Question

Rafael has joined the Spanish Club at his school. According to the social identity theory, what is Rafael likely to do when he meets individuals from the German Club or French Club and defines them as out-group members?
a. Rafael will want to be friends with the outgroup members.
b. Rafael will exaggerate the similarities between his ingroup and the outgroups.
c. Rafael will exaggerate the similarities amongst outgroup members.
d. Rafael will see the groups as equal and want to decrease the social distance that exists.

Answer 1

Answer:     C. Rafael will exaggerate the similarities amongst out group members

Explanation:  Social identity theory means that each person strives to identify with the group on different grounds, national, family, team, etc., in order to identify with other members of his or her relative group and thus gain self-esteem, believe and feel that belonging to the group increases his / her own worth. The social identity thus acquired is an important mechanism that drives pride and self-esteem. Also belonging to a group provides some security when it comes to other groups, i.e relationships with other groups. The competitive spirit with other groups is important precisely for achieving self-esteem, even when there is no reason for it, i.e when there is no conflict about anything, there is no overlap of interest over specific resources. In order to gain social identity, each member of the group identifies with the other members even more than is realistic, because in this way they gain self-esteem, worth, security, and thus will see members of other groups, much more similar to each other than they actually are.