Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Towards a Clearer Understanding of Social Identity Theory’s Self-Esteem Hypothesis

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Understanding Peace and Conflict Through Social Identity Theory

Part of the book series: Peace Psychology Book Series ((PPBS))

Abstract

Social identity theory proposes that the need for self-esteem motivates group members to protect and enhance the positivity of their group. In this chapter, we explain this self-esteem hypothesis in detail and discuss its caveats and limitations. We also discuss recent work that proposes a dynamic relation between collective self-esteem and group-related outcomes. Based on this discussion, we present a reformulated version of the self-esteem hypothesis that makes more specific predictions than the original. We also broaden the scope of the self-esteem hypothesis by taking into account identity management strategies other than intergroup discrimination. Hence, this chapter moves beyond the blunt question of whether self-esteem motivates intergroup discrimination and instead provides a more nuanced explanation of the various issues that need to be considered when investigating the relation between the need for self-esteem and group behaviour.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 149.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aberson, C. L., Healy, M., & Romero, V. (2000). Ingroup bias and self-esteem: A meta-analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 4, 157–173. doi:10.1207/S15327957PSPR0402_04.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Abrams, D., & Hogg, M. A. (1988). Comments on the motivational status of self-esteem in social identity and intergroup discrimination. European Journal of Social Psychology, 18, 317–334. doi:10.1002/ejsp.2420180403.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R. F., Smart, L., & Boden, J. M. (1996). Relation of threatened egotism to violence and aggression: The dark side of high self-esteem. Psychological Review, 103, 5–33 doi:10.1037/0033-295X.103.1.5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernache-Assollant, I., Laurin, R., Bouchet, P., Bodet, G., & Lacassagne, M.-F. (2010). Refining the relationship between ingroup identification and identity management strategies in the sport context: The moderating role of gender and the mediating role of negative mood. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 13, 639–652. doi:10.1177/1368430210369680.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bettencourt, B. A., Charlton, K., Dorr, N., & Hume, D. L. (2001). Status differences and in-group bias: A meta-analytic examination of the effects of status stability, status legitimacy, and group permeability. Psychological Bulletin, 127, 520–542. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.127.4.520.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Blanz, M., Mummendey, A., Mielke, R., & Klink, A. (1998). Responding to negative social identity: A taxonomy of identity management strategies. European Journal of Social Psychology, 28, 697–729. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-0992(199809/10)28:5<697::AID-EJSP889>3.0.CO;2-#.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Branscombe, N. R., Schmitt, M. T., & Harvey, R. D. (1999). Perceiving pervasive discrimination among African Americans: Implications for group identification and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 135–149. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.77.1.135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Branscombe, N. R., & Wann, D. L. (1994). Collective self-esteem consequences of outgroup derogation when a valued social identity is on trial. European Journal of Social Psychology, 24, 641–657. doi:10.1002/ejsp.2420240603.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, J. D., Collins, R. L., & Schmidt, G. W. (1988). Self-esteem and direct versus indirect forms of self-enhancement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55, 445–453. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.55.3.445.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bushman, B. J., & Baumeister, R. F. (1998). Threatened egotism, narcissism, self-esteem, and direct and displaced aggression: Does self-love or self-hate lead to violence? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 219–229. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.75.1.219.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bushman, B. J., Baumeister, R. F., Thomaes, S., Ryu, E., Begeer, S., & West, S. G. (2009). Looking again, and harder, for a link between low self-esteem and aggression. Journal of Personality, 77, 427–446. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2008.00553.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cadinu, M. R., & Cerchioni, M. (2001). Compensatory biases after ingroup threat: ‘Yeah, but we have a good personality’. European Journal of Social Psychology, 31, 353–367. doi:10.1002/ejsp.46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Correll, J., & Park, B. (2005). A model of the ingroup as a social resource. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 9, 341–359. doi:10.1207/s15327957pspr0904_4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Coull, A., Yzerbyt, V. Y., Castano, E., Paladino, M. P., & Leemans, V. (2001). Protecting the ingroup: Motivated allocation of cognitive resources in the presence of threatening ingroup members. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 4, 327–339. doi:10.1177/1368430201004004003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crocker, J., & Luhtanen, R. (1990). Collective self-esteem and ingroup bias. