Social Identity Theory And How Does It Influence Self Esteem

Social identity theory proposed by Tajfel & Turner (2004) is a theory of group membership and behaviour which has made significant contributions in explaining in-group favouritism, out-group denigration, competition and other interactions of an individual among social groups (Korte, 2007; Brown, 2000; Tajfel & Turner, 2004). Social identity theory can be defined as an individual’s sense of who they are based on the group that they belong to through a process of self-categorisation and depersonalisation (Tajfel & Turner, 2004). In this essay, I will define social identity theory through its three mental processes involved in group evaluation which are: social identification which is a process whereby we are placed into certain

Every public school lunch room is filled with many tables, every day these tables are the perfect place for a student to find where they “belong”. Like Beverly Daniel Tatum states in “Why Are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”, part of the social groups forming in high schools goes to thank adolescents. Tatum writes, “As children enter adolescence, they begin to explore the question of identity, asking ‘Who am I?’ ‘Who can I be?’”(375). At this point in their life everyone begins to see their own interests and hobbies that makes them a little different than others. Because students are starting to realize their differences, in modern day high schools there are many social groups that students can identify with and feel the most comfortable being themselves.

Culture, ethnicity, family, sexuality, and society are all factors that can influence a person’s identity. A combination of all these elements usually result in the successful discovery of self-identity. Preadolescents and adolescents often find themselves in a constant battle attempting to find who they are or who they want to be. Adolescents are faced with questions like, What do you want to be when you grow up? What colleges are you looking into? What are your plans after high school?. In a normal process of growth, teens experiment with new activities in order to find their identity, but this is not the case for every teen. Some adolescents do not go through the normal process of experimentation for various reasons.

The acquiring of this knowledge is what leads to us gaining our identity. Social action theorists suggest that there are three main parts to our identity. The first of these parts is the things that make us individual, such as name, signature and photograph. The second aspect is social identity, which is made up of the personality characteristics that are associated with our role in society. For example, I am seen as an older brother, which society may make me out to be annoying and protective of my younger sibling, but I am also seen as a student, who is perceived to be hard-working and well-behaved. The final part of our identity is the concept of ‘self’, or what we think of ourselves, and how we think we play our respective roles.

Social structure and social interaction are integral in evaluating a person’s identity. Identities are the sets of meanings people hold for themselves that define “what it means” to be who they are as persons, as role occupants and as group members (PJB article) People are generally influenced by the norms and beliefs of society. A person’s identity is formed through a combination of factors derived from social structure (macrosociology) and social interaction (microsociology). The self influences society through the actions

The social identity theory is a theory developed by Henry Tajfel, in which Tajfel believes that who we are socially determines how many positive feelings we have towards ourselves. Basically, if we like where we stand socially, then we will like who we are and display happiness. In this theory, Tajfel labels the “in group” and the “out group” and says that we will always compare our “in group” to another’s “out group.” By comparing these groups, we develop a better personal view on ourselves (King, 2009). A big factor of the social identity theory is that the groups will tend to critique the differences of the groups, and overlook the similarities. A modern day example of the social identity theory would be your everyday high school cheerleaders versus band members. The cheerleaders think of themselves as the queen bees of the school,

The Social Identity Theory was created by Dr. Henri Tajfel, British Social psychologist, and Dr. John Turner, a graduate student of Dr. Tajfel, in 1979. Social identity is defined as an individual’s sense of self in relation to a group (McLeod, 2008). This psychological theory is based on the idea of discrimination between different groups; Dr. Tajfel and Dr. John Turner wanted to understand why and how this intergroup discrimination occurs. The life experiences of the theorists, components of the theory, and possible consequences of the theory contribute to how relatable this theory is to college students.

My first professional job in the field of higher education consisted of working at a Historically Black College University. The institution was rich in culture and heritage but lacked diversity. This university was located in a small rural area where oftentimes the thoughts and ideas of both the students and residents of the town were not inclusive to actions that were deemed abnormal. While serving as an advisor for one of the modeling clubs on campus, I began to build a mentoring relationship with several of the students involved in the club. During that time, I had several conversations with the students, which allowed me to learn about their personal experiences and uniqueness. Because of these conversations, they began to confide in me and seek guidance to personal issues that they were facing.

Who are you? Who am I? These are questions that we all ponder at some point or another in our lives. As human beings we are seemingly inundated with the desire to classify and categorise. We are constantly defining and analysing the differences that we observe in the world, it seems only natural that we would apply this method of classification to our position within our society. More specifically, we want to understand our social identities and this can be achieved by acknowledging which groups we identify most with.

Social Identity Theory states that individuals compartmentalize themselves and others by basis of group membership, and construct social identities to justify interpersonal relationships (Tajfel & Turner, 1979).

The definition of social identity is defined as “the aspect of self, derived from the knowledge of being part of social categories and groups, together with the value and emotional significance attached to those group formations.” (Hurtado 112). The quote states that your social identity is comprised of the groups and individuals that one is personally involved with or associated with. I have always identified as a pretty regular guy socially; I played a lot of sports, worked jobs that were labor intensive and generally filled the stereotypes. I grew up in a small rural town so naturally my friends were the same way. Everyone's dads worked blue collar jobs; firemen, plumbers, construction workers, etc. They were generally well respected, straightforward,

The social identity theory states that one learns their identity through social interactions (Hutchison, 2016). Learning that one is black instead of thinking as they are younger that they may be another race, or no race altogether due to cognitive development at younger ages. People learn their identities through interactions with family, friends, and society. Identify with and differentiate from others. Sense of belonging. Source of prejudice and oppression.

There are a series of important steps in the development of one 's self-concept, self-esteem and social identity. These steps begin from birth and continue into the adult years.

Social identity theory is a process that is responsible for forming a person’s identity with a social group and the different concepts, attitudes, and behaviors that are identified with a group. This theory has three processes, the first one is social categorization which is when a person themselves assigns them to different social categories to help them decide how they should be behaving. The second part is social identity. The social identity theory is where a person’s view of themselves as being a member of a particular category. The last element is social comparison. This is the where individuals compare themselves to other people to boost their

Humans are predominantly social creatures. We form friend groups and families. We join social networks and professional networks. We group into religions, nationalities, and political parties. In extreme cases, we even abuse others (Zimbardo, 1973) and conform to false conclusions (Asch, 1952) in order to maintain group membership. In other words, our group memberships influence our behavior every day—even in ways that we do not perceive consciously (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Haidt, 2003).