WEEK 3: Social identity approach 1

Question 1

What two theories does the social identity approach include?

Answer 1

Social identity theory
Self categorisation theory

Question 2

Personal identity
What is it?
How is it embodied?

Answer 2

Sense of ourselves as unique individuals, embodied by personal attributes

Question 3

Social identity
How is it embodied?

Answer 3

Sense of ourselves as group members, embodied by shared attributes

Question 4

Tajfels’s definition of social identity
What is it a part of? How is it created? What two things are attached to the membership?

Answer 4

Part of an individuals self concept which is created by ones knowledge about their membership in a social group/s and the value/emotional significance attached to that memebership

Question 5

Which two people studied social identity theory?

Answer 5

Tajfel and Turner. 1979

Question 6

Who studied Self categorisation theory?

Answer 6

Turner et al…, 1987

Question 7

What is a Theory?
What does it describe?
what does it specify and predict
what does it produce?

Answer 7

A theory:
-describes a phenomenon in conceptual terms
-specifies and predicts relationships between concepts
-produces hypotheses that can be tested in research

Question 8

Tajfel and Turner
Social identity theory
What kid of relation does this theory concern?
Why was this theory developed? (understand?)

Answer 8

This theory concerns intergroup relations and was developed to understand intergroup discrimination

Question 9

Tajfel and Turner
Social identity theory
Why were the minimal group studies conducted?

Answer 9

The minimal group studies were conducted to identify the minimal conditions needed for intergroup discrimination to occur.

Question 10

Tajfel and Turner
Social identity theory
What kid of studies did they conduct?

Answer 10

Minimal group studies

Question 11

Tajfel, Billig, Bundy and Flament (1971)
Minimal group studies
Participants?
age range?
Groups?
Procedure?
Expectation?
Reality?
Was there a significance to the groups?
Evidence of?

Answer 11

Participants: British schoolboys aged 14-15 years old
Procedure: Divided into two groups (Klee or Kadinsky: painters)
Procedure: Participants were asked to allocate points to an anonymous member of both their group (ingroup) and the other group (outgroup)

Groups were MEANINGLESS

Alllocation of points
Expectation: allocated at random or given fairly
Reality: More points given to ingroup compared to outgroup

Evidence of group favouritism

Question 12

Principles of social identity theory
Tajfel and Turner
What is a positive social identity based on?
What is employed when social identity is negative?

Answer 12

A positive social identity is based on favourable comparisons between the ingroup and some relevant outgroups
negative social identity = identity management srategy

Question 13

What are the three identity management strategies?

Answer 13

Individual mobility
social creativity
social competition

Question 14

What are the three criteria to consider when choosing which identity management strategy to use?
(What factors does the identity management strategy depend on?)

Answer 14

Identity management strategy depends on various socio-structural factors:
Perceived permeability of group boundaries
Perceived legitimacy of intergroup status relation
Perceived stability of the intergroup status relation

Question 15

Which identity management strategy would be used if group boundaries were perceived as permeable?
Why?

Answer 15

If intergroup boundaries were perceived as permeable, identity management strategy of individual mobility would be used as group members are more likely to leave a low status groups to high status group or psychologically disassociate from the group

Question 16

Which identity management strategy would be used if group boundaries were perceived as impermeable and the intergroup status was perceived to be legitimate?

Answer 16

If group boundaries were perceived to be impermeable, the identity management strategy of social creativity would be used
This means that the ingroup would make comparisons about themselves with the outgroup (ingroup with better qualities

Question 17

Which identity strategy would be used if group boundaries were perceived to be impermeable and intergroup relations as illegitimate and unstable?

Answer 17

Social competition

Question 18

Does group membership lead to ingroup favouritism?
Theorists?
When is group favouritism likely to occur? ( what does the individual need to have done)

Answer 18

Tajfel and Turner stated that ingroup favouritism is likely to occur when:
Individuals have internalised their groupmembership a part of their self concept and theirfore identity with their group
The social comparisons

Question 19

Cognitive processes of social identity theory

Answer 19

Social categorisation
Social identification
Emotional investment to a group membership
Social comparison