2.3.9—Social identity theory
- Syllabus
- First assessment 2027
- Objective
- 2.3.9
- Level
- HL
Social identity turns group membership into an ‘us’ and ‘them’ lens
Social identity theory explains part of the self-concept through group memberships. People categorise social worlds, identify with some groups and compare groups, which can produce a desire for positive distinctiveness.
Ingroup preference can appear even when groups are created with minimal information, because the category itself supplies an us–them comparison. The effect is shaped by context and does not remove personal agency or other identities.
In Tajfel's minimal-groups paradigm, boys allocated to supposedly different art-preference groups distributed rewards more favourably to the ingroup, despite not meeting its members. The task shows a mechanism, not all real group conflict.
Categorisation is not the same as prejudice, and ingroup preference is not inevitable discrimination. Identify the category, comparison standard and evidence that the group membership caused the decision.