Social Identity Theory - SAQ Flashcards
What is SIT?
It is a theory of prejudice that explains how prejudice arises.
What is social categorisation?
Placing yourself in one particular group and seeing yourself as part of that group
What is social identification?
The process of moving from categorising oneself as part of the in-group to identifying with the group more overtly. Individuals usually take on the norms and attitudes of the group.
What is social comparison?
People start to see their in-group as better than the out-group which enhances their self esteem. To see their group as better, they make a direct comparison.
What is in-group favouritism?
Seeing our own group and members in a positive light and as unique.
What is negative out-group bias?
Seeing members of a different group as all the same and in a negative light.
Tajfel and Turner’s minimal groups studies found
when boys were given options to give points to people they overwhelmingly gave them to people in their own group demonstrating in group favouritism.
Tajfel and Turner’s minimal groups studies concluded that
without direct competition, hostility arises due to competing identities
3 variables that contribute to in group favouritism?
The extent to which the individuals identify with the in group
> Whether there are grounds for comparison
> The relevance of the comparison group in relation to the in group
Tajfel et al (Klee and Klandinsky) found
that even if giving more money to the other group did not mean less money for the in group, they still gave more to their own group
A strength is that Willets and Clarke (2013) suggested that
it would be beneficial to use SIT to help nurses (who have many diff. identities due to profess. diversity) emphasise their interrelatedness and group belonging to develop their professional diversity
A weakness is that the theory may be too simplistic in explaining prejudice as
other factors are not taken into account and the theory only focuses on groups, it cannot explain how much prejudice there is in different situations and which situations there would be more prejudice
Realistic Conflict Theory offers an alternative explanation of prejudice which states that prejudice only takes place when
the groups are competing in some way either when there is a goal in sight or when there is the possibility of material gain
There are many supporting studies that demonstrate in-group favouritism, e.g
Tajfel (1971) and Sherif et al (1961) and Poppe Lissen (1999) who took a survey of 1143 Eastern Europeans and found they were more likely to judge their own nation as more efficient that any other
A closer look at the minimal groups studies indicates that individual participants differed considerably in the extent to which they favoured the in group over the out group, e.g
Platow et al (1990) assessed these differences and found that those assessed as highly competitive showed greater in-group favouritism than those who were high cooperative
