SELF IDENTITY THEORY
Social identity is the judgement of the person about himself based on the group the person belongs to.
Groups play a very vital role in giving a social identity to a person, in giving him a sense of belonging in the social world. The theory states that in order to increase our self-worth and image we try to increase the image of the group to which we belong. Self-image can also be increased by finding out the negatives of the other group which we don’t belong to and thinking of ourselves as superior to them. These are called in and out groups. The out-group is distinguished from the in-group to increase their self-worth and self-image. The in-group focuses on finding the negative aspects of the other group ignoring their
…show more content…
These are as follows:
Social categorization, social identification and social comparison
Individuals are sorted on the basis social categories like students, working class, Indian, African and many more. Behaviour is defined according to the group the person belongs to.
Then in the stage of social identification we identity the group we belong to and the values of the group and then starts to behave in the manner that group behaves. You will connect emotionally with that group and it will also define your self-esteem.
The last stage is the social comparison. After the individuals have categorised them as to which group they belong to and the social identity of that group they starts to compare their group with the other group. Both the in-group and out-group then fight to maintain their self-esteem and self-image.
The conclusion is that you should know that the group you identify with is the in-group and the group with which you discriminate is the
…show more content…
This motivates the employee to perform even better next time as his effort gets noticed. It also encourages active participation from the employee whenever the employer asks for it.
SOCIAL EXCHANGE THEORY
This theory postulates that the relationships we make and maintain are the ones which maximise our benefits and minimizes our cost. The relationship which require minimum effort and gives the maximum benefit are to ones we value the most and maintains it for a long time. But, when the cost or risk outweighs the benefits derived, people end or discontinue the relationship.
There are two types of relationships, positive and negative relationship. The relationship in which benefit derived is more than the cost involved is called positive relationship and the relationship in which cost outweighs the benefits is known as negative relationship.
People calculate the worth of the relationship by deducting cost from the benefits derived.
REFERENT COGNITIONS
Much of the research on false consensus has demonstrated that people tend to over project how many members of their in-group are likely to share their attitudes and behaviors. This effect diminishes when comparing to an out-group. It is thought that this occurs because people feel that people who they do not consider to share a group identity with will likely have different basic attitudes and behaviors than they.
Our behavior is an obvious effect of how groups affect us. Social facilitation for example occurs when an indivisual changes their performance because others are around (Cacioppo & Freberg, 2014). When Dap and Half-Pint where in the library, Half- Pint acted in a calm relatable matter, yet around the Gamma recruits he conformed to the dumb things they did. Social loafing also affects people within a group. Social loafing is the reduced motivation and effort shown by individuals working in a group as opposed to working alone (Cacioppo & Freberg, 2014). An example of social loafing would be when Dap’s group decided to march in the parade, the people supporting him wouldn’t need to apply as much effort to protest together than they would alone. School Daze also conveys the message of being lost in the crowd, which is Deindividuation. Deindividuation is the lost of personal identity within the crowd (Cacioppo & Freberg, 2014). Sororities and fraternities have the idea that all members are one. Last, but not least a group can affect one’s attitude, or the way you feel about something. The common attitudes of the sororities and fraternities lead to prejudice. Prejudice is a prejudgment, usually negative, of another person on the basis of his or her membership in a group. In School Daze, Rachael and Jane had a rivalry because they had two different points of view on hair, causing the entire group to dislike each other because they were apart of a separate group. As the saying goes, you are the company you
The identity theory of mind holds that states and processes of the mind are identical to states and processes of the brain thus particular psychological states are identical with particular type of physical state. Many objections have been lay out by philosophers who have evaluated this theory one objection that is particularly strong is the Martian and octopus criticism which state that if identity theory is true, than these species should not feel pain, but if they do feel pain than identity theory is not true.
Social identities are identities we have as an individual and connect us to be a part of a larger group. These identities can be race, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, religious/spiritual affiliation, national origin, first language or physical/ emotional/ developmental ability, to name a few. Social identities work to define each and every person in the way they identify themselves and how we describe ourselves to others. While there are many different identifiers I will only be mentioning a few as the identities I think about most frequently, identities I think about least frequently, my identities I want to learn more about, and the identities I most strongly identify with are examine.
The second portion of social identity theory is the self-categorization theory, which is a subset theory that examines the individual through self-categorization or identification (Stets
... M. & Terry, D. (2000). Social identity and self-categorization processes in organizational contexts. Academy of Management Review, 25, 121-140.
Steele, C., Spencer, S. J., & Aronson, J. (2002). Contending with group image: The psychology of stereotype and social identity threat. (In M. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 34, pp. 379-440. New York, NY: Academic Press.
The first characteristic of stereotyping is over-generalisation. A number of studies conducted found that different combinations of traits were associated with groups of different ethnic and national origin (Katz and Braly, 1933). However, stereotyping does not imply that all members of a group are judged in these ways, just that a typical member of a group can be categorised in such judgements, that they possess the characteristics of the group. Still, when we talk of a group, we do so by imagining a member of that group.
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
Social identification is when we adapt to an identity from a group we feel we belong to. This may mean we adopt some of the values and behaviors of that group. Individual identities come from group membership. Usually this social identity improves self-esteem.
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.
The desire to be accepted and belong to a group is an undeniable human need. But how does this need affect an individual? Social psychologists have conducted numerous experiments and concluded that, through various forms of social influence, groups can change their members’ thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
Being able to identify with a certain group has been an issue that individuals hesitate with daily. Am I Black, are you a girl, what religion do you practice? These are all common questions that society has forced individuals to concentrate on. Should an individual have to pick a side or is it relevant to the human race to identify with any group? One may believe not, but for others having and knowing one’s own identity is important, because it is something that they have been developing their entire life. Along with how their identity influenced their life chances and their self-esteem. This can also affect how society interact with whatever identity an individual chooses to live. Which is why it was important to recognize how identifying
It is human nature for us to have a strong sense of belonging to a group. Humans get to experience a deeper commitment to a group when they make decisions and actions. This sense of ...