How many of you are/were a part of greek life? I don’t really need to ask how you see/saw yourself because I can probably guess. How? Because I know exactly how I would answer. If you ask me what I am pertaining to college/greek life, I will proudly answer with “I am a Kappa Delta”. Not I am in a sorority, but specifically a Kappa Delta.
Being in a sorority or fraternity is not just a group title, it is an identity. For most, becoming a sister or brother allows college students to be a part of something bigger than themselves (even if they have to pay outrageous amounts for it). I know I was a bit of an outcast my first year at college and becoming a Kappa Delta gave me a new identity filled with respect and confidence.
So, what does this have to do with social identity theory and intergroup relations? Everything!
Not only does greek life support the idea of contact hypothesis proposed by Gordon Allport, but it supports social identity theory and social dominance theory (Gruman, Schneider, & Coutts, 2016). With regards to the contact hypothesis, being a part of a sorority and working together does decrease attitudes and behaviors towards each other in the group, but it can definitely increase negative attitudes and behaviors towards those outside of the group. This in-group/out-group bias is a large part that gives greek life a bad reputation.
When one joins a greek life group like a sorority, their membership with that group basically consumes their identity as well. Following social identity theory, members believe they are a part of the group, membership is very important to one’s self concept, and members are very committed to the group (Gruman, Schneider, & Coutts, 2016). All members of the sorority are considered the in-group while those not in the sorority, or worse, not in greek life are seen as the out-group and essentially “less than” (Ortiz & Thompson, 2020).
Sororities also base themselves on hierarchies as well. There is the “queen bee” or president, followed by the council, and then the rest of the members without a title. The sorority is motivated to behave based on the level of the hierarchies and strive to maintain balance in ways like enforcing rules and not speaking out of line (Gruman, Schneider, & Coutts, 2016). Sororities are high in social dominance because they are motivated to defend their group and membership at all times, no matter the circumstance (Gruman, Schneider, & Coutts, 2016).
References
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2016). Applied social psychology : Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. SAGE Publications, Incorporated.
Ortiz, R. R., & Thompson, B. A. (2020). Sorority see, sorority do: How social identity and media engagement relate to in-group stereotyping and self-stereotyping. Psychology of Popular Media, 9(3), 311–317. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000236
This is a great post about greek life and social identity theory, I believe everything you stated is totally correct. By joining a fraternity or sorority, member adopts a new social identity that closely ties to their membership in that particular organization. An identity that often comes with a set of shared values, beliefs, and behaviors that define what it means to a member of that group. Individuals in these greek organizations also develop a sense of loyalty and commitment to their organization, which furthers reinforces their social identity of sense of belonging. Group salience is a major factor in terms of intergroup relations, that is when fraternities sororities are made known to non-members, perceptions of members become higher differentiated from the rest of the study body (Warber, Taylor, & Makstaller, 2011). This results in non-members initiating stereotypes about members which also contributes to negative intergroup relations.
Reference
Warber, Katie M.; Taylor, Melissa E.; and Makstaller, Dana C. (2011) “A Social Identity Approach to Intergroup Contact Between Fraternity and Sorority Members and Non-Members,” Oracle: The Research Journal of the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors: Vol. 6 : Iss. 2 , Article 4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25774/h66w-0536