Social: Social Identity Theory Flashcards
Who created social identity theory?
Tajfel
Define prejudice
A pre-judgment about a characteristic of a group.
Define social identity theory?
The view that your behaviour is motivated by your social identity. A persons self image is made of two components personal identity and social identity.
What is social categorisation?
The i group is the group we see ourselves belonging to and the our group is anyone who isn’t in your in-group. Social categorisation is the split up of ‘me’ and ‘them’
Tajfel argued that categorisation occurs naturally and the mere existence of an out group is enough to bring prejudice.
Describe social identification
Social identification involves the individual adopting beliefs values and attitudes of the group they see themselves belonging to. This can be your physical identity or your thought processes.
Describe social comparison
When an individual boosts their self esteem through making comparisons between the ingroup and the out group.
What is the supporting evidence of Tajfel et al? (Social identity theory)
Minimal groups study
Tajfel recruited Bristol schoolboys aged14-15 and divided them into minimal groups. 2 groups overestimates and underestimates.
When asked to allocate points between their ingroup and the out group the boys awarded more points to their own group (ingroup favouritism)
What is the application of SIT?
Encouraging people to see themselves as part of a larger social identity can combat outgroup discrimination. E.g: teaching Britishness however this may backfire and lead to more conflict with people who are seen as unbritish
What is the opposing evidence against SIT?
The adolescent boys in Tajfel et als study are naturally competitive and the allocation of points may have been seen as a competition that the boys wanted to win. This is a demand characteristic that would have skewed results meaning less credibility.
What is a different theory to SIT?
Sherifs realistic conflict theory
RCT claims prejudice is produced by competition and happens when there is a limited resource. RCT is backed up by the robbers cave study where boys showed out group discrimination when a tournament was arranged between them that lead to name calling and violent behaviour.
