Social Identity Theory

Question 1

Discuss origins of the social identity approach

Answer 1

Comprises SIT and SCT
Before late 1960s = desire to understand intergroup relations and explain events such as the holocaust
Tendency to view intergroup relations as interpersonal processes

After 1960s = shift to try and understand bigger picture and SIT and SCT emerged

Question 2

What is intergroup behaviour?

Answer 2

Understanding you and others belong to social groups = social behaviour and prejudice/discrimination/conflict
Any perception, cognition or behaviour is influenced by recognition of membership of distinct social groups

Question 3

Describe ethnocentricism

Answer 3

Evaluative preference for all aspects of one’s own group compared to other groups = ingroup at centre and outgroups scaled and rated relative to this

Groups compete over limited resources = intergroup relations become egocentric and result in conflict

Question 4

Discuss Sherif’s summer camp studies

Answer 4

The camp was separated into two groups, creating competition and fierce hostility and resulting in ethnocentrism, prejudice and discrimination
When presented with a superordinate goal, groups were able to cooperate and work together

Question 5

Discuss realistic conflict theory

Answer 5

Intergroup behaviour influenced by nature of goal relations between groups

Within groups (individual vs. individual)
Shared goals requiring interdependence = bring groups together
Mutually exclusive goals = interindividual competition prevents group formation/break up existing groups

At inter group level (group vs. group):
Mutually exclusive goals = conflict and ethnocentrism
Shared goals = inter group dependence= reduced conflict and promotes inter group harmony

Question 6

Define intergroup behaviour and interpersonal behaviour

Answer 6

Intergroup behaviour = acting as a group member
Intergroup dependence = working with other groups
Interpersonal behaviour = acting as an individual in a group influences overall group

Question 7

Discuss criticisms of realistic conflict theory

Answer 7

Is competition alone sufficient to create hostility?
Contextual or situational factors may be important
Bias against outgroups may occur without explicit or implicit competition

Question 8

Describe minimal group paradigm

Answer 8

Merely being categorised into a group = spontaneous intergroup bias with competition and hostility
Creating an ingroup and outgroup supposedly based on picture preference but actually randomly = intergroup bias
Individuals will often choose to give themselves less if = other group gets less than them
Led to development of SIT

Question 9

Discuss criticisms of minimum group paradigm

Answer 9

Debate over measures, procedures and statistics used
Demand characteristics = people perform as what they perceive is expected of them
= conform to transparent expectations or norms of intergroup behaviour
Discrimination can be reduced when awareness of discriminatory norms is increased

Question 10

Discuss social identity theory

Answer 10

Tajfel & Turner, 1979
About becoming part of different groups and how membership helps construct personal identity (related to interpersonal and individual behaviour) and social identity (group behaviour/attributes)
Individuals have multiple social and personal identities
1. society = distinct social groups which hold power and status in relation to one another
2. social categories (large, intermediate and small groups) provide social identities

Question 11

Discuss the role of personality attributes and interpersonal relations in SIT

Answer 11

SIT distinguishes social and personal identity so doesn’t need to explain group and intergroup processes in terms of personality attributes or interpersonal relations

SIT theorists argue psychological theories of group processes and intergroup relations are limited = we should avoid trying to explain behaviour through aggregating effects of personality predispositions or interpersonal relations

Question 12

Is human interaction on a spectrum?

Answer 12

Human interaction can be:
Purely interpersonal = people entirely as individuals with no awareness of social categories (this is rare)
Purely intergroup = people entirely as group representatives = individualising qualities overwhelmed by group membership salience
Most individuals sit in the middle of the spectrum

Question 13

What are the 3 main elements of SIT?

Answer 13

Categorisation
Identification
Comparison

Question 14

Describe the function and outcome of categorisation in SIT

Answer 14

We often put people and ourselves in categories, labelling to help understand the social world

Accentuation effect = distinctions between categories are sharpened and distinctions within categories blurred

Question 15

Discuss identification in SIT

Answer 15

We associate ourselves with groups which boost self-esteem/image
Collective identity becomes your ingroup and groups/individuals who threaten your ingroup are the outgroup

Question 16

Discuss the role of group membership in self-concept

Answer 16

Social group of high status = reflect positively on self-concept = individuals motivated to increase group status
Positive ingroup social identity is achieved at expense of the outgroup = minimal group paradigm

Question 17

Discuss membership to a low status group

Answer 17

Individuals may:
Leave the group (psychologically/physically)
Make downward intergroup comparisons
Focus on aspects where their group looks better than the outgroup
Devalue aspects reflecting badly on group
Engage in social change to change status
The option chosen depends on whether boundaries can be altered and status differences are seen as stable/legitimate

