Social Identity Theory
According to social identity theory, people derive part of their identity – their social identity – from the groups to which they belong (e.g., an identity as “student,” “woman,” “left-hander,” or “Barcelona supporter”). Social identities differ in streng
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Social Identity Theory Daan Scheepers and Naomi Ellemers
Contents The Groups in You
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The Principles of Social Identity Theory
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Groups, Just in Their Minds
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From Category to Identity
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When a Social Identity Is Negative
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Applications to Health
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Applications to Organizational Psychology
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Leaders Can Define a Shared Identity
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What Makes for an Attractive Workplace?
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Going the Extra Mile
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Managing Diversity
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Intervening to Improve Intergroup Contact and Collaboration
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Recommended Reading
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Guiding Answers to Questions in This Chapter
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References
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D. Scheepers (*) Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands e-mail: [email protected] N. Ellemers Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
The Groups in You Think for a moment about the different groups you belong to. Which groups come to mind? Maybe a sports team, your gender, the community in which you grew-up, a group of study-friends, an online community where you play games, or the political party you voted for during the last elections. Or maybe you even think about a very abstract category, like left-handers. When reflecting on these groups, what do you think about? And what do you feel? When reflecting on the groups you belong to, you likely discover that you are not only a part of these groups but that these groups are also a part of you. That is, group membership (partly) defines your identity: Groups tell us who we are (and who we are not). Relatedly, groups also partly determine our feelings. We can have a mild, warm feeling when thinking about our fellow group members but can also feel anger when our group is mistreated or guilt when in-group members mistreat others. The thoughts and feelings that arise when you think about the groups you belong to form your social identity. More precisely defined, social identity is “that part of an individual’s self-concept which derives from knowledge of membership in a social group (or groups) together with the value or emotional significance attached to that membership” (Tajfel, 1978, p. 63).
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 K. Sassenberg, M. L. W. Vliek (eds.), Social Psychology in Action, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13788-5_9
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D. Scheepers and N. Ellemers
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Definition Box
Social Identity: “That part of an individual’s self-concept which derives from his knowledge of his membership in a social group (or groups) together with the value or emotional significance attached to that membership” (Tajfel, 1978, p. 63)
The current chapter provides an overview of the main theoretical perspective on social identity, namely, social identity theory (SIT; Tajfel & Turner, 1979). SIT is a rich theoretical perspective integrating group psychology with psychology about the self. The theory also has substantial practical value and has been used to analyze important issues in organizations and society at large and to design interventions. I
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