social identity theory Flashcards
(14 cards)
who created this theory
tajfel and turner
what is SIT
our self concept is made up of many social identities that are linked to the social groups we belong to
humans have a strong desire to belong and we get self esteem from group membership
much of our behaviour is driven by the desire to maintain being a part of the group
define in group
group we belong to
define out group
everyone else
what are the 3 steps to SIT
social categorisation
social identification
social comparisons
elaborate on social categorisation
the separation of individuals into in groups and our groups
we have little control over this sorting process
the existence of an out group can bring prejudice and discrimination
elaborate on social identification
adopting the behaviours of the in group
this could be internal (personality/beliefs) or external (clothing/appearance)
this boosts self esteem as you are in a desirable group
elaborate on social comparisons
in group favouritism and out group negative bias
in group is seen in an overly positive light (any success would be due to hard work and natural talent)
the out group is seen negatively despite their successes (any success would be due to cheating or luck)
what did wetherall find
replicated tajfel’s experiment using 8yr old school kids in new zealand
found that indigenous polynesian kids were significantly more generous tin their allocation of points to the our groups than their white new zealand class mates
how does wetheralls findings criticise SIT
it shows research evidence that SIT may only explain intergroup behaviours in western individualistic cultures
what is another weakness of SIT
there are gaps in the theory, like why some people cling to their social identity for their self esteem more than others
adornos authoritarian personality theory may explain it better
what study gives a strength for SIT
jane elliots study
describe jane elliots study
she divided her class according to eye colour and blue eyed people were told they were better, faster and had more desirable traits than brown eyed people at the start of the week
she reinforced this in lessons by saying that the success of a blue eyed person was because they were blue eyed and when the brown eyed people failed at something, it was because they were brown eyed
later in the week she switched the roles so brown eyed people were better, faster and had more desirable traits
found that the dominant group performed better academically, were more attentive and demonstrated discrimination to the inferior group
what are the applications for SIT
religion sometimes gives people a sense of self worth but it can also create a very powerful sense of self identity and lead to some of the worst discrimination
encouraging people to see themselves as part of a larger social identity can combat out group discrimination
some people think that teaching ‘britishness’ in schools may reduce conflict between groups as they will all see themselves as british citizens
however this could backfire if it leads to more conflict with those seen as ‘un-british’
