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Contents
- Abstract
- Method
- Subjects
- Procedure
- Results
- Self-Esteem
- Manipulation Checks
- Self-Ratings
- Ratings of Above-Average and Below-Average Scorers
- Ingroup and Outgroup Ratings Based on the Minimal Intergroup Manipulation
- Discussion
- Implications for Social Identity Theory
- Direct Versus Indirect Enhancement
- Self-Esteem and Minimal Groups
- Conclusions
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Abstract
In addition to personal self-esteem, we propose that there is a second type of self-esteem, collective self-esteem. People who are high in trait collective self-esteem should be more likely to react to threats to collective self-esteem by derogating outgroups and enhancing the ingroup. In a study using the minimal intergroup paradigm, trait personal and collective self-esteem were measured, and subjects received information about the average performance of their group. Subjects high in collective self-esteem varied their ratings of above-average and below-average scorers on the test in an ingroup-enhancing fashion, whereas those low in collective self-esteem did not. Analyses based on personal self-esteem did not show this interaction. We conclude that collective self-esteem is an individual difference variable that may moderate the attempt to maintain a positive social identity. The relation between collective and personal self-esteem is discussed.
According to social identity theory (e.g., Tajfel, 1982; Tajfel & Turner, 1979, 1986; Turner, 1982), the self-concept has two distinct aspects. One is personal identity, which includes beliefs about one's skills, abilities, or attributes such as attractiveness or intelligence. The second is social identity, (what we call collective identity), defined as “that aspect of the individuals' self-concept which derives from their knowledge of their membership in a social group (or groups) together with the value and emotional significance attached to that membership” (Tajfel, 1981, p. 255). [ 1 ] Whereas personal identity concerns one's individual characteristics, social or collective identity concerns the characteristics of one's groups, which may or may not also characterize oneself as an individual.
Consistent with several theoretical perspectives on the self-concept (e.g., Greenwald, 1980; Rosenberg, 1979; Taylor & Brown, 1988; Tesser & Campbell, 1983; Wills, 1981), social identity theory posits that individuals are motivated to achieve or maintain a high level of self-esteem. However, whereas other perspectives focus on maintaining a positive personal identity (i.e., personal self-esteem), social identity theory is primarily...