The social identity approach

Examples of The social identity approach in the following topics:

• The Nature of Groups

  • In the social sciences, a social group is two or more humans who interact with one another, share similar characteristics, and have a collective sense of unity.
  • Explicitly contrasted with a social cohesion-based definition for social groups is the social identity perspective, which draws on insights made in social identity theory.
  • The social identity approach posits that the necessary and sufficient conditions for the formation of social groups is "awareness of a common category membership" and that a social group can be "usefully conceptualized as a number of individuals who have internalized the same social category membership as a component of their self concept. " Stated otherwise, while the social cohesion approach expects group members to ask "who am I attracted to?
  • " the social identity perspective expects group members to simply ask "who am I?
  • Contrast the social cohesion-based concept of a social group with the social identity concept

• Socioemotional Development in Adolescence

  • Adolescence is a period of personal and social identity formation, in which different roles, behaviors, and ideologies are explored.
  • Adolescence is the period of life known for the formation of personal and social identity.
  • Erik Erikson referred to the task of the adolescent as one of identity versus role confusion.
  • Three general approaches to understanding identity development include self-concept, sense of identity, and self-esteem.
  • The most important function of friendship here is having someone who can provide social and moral support.

• Socialization Throughout the Life Span

  • Any study that focuses on how cultural context influences individual development is an example of the life course approach.
  • With limited social experience, infants can only develop a sense of identity through imitation.
  • The life course approach was developed in the 1960s for analyzing people's lives within structural, social and cultural contexts.
  • Origins of this approach can be traced to such pioneering studies as Thomas's and Znaniecki's "The Polish Peasant in Europe and America" from the 1920s or Mannheim's essay on the "Problem of generations. " The life course approach examines an individual's life history and how early events influence future decisions.
  • The life course approach studies the impact that sociocultural contexts have on an individual's development, from infancy until old age.

• Sociological Theories of Deviance

  • The first is the social strain typology developed by American sociologist Robert K.
  • This approach argues that deviant behavior plays an active, constructive role in society by ultimately helping to cohere different populations within a particular society.
  • This process works because of stigma; in applying a deviant label, one attaches a stigmatized identity to the labeled individual .
  • Much of their behavior leading up to the school shootings has been reinterpreted in light of the deviant identity with which they were labeled as a result of the shootings.
  • Labeling theory argues that people, such as punks, become deviant as a result of people forcing that identity upon them and then adopting the identity.

• The Functionalist Perspective on Deviance

  • While this us-versus-them mentality solidified social identities and solidarities within the two categories, there was nevertheless an overarching social schism.
  • A structural functionalist approach emphasizes social solidarity, divided into organic and mechanical typologies, and stability in social structures.
  • For the structural functionalist, deviance serves two primary roles in creating social stability.
  • Conversely, being marked as deviant can actual bolster solidarity within the marked community, as members take pride and ownership in their stigmatized identity and create cohesive units of their own (for example, members of the LGBT community unifying around Pride).
  • While this us-versus-them mentality solidified social identities and solidarities within the two categories, there was an overarching social schism.

• Are We Prisoners of Socialization?

  • Some studies followed identical twins who were raised separately.
  • Instances of this type of situation are rare, but studying the degree to which identical twins raised apart are the same and different can give researchers insight into how our temperaments, preferences, and abilities are shaped by our genetic makeup versus our social environment.
  • But how do scholars working in the three major theoretical paradigms approach this topic?
  • "Nature versus nurture" describes the debate over the influence of biological versus social influences in socialization.
  • Discuss socialization in terms of the nature (biology) versus nurture (social) debate

• Resource Mobilization Approach

  • The resource-mobilization approach is a theory that seeks to explain the emergence of social movements.
  • Resource-Mobilization Theory emphasizes the importance of resources in social movement development and success.
  • members are recruited through networks; commitment is maintained by building a collective identity and continuing to nurture interpersonal relationships
  • social movement entrepreneurs and protest organizations are the catalysts which transform collective discontent into social movements; social movement organizations form the backbone of social movements
  • Use the resource-mobilization theory to explain some of the successful social movements in history, such as the Civil Rights Movement

• The Functions of Deviance

  • While this us-versus-them mentality solidified social identities and solidarities within the two categories, there was nevertheless an overarching social schism.
  • A structural functionalist approach emphasizes social solidarity and stability in social structures.
  • Conversely, being marked as deviant can actually bolster solidarity within the marked community as members take pride and ownership in their stigmatized identity, creating cohesive units of their own.
  • While this us-versus-them mentality solidified social identities and solidarities within the two categories, there was nevertheless an overarching social schism.
  • Describe how structural functionalism views the relation between deviance and social change

• Sociology Today

  • The traditional focuses of sociology have included social stratification, social class, culture, social mobility, religion, secularization, law, and deviance.
  • The range of social scientific methodology has also expanded.
  • The linguistic and cultural turns of the mid-twentieth century led to increasingly interpretative, hermeneutic, and philosophic approaches to the analysis of society.
  • In the humanistic parts of the discipline, these paradigms are referred to as social theory, often shared with the humanities.
  • These include new institutionalism, social networks, social identity, social and cultural capital, toolkit and cognitive theories of culture, and resource mobilization.

• Psychological Approaches to the Self

  • The psychology of self is the study of either the cognitive or affective representation of one's identity.
  • The psychology of the self is the study of the cognitive or affective representation of one's identity.
  • Current psychological thought suggests that the self plays an integral part in human motivation, cognition, affect, and social identity.
  • While he considered the ego to be the center of an individual's conscious identity, he considered the Self to be the center of an individual's total personality.
  • Discuss the development of a person's identity in relation to both the Kohut and Jungian self