Henri Tajfel

Social identity and intergroup relations

Contributors Preface Henri Tajfel Introduction Henri Tajfel Part I. The Cognitive Construction of Groups: 1. Towards a cognitive redefinition of the social group John C. Turner 2. The determination of collective behaviour Stephen Reicher 3. Social identity and relations of power between groups Jean-Claude Deschamps 4. Intergroup relations and attribution process Miles Hewstone and J. M. F. Jaspars Part II. The Dynamics of Interaction Between Groups: Experimental Studies: 5. Perceived illegitimacy and intergroup relations Brian Caddick 6. The battle for acceptance: an investigation into the dynamics of intergroup behaviour Rupert J. Brown and Gordon F. Ross 7. Power and intergroup discrimination Sik Hung Ng 8. Cross-cultural studies of minimal groups: implications for the social identity theory of intergroup relations Margaret Wetherell 9. Individuality and membership in the intergroup system Murray Horwitz and Jacob M. Rabbie Part III. Contexts of Social Identity: Ethnicity and Social Differentials: 10. Intergroup conflict in Northern Ireland Ed Cairns 11. Problems of identity and social conflict: research on ethnic groups in Italy Dora Capozza, Emiliana Bonaldo and Alba Di Maggio 12. Intergroup relations, ethnic identity and self-evaluation in Indonesia J. M. F. Jaspars and Suwarsih Warnaen 13. The Swedish-speaking Finns: a case study of ethnolinguistic identity Karmela Liebkind 14. Intergroup perceptions in British higher education: a field study Richard Y. Bourhis and Peter Hill 15. Open conflict and the dynamics of intergroup negotiations Claude Louche Part IV. Conclusion: 16. Instrumentality, identity and social comparisons Henri Tajfel Subject index Author index.

The exit of social mobility and the voice of social change : Notes on the social psychology of intergroup relations:

As I Ishared until recently the puzzlement of M. Jourdain in not knowing that I was writing prose, it would perhaps be appropriate to introduce these notes with an account of a brief encounter. Early in March 1974, I was spending a few days in Cambridge, Mass., on my way to deliver some lectures at the University of Michigan. When visiting some friends, I met for the first time Albert Hirschman who a little later in the evening asked me the kind of question that no well-drilled academic ever should in such circumtances take seriously or, even less, answer seriously : what was I going to talk about at Ann Arbor? But the question was asked with great courtesy and apparent interest; therefore I briefly answered in (I hope) no more than five minutes. Next morning, Hirschman appeared bearing a &dquo;slim volume&dquo; with the inscription: &dquo;Pour Henri Tajfel, avec le pressentiment d’un dialogue&dquo;. The book was his Exit, voice and loyalty 1. The present notes are a first step towards validating the self-fulfilling prophecy of that inscription. Amongst the major themes of the Ann Arbor lectures (Tajfel, 1974a) 2

Cognitive aspects of prejudice

The aim of this paper was to stress the importance of the adaptive cognitive functioning of man in the causation of prejudice. It was felt that this approach has the merits of economy, credibility and testability of explanation which are not always shared by views seeking the psychological causes of intergroup tensions in the evolutionary past of the species or in unconscious motivation. Three cognitive processes were considered from the point of view of their relevance to the genesis of prejudice in an individual: categorization, assimilation, and search for conceptual coherence. Though the paper was not concerned either with discussing ways to reduce prejudice or with outlining in any detail designs for future research, it is my belief that the general approach adopted here has implications, both for social action and for research, which have not been as yet consistently and fully taken into account.

