Social Identity Theory Flashcards
What does social identity suggest?
It suggests that pps want to promote members of their ingroup over the outgroup members, as it enhances their own status.
What did Taifel and Turner
(1979) suggest about prejudice?
They suggested that prejudice is caused by the creation of groups, not by realistic conflict.
What is social identification?
This is where we adopt the identity of the group we have categorised ourselves into.
What is social comparison?
Final stage, where we now compare ourselves to other groups once we have identified and categorised ourselves into that group.
What does realistic conflict theory state?
States that whenever there are two or more groups that are seeking the same limited resources, it will lead to conflict and negative stereotypes.
State a weakness of Sheriffs
Robbers Cave experiment?
He used 22 white male participants who were all 11 years old and lived in the USA. They were all protestants and from similar backgrounds. The sample was an opportunity sample. This is a limitation because the study lacks population validity as the sample used is androcentric and ethnocentric.
Therefore, means that the hostility and aggression that was found in the boys cannot be generalised to the females, different age groups and different ethnicities as they have different valued instilled in them.
Was Sheriffs study replicable?
Sheriff conducted his Robbers Cave study a number of times. In 1953 he conducted a similar study where the boys became aware that they were being observed. Therefore, he stopped his study and conduced another one in 1961.
Sheriff was able to replicate his study to test the level of hostility and conflict shown. However, this is a limitation as the reliability of the boys behaviour is different in each replication and can be questioned.
Did Sheriffs study show levels of validity?
The experiment was a field experiment, which means it was carried out in a natural environment. This is a strength, as the hostility and anger displayed by the boys is what they naturally would’ve shown. So, the study has high ecological validity. However, this is also a limitation as extraneous variables cannot be controlled in a natural environment, therefore, Is cannot be manipulated.
