The Social Identity Perspective on Small Groups

(from the chapter) This chapter describes the historical development, metatheoretical background, and current state of the social identity perspective. The theory developed as an analysis of intergroup relations among large-scale social categories and has evolved a strong social cognitive emphasis. In this chapter, we show that the social identity perspective is intended to be a general analysis of group membership and group processes that focuses on the generative relationship between collective self-conception and group phenomena. We describe several applications of the social identity perspective to small groups including: differentiation within groups; leadership; deviance; group decision-making; computer-mediated communication; mobilization, collective action, and social loafing; and group culture. We conclude with a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the perspective and of future directions.