Second language acquisition: the intergroup theory with catastrophic dimensions

Few European social psychological publications have concerned themselves with the social problems of bilingualism in general, or with second language acquisition (SLA) in particular. This is in contrast to, for example, a good deal of research interest shown in Canada (e.g. Gardner & Kalin 1981; Lambert 1967). Yet, why should SLA concern social psychologists, whether they be Canadian, European or Asian? There are many answers to this question and we shall highlight just a few. The most prominent is the fact that the vast majority of nations in the world are multicultural and most of these are multilingual. Europe itself can arguably be considered a laboratory for the study of bi- and multilingual issues. Furthermore, a large proportion of children are schooled in their second rather than their mother tongues, the language of the curriculum often being that of a former colonial power or of the dominant ethnic elite. For example, most speakers of English have learned the language as their second tongue (Macnamara 1967). It is true that, at the same time, we are witnessing increasing contemporary pressures towards political and economic interdependence, centralization, modernization, and the like, which might nullify multilingualism and relegate it to the status of a phenomenon of the past. However, and in some ways in response to the above forces (Tajfel 1978a), the recent resurgence of interest in ethnic revivals and national identity which many regard as a distinctly modern process (Fishman 1977; Ross 1979), has been reflected world-wide in the resurrection and modernization of ‘old’, as well as in the creation of new, languages.

Exit, Voice, and Intergroup Relations

If you customarily buy a certain brand of toothpaste, and its price goes up or its quality deteriorates, you will change—without much difficulty or conflict—to another brand. If you discover that the car you have just bought has certain features you dislike, you may decide to sell it and buy one of another manufacture; but if you cannot very well afford the new transaction you may decide to write to the manufacturer pointing out the defects and demanding improvements. If your child goes to a state school that dissatisfies you for various reasons, you may decide to change to a private school. But changing schools may be a traumatic experience for the child; or you may not be able to afford a private school; or there may be no private schools easily available; or they may not be available at all. Whenever any combination of these circumstances arises, the more strongly you feel about the quality of your child’s education, the more you are likely to try to do something about the quality of his or her present school, and to find allies among other parents who feel the way you do. If you have been active for many years in a political party, and you are increasingly dissatisfied with some of its policies, you will not just leave and join another party; before you decide to do so, you will try again and again to change the present policies in a direction which suits you better, and the stronger has been your past affiliation, the more difficult you will find it to leave, and the more you will try all possible means to modify the situation from the inside.

Second Thoughts about Cross-Cultural Research and International Relations

Abstract In his paper on “Psychological research on social change” recently published in this Journal, Herbert Kelman (1967) presented a strong argument for the need to develop cross-cultural and internationally cooperative research on the psychological aspects of social change, particularly as it relates to the developing countries. I have in the past put forward similar arguments (Tajfel, 1964, 1966). The purpose of these notes is to re-examine some of the assumptions underlying both Kelmans and my own previous views in the light of recent experience of cross-national cooperation in social psychology.

General Theory in Social Psychology

The following discussion is an edited version of events occurring at the Canada Council-NATO Conference on &dquo;Paradigms and Priorities in Social Psychology&dquo;, at Carleton University in Ottawa in July, 1974. This conference was attended by 60 social psychologists from Canada, the United States, Great Britain, and Europe; some participants were among the most prominent in their fields while others (including a number of graduate students) were relative new-comers. This heterogeneous group was distinguished by one commonality, a deep concern for the future of an allegedly wavering discipline, which had until the early 1970’s been directional, active and promising. This discussion, like others which were tape recorded, followed one of a number of addresses, invited to stimulate thoughtful interaction about social psychology’s &dquo;paradigms and priorities&dquo;; here, the stimulus was a paper by Elaine and William Walster, &dquo;The Year 2000: The Future of Small Group Research&dquo;; among other features of the paper, it

The Minimal Group Studies

What does it take to make you believe you are a member of a group? The tradition of the British pantomime usually has one piece where the audience is asked to sing, divided into two groups, and encouraged to compete against each other to see who sings the loudest. The members of the audience invariably oblige by singing their hearts out. Each person believes they are a member of a team and acts to support that team. The studies by Sherif (summarised earlier in this chapter) suggested that groups only develop strong intergroup feelings when there is conflict, and this conflict is the crucial precursor of ethno-centrism. However, conflict is not present in all interactions between groups, but ethnocentrism can still develop.