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Strengths and weaknesses of the social identity theory
Strengths and weaknesses of the social identity theory
The negative effects of peer pressure
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If you remember high school as an occasionally awkward series of confrontations between tribes of similar kids, this is a good sign that you went to high school. Most high schools segregate by "type," whether it 's age, class, ethnic background, or volume of face makeup. Some schools are ruled by cliques that are as hardened as castes. Others don 't have the same razor-sharp divisions between nerds, goths, lax bros, and queen bees. Our preference for familiar people and ideas is deep-rooted, as are our anxieties about people who are different and our ambition for status within our community. Smaller schools, smaller classrooms, and forced interactions between students with different backgrounds make us different lowering the chance of cliques …show more content…
The theory proposes that the groups (cliques) which people belonged to were an important source of pride and self-esteem. Groups give us a sense of social identity: a sense of belonging to the social world. In order to increase our self-image we enhance the status of the group to which we belong. Therefore, we divide school into “them” and “us” based through a process of social categorization. This is known as in-group (us) and out-group (them). Social identity theory states that the in-group will discriminate against the out-group to enhance their self-image. The central hypothesis of social identity theory is that group members of an in-group will seek to find the negative aspects of an out-group, thus enhancing their self-image. The theory proposes that stereotyping (i.e. putting people into groups and categories) is based on a normal cognitive process: the tendency to group things together. In doing so we tend to exaggerate the differences between groups and the similarities of things in the same group. By exaggerating the differences between cliques it locks the group behind a fence, making people within the clique less likely to seek out friendship with those outside the group.
When looking at modern or past pop culture, it is common to find in movies depicting high schools to find the existences of cliques and prejudice
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After years of group projects in childcare situations, where the young ones are often taught that being in a group accomplishes more than by yourself. So that by the time you reach high school, the collective cast of mind has only gotten more oppressive. Groupthink is a process of gradualism that seeks to gently merge the followers into a pack with leaders, the hope being that the leaders will pull up those who typically reside on the low end of the motivation and achievement scale. Groupthink also forces all the members to follow the main leader’s opinion and “agreement” so if one member doesn 't go along with this forced "agreement", he or she is usually excoriated by their fellow group thinkers for doing
Identification with a peer group is a critical part of growing up because even though there is a mix between valuable and invaluable points, no one wants to be left with nobody to help them figure out how they fit in the world and get pass tough times. Peer pressure can have positive impacts and not so good but the postive are too valuable to overpass, leaning us over to conclude that classifying with a circle of close friends are a key factor when going into the real
As preteens and teens push for increasing independence from their parents, they tend to turn to their peers for guidance, acceptance, and security. For those who are low in self-esteem and confidence, their safety lies in fitting in and having a place to belong. Most people find a group in which they connect with in a healthy way while others make their way in cliques that give them security but at the price of their own values and individuality. The movie Mean Girls portrays how high school female social cliques operate and the effect they can have on girls. I will argue how if one doesn’t have a strong sense of self-identity, the opinions of others will become their identity.
The social identity theory is a person’s sense of who they are based on their social
If Only related to Identity, Conformity, and Society by showing the way things are by perspective on individuals in a society. The book starts off with Eric, a fourteen year old boy, who has recently made a big move from California to Utah with his parents and younger brother Joel, who is ten. The book starts in October of 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Eric struggles trying to figure out who he is but also has to figure out what is the right thing to do when it comes to protecting someone he loves. Eric still being fairly young has been forced to find himself while hiding Grace, a runaway girl who he just happened to find one night, while at work.
People go through many obstacles when they face their social identity. Some can overcome their differences, but others may not have they change to even face them due to the treatment that they get from society. Social identity is the one of many controversial and complex problems that many individuals deal with. Because, sometimes it used to be misunderstood making reference to racism and/or others complex matters. “On Being a Cripple” and “How It Feels to Be Colored” are two essays in which both characters suffer from some kind of discrimination. Indeed, in “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston and “On Being a Cripple” by Nancy Mairs, each author shows different attitude, endures challenges, and change toward social identity.
The United States as a country has always been an entity unique amongst the world’s myriad of nations: a conglomeration of cultures, ethnic groups and religious backgrounds from around the planet, all fused together to yield something entirely new. Since its very inception, those who dwell within its borders have attempted to ascertain the makeup of the American identity, in order to pin down how exactly one can come to be considered as an American themselves. This is inherently quite a subjective issue, but the conversation primarily boils down to three core factors that make the American people who they are: a dedication to preserving the natural rights of every human being, a belief in the importance of the individual in deciding their own
Social identities and factors and/or experiences that have shaped your worldview. My Ethnic and cultural traditions and values have molded my social identities, in which both my Ethnic and cultural traditions and values and social identities have formed my worldview. According to my social identity wheel: My race is Asian/Pacific Islander and Filipino American. My ethnicity is Filipino. My sexual orientation is heterosexual. My religion is Roman Catholic. My age is of a young adult. I am a female. My national origin is the United States of America. My sense of who I am is based on my ethnic group that I have identified myself to belong in.
