Groups and Social Identity Flashcards
(10 cards)
Introduction - Social Categorisation and Groups
Social categorisation is the cognitive representation of a social group. Have hierarchical relationships.
Individuals assign others to categories on the basis of their prototype. This is the typical features a member of a social category should have. The closer they are, the more prototypical they are.
Smith and Zarante (1992) - You can assign people to categories based on how similar they are to the category exemplar which is people they have encountered before.
Describe the accentuation effect within social categorisation
Used by individuals to distinguish between those who belong and those who do not belong. Tendency to exaggerate similarities and differences between categories.
Tajfel and Wilkes (1963) - Judge length of objects, accurate answers. Next condition, objects presented within circles acting as categories. Answers not accurate. Shows that people have a tendency to exaggerate similarities and diffs between groups.
What are examples to highlight the fluidity of social categorisation?
Doise, Dechamps & Meyer (1978) asked Swiss participants to judge the members of 3 diff social groups by rating them in terms of characteristic traits.
- Condition 1 = Italian Swiss, French Swiss and German Swiss. Groups seen as having diff characteristics from one another and all separate entities.
- Condition 2 = Italian Swiss, French Swiss and Germans. Italian Swiss and French Swiss seen as similar and different. As soon as the Germans entered the context, individuals recategorized groups and seen differences.
Haslam et al. (1992) - asked Australian participants to judge national groups using traits.
- Condition 1, only Americans were judged. Described as being rather aggressive.
- Condition 2 - both Americans and Russians were judged. Shift in perception which depended on the context as Americans described as being very aggressive whereas Russians were described as not being aggressive.
Describe the concept of group identification
Difference between group membership and group identification. Not all groups important.
Feel emotionally connected to a group, consider it an important part of our sense of self. Groups we identify with give us social identity. Allow us to distinguish between us and them.
Low group identification = Perceive other group members as different, no sense of us.
High group identification = Individual feels similar to other group members. Sense of us.
Social psychs believe that it may fulfil a psychological motive.
Describe the psychological group identification motive of self-esteem
Luhtanen and Crocker (1992) - Positively valued ingroup a source of collective self-esteem, positive regard for ingroup as a whole. Higher within collectivist cultures, individuals place emphasis on importance of interconnectedness.
Source of personal self-esteem, positive regard for the individual self. Pursued in individualistic societies where ppl socialised to focus on enhancement of the individual self.
Tajfel and Turner (1986) - Individuals want to be in a group of high status and prestige and to compare the in-group with the outgroup
Describe the psychological group identification motive of distinctiveness
Breakwell (1986) - Humans have a desire to appear unique.
Highlighting the diffs between self and others is an important aspect of self-definition. Allows an indv to know they are are. Need to know how differ from others.
Identifying with group makes an indv feel unique as similar to some ppl and diff to others. Marking the boundaries between ‘us’ and ‘them’.
Many identity markers used to emphasise differences between groups and maintain group distinctiveness.
Describe the psychological group identification motive of the need to belong
Indvs have a need to belong, feel connected, part of something meaningful. Group identity provides a reassuring sense of inclusion. Universal feeling for all humans as without this, existence would feel meaningless.
Knowles and Gardner (2008) - Participants wrote about time of rejection, others wrote about acceptance. They rated the perceived cohesiveness and importance of groups. Those who thought about rejection saw groups as more cohesive and united than those who thought about acceptance. People are primed with social rejection in order to be part of a meaningful group.
Describe the psychological group identification motive of the need for self-continuity
The self is experienced as a continuous entity. We have a notion of who we are right now and who we are going to become. Having a sense of this is good for having stable MH.
Chandler et al. (2003) - Adolescents who have a marked inner sense of personal continuity have higher levels of wellbeing than those who feel more discontinuous.
Reicher and Hopkins (2000) - Social identity is a powerful source of continuity as it links a person to groups that extend through time.
Interconnected to symbolic immortality
Describe the psychological group identification motive of the motive to achieve symbolic immortality
Symbolic immortality is a form of immortality based on the symbolic continuation of the self across time. Groups can be seen as persistent entities through time and so may allow members to satisfy a need for symbolic immortality.
Through group identification, indvs may become parts of entities seen to be immune to the corrosion of time. Protecting themselves from the terror from the fear of death.
Sani et al. (2009)
- Spanish Students
- One condition - Made mortality salient in the mind, describe what happens when you die. Should have higher group identification.
- Control - Describe what will happen when take an exam. Exams raise anxiety
- Then did a task to forget about above.
- Found that those in the mortality salient condition strongly identified with a group as they used it as a form of defence.
Interconnected to self-continuity
Describe the psychological group identification motive of uncertainty reduction
Individuals have low tolerance for uncertainty about social reality and so group membership is an effective way to get rid of it.
Groups which have high entitativity are better suited for uncertainty reduction as provide clear norms and unambiguous social identities.
Do this by
- Describing who we are and how we should behave
- Provide consensual validation for our perceptions and feelings.
