Jolanda Jetten

Taking the strain: Social identity, social support, and the experience of stress

The social identity/self-categorization model of stress suggests that social identity can play a role in protecting group members from adverse reactions to strain because it provides a basis for group members to receive and benefit from social support. To examine this model, two studies were conducted with groups exposed to extreme levels of strain: patients recovering from heart surgery (Study 1), bomb disposal officers and bar staff (Study 2). Consistent with predictions, in both studies there was a strong positive correlation between social identification and both social support and life/job satisfaction and a strong negative correlation between social identification and stress. In both studies path analysis also indicated that social support was a significant mediator of the relationship between (a) social identification and stress and (b) social identification and life/job satisfaction. In addition, Study 2 revealed that group membership plays a significant role in perceptions of how stressful different types of work are. Implications for the conceptualization of stress and social support are discussed.

The Individual Within the Group: Balancing the Need to Belong With the Need to Be Different

Many theorists have wrestled with the notion of how people balance their need to be included in social groups with their need to be different and distinctive. This question is particularly salient to researchers from the social identity perspective, who have traditionally viewed individual differentiation within groups as being inimical to group identification. In this article we present a number of strategies that people can use to balance their need to belong and their need to be different, without violating social identity principles. First, drawing from optimal distinctiveness theory, we discuss 4 ways in which the need for belonging and the need to be different can be resolved by maximizing group distinctiveness. We then discuss 4 ways in which it is possible to achieve individual differentiation within a group at the same time demonstrating group identification. These strategies are discussed and integrated with reference to recent empirical research and to the social identity perspective.

Rebels with a Cause: Group Identification as a Response to Perceived Discrimination from the Mainstream

Two studies involving people with body piercings tested the hypothesis that perceived discrimination increases group identification. In Study 1, group identification mediated the positive relationship between perceived discrimination and attempts to differentiate the ingroup from the mainstream. In Study 2, perceived discrimination against people with body piercings was manipulated and was found to increase group identification. Support was found for the prediction that group identification mediates the relationship between perceptions of discrimination and collective self-esteem. Results demonstrate the importance of group identification for both the meaning of group membership and its consequences for well-being among members of disadvantaged groups.

The social cure: Identity, health, and well-being

The consequences of brain injury are well documented and include a range of dif®culties across emotional, cognitive, physical, and social domains. In the social domain, loss of opportunity, support, or capacity to manage the demands of situations in the workplace, community, with family and friends is common. Research is beginning to focus on changes in both social and personal identity following brain injury, and theoretical frameworks are being drawn upon that allow consideration of the relationship between biological, psychological, and social factors. Social identity is de®ned by social roles, and group memberships and also provides an important means through which we form and maintain our sense of self (see Jetten, Haslam, & Haslam, this volume).A growing body of research shows that social networks and identities have a profound impact on mental and physical health. With such mounting evidence of the importance of social relationships in protecting health, the challenge we face is explaining why this should be the case. What is it that social groups offer that appears to be just as beneficial as a daily dose of vitamin C or regular exercise?.This edited book brings together the latest research on how group memberships, and the social identities associated with them, determine peoples health and well-being. The volume provides a variety of perspectives from clinical, social, organisational and applied fields that offer theoretical and empirical insights into these processes and their consequences. The contributions present a rich and novel analysis of core theoretical issues relating to the ways in which social identities, and factors associated with them (such as social support and a sense of community), can bolster individuals sense of self and contribute to physical and mental health. In this way it is shown how social identities constitute a social cureâ, capable of promoting adjustment, coping and well-being for individuals dealing with a range of illnesses, injuries, trauma and stressors. In addition, these theories provide a platform for practical strategies that can maintain and enhance well-being, particularly among vulnerable populations.Contributors to the book are at the forefront of these developments and the books strength derives from its analysis of factors that shape the health and well-being of a broad range of groups. It presents powerful insights which have important implications for health, clinical, social and organisational psychology and a range of cognate fields.

Maintaining group memberships: Social identity continuity predicts well-being after stroke

A survey study of patients recovering from stroke (N = 53) examined the extent to which belonging to multiple groups prior to stroke and the maintenance of those group memberships (as measured by the Exeter Identity Transitions Scales, EXITS) predicted well-being after stroke. Results of correlation analysis showed that life satisfaction was associated both with multiple group memberships prior to stroke and with the maintenance of group memberships. Path analysis indicated that belonging to multiple groups was associated with maintained well-being because there was a greater likelihood that some of those memberships would be preserved after stroke-related life transition. Furthermore, it was found that cognitive failures compromised well-being in part because they made it hard for individuals to maintain group memberships post-stroke. These findings highlight the importance of social identity continuity in facilitating well-being following stroke and, more broadly, show the theoretical contribution that a social identity approach to mental health can make in the context of neuropsychological rehabilitation.

