Social Identity Theory

• Social categorisation: Identifying as part of a specific group, positive social identity leads to a group with positive attributes, enhancing self-esteem but negative social identity, negatively impacts self-esteem
• Social identification: Adopting group’s identity and consistently exhibiting behaviors to differentiate oneself from non-members; personal identity is influenced by social identity; high-status = high self-esteem; strong group identification forms a shared identity, consider social groups like class, ethnicity, and gender
• Social comparison: Comparing our in-group favorably as unique/individual to others (In-group favoritism), devaluing the out-group (Negative out-group bias); increasing the self-esteem of in-group members
• Key Ideas

  • Social Categorisation
  • Social Identification
  • Social Comparison
  • Personal/Social Identity
• Social Identity Theory, also called minimal group theory, developed by Tajfel and Turner (1979), unlike Realistic Conflict Theory, argues group competition doesn't necessarily lead to prejudice and identifies three key features: social categorisation, identification, and comparison
• Groups can be classified as either an in-group (with membership) or an out-group (no membership or rival group); membership leads to in-group loyalty and out-group hostility, even without perceived competition, causing prejudice
• Humans strive for positive self-image for high self-esteem, which is influenced by how others perceive us and forms our personal identity; closely linked to our social identity, as the social groups we are part of impact our self-esteem