Conceptualizing Social Identity: A New Framework and Evidence for the Impact of Different Dimensions

Abstract

The authors introduce a framework for organizing conceptualizations of social identity along four dimensions: perception of the intergroup context, in-group attraction, interdependency beliefs, and depersonalization. The authors suggest that the extent to which each dimension is evoked or assessed will have an impact on the consequences attributed to social identity. Two studies test hypotheses derived from the framework and investigate the psychometric properties of several scales. In Study 1, participants completed four social identity scales, two group cohesion scales, and a measure of allocentrism. Interscale commonalities were tested through a secondary factor analysis, and the scales and secondary factors were used to predict in-group pride and intergroup bias. Study 2 included additional predictors (interdependency, conflict, competition) and outcome measures (in-group and out-group evaluations, perceived group homogeneity, and the twenty statements test). Consistent with predictions, two types of social identity were empirically extracted and were differentially related to the outcome measures. Theoretical and empirical implications are discussed.