The individual and the group Flashcards
What is social identity theory (SIT)?
SIT explores how a person has not just one “personal self”, but rather several social selves that correspond to widening circles of group membership. Individuals stive to maintain or enhance their self-esteem, which will support having a positive self-concept, which is based on membership to social groups.
What associations can membership to social groups present?
Membership to social groups can have both positive and negative associations.
What four psychological mechanisms does the theory have, as identified by Taijel and Turner?
The theory, as identified by Taijel and Turner, has the following four psychological mechanisms: social categorisation, social identification, social comparison, and positive distinctiveness.
What is social categorisation?
Social categorisation is the process by which we identify which groups we belong to and which groups we do not. The groups we belong to and identitfy with are referred to as out “in-groups,” which we typically refer to using “we” and “us”. Groups that we do not belong to, are referred to as “out-groups”, which are referred to using “they” and “them.”
What is social identification?
Social identification takes place after deciding to belong to the group and is the process of adopting the norms of the group and taking on its characteristics.
What is social comparison and when does it occur?
After identifying one’s in-group, individuals then engage in “social comparison” which is a means of justifying their group membership.
When positive distinctiveness sought for?
Finally, we seek to achieve positive self-esteem by positively comparing our in-group to an out-group on some valued dimension to achieve positive distinctiveness. We favour the traits of our in-group, even if we did not necessarily choose to be a part of the group ourselves. As in-group members are looked to have positive traits while out-group members are looked to have negative ones, inter-group discrimination may occur.
What is a study supporting SIT?
Levine et al (2005)
Levine et al (2005) aim
To observe the effect of in-group bias on helping.
Levine et al (2005) method
The study was carried out on a group of 45 male students who were self-identified Manchester United fans. When arriving for the experiment, they were told that the experiment had to be moved to a larger room across campus. As they walked to the other room, a confederate ran down a grassy hill, slipped, and fell over, holding onto his ankle and shouting in pain. The confederate was either wearing a Manchester United team shirt, a Liverpool FC team shirt, or plain t-shirt.
Levine et al (2005) results
The results found that students were most likely to help another Manchester United fan and were less likely to help a plain-shirt or Liverpool fan. The difference between the other two conditions was minimal, showing that it does not matter that they liked the arch-rival, Liverpool – it was more influential that the confederate was a member of their in-group.
Levine et al conclusion
The study demonstrates social categorisation through how there was an in-group of Manchester United, and the out-group of Liverpool or non-supporters. When the confederate identified as part of the in-group, they were helped, while when they identified as part of the out-group, they received less help. This intergroup discrimination showcases social comparison.
What is social cognitive theory (SCT)?
SCT was proposed by Bandure to explain how children learn behaviours such as aggression via observing modelled behaviour.
How does SCT suggest the behaviour is modelled?
SCT suggests that behaviour is modelled by other members of a group, acquired through observation or imitation based on consequences of the behaviour including self-efficacy, reciprocal determinism, socialisation, and social/cultural learning.
What is socialisation?
Socialisation is the process of becoming a group member.
