Groups In Society

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groups. The third section will outline findings of research, suggesting that the distinction between social and personal identity has become central to theorising about the self.
1: Part One.
that promote minority viewpoints are generally displaced by the majority as social out-groups or as deviant individuals. Their views are, at best rejected (as not important), and are often ridiculed or trivialised in an attempt to discredit them (for example, the treatment of gays and/or feminists). Research confirms that minorities exert more influence if they are perceived by the majority as ingroup members (Cited in Vaughan and Hogg, 1997, p 137). For example, straight males' attitudes towards homosexuality are more like to become normalised if the in-group favours this attitude (i.e., group norm), that is if other straight males within a normalised in-group promulgate the same attitude, rather than the out-group (homosexual males).
Moscovici (1980), argued that majorities and ...

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influence produces direct immediate behavioural compliance. Hogg and Abrams (1988), view group membership is an important source of self-esteem. Specifically, a motive for positive self- regard or self-esteem.
In-groups stereotypes tend to be more favourable and out-groups less favourable. Hogg and Abrams, (1988) state that " self-categorisation imbues the self with all the attributes of the group, and so it is important that such attributes are ones which reflect well on the self. Furthermore, People (and societies) are motivated to try to achieve wide acceptance that in- group/out-group categorisation is correlated with only those focal dimensions which reflect well on the ...

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