3. 3
Identity list
• Number the lines on a sheet of paper from 1-15. On
each line, complete the statement “I am…” with
whatever aspects of yourself comes to mind. Answer
as if you were talking to yourself, not to somebody
else. Write the answers in the order they occur to
you.
• No one is going to see this list but you, so be honest
about what comes to your mind.
4. 4
Status – position we occupy
• Assigned: given at birth
• Achieved: attained through individual effort
Look again at your identity list:
• Place a 1 after an assigned status
• Place a 2 after an achieved status
5. 5
Collectivistic – descriptions that refer to the
self in relation to others:
• Roles (student, boyfriend)
• Membership in groups (Smith family member,
UNM student)
• Social identities based on ethnicity, race, sex
COLLECTIVISTIC VS INDIVIDUALISTIC
7. 7
Read each of your statements and classify
them into either a collective or an individualist
quality category.
• C = collectivistic
• I = individualistic
8.
9. IDENTITY
Identity refers to our internalized, stable sense
of who we are, including role identities, social
categories, and personal characteristics
10. Social Identity
• What is a social identity?
– The part of a person’s self-concept that derives
from membership in groups that are important to
the person.
– “ Individual’s knowledge that he belongs to certain
social groups together with some emotional and
value significance to him of this group
membership” (Tejfel, 1972 p. 292).
11. Social Identity
• There is a social identity for every major social role-
set in a society.
– social identities:
• 1. family identities
• 2. religious identities
• 3. gender identities
• 4. ethnic identities
• 5. occupational identities
• 6. nationality
12. Social Identity, continued
• Categorization: We often put others (and
ourselves) into categories. Labeling
someone a Muslim, a Turk, or a soccer
player are ways of saying other things about
these people.
• Identification: We also associate with
certain groups (our in-groups), which serves
to bolster our self-esteem.
13. Social Identity, continued
• Comparison: We compare our groups
with other groups, seeing a favorable
bias toward the group to which we
belong.
• Psychological Distinctiveness: We
desire our identity to be both distinct
from and positively compared with
other groups.
14. Functions of Social Identity
• Turner’s Social Identity Theory.
• (Self-esteem and self-enhancement motive)
– When we are unable to build high self-esteem
from our own achievements, we can use the
group achievements instead.
– I.e. people want to belong to “positive” groups
15. Functions of Social Identity
• Uncertainty-Reduction Theory (Abrams &
Hogg)
• Uncertainty-reduction motive.
– We join groups to achieve the feeling of certainty
(Who am I?).
– More uncertainty – more distinctive groups
(extremist)
