The Psychology of Cultural Affirmation: Cheering for Our Team

"It happened more than 30 years ago, but I vividly remember reading an illustrated children’s book to my 5-year-old daughter. In the book, white-skinned elephants and black-skinned elephants go to war and destroy each other. A smaller group of gray-skinned elephants sees what’s happening and escapes into the hills. When they emerge after the dust has settled, one large-eared elephant says to another large-eared elephant, “Hey, have you noticed that some elephants have small ears?”

Not your typical bedtime story, right? In my opinion, the book conveys a message that some consider controversial but others accept as an unfortunate truth. Humans naturally divide themselves into different social categories and, once divided, inevitably treat their own group better than other groups. (Please realize that, when I say “natural,” I do not mean morally desirable or correct.)

Years ago, social psychologists Henri Tajfel and John Turner constructed a theory of in-group favoritism (also known as ethnocentrism) and its bosom buddy, cultural affirmation. Their highly regarded explanatory model is called social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 2001).

Social Identity Theory

The first part of the theory concerns how we construct our self-image. We aren’t born with an image of ourselves. Instead, we construct a mental image on the basis of two sets of interpersonal experiences—how other people treat us and how we differ from other people.

Early social psychologist and philosopher George Herbert Mead (1934) said the child gains a sense of self when and only when the child becomes (1) aware of others and (2) aware of the reactions of others. According to Mead, we cannot know our “self” directly because at first there is nothing to know. We come to know ourselves indirectly by internalizing the reactions of others.

If a child is told he’s intelligent and Italian, he’ll probably come to think of himself as intelligent and Italian. If a child is treated as if she’s good at sports, chances are she’ll come to think of herself as good at sports. We construct our self-image, in part, on the basis of how other people treat us.

Identities and Self-Esteem

The second part of social identity theory states that feelings of self-esteem (self-worth, self-respect) are based on (1) the value of one’s personal identity plus (2) the combined value of one’s many social identities. When those values are higher (or lower), we experience a higher (or lower) level of self-esteem.

For every group with which we identify, we have a separate social identity. If you identify as a fan of a particular sports team, that’s a social identity. If you identify as a member of a particular ethnic or religious group, that’s another social identity.

One of the ways we can elevate our self-esteem is to convince others that we belong to a respected, desirable group. As a member of the Beloit College community, I’m motivated to raise the perceived value of Beloiters as a group. I can do that (or at least try) by publicizing the many accomplishments of Beloiters. Did you know that Gunsmoke star James Arness, Secretary of Labor Willard Wirtz, Freedom Rider Jim Zwerg, billionaire businessman John Sall, jazz cellist Helen Gillet, and NFL tight end Derek Carrier all graduated from Beloit College?

If I can persuade people that being a Beloiter is pretty cool, then the value of one of my (many) social identities is enhanced because I belong to a cool group. This, in turn, boosts my self-esteem. I feel better about myself and more worthy because I’m associated with a valued group."

*Social identity and cultural affirmation are really cool theories that I never really thought much about. There are so many different identities and each of us is unique because we all have different social identities! For example, I would say that some of my social identities are that I am a redhead, I am Italian-American, and that I went to my specific university. I feel that I am a part of these groups of people and I want to spread awareness and a good reputation of them as well. These are not exclusive as to who I am, but just a few parts of the whole of my being. What are some of your social identities?*

#SocialIdentities #CulturalAffirmation #SelfEsteem

Please find the full article at Psychology Today.

If you liked this article from me, you may like this article on relationships.