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Strengths and weaknesses of social identity theory
Strengths and weaknesses of social identity theory
Strengths and weaknesses of social identity theory
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As derived from social identity theory (SIT), secondhand embarrassment theory studies the effect a person’s social identity has on the level of secondhand embarrassment they experience, as a result of viewing a social media post. Social identity theory suggests that people are aware of their social groups and that these groups are important to how one thinks or feels about themselves as individuals (Tajfel & Turner, 197494). SIT also discusses that once people associate themselves with a group, they will strictly refer to their group as “us” and the other group as “they”. This will encourage individuals to act differently towards those not a part of their group (Kruglanski, Higgins, & Van Lange, 2012).
SIT focuses more on the categorization of individuals into groups. Secondhand embarrassment theory only barrows some ideas from SIT, like the idea that the level of social identity a person has with a group will affect their behavior towards them. Social identity theory only covers face-to-face interactions, but our theory introduces communication through a different channel, in...
The strict guidelines for women’s behavior in twentieth century Puerto Rico determined how they both acted outwardly as well as how they perceived themselves intrinsically. Within Julia de Burgos’ poem “A Julia de Burgos” and Rosario Ferré’s When Women Love Men, there is a somewhat psychological study of the dichotomy between a woman’s true identity and expected behavior. By creatively challenging the expectations placed before women, allowing for identities influenced by what was perceived to be the “other” side, and employing mirror like voices, both authors stress the importance in the ability to mold a true concept of self.
The development and performance of identity has intrigued researchers from all disciplines. The Self and being have been conceptualized and investigated from varying points of view. Goffman and Butler have created frames through which performance of the self can be comprehended. (Goffman, 1959) brings forth the frame of “impression management” and Butler discusses “performative identity” (Butler, 1990). Impression management explains how people alter their presentation of the self to fit social contexts and mentions how social interactions can reshape an individuals sense of identity. Whereas performative identity claims that one’s identity is constructed discursively and that individuals perform according to
Identity is very important in a person’s life. It can induce pride or shame, provide a community or provide a way to distinguish one’s self from others. But, where does this identity come from? It is easy to assume we are who we are because of who raised us, but this is not the entire case. Andrew Solomon, author of “Far from the Tree” introduced two different forms of identity, vertical and horizontal. He defines vertical identity as the attributes acquired and shared by the people we are raised by and horizontal identity as the attributes different from those who raised us, but are shared and acquired through a peer community. These two types of identities generally do not intersect and, depending on the circumstance, one can greatly impact
Here, the term ‘identity’ refers to the individual personality (behavioural and characteristic) of a person. It is what differentiates us from each other. The way we think about ourselves and the way we are viewed by others are things that shape our identities. Social constructionists believe that humans form identities through experiences, language (discourse) and learning and are particularly interested in the ways in which people behave in social settings. This use of language can be a great analytic tool and can give better understanding and meaning to more general behaviour through, for the most part, subjectivity and insider viewpoints. In contrast, SIT is interested in minimal groups and uses an outsider viewpoint. Both constructionism and SIT do, however, focus on individuals albeit in different context.
People go through many obstacles when they face their social identity. Some can overcome their differences, but others may not have they change to even face them due to the treatment that they get from society. Social identity is the one of many controversial and complex problems that many individuals deal with. Because, sometimes it used to be misunderstood making reference to racism and/or others complex matters. “On Being a Cripple” and “How It Feels to Be Colored” are two essays in which both characters suffer from some kind of discrimination. Indeed, in “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston and “On Being a Cripple” by Nancy Mairs, each author shows different attitude, endures challenges, and change toward social identity.
The second portion of social identity theory is the self-categorization theory, which is a subset theory that examines the individual through self-categorization or identification (Stets
Think about your daily life. What does your schedule look like? Where do you go? What do you do? Most importantly, who are you with? No matter what you are doing or where you are going, I am sure you aren’t doing it alone; if you are alone, you are more than likely on your way to meet up with others. This is simply because we are social creatures; The human species as a whole was made to interact with each other; we weren’t meant to do life alone. We tend to seek out a group of other individuals who share similar beliefs, ideas, and interests; we look for the “me too” from others. This is what Tajfel and Turner (1979) defined as the Social Identity Theory.
Steele, C., Spencer, S. J., & Aronson, J. (2002). Contending with group image: The psychology of stereotype and social identity threat. (In M. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 34, pp. 379-440. New York, NY: Academic Press.
Social identities and factors and/or experiences that have shaped your worldview. My Ethnic and cultural traditions and values have molded my social identities, in which both my Ethnic and cultural traditions and values and social identities have formed my worldview. According to my social identity wheel: My race is Asian/Pacific Islander and Filipino American. My ethnicity is Filipino. My sexual orientation is heterosexual. My religion is Roman Catholic. My age is of a young adult. I am a female. My national origin is the United States of America. My sense of who I am is based on my ethnic group that I have identified myself to belong in.
The Social Identity theory (SIT) was proposed by Henry Tajfel. It was then later developed by Tajfel and Turner in 1971 to help them understand inter group relations. The Social Identity theory assumes that individuals strive to improve their self-image by trying to enhance their self-esteem, through social (in and out groups) and personal identities. There are 4 main concepts within the social identity theory all of which will be discussed in the essay.
Social identity theory can be applied to many different problems and real life situations. It demonstrates the role of categorization in behaviors, and explores how being part of a group affects social interaction in everyday life.
Social institutions, like educational and religious groups, enhance rule obedience and contribute to the formation of identity and sense of belonging to certain groups. People possess a set of beliefs that condition their everyday behavior, like one can think that education is the most important four our future, while other people might believe that staying at home and raising their children is their reality. However, our beliefs are influenced by the groups that we interact. For instance, if we join a feminist movement, we might start reflecting a positive attitude towards gender equality. This illustrates how our social interaction can influence or beliefs related to race, and gender. Similarly, religious institutions and
Burke, P.J. & Stets, J.E. (2000). Identity Theory and Social Identity Theory. Social Psychology Quarterly 63(3), 224-237
Social identity theory is based on four interrelated concepts: social categorization, social identification, social comparison and positive distinctiveness. Social categorization is tendency to divide and therefore categorise individuals into in-groups (individual belongs) and out-groups (individual does not belong); it groups different social circles based on the members’ stereotypical culture and behaviour. This often leads to category accentuation effect, which is exaggerating of intergroup differences and intragroup similarities; individual underestimate perceived variability within groups but overestimate variability between groups. Social identification is way of identifying individual with a particular social group based on their in-group norms and by doing so, may adopt some of the values and behaviours of that particular group. Social comparison and positive distinctiveness is when social identity contributes to our self-image so we seek positive social identities to maintain and enhance self-esteem. We compare in-group with out-group and also discriminate the out-group to establish the superiority of in-group, enhance their self-image...
She proposed that “individuals avoid self-construals that are either too personalized or too inclusive and instead define themselves in terms of distinctive category memberships.” In her studies, she posited that “social identity derives from a fundamental tension between human need for validation and similarity to others and a countervailing need for uniqueness and individuation.” (Brewer, 1991). Executed on the UCLA campus, she termed that “Group identities allow us to be the same and different at the same time”. Her studies applied more to group think instead of individualism and collectivism research but it still had implications that people will seek for balance and try not to be too independent, although they are in an independent