SOCIAL IDENTITY THEORY

1. by: KonjitKebede Presenter: KonjitKebede

2. Out line • Introduction • Objective • Pioneer of SIT • Self identity, collective self and group membership • Social Identity Motivations • Major findings of basic motivation for social identity processes • Basic principles SIT • Core predictions • Evaluative remarks of social identity

3. Introduction • Identity” is a keyword of modern society& central focus of SP. • SIT is a “grand” theory • explains how the self-concepts associated with group, group membership and intergroup behavior • Its core premise is that in many social situations people think of themselves and others as group members, rather than as unique individuals

4. Background • SIT defines group membership in terms of • people’s identification • definition, • and evaluation of themselves as members of a group (social identity) and specifies • cognitive, social interactive and societal processes that interact to produce typical group phenomena

5. Background • SIT is a social psychological analysis of the role of self conception in • group membership & • group processed inter group relations. • SIT addresses phenomena such as • Prejudice discrimination, ethnocentrism, stereotyping, intergroup conflict, conformity, normative behavior, group polarization, crowd behavior, organizational behavior, leadership, deviance and group cohesiveness

6. Objective • reviewing different existing books and journals with the chosen topic “social identity theory” • understand, analyze the theory and presenting it to the class. • for partial fulfillment of the course “Theories of Social Psychology and Their Application “.

7. Pioneer of social identity theory • SIT was first developed at the start of 1970’s in Britain • by HeneryTajfel • Later elaborations by Tajfel’s student John Turner and his colleagues on the cognitive factors relevant to social identification . How People Represent Themselves Self identity, collective self and group membership • A social group is more than two people who share the same social identity

8. Self identity, collective self and group membership • GM identify and evaluate themselves in the same way and have the same definition of • who they are, • what attributes they have and • how they relate to and differ from people in out group • Group membership is a matter of collective self construal “we” and “us” versus “them.”

9. Self identity, collective self and group membership • identities can be classified as personal identities or social identities • Personal identities are definitions and evaluations of oneself in terms of • idiosyncratic personal attributes (e.g., generous, shy), • and one’s personal relationships (e.g., Kebede’s friend, Abeba’s spouse).

10. Self identity, collective self and group membership 2. social identity is “the individual s knowledge that he belongs to certain • social groups together with some • emotional and value significance to him of his group membership”( Tajfel,1972) .

11. Social Identity Motivations • Social identity is motivated by two process 1.self enhancement and 2. uncertainty reduction • causes groups to strive to both better than and distinct from other groups • Major findings about basic motivation for social identity processes 1. A social identity psychologically governs perceptions, attitudes, feelings, and behavior when it is psychologically salient

12. Major findings of basic motivation for social identity processes 2. People draw on readily accessible social identities or categorizations (e.g., gender, profession), ones that are valued, important Ppl use accessible identities to make sense of their social context, checking how well the categorization accounts for similarities and differences among people (structural/comparative fit)

13. Major findings of basic motivation for social identity processes 3. People strive to reduce feelings of uncertainty • about their social world &their place within it 4. People like to know who they are and how to behave, and who others are etc.. 5. People in groups adhere to • similar standards, have similar attitudes, and behave in similar ways

14. Basic Principles SIT • The main aim of SIT is to understand and explain • how people can come to adopt and behave in terms of such social (rather than personal) identities. • When do people think of themselves in terms of “we” instead of “I”? • Why is it important to know whether others can be seen as representing “us” or “them”? • How does this impact upon our feelings, thoughts, and behaviors? SIT tries to answer these questions,

15. Basic Principles SIT • The basic principles of the theory address three main issues 1. describe the psychological processes that explain how people's social identities are different from their personal identities 2. distinguishes between different strategies people can use to derive a positive social identity

16. Basic Principles SIT 3. specifies the key characteristics of the social structure that determine which of these strategies is most likely to be used in any given case. Building on the above principles, a number of core predictions were subsequently systematized within Tajfel and Turner's (1979) definitive statement of SIT

17. Basic Principles SIT • individuals internalize a group membership as a meaningful aspect of their self-concept, • they will strive to make favorable comparisons between this group and relevant out groups, • achieve or maintain a positive social identity

18. core predictions…… 2. As a result, social categorization can be • sufficient to engender intergroup discrimination and • intergroup conflict • (i.e., in the absence of a conflict of interest over the division of resources

19. core predictions 3. The search for positive social identity may take different forms • (individual mobility, social creativity, social competition), • depending on consensual definitions of social reality that pertain to • socially shared justifications (legitimacy of group and individual outcomes) and • perceived cognitive alternatives to current status relations (permeability of group boundaries and stability of status relations).

20. Evaluative Remarks of social identity theory • SIT approach has gained widespread influence outside the Boundaries of social psychology such as • in areas of political science, organizational behavior, language and communication studies and related disciplines. • SIT IS most significant and extensively cited in the analyses of intergroup and group phenomena

21. Evaluative Remarks of social identity theory • several researchers have reported finding SIT ambiguous or unclear (e.g., Elsbach and Kramer, 1996; Jost and Elsbach, 2001; see also Brown, 2000). • This in turn inspired others to clarify theoretical statements in an attempt to redress any misunderstandings, and to clarify exactly which predictions can (and cannot) be derived from the theory.

22. Class discussion points • Implication of studying social psychology on social identity • Social Identity and Issues of Ethnocentrism in contemporary Ethiopian society • The effect of globalization on the social identity of developing world population?

23. THANK YOU