Critically Evaluate Social Identity Theory
Lauren Thom, 3215788.
Psyc 315: Social Psychology
2,046 words.
Critically evaluate Social Identity Theory.
Who are you? Who am I? These are questions that we all ponder at some point or another in our lives. As human beings we are seemingly inundated with the desire to classify and categorise. We are constantly defining and analysing the differences that we observe in the world, it seems only natural that we would apply this method of classification to our position within our society. More specifically, we want to understand our social identities and this can be achieved by acknowledging which groups we identify most with.
Tajfel and Turner (1986) define this phenomenon of classification within a social context as the Social Identity Theory and it is comprised of three main parts.
Zerubevel (as cited in Jenkins, 2004) states that one of the first things we do when we meet someone for the first time is try to categorise them as belonging to a certain group and to find a place for them in our “mindscapes”. We do this by assessing the information they present to us in terms of the type of clothes they wear or the type of language they use. We try to asses a person based on many variables that we observe during our interactions with them. We are essentially evaluating everybody that we come into contact with either consciously placing them at a certain location within our mindscape or picking up on subjective eccentricities that we notice in our day to day interactions.
It is in this regard that we are all trying to project an image of ourselves so that others may identify us as belonging to a certain group. Of course, one can be mistaken in their assessment of our character; human beings are not infallible after all. But we are able to make it easier for others to identify which social group we belong to by projecting certain aspects of ourselves in a clear and easily definable way. For example, one who identifies with the Muslim religion may
Psyc 315: Social Psychology
2,046 words.
Critically evaluate Social Identity Theory.
Who are you? Who am I? These are questions that we all ponder at some point or another in our lives. As human beings we are seemingly inundated with the desire to classify and categorise. We are constantly defining and analysing the differences that we observe in the world, it seems only natural that we would apply this method of classification to our position within our society. More specifically, we want to understand our social identities and this can be achieved by acknowledging which groups we identify most with.
Tajfel and Turner (1986) define this phenomenon of classification within a social context as the Social Identity Theory and it is comprised of three main parts.
Zerubevel (as cited in Jenkins, 2004) states that one of the first things we do when we meet someone for the first time is try to categorise them as belonging to a certain group and to find a place for them in our “mindscapes”. We do this by assessing the information they present to us in terms of the type of clothes they wear or the type of language they use. We try to asses a person based on many variables that we observe during our interactions with them. We are essentially evaluating everybody that we come into contact with either consciously placing them at a certain location within our mindscape or picking up on subjective eccentricities that we notice in our day to day interactions.
It is in this regard that we are all trying to project an image of ourselves so that others may identify us as belonging to a certain group. Of course, one can be mistaken in their assessment of our character; human beings are not infallible after all. But we are able to make it easier for others to identify which social group we belong to by projecting certain aspects of ourselves in a clear and easily definable way. For example, one who identifies with the Muslim religion may
References: Jenkins, R., (2006). Social Identity. New York: Routledge Sherif, M., White, B. J., & Harvey, O.J. (1955). Status in experimentally produced groups. American Journal of Sociology. 60, S. 370 – 379. Tajfel, H. (1970). Experiments in intergroup discrimination. Scientific American, 223, 96-102. Turner, J. C. and Tajfel, H., (1986). The social identity theory of inter-group behavior. In S. Worchel and L. W. Austin (eds.), Psychology of Intergroup Relations. Chigago: Nelson-Hall.