ABSTRACT
Social identity is the part of one’s identity derived from group membership (e.g., identity based on ethnicity, gender, occupation, sports team fandom). Social identity theory specifies how people search for a positive social identity, a need that is met through inclusion in groups that are in a positive way distinct from relevant out-groups (i.e., indicating a relatively high rank in the intergroup status hierarchy; Ellemers & Haslam, 2012; Tajfel & Turner, 1979). Representing a “cognitive-motivational” perspective on intergroup relations, work in the social identity tradition is based on the assumption that this positive group distinctiveness, and the positive social identity emerging from it, in turn serve core human motives for self-esteem, certainty, and meaning (Abrams & Hogg, 1988).
