Identity, Groups, and the Making of a Deviant: The Group’s Use of Deviants in Maintaining Its Collective Identity

Abstract

Deviant group members normally represent a threat to the group’s collective identity. Paradoxically, however, because group processes themselves evoke dilution of the individual’s identity, deviants may simultaneously play an important role in the group’s identity consolidation. The group’s relatedness with deviants is based on complex group and intergroup dynamics that influence not only the group’s attitude toward the deviant but also what the deviant represents for the group. This article touches on what the deviant’s role may be in a group’s projective processes and how the group may use the deviant in an attempt to maintain its collective identity. At times, what may benefit the group may not be seen as such, whereas what may harm the group may be regarded as preferable. Some of the unconscious processes that may underpin such dynamics are also addressed along with the introduction of the concepts of advancing and depreciating deviants. The article also evaluates how the deviant’s role for the group may change depending on the context.