Social Identity Theory Flashcards
Henri Tajfel AKA Hersz Mordche 1919-1982
the Sorbonne
A bayonet at dawn
A frenchman on a large march
The good camp and the bad camp
Strange homecoming
The questions that haunted Henri Tajfel
Why did he get to live is he was Henri the Frenchman but not Hersz the Jew?
Why did his camp get fed while the Russians starved
Why do powerful groups always have the same stereotypes of lower power groups? Slovenian’s views of Bosnians; English views of Irish, ect
Realistic Conflict Theory (Sherif)
Groups compete for scarce resources and goals
Justify aggression with stereotypes, prejudiced attitudes, dehumanization
Tajfel agreed, BUT argued much group conflict is not over material resources (e.g., respect, status, popularity)
Though Realistic Conflict Theory missed the importance of groups and their ties to identity
The most misunderstood study in psychology
Paul Klee and Vassily Kandinsky:
- Kandinsky: explores how art can evoke emotions and spiritual experiences. He was interested in how colors and forms could impact the viewer’s psyche and believed that art should transcend the material world to convey deeper spiritual truths.
- Klee: reflect his concern with how art can express inner experiences and psychological states.
- Their ideas are often embedded within broader artistic and philosophical contexts, making it challenging to isolate their psychological theories from their artistic practices and theories.
Why is minimal groups study misunderstood? The questions that haunted Henri Tajfel
Tajfel’s point: If groups can create conflict for even minor reasons, imagine how powerful they become when our identity is on the line
Social Identity theory: the importance of groups
social identity: knowledge of belonging to a social group that has emotional significance
- groups are a source of shared identity and a source of self-esteem
- more closely identified groups are protected more like self
Social Comparison
drawing distinctions between in-groups and out-groups bolster self-esteem
- social comparison also reduced uncertainty
- higher status groups seek to justify their dominant status; lower status groups seek to defend against stigma
Social Identity Belief Structures
social mobility belief: that you can work your way up/pass in high status groups
social change belief: that mobility is unlikely so want to change the rules/system
Psychological Bottom Line:
I am a good person and my groups are good people
GRQ: What is the psychological bottom line?
I am a good person and my groups are good people
GRQ: Why is the minimal groups paradigm misunderstood?
people are inherently biased or that discrimination is inevitable. In reality, the MGP demonstrates that even the smallest, most arbitrary distinctions can lead to ingroup favoritism and outgroup discrimination, shedding light on the processes of social categorization and group identity rather than claiming that all individuals are naturally prejudiced.
- groups are powerful that diving people into minimal
Why does using the psychological immune system to defend not only ourselves, but our groups, set the stage for prejudice?
I am good-> my group is good
This ingroup favoritism is a direct result of our psychological immune system working to enhance and protect our self-esteem by associating ourselves with the perceived successes and positive attributes of our group.
For example, if our group’s status or resources are perceived to be under threat, we might intensify negative stereotypes or engage in discriminatory behaviors as a way to protect the group’s position.
confirmation bias means that we are more likely to notice and remember behaviors from outgroups that confirm negative stereotypes, reinforcing prejudice
