ABSTRACT
Starting from the basic distinction between the individual self and the collective self suggested by self-categorization theory, this chapter presents a self-aspect model of the individual self and the collective self. It then examines the interplay of the individual self and the collective self and found evidence for both antagonistic and cooperative relationships between the two. The chapter explains the decomposing of individual self into an independence component and a differentiation component. The empirical validity of distinction and importance for a better understanding interplays in the individual and collective self. An intriguing articulation of the research presented in the chapter is a classic distinction encountered in both sociology and social psychology. A collective self derived from membership in a complementarity-based group has a better chance of being compatible with the individual self as an independent individual. The individual is a group with only one member, while the group transcends the individual by being more inclusive.
