Social Cognition Social Identity And Intergroup Relations

This volume, to honor Marilynn Brewer, contains original theory and research from leading social psychologists who study social identity theory, intergroup relations, cooperation and conflict, and the psychology of the self. It will be of interest to social psychologists, industrial/organizational psychologists, clinical psychologists, and sociologists.

This study explores the relationship between social groups and their conflicts.

The authors of Social Identifications set out to make accessible to students of social psychology the social identity approach developed by Henri Tajfel, John Turner, and their colleagues in Bristol during the 1970s and 1980s. Michael Hogg and Dominic Abrams give a comprehensive and readable account of social identity theory as well as setting it in the context of other approaches and perspectives in the psychology of intergroup relations. They look at the way people derive their identity from the social groups to which they belong, and the consequences for their feelings, thoughts, and behaviour of psychologically belonging to a group. They go on to examine the relationship between the individual and society in the context of a discussion of discrimination, stereotyping and intergroup relations, conformity and social influence, cohesiveness and intragoup solidariy, language and ethnic group relations, and collective behaviour. Social Identifications fills a gap in the literature available to students of social psychology. The authors' presentation of social identity theory in a complete and integrated form and the extensive references and suggestions for further reading they provide will make this an essential source book for social psychologists and other social scientists looking at group behaviour.

The concept of social identity occupies a central position in contemporary social psychology. Social Identities: Motivational, Emotional, Cultural Influences reports recent developments in the analysis of motivational and affective aspects of social identity processes. The book also examines the cross-cultural generality of Social Identity Theory explanations of intergroup competitiveness, which have strongly influenced international research in this area. People’s social identities and self-evaluation are thought to be largely derived from group memberships; it is presumed that people are motivated to attain positivity in these identities by favouring the ingroup in intergroup comparisons. An increasing stream of research is being devoted to extending the applicability of social identity concepts to intergroup relations and related fields. The editors present here a collection of contributions from leading figures in social psychology which explore the state of the art in social identity theory. The most prominent motivational theories of identification are reported. Central themes concern: motivations which lead individuals to join a group and identify with it the role emotions have in favouring (or hindering) intergroup relations the effect of emotions on intergroup behaviour how people react to social identity threats Shedding new light on important social problems like prejudice, bigotry, and intense conflicts around the world, this unique volume will be indispensable to students and researchers of social psychology, sociology and cultural studies.

In recent years there has been a rapprochement between the traditionally opposing theories of North American social cognition and European social identity theory.

This volume gives a survey of the most recent developments and trends in intergroup research. Diverging from classical approaches that looked at diverse needs and motives (positive distinctiveness, belongingness, etc), the present book focuses not only on the question what motivates intergroup behaviour, but especially on how the motivation of intergroup behaviour functions. The book focuses on the role of emotion and motivation in the development of intergroup conflict, social exclusion, tolerance and other group related phenomena. The sections demonstrate how classical theories in the field have been further developed, enriched, and more sophisticatedly tested over the years, and summarise research on affect and memory. They also develop a group based self-regulation approach, examine several specific emotions as motivational forces of intergroup behaviour, and look at factors of intergroup relations that lead to social change. The chapters are short and easy-to-comprehend summaries referring to a broad range of original work, providing a useful resource for advanced students of Social Psychology and researchers in the field of intergroup relations.

Social identity and social categorization theories have offered some of the most exciting developments in social psychology - informing work on everything from intergroup relations to personal identity. This comprehensive book surveys the latest empirical and theoretical findings, alongside original contributions, to provide an invaluable overview of this important field. The internationally-renowned contributors explore a broad range of psychosocial phenomena including intergroup discrimination, influence, group polarization, collective behaviour, impact of minorities, prejudice, stereotypes and leadership.

Social identity research has transformed psychology and the social sciences. Developed around intergroup relations, perspectives on social identity have now been applied fruitfully to a diverse array of topics and domains, including health, organizations and management, culture, politics and group dynamics. In many of these new areas, the focus has been on groups, but also very much on the autonomous individual. This has been an exciting development, and has prompted a rethinking of the relationship between personal identity and social identity - the issue of individuality in the group. This book brings together an international selection of prominent researchers at the forefront of this development. They reflect on this issue of individuality in the group, and on how thinking about social identity has changed. Together, these chapters chart a key development in the field: how social identity perspectives inform understanding of cohesion, unity and collective action, but also how they help us understand individuality, agency, autonomy, disagreement, and diversity within groups. This text is valuable to advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students studying social psychology where intergroup relations and group processes are a central component. Given its wider reach, however, it will also be of interest to those in cognate disciplines where social identity perspectives have application potential.