social identity theory Flashcards
what is social identity theory?
- the theory of prejudice that suggests that prejudice can result from the mere presence of another group when you yourself have membership to a different group
- therefore, it’s not necessary for there to be competition/conflict between the groups ( as Sherif suggested in realistic conflict theory)
what is social categorisation?
we categorise people (including ourselves) in order to understand the social environment
what is in-group?
the group we have membership to
what is out-group?
another rival group to which we don’t have membership to
what is social identification?
we distinguish/recognize ourselves by memberships to certain social groups and the attributes of that group
what is personal identity?
it consists of our unique qualities , personality and personal characteristics
who created social identity theory?
Tafjel and Turner in 1979
why do we use social comparison?
we do this in order to raise the positive attributes of the in-group so that we have a positive social identity.
this then enhances our personal identity and increases our self-esteem
what 2 processes do we use to achieve social comparison?
in-group favouritism and negative out-group bias
what is in-group favouritism?
this is the tendency for group members to see the individuals within their group as unique and different (in-group heterogeneity bias) and in a favourable light.
e.g. ‘there are no fans in the world like Man United fans, they’re the greatest’
what is negative out-group bias?
this is the tendency to views members of the out-group as all the same (out group-homogeneity bias) and in an unfavourable light.
e.g. ‘all liverpool fans are all idiots’
what does it mean if our social identity is favourable?
- if social identity is favourable, for example our football team wins several matches, then personal identity is positive. the self-esteem of the individuals within the group are higher
social identity favourable=personal identity positive=self-esteem higher
what does it mean if our social identity is negative?
- if social identity is not favourable, for example our football team loses several matches, then personal identity is negative. the self-esteem of the individuals within the group are lower
what are group memberships often a source of?
our self-esteem
evidence
the Jane Elliot study:
-A class of third grade pupils were divided over the course of a week depending on eye colour.
-During the first part of the week they were told that people with blue eyes are better, faster and have more desirable traits, while brown-eyed people are lazy and dishonest.
-Elliott then told them that she had made a mistake, and that it was the other way around, so that for the second half of the week it was reversed.
-She found that the ‘dominant group’ displayed prejudice, hostility and discrimination towards the ‘inferior group’ (even if children had previously been good friends).
-She also found that on several measures of performance the dominant group performed better academically.
it was a field experiment
-critics claim the children were too young to understand it
-Researchers later concluded that there was evidence that the students became less prejudiced after the study
