Social Identity theory

• What are the three ways Social Identity can be considered?


  Categorisation, Identification, Comparison – positive distinctiveness
• What is social categorization?


  • The process of classifying people into groups
  • Based on similar characteristics (e.g., nationality, age, occupation)
  • Creates in-groups (us) and out-groups (them)
• What happens after a social identity has been identified?

  People choose to associate with certain groups, forming their in-group.
• How does closeness to an in-group affect self-esteem?


  Closeness boosts self-esteem and creates a sense of belonging.
• What is the role of social comparison in maintaining self-esteem?

  • Self-esteem is maintained by comparing in-groups to out-groups.
  • Benefits of belonging to the in-group are emphasized.
  • Positive self-concept leads to favorable views of one's own group.
• What is positive distinctiveness in the context of social identity?

  It refers to the positive bias towards one's own group compared to out-groups.
• How does the need for a positive self-concept influence group attitudes?

  It results in being more positive toward anything that represents the in-group.
• SIT

  Person's sense of self is based on group membership and those in the same group will share similar traits. This leads to establishment of the social identity
• What is the social identity


  When one defines themself based on group membership
• Who conducted the experimental study on social category salience and stereotypes in children?

  Hilliard and Liben
• What was the main focus of Hilliard and Liben's study?


  To determine how social category salience affects stereotypes and inter-group behavior in children
• How many children participated in the study?


  57 children
• What was the age range of the children in the study?


  From 3 years 1 month to 5 years 6 months
• How were the children divided in terms of gender?

  Each school had a roughly equal number of male and female children
• What design did the study use?


  A pre-test/post-test design
• What test did each child complete to measure their gender flexibility?

  The gender attitude test (POAT-AM)
• What types of items were included in the POAT-AM test?


  Culturally masculine, culturally feminine, and neutral items
• How did the POAT-AM test measure gender stereotypes?


  By calculating the number of "both men and women" responses
• What was the second measure taken in the study?


  Observing children's play to determine same-sex vs opposite-sex interactions
• How were the schools allocated in the study?

  Randomly allocated to one of two conditions
• What characterized the high salience condition?


  Children were made aware of their gender through various methods
• What specific actions were taken in the high salience condition?


  Children lined up by sex and teachers used gender-specific language
• What was the purpose of the low salience condition?


  To serve as the control group with no behavioral changes instructed
• What was the policy regarding gendered language in both preschools?


  To avoid gendered language
• What is the link between SIT and Hiliard and Liben as described in the study material?


  The teacher makes children's identity more salient by socially categorizing them into us vs them.
• How do children respond after being socially categorized into groups?


  They seek out the behaviors of their groups to conform to group norms.
• What process do children undergo after identifying with their group?


  They compare themselves to the other group through social comparison.
• What does the term "gendered" refer to in the context of the behaviors observed?


  It indicates that the behaviors were influenced by gender norms.
• What concept explains the perception of uniformity within an out-group?


  Out-group homogeneity.
• What are the key processes involved in the link between SIT and Hiliard and Liben?


  • Social categorization into us vs them
  • Identification with group norms
  • Social comparison with other groups
  • Recognition of gendered behaviors
  • Out-group homogeneity perception