1009IBA Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Henri Tajfel, Gender Identity, Ingroups And Outgroups
4 May 2018
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L8B. Categorisation, Subgroups, Identities and Relations
Lecture Outline and Main Points
• Understanding one's own identity lies at the heart of competent communication
• Sources of identities and associated problematic attitudes
• The role of identities in intercultural communication
• The nature of human relations and dimensions of interpersonal relationships
Social Identities
• Identity
o "…set of epectations related to ourselves and others that is grounded in the interpla
between similarities and differences and pertains to the personal, relational and
communal aspects of our lives" (Hall, 2005: 102)
• Social identities are those parts of an individual's self-concept which derive from his or her
knowledge of membership in a social group together with the value and emotional
significance attached to the membership (Tajfel, 1978, p.63)
Categorisation
• Universal cognitive process of grouping persons, objects and events, etc. on the basis of
perceived similar characteristics
• Useful functions
o Reducing uncertainty
o Increase accuracy of predictions
o Assist in recollection and recognition of information
o Delineate distinctions between ingroups and outgroups
• BUT categorisation can also lead us to overlook individual differences and over-generalise
about others
Social Categorisation and Subgroups
• Social categorisation refers to the grouping of people based on skin-colour, dress, language,
occupation, interest, region, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or desirable/undesirable qualities,
etc.
• These groups, existing within the larger cultural environment, are referred to as subgroups
• Identities formed as a result of group membership can be anchored at both the individual and
collective levels, giving a person personal and social identities
Membership Groups: Ingroups/Outgroups
• Ingroup ('us') represents a special class of membership group characterised by internal
cohesiveness among members
o Norms, aspirations and values shape the behaviour of its members
• Outgroup ('them') is a group whose attributes are dissimilar from those of the ingroup
• Groups may be involuntary (e.g. age, race, sex) or voluntary (e.g. political affiliation, religion,
occupation)
• The function and constitution of groups reflects cultural context
o Meanings attached to and communicative consequences or significance of social group
affiliations
o E.g. 'Uchi' (inside) and 'soto' (outside) in Japan
Race and Ethnicity
• Race:
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o Biological term referring to physical differentiation of skin colour and a few other
external features
• Populations that share a high proportion of a very limited number of external
physical characteristics
• Results in adaptations to climate pressures
• Does not explain culture or determine behavioural differences
• Ethnic groups are formed around the idea that they have inherited cultural (or physical)
characteristics that make them, in some important way, different from others
o Idea that people within a group share a common culture different from those outside it
o Cultural construct that refers to the social use that is made of cultural difference (or
supposed differences)
Ethnic Identity
• Refers to a sense of belonging to or identification with an ethnic group
• Individuals associated with a particular ethnic group may not necessarily act in accordance
with their ethnic norms, depending on the level of ethnic identification
• Ethnic identity is flexible
o 'Situational selectivity'
• Ethnicity is a political statement
o Avowed (claimed identity) or ascribed (labelled)
o Perceiving oneself or others to have shared social and cultural characteristics which
derive from membership of a social group
o Cultural construct that refers to the social use that is made of cultural difference (or
supposed differences)
Race, Ethnicity and Problematic Attitudes
• Ethnocentrism
o Making judgements about other societies in terms of one's own cultural assumptions
• Stereotypes
o Shared images of all members of a particular group which are simplistic, over-
generalised and often but not necessarily negative
• Form of categorisation necessary at the most basic level of cognition
• Fundamental attribution error ('Attribution Theory'), Liu et al, p.82;88
o Type of reasoning occurring when we/others have done something, particularly when
perceived as negative or strange, that needs to be explained
o If another, we attribute that action to an inner disposition or personality (e.g. the person
is clumsy or hot-headed)
o But, if it is us, we tend to attribute the cause to the situation (e.g. because I tripped over
a rock)
o And then, by extension, the act is associated with an entire category
• E.g. Gender, ethnic group
• Discrimination
o Practices through which members of a social group receive different treatment, because
of their membership in that group
• Prejudice
o To pre-judge without the facts
o Viewing a particular group in an emotional and rigid fashion
• 'Negative attitude towards individuals resulting from negative stereotypes'
• Racism
o Belief that some racial groups are superior and others inferior
• Based on biology
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