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Unlock This CourseHave you ever noticed how you're more likely to help someone wearing your school uniform than a stranger from another school? Or how football fans stick together during matches? This is social identity at work - a powerful psychological force that shapes how we see ourselves and others.
Social Identity Theory, developed by Henri Tajfel and John Turner in the 1970s, explains how our membership in groups affects our behaviour, especially when it comes to helping others. It's not just about being nice - it's about understanding who we are through the groups we belong to.
Key Definitions:
1. Social Categorisation: We automatically sort people into groups - age, gender, nationality, hobbies. It's like our brain's filing system.
2. Social Identification: We adopt the identity of groups we belong to. If you're a Manchester United fan, you might say "we won" when they score.
3. Social Comparison: We compare our groups to others, usually favouring our own. This boosts our self-esteem but can create bias.
Social identity doesn't just tell us who we are - it influences who we help. Research consistently shows that people are more likely to help members of their own groups than outsiders. This isn't necessarily about being mean to others; it's about feeling a stronger connection to people who share our identity.
When we identify with a group, we develop what psychologists call "in-group bias." This means we tend to favour people in our group over those in other groups. In terms of prosocial behaviour, this translates to being more helpful, generous and cooperative with people we see as "one of us."
We're most likely to help family members and close friends. These are our strongest in-groups, where identity overlap is highest.
Students help classmates more than students from other schools. Local community members support each other during crises.
During international disasters, countries often prioritise helping nations they feel culturally connected to.
In 1954, Muzafer Sherif conducted a famous study with 11-year-old boys at a summer camp. He divided them into two groups - the "Eagles" and the "Rattlers." Initially, the boys were friendly, but once group identities formed, they became competitive and hostile towards the other group. However, when both groups had to work together to solve camp problems (like fixing the water supply), cooperation and helping behaviour returned. This shows how social identity can both create division and unity, depending on how groups are defined.
Understanding social identity helps explain many everyday helping behaviours. From charity donations to emergency responses, our group memberships influence our prosocial actions in predictable ways.
People donate more money to causes that affect groups they identify with. For example, former students are more likely to donate to their old school and people with family members who have experienced certain illnesses donate more to related medical charities.
Research shows people donate more to local charities than international ones, even when the international need is greater. This reflects stronger identification with local communities.
During natural disasters or emergencies, people often help those they perceive as similar to themselves first. This isn't necessarily conscious discrimination - it's social identity influencing split-second decisions about who needs help.
In emergencies, people quickly identify who belongs to their group and prioritise helping them.
Victims of the same disaster often help each other, forming temporary in-groups based on shared experience.
Neighbours and local community members typically receive help first during crises.
While social identity can promote helping within groups, it can also reduce helping towards out-groups. This creates what researchers call "parochial altruism" - being altruistic towards your own group while being indifferent or even hostile to others.
Studies of football fans show clear in-group/out-group helping patterns. Fans are more likely to help someone wearing their team's colours than someone wearing a rival team's shirt. In one study, researchers found that Liverpool fans were three times more likely to help a fellow Liverpool supporter who had fallen over than someone wearing a Manchester United shirt. However, when the situation was framed as "football fans helping football fans," helping behaviour increased across team boundaries.
The good news is that social identity is flexible. We can expand our sense of "us" to include more people, leading to increased helping behaviour across traditional group boundaries.
When different groups work together towards a common goal, they can form a larger, shared identity. This is why international cooperation often emerges during global crises like pandemics or climate change.
Education about global issues can help people develop a sense of world citizenship, increasing prosocial behaviour towards people from different countries and cultures.
Understanding social identity theory has practical applications for increasing prosocial behaviour in schools, communities and society.
Schools can reduce bullying and increase helping by creating inclusive group identities. House systems, mixed-age groups and collaborative projects help students see beyond traditional cliques and form broader identities.
Community leaders can promote helping behaviour by emphasising shared identities and common goals. Local festivals, community projects and shared challenges help build stronger social bonds.
Researchers Gaertner and Dovidio developed this model to explain how to reduce prejudice and increase helping. They found that when people from different groups work together and develop a shared identity (like "we're all students at this school"), helping behaviour increases dramatically. This has been successfully applied in diverse schools and workplaces to improve cooperation and reduce conflict.
Social identity is a fundamental part of human psychology that significantly influences prosocial behaviour. While it can create in-group favouritism, understanding how it works allows us to harness its power for good. By expanding our social identities and creating inclusive group memberships, we can increase helping behaviour and build more cooperative communities.
Remember, social identity isn't fixed - it's something we can shape and expand. The more we understand about how group membership affects our willingness to help others, the better we can work towards a more prosocial society.