Social Identity Theory

• Who made/discovered social identity theory and when?

  ~ Tajfel and Turner, 1979
• What is social identity?  (A01)

  ~ Social identity refers to an individual’s self-concept and comes from how people see themselves in relation to membership of their social groups. 

  
• What does social identity theory claim about prejudice?  A01

  ~ That prejudice is a natural outcome of social grouping and is inevitable.

  ~ Competition is not necessary, simply membership of a group.

  
• What are the 3 processes involved in becoming prejudiced against out-group members?   (A01)- social identity theory

  ~1~ Social Categorisation

  ~2~ Social Identification

  ~3~ Social Comparison

  
• What is social categorisation? (AO1) - social identity theory


  ~ We see ourselves as belonging to a group, the in-group, whilst seeing other groups that we don’t belong to as the out-groups.

  ~ This process often involves stereotyping (putting people into categories, often based upon their appearance).

  
• What is social identification? (AO1) - social identity theory

  ~ The process of taking on aspects of our in-group identity as our own, e.g. group norms, clothing, attitudes.

  ~ Shared norms leads to a strong group identity. 
• What is social comparison?  (AO1) - social identity theory

  ~ Social comparison with the out-group occurs when people see their in-group as better. 

  ~ They develop in-group favouritism. 

  ~ To make our group the best we make negative, unfair comments + comparisons about the out-group. 

  ~ This boosts self-esteem. 

  ~ However, prejudice and discrimination may arise. 
• What is in-group favouritism?  (often within stage 3 - social comparison) (A01) - social identity theory

  ~ The preference for people who belong to a group you identify with (in-group) e.g. your college, your football team, your family.

  ~ This preference results in giving advantage to in-group members, such as the allocation of resources or rating them more highly. 

  ~ Social comparison may occur when we compare our in-group with any out-groups we meet. 
• Which factors influence in-group favouritism? AO1 - social identity theory

  ~ The extent to which the individuals identify with the in-group.

  ~ The extent to which there are grounds for making comparisons with the out-group.
• social identity theory - Classifying people, including ourselves, as part of particular groups is also known as:

  ~ social categorisation
• APPLICATION QUESTION (A02)

  Using your knowledge of social identity theory, explain the conflict between the students and what the college staff can do about it. (4 marks)

  question and answer on back

  ~1, 2 ,3

  
• How do we evaluate a theory?

  runs car

  
• WEAKNESS of social identity theory - REFUTING EVIDENCE - Sherif robbers cave experiment (1954)

  ~ Sherif (1954) discovered that two groups of boys became aggressive and prejudiced towards the other group when manipulated to compete for a zero-sum resource (trophy). 

  ~ Refuting Evidence as it shows that competition is needed not just membership of a group
• STRENGTH of social identity theory - SUPPORTING EVIDENCE - Tajfel (1970)


  ~ Tajfel (1970) conducted minimal group studies where he found that schoolboys would favour members of their in-group when allocating points using matrices. They would also discriminate against members of the out-group.  

  ~ Supporting evidence as it demonstrated in-group favouritism

  
• STRENGTH of social identity theory- Useful application/Psychology in society - explain the process of radicalisation.

  ~ Social identity theory can be effectively applied to explain the process of radicalisation. This often involves marginalised individuals who are seeking an identity being targeted and moulded into accepting the extreme views of a group to boost their self-esteem and feel like they belong. Could be used to put preventative measures in place.
• WEAKNESS of social identity theory- REDUCTIONIST - isolates membership

  ~  Social identity theory isolates membership of groups as the cause of prejudice whilst ignoring other possible causes such as the person’s upbringing and any history between the two groups. 

  ~ Reductionist as it is too simplistic in explaining the complexities of prejudice in the real world.
• STRENGTH of social identity theory - Useful application/Psychology in society - reducing prejudice

  ~ The idea that prejudice stems from social identity and membership of groups has led to strategies for reducing prejudice such as Gaertner’s common in-group identity model which involves creating a new group which would include everyone.
• Matching strengths and weaknesses of social identity theory for an 8 marker

  1, 2 ,3

  
• STRENGTH of social identity theory - CREDIBILITY - explains real life prejudice

  ~ Social identity theory is that it provides an explanation for why discrimination occurs even when the outgroup is no threat to the ingroup and there is no competition over resources. 

  ~ Credibility explains real life prejudice
• What is refuting evidence of Social Identity Theory?

  Sherif robbers cave experiment (1954) - goes into detail on another flashcard
• What is supporting evidence of Social Identity Theory?

  ~ Tajfel (1970)
• Put work from book into flashcards

  dont forget
• RUNS CAR evaluation (+ and -) for social identity theory - evaluation (A03)

  1, 2 ,3

  
• Social identity theory matching strengths and weaknesses an 8 marker

  1, 2 ,3

  
• Example 8 marker for social identity theory

  1 2 3