ABSTRACT
University of ExeterINTRODUCTION In this chapter we consider how perceptions of entitativity and group distinctiveness provide a link between social perceivers and the social world of intergroup relations. Social perceivers are interested agents who are part of the social field they survey, and not just observers of it. Social identity forms a social psychological bridge that relates us to this social structure, mediating and moderating these group perceptions, but also arising from them. We argue that perceptions of group distinctiveness and entitativity play an important role in creating social identity and putting it to use. There is a danger that we view group perceptions (distinctiveness, entitativity, group homogeneity) primarily as outcomes of social perception, as an end in themselves, restricted to the perceptual realm. This may be interesting in its own terms but the function of these perceptions becomes more apparent when we see their close relation to broader questions of social identity, group goals, and group behavior. One purpose of the present chapter is therefore to integrate these perceptions into the broader flow of group life and to examine the social functions they can serve. We use and extend social identity principles to help explain why entitativity and group distinctiveness arise and how and why they are maintained.
