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Prejudice: Social Identity Theory (Social Identity Theory (Tajfel and…
Prejudice: Social Identity Theory
Prejudice
Negative attitude
held towards a particular group of people
Social Identity Theory
Tajfel and Turner suggested
people have an inbuilt tendency to categorise themselves
into one or more
in-groups
, building their identity based on their membership with that group
Categorisation
The way in which we put ourselves into categories
We
label each other
based on interest, ethnicity, gender and other factors
Not always negative
, different to stereotyping
Identification
Your
collective identity becomes your in-group
, boosts self-esteem and creates a sense of belonging
The
out-groups pose as a threat
to your in-group
In-group favouritism and negative out-group bias
Comparison
People
compare themselves
and their groups with other groups
We often
put other groups down in order to feel better about our own
Individuals
strive to improve their self-image by trying to enhance their self-esteem
, based on either personal identity or various social identities
Group bias arose from personal interests of group members or from conflict
The
minimal condition needed for group favouritism is categorisation into a group
Evaluation
Strengths
Explains social phenomena, and provides at least a partial explanation for the tendency for
people to discriminate in favour of people from their own country against those from other countries
Evidence from Tajfel's
minimal group studies that
being part of a group is enough to lead to prejudice
against those not in the same group
Can be
applied to social and cultural situations
(e.g Lalonde found a hockey team who knew another jacket team was doing better didin't admit they were better, but said they used 'dirtier' tactics = in-group favouritism)
Weaknesses
Not all cultures show equal bias towards in-groups
Doesn't explain individual differences in prejudice
, and by looking closer at the minimal groups studies it shows wide variations in the degree to which people discriminate against the out-group
Stereotype
Pre-conceived idea
about a group of people with
little or no evidence
Discrimination
Behaving unfavourably
towards a group of people due to their
group membership due to prejudice