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Dominique Thomas

February 9, 2011

Reaction Essay

The community of Winston Parva is a microcosm of a larger phenomenon that repeats

itself in various environments and forms. The established-outsider figuration refers to the

relationship among the residents of the community. The members are split into two groups

based only on the duration of the time they have been present in the community. The two groups

are almost exactly the same in every other facet; they are of the same ethnicity and they are both

working class groups. The group that has been in the neighborhood for multiple generations has

grown together as a unit and possesses a strong amount of social capital because of their strong

ties to one another. The group that has more recently arrived does not have this social capital

because they are not as closely knit. The established group attributes superior characteristics to

themselves and inferior characteristics to the outsider group. Their assessment is made by

focusing on the best members of their own group and the worst members of the other group.

Established group members also have more influence because they effectively keep out outsiders

by stigmatizing contact with them and by ensuring that members of their own group rise to

prominence within the community. Many times the established group can make members of the

outsider actually feel inferior.

Much of this can easily be explained by a psychological concept known as Social Identity

Theory. This theory states that an individuals self-worth is based on the groups that the

individual belongs too. The social identity contains information about the group membership

and the evaluation of that membership. A natural part of this evaluation is group comparison in

which individuals compare themselves to members of a similar group. People want to maintain a

positive self-esteem, so as a part of this theory, they would want to be a part of a group that is

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positive. This can cause biases and intergroup differentiation. In the case of Winston Parva, the

established members evaluated their group and based on certain characteristics (length of

inhabitance and close ties) deemed themselves a positive group. They used this same process to

determine that the outsiders were a negative and inferior group. Making the outsiders feel as

though they are negative can be traced to another concept known as self-fulfilling prophecy.

Self-fulfilling prophecy refers to individuals being constantly bombarded with stereotypes

(positive or negative) and believing in the stereotypes. Believing in the stereotype, whether it is

true or false, influences the individuals behavior in a way that confirms the stereotype.

Obviously the outsider group is constantly reminded of their inferior status in multiple ways and

it is understandable if some of them came to believe such things. It is not because they are

actually inferior, but that these individuals are not given the opportunity to be anything but that.

The article states that the strength of the backlash against dominating groups inversely

proportionate to their power. As the dominating groups lose a grip on their power, the

dominated group will gain more momentum in their movement against the domination.

Eventually the established group will not have as much power because it is likely that more

newcomers will arrive not just by birth, but by immigration and the established group will

eventually be outnumbered with their domination of the community virtually neutralized if not

completely reversed.