personality type are more likely to have prejudiced attitudes. This is a weakness because the theory overlooks individual differences such as personality and may lower the credibility of the theory in explaining all examples of how prejudice is created.

Question 17

conclusion for social identity theory

Answer 17

that prejudice stems from social identity and membership of groups has led to strategies for reducing prejudice such as Gaertner’s common in-group identity model which involves creating a new group which would include everyone. This is a strength as the theory can be useful to society in producing reductions in inter-racial tension, for example, by creating a prom planning committee in multicultural high schools in America where all groups from different ethnicities are included.

social identity theory isolates membership of groups as the cause of prejudice whilst ignoring other possible causes such as the person’s upbringing and any history between the two groups. This is a weakness because the theory is reductionist meaning it may be too simplistic in explaining the complexities of prejudice in the real world.