social identity theory

• categorisation

  separation of people into groups - "us" (ingroup) and "them" (outgroup) groups - process is automatic and can occur without conflicts
• identification

  over time, individual adopts the values and beliefs of the group they think they belong to so alters their behaviour to fit into their own groups norms better
• social comparison

  individual will compare their own groups to others
• positive distinctiveness

  people tend to notice things that make their group appear superior - makes a person feel better about belonging to their group but at the same time would treat the out group in a negative way
• tajfel investigated the human tendency to form social identities and produce prejudice
• strength

  • tajfels minimal group paradigm study supports social identity theory as an explanation for prejudice
  • boys randomly split into groups - displayed positive distinctiveness by wanting their own group to win by giving the opposing team as few points possible
  • therefore shows that the existence of multiple groups not in competition leads to prejudiced behaviour
• weakness (counterpoint)

  • low mundane realism
  • task of assigning points is different to prejudice in real life - prejudice in real life involves more significant benefits for in group such as promotions or special treatment
  • allocation of points does not adequately reflect complexity of prejudice
• weakness

  • theory on attitudes towards out group may be ethnocentric to western cultures
  • wetherell (1982) found in her replication of tajfels experiment with 8yr old school children in new zealand, indigenous polynesian students were more generous with points allocations to outgroup compared to their caucasian peers
  • suggests SIT may be ethnocentric as it fails to predict non-prejudiced behaviours of collectivist cultures