Communication as Social Identity #10

By: Regina Crawford & Tamara LinaresEDS 877

Conformity=Bad

Don’t be a lemming.

Celebrate our differences

» Individuals are studied by how they walk and why they talk.

»Relationships are also examined – personal or intimate»“Our selves tend to be

understood as very “personal” selves, operating as autonomous units, either unconnected to others, or connected as a function of the rewards provided to the individual (Harwood, p. 84).”

Less than human level?

» Lashing out at authority, property, people» Rioters throwing objects» Football hooligans on a rampage» Disorganized groups» Vandalism» Destruction of private property

THOUGHTS?

According to Harwood…

» When people act upon collective interests, they are usually considered in deviant or pathological terms.

» Pathological=being such to a degree that is extreme, excessive, or markedly abnormal <a pathological liar> <pathological fear> -Merriam Webster Online Dictionary

» “The social identity/self categorization approach offers a different take on our social experiences (Tajfel & Turner, 1986; Oakes, Haslam, & Turner, 1994) p. 84.”

˃ Individuals can be understood at different levels of abstraction

˃ At the personal identity level-people are concerned with our differences from other individuals and what makes us unique.

ON THE BRIGHTER SIDE

˃ At the social identity level-people are concerned with their group’s differences from other groups and what makes their group unique.

ON THE BRIGHTER SIDE

Personal

identity

Social

identity

Intergroup approach

» Draws attention to the contribution of both sides in a crowd situation

» Intergroup approach and social identity theory are useful ways to approach human communication

Intergroup Perspective

»Mass Communication

Mass Communication

» Social identification with a particular demographic group

» Portrayals of that group influence viewing» Young people like to watch shows with young

people and vice versa» More individualistic approach

Intergroup Perspective

»Group Communication

Group Communication

» Group leaders evaluated on how similar they are to their typical members

» The more similar they are with their members, the more they can “get away with” certain behaviors

» Small-group leaders tend to focus on interpersonal dynamics and need to focus on how and when people identify with their group

» Big-groups are large-scale collective groups such as ethnic groups

» Small-groups and large-groups can be similar

Intergroup Perspective

»Family Communication

Family Communication

» Identification with the family as a social group is key element in family harmony & positive communication

» Examples: step families, grandparents, interracial families, interfaith families, etc.

» Communication is key

Intergroup Perspective

»Instructional Communication

Instructional Communication

» Students who relate to their instructors (perceive themselves as having social group similarities) tend to positively evaluate their instructors

» Identification with the class as a whole might be the key in high in-class participation rates

Intergroup Perspective

»Intercultural Communication

Intercultural Communication

» Fundamental dimension of ethnic and cultural identity» People use language to signify their identity, and people

respond to language in terms of their social identity» Conflicts: French in Quebec, Aboriginal language in

Australia, Welsh language, Catalán and Basque in Spain, Spanish in public schools, etc.

» Cannot be fully understood without considering the extent to which people in a particular culture are invested

Intergroup Perspective

»Communication & Technology

Communication & Technology

» People often think they are communicating anonymously and free of stereotypes

» However, grouping may become apparent via names or self-identification. May gain more power this way.

» May be especially characterized by group-level behaviors, collective identities, and group-based communications

Conclusion

» “The times when we communicate truly as individuals unencumbered by one group membership or another are actually fairly rare. To be a part of a group is to be truly human, and to ignore that is to sever ties that are very important to people (Harwood, p.89).”

Resources

» Harwood, J., Shepherd. G. J., Hohn, J. S., & Striphas, T. G. (2006). Communcation as a social Identity. Communication as….Perspectives on Theory, 84-90.

» www.google.com/images» http://

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pathological

» http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riot