What is groupthink? There is a simple definition for it, but is it truly that simple? The term groupthink refers to the inclination of group members to have the same opinions and beliefs; it frequently leads to mistakes. It often occurs without an individual being aware of it. Conflict is considered to be a harmful element when related to groups, but conflict is good when considering groupthink because it helps to eliminate the existence of a groupthink. The explanation sounds simple enough, but it is more complex than the description given.
Some of the strengths of the social identity theory are that; throughout the years it has supported many empirical studies, it has also demonstrated the social categorization in intergroup behaviors, allowed us to differentiate between social and personal identities and has provide explanations for other areas of psychology (conformity). A weaknesses of the Social identity theory is that its application is restricted in the sense that it has very low ecological validity. Another weakness is that SIT favors situational factors rather than dispositional is not supported by evidence. The social Identity theory can be used to how to explain how we form our social and personal identities in the terms of in and out groups. SIT can also be used to explain why there is conflict between humans and different societies.
As an individual stuck amidst a foundation known for its propensity to breed social congruity, college has opened my eyes to numerous distinctive reasons why individuals decide to act in ways they wouldn't regularly act. Since they ordinarily aren't certain of their character, adolescents are more inclined to similarity than others. In the most essential structure, college is tormented with congruity through the generalizations that learners seek after and explore different avenues regarding trying to uncover their personality. There are two sorts of Conformity: the kind that makes you do your errands when your father authorizes you to, and the less than great kind in which you aimlessly take after the thoughts and tenets of an inner circle or gathering, without addressing the negative impacts it has upon yourself and the improvement of whatever remains of public opinion. Conformity is basic in that people strive for a feeling of strength and acknowledgement in their lives. As a result of this need, “we therefore figure out how to fit in with principles of other individuals. What's more the more we see others carrying on in a certain manner or settling on specific choices, the more we feel obliged to stick to this same pattern.” Despite the freedoms we are supposed to have in American society most adolescents find it difficult to have their own identity.
Social identity theory can be applied to many different problems and real life situations. It demonstrates the role of categorization in behaviors, and explores how being part of a group affects social interaction in everyday life.
If you were to walk into a high school lunchroom, what is the first thing you would see? Groups, cliques, friend circles, and separations. Tables split up in detached formations, almost completely unaware of the other surrounding pupils nearby. The most common groups in high school are the populars and the outcasts. The kids who have endless friends, engage in team sports, and meet the ideal teenage standards, against the ones who are quiet, solitary, and unconventional. The ones that are outcasts fall into the second description. They don’t line up with society's norms therefore, they tend to be looked upon as bizarre and atypical. Outsiders are too often misjudged and misunderstood
Groupthink is the psychological phenomenon in which groups working on a task think along the same lines which could have drastic results. It is the result of group polarization where discussions are enhance or exaggerate the initial leanings of the group. Therefore, if a group leans towards risky situation at the beginning of the discussion on average they will move toward an even riskier position. (Marks, 2015). The idea when everyone think the same no one is really thinking. The drastic outcomes result from people trying to avoid conflict with one another, being highly cohesive, and results is questionable decision making (Oliver, 2013). Houghton Mifflin publication of Victims of Groupthink: A Psychological Study of Foreign-Policy Decisions
When Timothy Piazza needed help, his fellow fraternity brothers decided to not risk getting in trouble or disrupting the harmony of the group. Concurrence pressures have come up in studies showing that it helps reinforce and strengthen an individual’s acceptance of the group's decision. Concurrence seeking correlates with concurrence pressures and cohesiveness. Concurrence seeking is a contributing component to cohesiveness because both initiate conformity. It has been found that cohesiveness has an impact on the quality of decision making of a group when the group size is large. Identity theory and social identity theory combined cognitive processes self-verification and depersonalization occur within the individual trying to go along with group norms. Understanding why groupthink may occur and what is the social processes that occur around is needed to know to further study why groupthink goes bad in a group. Groupthink can have a good or bad effect on group depending on the group's decision-making
Social Identity Theory was developed by Tajfel and Turner in 1979. The theory was initially developed to understand the psychological basis of intergroup conflict and discrimination. Tajfel attempted to identify the minimal conditions that would lead members of one group to discriminate in favour of the ingroup to which they belonged and against another outgroup. Intergroup behaviour refers to the way in which people behave towards one another as members of different social groups. (Hogg and Abrams, 1998).