Question 18

Discuss functions of social identities

Answer 18

Social identities = important for self-esteem, personal security, social companionship, emotional bonding, intelligent stimulation and collaborative learning

Question 19

Discuss the functions of groups

Answer 19

Provide us with a sense of place, purpose and belonging
Make us feel distinctive, special, efficacious and successful
Social identity = part of self-concept which comes from group membership

Question 20

Discuss the emergence of self-categorisation theory

Answer 20

Elaboration and refinement of the cognitive element of SIT
Aimed to move beyond the intergroup focus of SIT by elaborating on intragroup processes too (individuals within groups)

Question 21

Discuss SCT

Answer 21

Links social identity and self-identity (intragroup relations)
Focuses on ingroup dynamics through cognitive act of self-categorisation which is part of one’s self concept
Seeks to understand how, when and why people categorise themselves as members of some groups but not others
Identity operates at different levels of inclusiveness

Question 22

Discuss hierarchy in selfcategorisation

Answer 22

Distinguishes between personal and social identity
Distinct levels of self-categorisation

Question 23

Discuss personal and social identity in SCT

Answer 23

Personal identity = individual qualities/ characteristics we see in ourselves = accounts for what SIT neglects

Social identity = feeling part of a group, sharing traits with other group members and locating individuals by social category

Question 24

Discuss the categorisation in SCT

Answer 24

Not interpersonal and intergroup dynamics at opposite ends of a spectrum, instead identity as operating at different levels of inclusiveness important to self concept:
1. Superordinate level (human identity- individual level, less part of a group)
2. Intermediate level (social identity- membership as ingroup compared to outgroup)
3. Subordinate level (personal identity- based on interpersonal comparisons)
Functional antagonism = when one level becomes salient others are diminished
Levels helps us understand the self and how we stereotype

Question 25

Discuss the role of self-categorisation in goals

Answer 25

Categorise as an individual = personal goals so being part of a group is diminished

Characterise self as part of a group = take on the stereotype and goals of the group.

Question 26

When and why do people self-categorise?

Answer 26

When people think of themselves as a group, they are a group
Categorisation in a collective group depends on saliency of the category in the situation
Salience = degree group membership shapes social perception and behaviour and perceived similarity to ingroup/dissimilarity to outgroup
Saliency of an ingroup/outgroup is influenced by accessibility and fit

Question 27

Discuss categorisation based on accessibility

Answer 27

More accessible group categories = more likely basis for self-definition as more salient

Accessibility = immediate to social context
Situational accessibility = temporarily increase accessibility of a category = extent an individual uses self-categorisation across situations
Chronic accessibility = frequently activated and people are motivated to use them

Question 28

Discuss categorisation based on fit

Answer 28

Fit = extent social categories are perceived to reflect social reality
Some social categories = better fit than others = depends on view of certain groups and categories

Two main types of fit:
Comparative fit = perceived similarity between self and own-group members compared to between self and other-group members (meta-contrast ratio)
Normative fit = extent groups comply with stereotypical beliefs about differences between groups

Question 29

Discuss depersonalisation in SCT

Answer 29

People cognitively represent social groups in terms of prototypes = may align themselves with the ingroup prototype through self-stereotyping
People integrate group-based perceptions and behaviours into their self-concept

Depersonalisation = treating the self and others through lens of relevant prototype
View others as members of a group, not idiosyncratic individuals
Can help explain why people behave in certain ways eg. violence, cohesion, conformity etc.

Question 30

Discuss applications of social identity approach

Answer 30

Categorisation = explain group polarisation where individuals opinions shift in the group’s favoured direction as individuals embody the group and have less of a personal identity

Deindividuation can contribute to study of crowd violence and rioting
eg. increased cohesiveness and anonymity as well as lower self-awareness can enable anti-social behaviour

Question 31

Discuss social identity’s function for stereotyping

Answer 31

The content of a stereotype will change depending on the comparative context
Social identity theorists reject that stereotypes are heuristics, arguing instead that stereotypes have a social function, helping explain the social world and legitimise past/current actions of the ingroup

Question 32

Discuss social identity and helping behaviour

Answer 32

Levine et al (2002) manipulated social category relations between bystanders, fellow bystanders and the victim
Fellow bystanders were only influential when they were ingroup members
Bystanders were more likely to help those part of their ingroup or being helped by part of their group

Question 33

Discuss social influence, conformity and power

Answer 33

People who employ prototypical attitudes, behaviours and values of the group are more influential and more likely to be leaders
The traditional view of power suggests this is linked to control over resources but this suggests power comes from categorisation
Embodiment of in-group prototype can maximise influence which is the basis of power and leads to control over resources