Social identity refers to a type of identity that is derived from their group memberships, perhaps their race, ethnicity, gender, religion, nationality, and a tremendous amount of other social categories. I’m sure many of you can recognize a group in which you may belong to and whether you are aware or not, you may carry some biases. Social identity can have an overwhelming impact on intergroup conflict and cooperation, as individuals tend to identify more strongly with and favor their own group.
In regard to intergroup conflicts, individuals tend to view their own group as more honorable and knowledgeable than other groups. These comparisons can lead to dehumanization and aggression towards members of other groups. This can and has led to a variety of negative outcomes, including discrimination, violence, and war. Social identity drives the formation of ingroups and outgroups, these groups create boundaries between groups which reinforce stereotypes and prejudice. It is crucial to consider that the categorization of groups does necessarily have to based factual or observed differences between groups, an individual only needs to perceive themselves as being a part of a certain group and different from another group to induce a sense of group membership (Gruman et al., 2017).
Alternatively, social identity can also promote cooperation between groups. That is, that individuals are more likely to work towards common goals and engage in positive intergroup relations when they perceive their group as being similar to and sharing common goals with members of other groups. The contact hypothesis has shown that under a positive and supportive context, intergroup contact can reduce prejudice and promote cooperation between groups (Gruman et al., 2017).
Social identity is a complex and multifaceted construct. Its influence on intergroup relations varies depending on several factors, such as the salience of different social identities, power dynamics between groups, and the context in which intergroup interactions occur. Understanding social identity as well as its role in intergroup conflict and cooperation has significant implications for promoting peaceful and equitable relations between groups. This area of study must be further examined, if we are ever to come to a resolution for the conflict in intergroup relations.
Reference
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. SAGE.