Political Psychology

1
Political Psychology

• Social Identity Theory Identity Formation,
  Maintenance, and Change

2
Political Psychology The Story so Far

• Aggression
• Pride and Fear
• Realistic Conflict Theory
• Relative Deprivation Theory
• Enemy Images
• Groupthink

3
Social Identity Theory (SIT) in RSW

• Identity as a continuum
• Personal Group
• Group Formation and Identity Salience
• Identity and Religion
• In-group love out-group hate

4
SIT in Political Psychology

• Details of SIT (Tajfel, 1972a), and SCT (Tajfel
  Turner, 1985)
• Specific focus on identity formation,
  maintenance, and change
• Social Identity in a society categorised by
  political unrest Northern Ireland

5
SIT (Tajfel, 1972a)

• The social categories to which we belong provide
  us with a definition of who we are
• We are all members of a varying number of these
  social categories (Turner, 1987)
• Society is divided into in- and out-groups and
  these groupings help determine our behaviour
• SIT can be explained in terms of 2
  socio-cognitive processes

6
SIT (Tajfel, 1972a)

• Categorisation
• Defines group boundaries
• Produces stereotypical normative perceptions of
  the group
• Self-enhancement
• Ensures that categorisation favours the in-group

7
Optimal Distinctiveness Model(Brewer, 1991)

• Social identifications fulfil 2 basic social
  needs
• The need for acceptance
• The need for differentiation
• Linked directly to in- and out-groups, where we
  seek to note the similarities within groups and
  the differences between them

8
Identity FormationSelf-Categorisation Theory
(Turner, 1985)

• Social identities grow out of memberships in
  social groups and include identities associated
  with religion, nationality, ethnicity, and
  politics.
• We seek membership of groups that may enhance our
  sense of self

9
Identity Maintenance

• Group loyalty and group cohesion
• Group Loyalty
• Increases self-worth and self-esteem
• Group Cohesion
• Is increased by group loyalty.

10
Identity Maintenance (Stern, 1995)

• Factors affecting group loyalty
• Threat
• Can result in increased salience of existing
  identity or development of new identity
• Conflict
• Can result in increased identity salience if all
  group members contribute to the group cause
• Opportunity
• If power can be gained by taking collective
  action, identity salience is likely to increase

11
Identity Maintenance

• Van Vugt Hart (2004) - social groups persist
  because individual members are willing to make
  investments in these groups
• Once an individual identifies with a group,
  personal well-being becomes linked with group
  well-being
• Loyalty can be divided into 3 subsections i)
  emotive, ii) cognitive, iii) behavioural

12
Maintaining a Positive Sense of Identity

• Social Mobility
• Individual makes attempts to leave the negatively
  distinct in-group and gain membership to a more
  favourable group
• Social Creativity
• Individual attempts to change certain aspects of
  the comparative situation in order to achieve
  favourable in-group comparisons
• Social Change
• Individual becomes involved in direct competition
  with the out group in order to achieve actual
  changes in the status of the groups

13
Identity Change

• The permeability of group boundaries
• When group boundaries are permeable, individual
  strategies will be used. When they are
  impermeable, collective strategies will be
  employed (Ellemers, Wilke van Knippenberg,
  1993).

14
Social Identity Northern Ireland

• Waddell Cairns (1986) SIT is intrinsically
  valuable in understanding the conflict and
  Northern Irish society in general.
• Cairns (1982) - SIT and SCT are highly important
  in terms of Northern Irish society
• Northern Irish society is divided along a series
  of identities Irish Catholics British
  Protestants

15
Identity Formation in Northern Ireland

• Identities based on religion, nationality,
  ethnicity, politics

16
The Identity Continuum in Northern Ireland
Irish
British
Northern Irish
European
Ulster
17
Identity Maintenance the Case of Northern Ireland

• Loyalty and cohesion are stronger than they might
  be in other societies
• Investments are greater than they otherwise would
  be
• BUT out-group denigration not prolific in
  Northern Ireland.
• Double Minority Model (Jackson, 1971) vs. Double
  Majority Model (Cairns, 1982).

18
Identity Change in Northern Ireland

• Identities in Northern Ireland are interlinked
• Catholic Irish Nationalist
• Protestant British Unionist
• Permeability of group boundaries
• The majority of boundaries in Northern Ireland
  are impermeable
• Difficulties with mobility, creativity, and
  change in Northern Ireland because of the
  connotations of each identity

19
In Summary - SIT

• Membership of social categories provide us with
  our self-definition
• Social identities develop out of memberships to
  theses social groups
• Social identifications fulfil the basic human
  needs of acceptance and differentiation
• Social identities are maintained via a process of
  loyalty and cohesion
• Identity change is possible only under certain
  circumstances

20
In Summary SIT in Northern Ireland

• Social identities are based primarily around
  religion, nationality, and politics
• Loyalty and cohesion are especially strong in
  Northern Ireland
• Related to increased levels of identity threat
  and strong positive identities in each community
• Group boundaries are impermeable, making identity
  change rare.

21
Recommended Reading

• Brewer, M. B. (1991). The social self On being
  the same and different at the same time.
  Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 17,
  475-482.
• Ellemers, N., Spears, R. Doosje, B. (1997)
  Sticking Together or Falling Apart In-Group
  Identification as a Psychological Determinant of
  Group Commitment Versus Individual Mobility 
  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72,
  3, 617-626.
• Scheepers, D. Ellemers, N. (2005) When the
  pressure is up The assessment of social identity
  threat in low and high status groups  Journal of
  Experimental Social Psychology, 41, 2, 192-200.