Social identity and group identification
Prejudice and social cognition
Hey all,
Welcome to Human Nature, the illustrated psychology newsletter.
Last time, we talked about social psychology’s first answers to prejudice and the minimal conditions under which ingroup favouritism and outgroup derogation can occur. This week, we will further explore this topic by diving into the reasons behind these attitudes.
Today’s topic is social identity and group identification.
Social identity and group identification
What it is: Social identity refers to the component of our self-concept that is comprised of our group memberships and the emotions and values we attach to them.
Group identification describes the degree to which we relate to and are invested in the groups we are part of.
How it was discovered: Social identity theory was developed by Tajfel and Turner in 1978 as an explanation to the psychology of groups at the level of the individual. Social identities correspond to our group memberships (women, football fans, Dominicans, queer people, etc.) and are an important part of how we define ourselves. Tajfel and Turner argued that the emotions and values attached to our social identities can explain the way we behave in intergroup contexts.
More recently, neuroscience studies lent support to the social identity theory by measuring people’s brain activity while group membership was activated. In one study, researchers repeated Tajfel’s minimal group paradigm and assigned participants to bogus groups, then asked them to allocate rewards between an ingroup and an outgroup (Volz, Kessler & Von Cramon, 2009). While doing so, they measured participants’ activation of the medial prefrontal cortex (MPC), the part of the brain related to the self-concept. They found that participants who allocated rewards fairly between the ingroup and the outgroup showed no activation of the MPC, while those who opted for a more discriminatory strategy showed greater activation. These findings supported the theory that when group membership forms part of our self-concept, it can affect the way we behave towards our own group and other groups.
It is clear from the above study that there are individual differences in the level of identification different people have with their groups. Our degree of group identification can also depend on the context. For instance, people who don’t otherwise identify strongly with their country can become more nationalistic during world sporting events where their country is competing.
Why it happens: Our level of group identification is related to our motivations, which are linked to various psychological needs (Vignoles, 2011). For example, we are motivated to see ourselves in a positive light and feel distinguished from other people. Not only that, but we also like to think that our identities are more or less constant over our lifetimes. Furthermore, we are motivated to believe that our lives are meaningful and that we can make a difference to our environments. Finally, we want to feel included and accepted in social contexts. Taken all together, these identity motives influence the degree to which we identify with the groups of which we are members.
Thank you for reading, see you next time.
Sources:
The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behaviour (Tajfel & Turner, 1978).
It seems as if no matter how much progress is made on the path towards equality and tolerance, prejudice and discrimination stubbornly persist all across the world. However, in order to combat prejudice, we must first understand how it works. In this series of Human Nature, we explore the mechanisms behind prejudiced thinking and behaviour through the lens of social psychology.