Social Identity: Context, Commitment, Content

Social identity has been at the heart of European experimental social psychology for the past 25 years, and has been of growing interest in North America during the past decade where research in the field has expanded significantly. This text fills the need for an overview of recent developments in social identity theory, covering both theoretical and empirical work. Foreword: John C Turner (Australia National University).

1. Social Identity Theory: Where Are We Now?: John C Turner.

2. An Introduction to the Contributors: Naomi Ellemers, Russell Spears and Bertjan Doosje.

3. Types Of Identity Threats And Their Self Esteem Consequences: Nyla Branscombe (University of Kansas), Naomi Ellemers, Russell Spears and Bertjan Doosje.

4. Dealing With Deprivation: The Role of Social Identity Salience: Heather Smith (Berkeley) and Russell Spears.

5. Commitment and the Context of Intergroup Perceptions: Russell Spears, Naomi Ellemers and Bertjan Doosje.

6. Identity Needs and Contextual Restrictions: Naomi Ellemers, Manuela Barreto (Free University, Amsterdam) and Russell Spears.

7. Social Identity, Social Norms and Social Influence: Tom Postmes (University of Amsterdam), Russell Spears and Martin Lea (University of Manchester).

8. Linguistic Communication Biases in Intra and Intergroup Contexts: Russell Spears, Daniel Wigboldus (Free University, Amsterdam) and Gun Semin (Free University, Amsterdam).

9. Group Commitment and Intergroup Behavior: Bertjan Doosje, Naomi Ellemers and Russell Spears.

10. Affect, Commitment and Collective Effort: Naomi Ellemers, Jaap Ouwerkerk (Free University, Amsterdam) and Dick de Gilder (University of Amsterdam).

11. Group Distinctiveness and Intergroup Discrimination: Russell Spears, Tony Manstead (University of Amsterdam) and Jolanda Jetten (University of Amsterdam).

Naomi Ellemers has a PhD from the University of Groningen and is currently a Full Professor in social and organizational psychology at Leiden University, the Netherlands. Her research focuses on group processes and intergroup relations, and their effects on social behaviour in organizations. Dr. Ellemers has published extensively on this topic, for which she received several substantial research grants. Social identity has been at the heart of European experimental social psychology for the past 25 years, and has been of growing interest in North America during the past decade where research in the field has expanded significantly. This text fills the need for an overview of recent developments in social identity theory, covering both theoretical and empirical work. It brings together material that would otherwise be hard for students to locate in one volume.

This collection introduces a whole program of research, situating it within a larger theoretical framework. The editors have drawn together different strands of the program, revealing their common theoretical roots and highlighting recurring themes. The chapters cover a broad range of different topics and theoretical issues, including perceptions of self and others, communication and social influence, and the behavioral consequences of these social identity processes.

The volume begins by introducing students to the original theoretical underpinnings of social identity (as developed by Tajfel and Turner in the mid 1970s). Subsequent chapters look at significant advances in both theory and empirical work since this time. The presentation of ongoing research against the background of established work enables the reader to gain insight into empirical directions and theoretical developments for the future.