A Collective Self-Esteem Scale: Self-Evaluation of One's Social Identity

TLDR

Social identity theory distinguishes personal from social identity, yet existing self‑esteem measures focus only on personal identity, leaving no tool to assess the positivity of one’s collective identity. The authors developed a collective self‑esteem scale comprising four subscales—Membership, Public Collective, Private Collective, and Importance to Identity—to capture individual differences in social identity evaluation. Three studies demonstrated the scale’s reliability and validity, indicating it is a useful research instrument with implications for social identity theory.

Abstract

Social identity theory as developed by Tajfel and Turner argues that there are two distinct aspects of the self-concept: personal identity and social identity (in American terminology, collective identity). Although many self-esteem measures are available in the literature, they allfocus on individuals'evaluation of their personal identity, whether in private or interpersonal domains. No scale currently exists that assesses the positivity of one's social, or collective, identity. A scale was constructed to assess individual differences in collective, rather than personal, self-esteem, with four subscales (Membership esteem, Public collective self-esteem, Private collective self-esteem, and Importance to Identity). Evidence for reliability and validity of the scale was provided by three studies, suggesting that the scale can be a useful research tool. Implications for research and social identity theory are discussed.