Introduce
This theory proposes that people think of themselves based on the identities they hold, which vary in salience in moment-to-moment interactions, and this in turn influences how they navigate the world and categorize others.
What is Self-Categorization Theory?
People see themselves as humans through their human identity, as members of social groups through their social identity, and based on their interpersonal perceptions, or their personal identity.
What is the basic idea of this theory?
When people who have a high accessibility and high fit with their social groups and are cognitive of these prototypes and represent them, they begin to see themselves as a member of a group rather than an individual. This phenomenon can happen inversely as well, as focusing on the prototypes of another group can lead to you perceiving them not as individuals, but as a fixture of that group.
What is depersonalization?
Understanding that salient prototypes and identities create categories for people helps in understanding this. If depersonalization occurs in response to self categorization, people lose sense of individuality and instead see an "us v.s. them." This can only be mitigated through communication and the realization that personally held prototypes are not necessarily accurate.
What is intergroup conflict?
People make sense of the social world by categorizing themselves and others, often done through "prototypes" that are revealed through communicating. Categorization is defined by how accessible categories are in our minds and how well these categories "fit" the person.
What does SCT tell us about how humans categorize themselves and others?
For a category to be applicable to someone, it needs to fit in the person's perceived social reality. When deciding if a person fits into the prototype we have about the way they differentiate themselves in a given context, we are determining if they have high/low comparative fit. When analyzing if someones behavior falls into a specific prototypes, we determine if they have high or low normative fit.
How does "fit" lead to prototypes?
When identities come to mind, they may be chronic or temporarily accessible. For example, an identity that does not leave someone easily is their "gender", making it chronically accessible. So, when these identities are always accessible and in the back of a person's mind, they begin to develop a prototypes of who fits in that category.
How do prototypes come to be based on accessibility?
What is an example of low Comparative fit?
A student studying at the library, being a member of college clubs, and going to lecture.
What is an example of High Normative Fit?