Social psychologyChapter 6Social identityBeing a member of a group influences many of our thoughts, feelings and actions. Some group memberships are so important that they become a basic apart of our view of ourselves.Self-categorization: the process of seeing oneself as a member of a social group.Flexible and can readily shift depending on social context.Social identity: those aspects of the self-concept that derive from an individual’s knowledge and feelings about the group membership he or she shares with others.Extends the self out beyond the skin to include other members of our groups.Most group memberships are stable en enduring.Learning about our groupsPeople learn about the groups to which they belong in the same ways that they learn the characteristics of other groups: by observing other group members or from the culture.What we and other group members do often becomes the basis for group stereotypes.But what we do is strongly influenced by our roles.Performing a role based on membership in some group can shape our future behaviors and, ultimately, our self-knowledge.Feeling like a group member Knowledge about group membership may be activated by direct reminders, such as:Group labelsThe presence of out-group membersBeing a minorityIntergroup conflictGroup membership is significant in some cultures and for some individuals, who tend to see the world in terms of that group membership.Direct reminders of membershipThe process is often subtle.Circumstances remind us of our...