The Theory of Social Identity: characteristics and postulates

In Social Psychology, Social Identity Theory (SIT) was a fundamental theory for this field of psychology, which served as a precedent for the development of new research and theoretical trends related to group behavior and interpersonal relationships.

Here we will know what this theory consists of and what its most important postulates are.

• Related article: "What is social psychology?"

Origin of the Theory of Social Identity

Henry Tajfel began his work on category perception in the 1950s.. Later, with some collaborators, he developed the experimental paradigm of the minimal group.

This paradigm revealed the effect of mere categorization, that is, of how groups develop behaviors of group discrimination just for the fact of receiving the premise that they belong to "X" group and not to another.

Turner and Brown, in 1978, coined the term Social Identity Theory to refer to the descriptions and ideas that Tajfel had used to explain the results of his research.

Social identity and personal identity

The fundamental idea of ​​Social Identity Theory is that

the belonging of an individual to certain groups or social categories provide important aspects for the individual identity of the subject. That is, our belonging to groups and our relationship with them largely determine who we are individually, that is, they influence our personal identity.

Selfconcept

Tajfel posited that a person's self-concept is largely shaped by their social identity. This is "the knowledge that an individual possesses that he/she belongs to certain social groups together with the emotional significance and value that said membership has for him/her". (Tajfel, 1981).

In his initial formulations, the author stated that a person's social behavior varies along a one-dimensional continuum. delimited by two extremes: the intergroup (when behavior is determined by belonging to different groups or social categories) and the interpersonal (when the behavior is determined by personal relationships with other people and by the personal characteristics of each one).

In the Theory of Social Identity it was also postulated that there is an individual tendency to achieve positive self-esteem. This is satisfied in the intergroup context through the maximization of differences between the ingroup (the own group) and the outgroup (the “other” group) in the facets that reflect positively on the ingroup or that favor.

• You may be interested in: "The 16 types of discrimination (and their causes)"

social comparison

Through the social comparison carried out on different facets, the ingroup will be differentiated from possible outgroups. As a result of this, the principle of accentuation was born, which consists of increasing the intergroup differences, especially in the facets in which the ingroup stands out in a positive way.

Thus, if the group itself bases its comparisons with the outgroup on facets that are valued positively, the perception of superiority will be generated in said comparison. In this way, the person will acquire a positive distinctiveness and consequently a positive social identity will be generated in him (and in the group), in comparison with the outgroup.

If the social comparison causes negative results for the person, they will feel dissatisfaction that will promote the activation of mechanisms to counteract it. In this way, they will develop different forms of intergroup behavior aimed at obtaining a positive social identity.

Strategies to obtain a positive social identity

Tajfel raised two types of strategies to reduce such dissatisfaction and increase positive social identity. Let's see them:

1. Social Mobility

It consists of the person redefining his category membership in order to become a member of the higher status group. Appears when there is a belief that the barriers between social categories are permeable (You can go from one category to another or from a lower status to a higher one).

2. Social change

It is the attempt of people to develop together with their endogroup, strategies to obtain a positive reassessment of it. It appears when impervious intergroup barriers are considered (you cannot go from one category to another).

2.1. social creativity

It is part of the strategy of social change. These are three specific strategies: look for new facets of comparison, redefine the values ​​given to certain facets, and change the outgroup with whom we compare ourselves. It appears when intergroup relationships are subjectively perceived as secure (legitimate and stable).

2.2. social competition

It is another strategy of social change. It is about trying to outdo or surpass the group with the highest status in the dimension that is valued by both (ie, “compete” with him). It appears when the person perceives the comparison between the groups as uncertain.

later theories

Subsequent to the Social Identity Theory, Turner and his collaborators complement his postulates with their identification model (Turner, 1982) and, later, with the Self-Categorization Theory (TAC) (Turner, Hogg, Oaks, Reicher, & Wetherell, 1987).

Bibliographic references:

• Hogg, M.A., and Abrams, D. (1988). Social identification: A social psychology of intergroup relation and group process. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
• Scandroglio, B, López, J. and San Jose, M.C. (2008). The Theory of Social Identity: a critical synthesis of its foundations, evidence and controversies. Psychothema, 20(1), 80-89.