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the self and social identity - Coggle Diagram
the self and social identity
Humans are social animals, we roll in cliques
the social self:
personality traits
history of things done
unique social relationships
group memberships
social identity theory proposed by Henri Tajfel and John Turner in the 1970s and it posits that individuals derive a portion of their self-concept from their memberships and social groups. the theory seeks to explain the cognitive processes and social conditions underlying intergroup behaviours. Tajfel and Turner 1979 proposed groups people belonged to were important sources of pride and self-esteem.
social identity:
Belonging: being a part of group can install feelings of connection and unity, giving individuals sense they're not alone
Purpose: group affiliations often come with shared goals, provide direction and purpose to members
Self-worth: affiliating with a group can boost self-esteem as individuals derive from group achievements and positive group image.
Identity: Groups provide a framework to understand oneself in the context of a larger community, they can help define who you are based on shared attributes, values or goals.
who we are is dependent on a variety of variables including - experiences - situations - social surroundings - social judgements and norms - personality traits
activating multiple self concepts ie. the good self, the bad self, hoped for self, feared self, ideal self. called the working self-concept any-self concept that is constantly changing
in a group self-study - Henry (1996) students asked to describe themselves, there university subject, a corresponding outgroup. A survey was used for each description (90 traits such as domineering, shrewd) on a scale from 1-7 response times were faster for traits shared by both self and the in-group and slower for unshared traits.
the self and self-esteem: the self is a precious thing, so is out of self-concept . want to know - validity: self-verification Swann (1981) people form self-views so that they can understand and predict the responses of others and know how to act towards them - Consistency: self-confirmation, -Favourability: self-ehnacement (Sedikides and Greg 2008, Swan et al., 1989)
self-ehancement: builds self-esteem, - positive attitude towards the self, also despite contradicting information: self-protective mechanism, - self-affirmation theory (Steele 1989) asserts that the overall goal of the self-system is to protect an image of its self-integrity of its moral and adaptive adequacy.
how to measure self esteem> - like an attitude of course, with explicit measures, and implicit measures
self-esteem: overview by Bosson et al (2000) explicit survey items as in Rosenbergs (1965) self-esteem scale - 'I feel I have a number of good qualities' -'At times I think I am no good at all' Personalised IAT - primes me, it, us, them, compares latencies on me-good trials with those on me-bad trials - troop colour naming taks.
how our brains respond to people who aren't like us: we all contain multiple in-groups and in turn multiple out-groups. implicit association tests, IATs show that more often than not people align very closely with their in-groups over their outgroups. We tend to view in-groups more favourably talking about why our music is better etc. we cooperate with members of our in groups and often root for them no matter what.
social categorisation: the tendency of people to classify themselves and others to various social groups based on attributes like race, gender, nationality or religion. we categorise to understand them more and the social environment. this helps individuals simplify social environment but can lead to stereotyping. We define appropriate behaviour by referencing the norms of groups we belong to.
Social Identification: once individuals categorise themselves, as a member of a particular group they adopt the identity of that group adopting the norms values and behaviours. There will be an emotional significance to identification of a group and self-esteem.
Social Comparison: after categorising and identifying with a group, individuals compare their groups to others. This comparison is often bias in favours of ones own group, leading to in-group favouritism. This is critical to understanding prejudice, once two groups identify themselves as rivals, they are forced to compete in order for the members to maintain their self-esteem. competition and hostility between groups is thus not only a matter of competing for resources like jobs also the result of competing identities.
In-Group and Out-groups: in-group refers to the group with which an individuals identifies while out-group pertains to groups they dont identify with. theory asserts that people have a natural inclination to perceive their in-group in a positive light while being neutral or even negative towards out-groups, this enhancing their self-image.
Positive Distinvtiveness: their desire for positive self-esteem will motivate ones in-group to be perceived positively different or distinct from relevant out-groups. Prejudiced views between cultures may result in racism.
limitations of social identity theories applications to politics: 1) choice in acquiring identities vs assigned identities 2) subjective meaning of identities rather than just boundaries 3) gradual strength of identification rather than just its existence 4) stability of identities over time rather than high fluidity.
the social self: individuals identity that are influenced by their interactions with others and the society they live in, including perceptions, beliefs, behaviours shaped by social norms, roles and relationships. d
structure of the self: - self concept: how individuals perceive themselves
self-esteem: reflects overall evaluation of onesself
self efficiency : the belief in ones ability to achieve goals and achieve specific tasks
self-regulation: involves managing and controlling ones thoughts emotions and behaviours to achieve desired outcomes
Social identity: refers to part of self-concept that is derived from membership in social groups and categorises
self affirmation: this is a psychological process whereby individuals affirm or validate their own values, abilities and identities. it involves reflecting on ones core values and strengths which can help bolster self-esteem and resilience in challenges