Definition of Social Group (Category, Identity, and Intergroup Processes)

Marco Antonio Villanueva Bustamante
PhD in Psychology

A social group is a conglomerate of people who perceive themselves as members of a collective.

Turner's Category and Tajfel's Identity

In the social sciences, particularly social psychology, the study of social groups, their elements and the phenomena related to these, is one of the topics with the greatest research available. For this reason, it is not surprising that there are multiple conceptualizations of this phenomenon. Among these, the proposals of Turner and Tajfel stand out. Both agree that a social group is made up of two or more individuals who share a common identity, which makes them part of the same social category. In this way, the members of a group stop perceiving themselves as "I" and start to identify themselves as "we". Although both theories have points in common, each one emphasizes specific elements, Turner accentuates the social category, while Tajfel social identity.

Turner defines a group as a cognitive representation of the self and of other individuals as members of the same social category. Put another way, a social group is a grouping of people who claim to be members of a category, with which they feel strongly identified, and consequently, willing to abide by the rules imposed by this. These categories can be developed based on: religious beliefs (e.g., Catholicism, Christianity, Islam); geographic location (e.g., area of ​​a country); ethnic origins (e.g., Mayan, Mapuche, Cherokee); race (some authors, such as Betancourt and López (1993), consider that the concept of race is not adequate in the psychological discipline and should be set aside); gender (e.g., cisgender or LGBT+); nationality (e.g., Mexican, Argentine, Italian); socioeconomic status (e.g., middle class, upper class, lower class); legal status (e.g., migrant, immigrant, resident); age (e.g., infants, older adulthood, emerging adulthood), or other characteristics relevant to the situational context (e.g., being a follower of an artist or a sports club).

On the other hand, Tajfel postulates that in social groups social identity is paramount, that is, individuals possess an individual identity and a social one, the latter built from the elements of the collective with which identify. That is, each individual has its own identity that characterizes it, but from the processes of interaction with the members of a group, they develop a "new" identity that integrates the values, beliefs, roles and idiosyncrasies of the group. cluster. However, it also allows individuals who are not part of the group to be identified.

elements of social groups

In addition to category and social identity, it has been identified that social groups require the following elements.

• Structure and roles. Each member of the group has a position with respect to the rest of the members, in addition, this indicates what she should or should not do.

• The interaction. Members of a group must interact with each other in order for the group to function properly.

• Rules. They are the guidelines of behavior that individuals must follow.

• Goals. Those who are part of a group do so with the intention of achieving a specific goal or objective.

• Permanence. For a group of people to be considered as a group, their grouping must endure and transcend situations.

intergroup processes

Most of the research on social groups, beyond their formation, focuses on the relationship between two groups. In this way, the intergroup processes that have dominated this issue are the so-called processes of intergroup hostility. Among these three ways stand out:

• Prejudice. The consensus indicates that prejudice is a negative attitude towards a person due to his belonging to a group. Being an attitude, it is assumed that prejudice is part of the tripartite model of attitudes, that is, cognitions, affects and behaviors. Thus, the negative evaluations made about a member of a group (affective component) are based on beliefs about this group (cognitive component) that favors the development of hostile behavior (component behavioral).

• Stereotype. They are usually understood as generalized beliefs about the characteristics that a group and its members possess. These beliefs tend to be wrong and/or negative, although some positive stereotypes can occasionally be found. However, it is the negative stereotypes that have the greatest presence and are typically directed towards minorities. Some authors consider that it is the cognitive element of prejudice.

• Discrimination. It is a systematized treatment, and sometimes institutionalized, in which access to opportunities and resources such as health, economic income or education is limited or denied. That is, discrimination is unequal treatment of a person based on their membership in a group. Some authors consider that discrimination is the behavioral element of prejudice.

Finally, and because these processes put the integrity of vulnerable groups at risk, some strategies have been proposed to reduce their presence. Among these strategies, the hypothesis of intergroup contact developed by Gordon Allport stands out, and that proposes that under certain conditions, contact between groups can reduce prejudice and elements between these.