ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses two related theories, social identity and self-categorization, that explore the causes and consequences of categorization into groups. Personal and social identity are inversely related; when one’s focus is on oneself as a unique individual, the focus is not on oneself as a member of a group or groups, and vice versa. The perception of similarity depends on the context. When an individual with an attitude somewhat different from the subject’s own was viewed as more similar to the self, the greater were the differences in attitudes within the subject’s own group. Self-esteem maintenance provides a motivational explanation for an otherwise puzzling intergroup phenomenon: The mere fact of belonging to one group rather than another is sufficient to trigger discrimination favoring the ingroup. According to social identity theory, the presence of an outgroup promotes intergroup comparisons.
