Social Identity Theory
In-Group / Out-Group Syndrome
& Violence

Social Identity
• A social-psychological theory formed to understand the way in which humans formulate their identity (their Self) especially as we do this in relation to other groups of people.
• This theory is particularly interested with the concept of In-Group/Out-
Group syndrome.

Social Identity, continued
• Categorization: We often put others
(and ourselves) into categories. Labeling someone a Muslim, a Turk, or a soccer player are ways of saying other things about these people.
• Identification: We also associate with certain groups (our in-groups), which serves to bolster our self-esteem.

Social Identity, continued
• Comparison: We compare our groups with other groups, seeing a favorable bias toward the group to which we belong.
• Psychological Distinctiveness: We desire our identity to be both distinct from and positively compared with other groups.

Racism & Social Identity
• Numerous posters and cartoons have been employed for decades to draw stark lines between American citizens as either in-groups or out-groups. This approach to information is called “propaganda.”
• By creating division between one group of humans and another, parties in power can create public support and consent for their political goals.

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World War II
• Moving into WWII, propaganda began to be employed to encourage support of American involvement.
• Enemy combatants – primarily the Germans and especially the Japanese, came to be dehumanized in their depictions in the media, an approach that powerful interests continue to embrace today.

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Communism
• After World War II, we entered the Cold War – a time marked by a continuing state of political conflict, military tension, and economic competition, primarily with the
USSR – the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
• In America, this manifested as the “Red
Scare,” the fear that communism would upset the capitalist social order in the United States.

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War On Terror

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