Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book reviews the concept of identity at three levels: intrapersonal, with a social group and with a broader culture, introduces the concept of Positive Identity and discusses its relationship to social situation. It sets a situational model in which positive social identity and its implied affordances of perceived interdependence may take account of the external domain in which the organisation is located. The book provides grounding for the study in neurology and psychology. It is from the knowledge of how humans address their social existence that analytical approach is developed, rather than how social behaviour relates to one or another philosophical tradition. The book describes an evolutionary motivation for altruistic behaviour and explores the implicit concept of interdependence-distinctiveness within the explanation of altruistic behaviour.