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Unlock This CourseSocial Identity Theory (SIT) was developed by Henri Tajfel and John Turner in the 1970s. It explains how we see ourselves in relation to the groups we belong to and how this affects our behaviour towards others. The theory suggests that our identity isn't just about who we are as individuals, but also about which groups we're part of.
This theory is particularly important for understanding prosocial behaviour - actions that benefit others or society. It helps explain why we're more likely to help people who are similar to us or belong to our groups.
Key Definitions:
Social Categorisation: We put ourselves and others into groups (e.g., students vs teachers, football fans vs rivals).
Social Identification: We adopt the identity of groups we belong to and act according to group norms.
Social Comparison: We compare our groups with others to maintain positive self-esteem.
The distinction between ingroups and outgroups is central to Social Identity Theory. These categories shape how we think, feel and behave towards different people.
An ingroup is any group you feel you belong to. This could be your family, school, sports team, nationality, or even fans of the same music. The key is that you identify with the group and feel a sense of belonging.
Your immediate and extended family members form one of your strongest ingroups.
Your school, class, or year group creates a sense of shared identity and belonging.
Supporting the same football team creates strong ingroup bonds with fellow fans.
Muzafer Sherif's famous 1954 study took 22 boys to a summer camp and divided them into two groups: the Eagles and the Rattlers. Initially, the boys got along well, but once group identities formed, they showed strong ingroup loyalty and outgroup hostility. This demonstrated how quickly and easily ingroup/outgroup divisions can form, even among similar people.
Social Identity Theory explains why we're more likely to help members of our own groups compared to outsiders. This happens through several psychological processes:
We naturally favour members of our own groups. This means we're more likely to help them, give them the benefit of the doubt and see them in a positive light. This isn't necessarily because we dislike outgroups, but because we have a special connection to our ingroups.
At School: You're more likely to help a classmate with homework than someone from another school.
In Sports: Fans will support their team's players even when they make mistakes.
Nationality: People often feel more sympathy for disaster victims from their own country.
Understanding why we form these group attachments helps explain prosocial behaviour patterns. Several key psychological processes are at work:
We want to feel good about ourselves and one way to do this is by belonging to groups we can be proud of. When our group does well or helps others, we feel better about ourselves too.
When our group succeeds, we feel personally successful too.
Helping ingroup members makes us feel like good group members.
Strong, helpful groups make us feel more secure and confident.
After natural disasters, people often donate more money to help victims from their own country or region compared to international disasters. For example, British people typically donate more to flood victims in the UK than to earthquake victims in distant countries, even when the international need might be greater. This demonstrates ingroup favouritism in prosocial behaviour.
Not all group boundaries are fixed. Several factors can influence how we define our ingroups and outgroups:
The context can change which group identity becomes most important. For example, during international competitions, national identity might become more important than local team loyalty.
Local Level: Manchester United vs Manchester City fans are rivals.
National Level: Both groups become "English football fans" when playing against foreign teams.
International Level: All become "European football fans" in global competitions.
While Social Identity Theory explains many aspects of group behaviour, it has some limitations:
The theory might oversimplify complex social relationships. People can belong to multiple groups simultaneously and these identities can conflict with each other.
People juggle many group memberships at once, which can create conflicts.
Not everyone shows the same level of ingroup favouritism or outgroup bias.
The theory was developed in Western cultures and might not apply universally.
Social Identity Theory is highly relevant in today's digital world. Online communities, social media groups and gaming teams create new forms of ingroups and outgroups. People often show strong loyalty to their online communities and may be more willing to help fellow members of these digital groups. However, this can also lead to online harassment of outgroup members, demonstrating both positive and negative aspects of group identity.
Understanding Social Identity Theory has practical applications for promoting prosocial behaviour:
By understanding how group identity affects helping, we can design interventions to promote more prosocial behaviour across group boundaries.
Superordinate Goals: Creating shared goals that require cooperation between groups.
Contact Hypothesis: Increasing positive contact between different groups.
Recategorisation: Helping people see others as part of a larger, shared ingroup.