When Group Membership Gets Personal: A Theory of Identity Fusion

Identity fusion is a relatively unexplored form of alignment with groups that entails a visceral feeling of oneness with the group. This feeling is associated with unusually porous, highly permeable borders between the personal and social self. These porous borders encourage people to channel their personal agency into group behavior, raising the possibility that the personal and social self will combine synergistically to motivate pro-group behavior. Furthermore, the strong personal as well as social identities possessed by highly fused persons cause them to recognize other group members not merely as members of the group but also as unique individuals, prompting the development of strong relational as well as collective ties within the group. In local fusion, people develop relational ties to members of relatively small groups (e.g., families or work teams) with whom they have personal relationships. In extended fusion, people project relational ties onto relatively large collectives composed of many individuals with whom they may have no personal relationships. The research literature indicates that measures of fusion are exceptionally strong predictors of extreme pro-group behavior. Moreover, fusion effects are amplified by augmenting individual agency, either directly (by increasing physiological arousal) or indirectly (by activating personal or social identities). The effects of fusion on pro-group actions are mediated by perceptions of arousal and invulnerability. Possible causes of identity fusion--ranging from relatively distal, evolutionary, and cultural influences to more proximal, contextual influences--are discussed. Finally, implications and future directions are considered.

Strength of identification and intergroup differentiation: the influence of group norms

The present study aimed at showing that the relationship between identification and ingroup bias is moderated by salient group norms that prescribe or proscribe differentiation in an intergroup context. A study (N=191) in which level of identification and group norms were manipulated showed that high identifiers acted more in accordance with a salient differentiation norm compared to low identifiers. When a fairness norm was made salient, however, the Expected difference was not obtained. The results are discussed in the context of the inconsistent relationships between ingroup bias and identification found in previous research

Changing identity: Predicting adjustment to organizational restructure as a function of subgroup and superordinate identification

We investigated a work-team restructure within an organization obtaining measures before and after the change occurred. Pre-restructure analyses revealed that, in addition to informational variables, subgroup identification (work-team) and superordinate identification (organization) were important predictors of negative feelings towards the restructure. The more that employees identified with the subgroup, the more negative feelings they reported about the upcoming change. In contrast, the higher the identification with the superordinate group, the less negative employees felt. Longitudinal analysis revealed that compared with the pre-restructure, post-restructure levels of work-team identification, organizational identification, job satisfaction and perceived work-team performance were significantly lower. Pre-restructure work-team identification was a stronger predictor of post-restructure job satisfaction than pre-restructure organizational identification. In addition, it was found that pre-restructure work-team identification and organizational identification had opposing effects on post-restructure organizational identification. There was some evidence that high initial organizational identification protected long-term organizational commitment.

Social group memberships protect against future depression, alleviate depression symptoms and prevent depression relapse.

A growing body of research suggests that a lack of social connectedness is strongly related to current depression and increases vulnerability to future depression. However, few studies speak to the potential benefits of fostering social connectedness among persons already depressed or to the protective properties of this for future depression trajectories. We suggest that this may be in part because connectedness tends to be understood in terms of (difficult to establish) ties to specific individuals rather than ties to social groups. The current study addresses these issues by using population data to demonstrate that the number of groups that a person belongs to is a strong predictor of subsequent depression (such that fewer groups predicts more depression), and that the unfolding benefits of social group memberships are stronger among individuals who are depressed than among those who are non-depressed. These analyses control for initial group memberships, initial depression, age, gender, socioeconomic status, subjective health status, relationship status and ethnicity, and were examined both proximally (across 2 years, N = 5055) and distally (across 4 years, N = 4087). Depressed respondents with no group memberships who joined one group reduced their risk of depression relapse by 24%; if they joined three groups their risk of relapse reduced by 63%. Together this evidence suggests that membership of social groups is both protective against developing depression and curative of existing depression. The implications of these results for public health and primary health interventions are discussed.

Predicting the Paths of Peripherals: The Interaction of Identification and Future Possibilities

Two studies investigated how both degree of identification and the individual’s position within the group influence aspects of group loyalty. The authors considered ingroup position in terms of both the individual’s current position within a group and expectations concerning the likelihood that one’s position might change in the future. Peripheral group members learned that their acceptance by other group members would improve in the future or that they could expect rejection by other group members. Various indices of group loyalty (ingroup homogeneity, motivation to work for the group, and evaluation of a motivated group member) showed that when group members anticipated future rejection, the lower the identification the less loyal they were. In contrast, those who expected future acceptance were more loyal (more motivated to work for the group) the lower their identification. Current group behavior depends on both intragroup future expectations and level of identification.