Evaluate Social Identity Theory

1184 Words3 Pages

“Evaluate Social Identity Theory making reference to specific studies”
Social Identity Theory (SIT) (1971), introduced by Henri Tajfel, states that individuals attempt to enhance their self-image by improving their self-esteem, either based on their personal identity or diverse social identities. The theory is based on four concepts including social categorization, social identity, social comparison and positive distinctiveness and has been used to explicate social phenomena such as stereotyping, conformity, in-group favoritism and ethnocentrism. This essay will highlight the strengths and the limitations of the social identity theory in reference to Robber’s Cave Experiment (Sherif 1961) and Tajfel’s Minimal Group Paradigm (1970) and additionally, …show more content…

In this case, the individual may portray in-group favoritism and a pattern of discrimination with the out-group. The next SIT concept is social identification, where we adopt the identity of the group we have categorized ourselves into (our in-group) and adopt some of their values and behaviors. Having a positive social identity enhances our self-esteem and this partially contributes to our personal identity. Furthermore, social comparison is comparing our in-group with an out-group of similar status in order to establish superiority and positive distinctiveness where the in-group is made more socially valued and preferable to the out-group. Discrimination against the out-group enhances self-esteem and a positive social identity is attained through social …show more content…

She carried out focus-group interviews and used her group of friends so personal and upsetting issues could be discussed respectfully and empathetically. She understood that people in Brixton did not believe in the negative representation associated with the town, instead, they found it to be a very nice place to live and praised the people of Brixton. However, the social representation of the people in that town influenced who the girls made friends with, their habits, the relationship with the police as well as job opportunities. The studied explicitly portrayed in-group favoritism since the girls within the town, in-group, thought of it as a good area, while those in the out-group didn’t. Additionally, the study illustrates how positive and negative stereotypes contribute to social identity. Some limitations of the experiment are that the focus-group interviews may not have been absolutely honest since the girls knew each other and were of the same social group. Also, the participants could have depicted the social desirability effect where they could act in a certain way because they knew they were being observed. Similarly, they could have practiced conformity to not seem like an

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