Social Identity Theory- Do I Belong Here?

Not everyone is fully confident with themselves, but we all do what we can to think positively of ourselves. Our self-esteem is comprised of our positive and negative self-evaluations. We have a strong desire for high self-esteem, and when we need to enhance it, one method we can use is social identity theory. Social identity theory states that people favor ingroups over outgroups in order to enhance our self-esteem. Ingroups are defined as groups in which an individual feels a sense of membership, belonging and identity; whereas, outgroups are groups in which an individual does not feel a sense of membership, belonging or identity.

To enhance our self-esteem using social identity theory, there are two pathways in which an individual can take: personal identity and social identity. Through personal identity, one will gloat about personal achievements. For example, I know someone that takes pride in her academic achievements, which we are all entitled to do, but she does it in a manner that is unhealthy. In taking pride in her high grades, she belittles those around her who did not do as well and make them feel worse. She is not relating to anyone else, only to herself. Another such example would be a guy that I knew back in high school. When I was on the tennis team in high school, we had a guy who didn't want to socialize with our team. He was always about himself and not the success of the whole group. He flaunted his personal accomplishments (e.g., gold medals and advancing to higher competitions), but he didn't work with the team to ensure everyone was reaching their potential. Both of these people feel better about themselves when they do better than others.

Social identity is when self-esteem is enhanced through group accomplishments. For example, this past weekend, we executed a wonderfully successful event, as we do every week. As a council, UPC, is consistently getting complimented on our efficiency, team work, and leadership. We have a cohesive collection of leaders and followers. We are a well balanced organization. We take direction well and interact with others in a professional and respective manner. We had multiple compliments from professional staff congratulating our success, and I feel that I am a more worthy person just being apart of UPC. Also, in high school, I was on our track team. We won our distract conference four years in a row. Though I wasn't the most valuable player on the team, I still felt like I belonged. I got along with everyone and was associated with all the success that our team experienced.

There are also other drives to enhance self-esteem than just the desire to acquire a more positive outlook about oneself. Threats to one's self-esteem can also lead a person to seek membership in an organization. Honestly, I am guilty of doing this. I do enjoy being an officer in organizations that I am involved in, but I need to feel that I am more than just an expendable member. I run for offices or leadership positions to feel that way, and it works.

Kassin, S., Fein, S., & Markus, H. R. (2008). Stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination. In Social Psychology (7th ed., pp. 135-153). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.