social identity theory
Summary
Social identity theory (Tajfel and Turner) says part of your self-concept comes from the groups you belong to, and that people tend to raise self-esteem by favoring their ingroup over outgroups. Testable point: even arbitrary group membership can produce ingroup bias.
Detail
Meaning: Self-concept has a personal identity and a social identity drawn from group memberships. People sort themselves and others into groups (social categorization), identify with their ingroup, and compare it with outgroups. Because a favorable group standing tends to raise self-esteem, people often favor the ingroup. This can lead to stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination against outgroups.
On the MCAT: A typical passage splits participants into groups by a trivial criterion, such as a coin flip or a preference for one painting, then has them divide rewards. Participants tend to give more to their own group. Questions ask you to name the effect (ingroup favoritism or ingroup bias), explain rivalry among teams, fans, or nations, or predict that a threat to the group's status strengthens bias. Related terms are ethnocentrism and basking in reflected glory.
Common confusion: Students blur this with realistic conflict theory, which explains hostility as competition between groups for limited resources. Social identity theory holds that categorization alone can be enough to produce bias, even without competition. Do not mix it with Cooley's looking-glass self, which concerns how imagined judgments by other people shape self-image.
Sources
- Social Psychology
- Psychology
- Introduction to Sociology
Written for the MCAT and checked before it was published. For study reference only. Spotted an error? Let us know.