ABSTRACT
This chapter considers some motivational issues involved in claiming a social identity. It first reviews earlier work from author's research group, and then discusses the different types of social identity. The chapter explores the various functions that social identifications can serve, through the presentation of data collected from members of different social categories. It then considers the relation between identification and subsequent behavior, again by using data collected from the author's ongoing projects. The chapter further discusses in general terms the potential links between categorical definition and group motivation and focuses on social identification as a critical link between individual and society. The relation between motivation and identity, whether motivation to select or to maintain an identity, is only one piece of a broad analysis of the functions of identification. The motive of collective self-esteem is considered central for most social identity theorists and is proposed to derive from a positive social identity.
