POL SCI 164A Lecture Notes - Lecture 21: Group Conflict, Social Movement
30 Apr 2018
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PS 164A Lecture 4/12
If you are in a low status group, you like your own group but less than normal and you hate the
other high status group but less than normal
Where does in-group favoritism come from?
● Group competition or conflict
● Sharif originated this idea
Social identity theory - the mere fact of attaching a sense of group identity theory is enough to
enact behaviors even without competition or conflict
● Your self esteem is tied to the group, not even to your group being good but your group
being better and different
Low status groups
● If you are in own, you are taking a self-esteem hit
● Being in a subordinate group is a problem for people, self esteem is vulnerable, they feel
problematized
● People try to lift their status which acknowledging their self-esteem and in-group
favoritism
Example - Stanford grads make more than Berkeley grads
Strategies for dealing with being in a low status group
● Exit low status group and go to high status group
● Improve the group (not included in tajfel and turner)
● Continue to seek positive distinctiveness in other ways
○ A) change the dimension on which status is defined or status is focused
○ B) revaluing what is disvalued; changing the idea that the dimension on which
you are subordinate or low status is really low status
● Change the outgroup - think about one that you are better than
○ Ex: lose to Stanford, think about Chico
● Challenge the status hierarchy as illegitimate
○ Not accepting the legitimacy of the status differences
○ Many status differences are in fact illegitimate
In-group: first step is self-categorization
● Then, group identification (1) and sense of attachment (2)
● High group identification is sense of the self within the group, it is important to you, you
think about how you identify within that group
● Ex: Stoker and Minnesota
Document Summary
If you are in a low status group, you like your own group but less than normal and you hate the other high status group but less than normal. Social identity theory - the mere fact of attaching a sense of group identity theory is enough to enact behaviors even without competition or conflict. Your self esteem is tied to the group, not even to your group being good but your group being better and different. If you are in own, you are taking a self-esteem hit. Being in a subordinate group is a problem for people, self esteem is vulnerable, they feel problematized. People try to lift their status which acknowledging their self-esteem and in-group favoritism. Example - stanford grads make more than berkeley grads. Strategies for dealing with being in a low status group. Exit low status group and go to high status group. Improve the group (not included in tajfel and turner)
