Identity and Categorization. 2.1.1 Social Identity Theory and Self-categorization Theory Social identity is defined as “that part of an individual’s self-concept which derives from his knowledge of his membership of a social group (or groups) together with the value and emotional significance attached to that membership” (Tajfel, 1978, p. 63). Self-concept refers to “the set of cognitive representations of self available to a person” (Xxxxxx et al., 1987, p. 44). A group is “a collection of individuals who perceive themselves to be members of the same social category, share some emotional involvement in this common definition of themselves, and achieve some degree of social consensus about the evaluation of their group and their membership of it” (Xxxxxx and Xxxxx, 1981, p. 7). Simply speaking, a social group is a collection of people (two or more) who share the same self-definition and perceive themselves as members of a common social category (Xxxx and Xxxxxx, 1988). According to social identity theory, the self-concept is comprised of two unique aspects: personal identity, concerning a person’s own characteristics and his/her inter-personal relations; and social identity, concerning the group’s characteristics to which an individual belongs (Xxxxxxxx and Xxxx, 1989; Xxxxxxx and Xxxxxxxx, 1990). These two distinct aspects are the bases of self-definition for individuals (Xxxxxxxx et al., 2011; Xxxxxxxx, 2011). Self-categorization theory, as the extension of social identity theory (Xxxxx et al., 2001), “is a set of related assumptions and hypotheses about the functioning of the social self-concept (the concept of self based on comparison with other people and relevant to social interaction)” (Xxxxxx et al., 1987, p. 42). Different from social identity theory, which stresses the motivational dimension (Xxx Xxxxxxx and Xxx Xxxxxxxxxxx, 2003), self-categorization theory emphasises the cognitive dimension (Xxxxx, 2003; Xxx Xxxxxxx and Xxx Xxxxxxxxxxx, 2003). It underlines how much an individual identifies with a category (Xxxxxxxx and Xxxx, 1989), stresses the categorization process and its impact on an individual’s self-concept (Xxxxxxx et al., 1999). Social identity theory and self-categorization theory have been widely used to study the grouping perceptions and behaviours of human beings and inter-group relations. From the view of social identity theory and self-categorization theory, people’s behaviours are largely governed by identities (Xxxxxxx and Xxxxx–Xxxxxxx, 2002). People defi...
