The Social Self: On Being the Same and Different at the Same Time

TLDR

Social psychology often neglects social identification in defining the self, yet social identities provide a more inclusive self-concept than the typical individuated view in American psychology. The study proposes an optimal distinctiveness model that posits social identity reconciles assimilation and differentiation needs, predicting that self‑categorizations offering both belonging and distinctiveness will yield the strongest identity and group loyalty. The model assumes individuals select self‑construals that balance personalization and inclusivity, defining themselves through distinctive category memberships that simultaneously satisfy belonging and distinctiveness. An initial lab experiment confirmed that depersonalization and group size interact to determine the strength of social identification.

Abstract

Mfost of social psychology's theories of the self fail to take into account the significance of social identification in the definition of self. Social identities are self-definitions that are more inclusive than the individuated self-concept of most American psychology. A model of optimal distinctiveness is proposed in which social identity is viewed as a reconciliation of opposing needs for assimilation and differentiation from others. According to this model, individuals avoid self-construals that are either too personalized or too inclusive and instead define themselves in terms of distinctive category memberships. Social identity and group loyalty are hypothesized to be strongest for those self-categorizations that simultaneously provide for a sense of belonging and a sense of distinctiveness. Results from an initial laboratory experiment support the prediction that depersonalization and group size interact as determinants of the strength of social identification.