Social Identity Theory Tajfel (1971) Theories of Prejudice Social Identity Theory Tajfel (1971)

How many ways are there to discriminate against people? List all the ways you can think of. What problems are caused by prejudice? What is the difference between prejudice and discrimination?

Prejudice ‘Pre’ (meaning before) and ‘judice’ (meaning justice) An attitude – making judgements about someone based on their membership of a group rather than their individual nature.

One of the greatest problems of humanity Leads to dehumanisation and violence Why study prejudice? If we understand how it is formed perhaps we can learn how to prevent it Prejudice- extreme, unfavourable attitude associated with three components:

1. Cognitive: Stereotypes: Social perception of an individual based on their group membership or physical attributes Overgeneralised belief based on limited information Generalisations – applied to all members Positive / negative

2. Affective: Feelings of hostility and hatred

3. Behavioural: In terms of prejudice can be displayed as avoidance, assault, joke-making or discrimination. Actively excluding an individual or groups from things they are entitled to

Not all of these components manifest at the same time. i.e. someone who is prejudiced may have the cognitive and affective component but not discriminate Why? Prevailing social norms or laws perhaps?

Causes of prejudice Individual Differences Obedience & prejudice down to dispositional factors? I.e. personality? How can it explain whole culture and societies being prejudiced? Anti-Semitism developed over 10 or so years Look at social factors that can explain how entire populations of people develop prejudiced attitudes Social identity theory Realistic conflict theory

Read the article – http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/sep/16/refugee-crisis-hit-uk- working-class-powerless Please note this is an opinion piece and not research We are using it to put the issues we are looking at into context. The issues brought up in the article are very relevant at the moment Application

Social Identity Theory – Tajfel (1970) The simple act of being grouped will inevitably lead to prejudice against another group. Tajfel classified group as in-groups or out-groups There are three stages to the Social Identity Theory

Tajfel (1970) - SIT Social categorisation Social identification Social comparison Look up these stages. In pairs discuss the definitions

Social comparison: Defining and emphasising in-group characteristics to elevate social identity Comparing and derogating qualities of the out-group Achieved by 1. In-group favouritism – members unique and favourable - Heterogeneous 2. Negative out-group bias – members ‘all the same’ unfavourable - Homogenous Example!

Example Within a group – each member has a social identity Image based on the attributes of the group Group success =increases sense of belonging and self esteem Example? Football team – continued success? However if they lose several matches?

Tajfel (1971)Minimal group paradigm experiments The Minimal Group Paradigm is a methodology employed in social psychology to investigate the minimal conditions required for discrimination to occur between groups. Experiment 1 64 Schoolboys ages 14-15 groups of 8 (knew each other) Experiment 2 Klee and Kandinsky Summary must include: Aim Procedure Results Conclusion

Conclusions: Out-group discrimination is present and easily triggered In these experiments the act of social categorisation (in/out group) led to discrimination People act according to the social norm they have learnt (I.e. in-group favouritism) In real life the norms of being in a group may override fairness (for example?) Even if giving more to the other group did not mean giving less to their own, the still gave more to their own

Tajfel Evaluation - GRAVE Strengths Weaknesses

Recap SIT and evaluation

US university football scores Supporting research Tajfel Cialdini (1976) US university football scores Morel likely to wear their football team sweatshirt after a game had been won than lost Interviews – referred to the team they supported as ‘us’ when they won and ‘they’ when they lost Personal identity affected by association with a football team (social ID) Aronson and Osherow (1980) Blue eyes/brown eyes study(Jane Elliott) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx_Lb-5G2Lg Opposing research Aim of SIT to favour situational factors rather than dispositional is not supported by evidence.  Individual differences may affect SIT processes Platow et al. (1990). Individuals with competitive orientations displayed a greater preference for the rule of relative ingroup gain compared to that of fairness, whereas those with prosocial orientations preferred the rule of fairness to that of relative ingroup gain.

Different theory Realist conflict theory Sherif (1966) Realistic conflict theory states that whenever there are two or more groups that are seeking the same limited resources, this will lead to conflict, negative stereotypes and beliefs, and discrimination between the groups. This stands in contrast to SIT Not simple act of categorisation but competition for limited resources

Evaluation – write out points and evidence or complete a table Supporting research – Tajfel experiments, Cialdini, Aronson and Oreshow Opposing research – Platow (1990) Different theories – Realistic Conflict Theory Application – useful? Why? Reductionism By only focusing on groups it does not take other factors into account Does not measure how much prejudice Some situations with greater prejudice? Individual differences – i.e. personality Prejudice is complex – unlikely that one theory as an explanation isn’t likely to be satisfactory

SIT - Evaluation Point Evidence/explanation Strength of weakness? Supporting research Opposing research Different theory Application (usefulness)

H/W exam practice Some tension has arisen at a college because the Principal has allowed Mr Page’s class to go on a special trip but Mr Wood’s class has not been allowed to go. The Principal’s decision has caused lots of resentment amongst staff and students alike. Mr Page and his class are looking forward to the trip but are getting lots of hostility from the other class. Use your understanding of prejudice and/or obedience to explain this situation. (6 marks)