Social Identity Theory

A social group to which we belong and with which we identify ourselves . . .

• salient

• Out-group

• Minimal group paradigm

• In-group

"The tendency to attribute more positive characteristics to members of our in-groups than to those of out-groups to which we do not belong."

• Out-group homogeneity

• Minimal group paradigm

• In-group favoritism

• Flashbulb memories

The first stage in Social Identity Theory

• Social Comparison

• Social Identification

• Social Categorization

• Social Studies

An experimental procedure that involves creating groups based on arbitrary criteria, so that the groups have only that factor in common (usually for the purpose of seeing whether participants' identification with such a random group will affect their behavior)

• In-group

• Minimal group paradigm

• Social Cognitive Theory

• social schemas

A social group to which an individual does not belong, nor identify with

• In-group

• Social Categorization

• salient

• Out-group

The tendency for an in-group member to perceive members of any out-group as similar or identical to each other

• self-esteem hypothesis

• Out-group homogeneity

• Minimal group paradigm

• In-group favoritism (or heterogeneity)

How you feel about yourself

• Self esteem

• Social comparison

• In-group

• Positive distinctiveness

"What is most important or noticeable, in a given situation."

• In-group

• Social categorization

• Salient

• Self-esteem

Social Identity Theory (developed by Henri Tajfel and John Turner) argues . . .

• people are motivated to reduce the discomfort caused by the inconsistency between what they say they value and what they actually do

• schemas exist to organize information about the world, and to help us make generalizations to more quickly understand the information we are constantly processing

• a person has not just one self, but also several social selves (through group membership)

• behavior is modeled by others in a group or family, and acquired through observation or imitation based on what we think will be the consequences of a behavior