Social Identity Theory

Question 1

What is social identity theory?

Answer 1

• developed by Tajfel and Turner (1979), explains prejudice and discrimination through group membership.
• suggests that individuals derive part of their self-concept from the groups they belong to, leading to in-group favoritism and out-group discrimination

Question 2

What are the three stages of SIT?

Answer 2

1. Social Categorisation
2. Social Identification
3. Social Comparison

Question 3

Social categorisation

Answer 3

• Classifying people (including oneself) into groups to understand the social environment.
• EG: race, gender, religion

Question 4

Social identification

Answer 4

• Adopting the identity of the group we have categorised ourselves as belonging to.

Question 5

Social Comparison

Answer 5

• Comparing our group with others, often leading to viewing our group as superior to boost self-esteem

Question 6

What is in-group favoritism?

Answer 6

• The tendency to favor members of one’s own group over those in out-groups. This can result in preferential treatment and biased attitudes towards the in-group.​

Question 7

Tajfel & Turner

Answer 7

• aimed to see if just being put into a group(without any real reason)was enough to cause discrimination.
• randomly assigned boys into groups based on fake preferences (like liking a painter), then asked them to give out money to members of their group and another group.
• even though the groups were meaningless, the boys gave more to their own group, showing that just being part of a group can lead to in-group favouritism and out-group discrimination.

Question 8

Evidence

Answer 8

• High
• Tajfel’s Minimal Group study
• Proves people don’t need a meaningful reason to form groups and still show bias

Question 9

Application

Answer 9

• High useful
• Programs like intergroup contact and cooperative goals are based on SIT and have been used in schools to reduce bullying and promote inclusivity.
• SIT suggests that fostering positive interactions between different groups can reduce in-group favoritism and out-group discrimination, which is why interventions based on the theory are effective in social settings, such as in schools or multicultural societies.

Question 10

Comparison

Answer 10

• There are gaps in the theory, such as why some people cling to social identity for their self-esteem more than others. A theory of personality like Adorno’s Authoritarian Personality might explain this better.

Question 11

How good is the research

Answer 11

• Supported but lack ecological val
• The “Minimal Groups” studies that support SIT have been criticised for using artificial tasks that lack ecological validity. However, Tajfel would contend that, if boys will be discriminatory over trivial and pointless tasks like this, how much more likely are they to discriminate when something important is at stake!