Theory of social identity and prediction of social behavior: Basic approaches

Abstract

The article’s relevance is due to the importance of problems of social forecasting, in particular the prediction of social behavior. Classical and modern studies of social identity are analyzed. In the world, this theory is one of the basic for the analysis and prediction of group behavior; in Ukrainian psychological researches, the realization of social identity’s behavioral aspect is almost not represented. The purpose of the study is the analysis of theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of behavior through the prism of the theory of social identity in various fields of sociopsychological knowledge. The research methodology – analysis of articles and research papers carried out within the social identity theory to study the behavioral component of social identity. The analysis results showed that predicting social behavior is one of the critical areas of study within the social identity theory. Social identity theory’s heart of predicting social behavior can be divided into three essential components. Appeal to the individual as a carrier of identity and influence on the behavior of group members through such a carrier. Request to the crucial components of identity – the impact on behavior is possible both through the appeal to individual components of identity and social identity as a whole, as a unique combination of types of identity. Strengthening the value component and striving for positive identification is the driving force for maintaining and preserving the group’s identity. All these postulates have been confirmed by numerous applied studies and make it possible to consider them as a theoretical basis for developing methodological foundations for predicting social behavior. Prospects for further research are seen in a deeper analysis of the research results conducted within the theory of social identity, highlighting the basic patterns common to these studies and the integration of knowledge into Ukrainian socio-psychological scientific thought to develop methodological approaches to predicting social behavior