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 60–67. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.58.1.60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crocker, J., Thompson, L. L., McGraw, K. M., & Ingerman, C. (1987). Downward comparison, prejudice, and evaluations of others: Effects of self-esteem and threat. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 907–916. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.52.5.907.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • De la Ronde, C., & Swann, W. B., Jr. (1993). Caught in the crossfire: Positivity and self-verification strivings among people with low self-esteem. In R. F. Baumeister (Ed.), Self-esteem: The puzzle of low self-regard (pp. 147–165). New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doosje, B., Spears, R., & Koomen, W. (1995). When bad isn’t all bad: Strategic use of sample information in generalization and stereotyping. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 642–655. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.69.4.642.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellemers, N. (1993). The influence of socio-structural variables on identity management strategies. In W. Stroebe & M. Hewstone (Eds.), European review of social psychology (pp. 27–57). Chichester, England: Wiley. doi:10.1080/14792779343000013.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellemers, N., Spears, R., & Doosje, B. (1997). Sticking together or falling apart: In-group identification as a psychological determinant of group commitment versus individual mobility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 617–626. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.72.3.617.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellemers, N., & van Rijswijk, W. (1997). Identity needs versus social opportunities: The use of group-level and individual-level identity management strategies. Social Psychology Quarterly, 60, 52–65. doi:10.2307/2787011.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellemers, N., Wilke, H., & van Knippenberg, A. (1993). Effects of the legitimacy of low group or individual status on individual and collective status-enhancement strategies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 766–778. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.64.5.766.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gagnon, A., & Bourhis, R. Y. (1996). Discrimination in the minimal group paradigm: Social identity or self-interest? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 1289–1301. doi:10.1177/01461672962212009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilbert, D. T., Giesler, R. B., & Morris, K. A. (1995). When comparisons arise. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 227–236. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.69.2.227.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Greenwald, A. G. (1980). The totalitarian ego: Fabrication and revision of personal history. American Psychologist, 35, 603–618. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.35.7.603.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hogg, M. A., & Abrams, D. (1990). Social motivation, self-esteem and social identity. In D. Abrams & M. A. Hogg (Eds.), Social identity theory: Constructive and critical advances (pp. 28–47). New York: Harvester Wheatsheaf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jetten, J., Branscombe, N. R., Schmitt, M. T., & Spears, R. (2001). Rebels with a cause: Group identification as a response to perceived discrimination from the mainstream. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 1204–1213. doi:10.1177/0146167201279012.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jetten, J., Iyer, A., Tsivrikos, D., & Young, B. M. (2008). When is individual mobility costly? The role of economic and social identity factors. European Journal of Social Psychology, 38, 866–879. doi:10.1002/ejsp.471.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jost, J. T., Banaji, M. R., & Nosek, B. A. (2004). A decade of system justification theory: Accumulated evidence of conscious and unconscious bolstering of the status quo. Political Psychology, 25, 881–919. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9221.2004.00402.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leach, C. W., van Zomeren, M., Zebel, S., Vliek, M. L. W., Pennekamp, S. F., Doosje, B., et al. (2008). Group-level self-definition and self-investment: A hierarchical (multicomponent) model of in-group identification. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 144–165. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.95.1.144.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Long, K. M., Spears, R., & Manstead, A. S. R. (1994). The influence of personal and collective self-esteem on strategies of social differentiation. British Journal of Social Psychology, 33, 313–329. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8309.1994.tb01028.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Luhtanen, R., & Crocker, J. (1992). A collective self-esteem scale: Self-evaluation of one’s social identity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18, 302–318. doi:10.1177/0146167292183006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marques, J. M., Yzerbyt, V. Y., & Leyens, J. (1988). The ‘Black Sheep Effect’: Extremity of judgments towards ingroup members as a function of group identification. European Journal of Social Psychology, 18, 1–16. doi:10.1002/ejsp.2420180102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martiny, S. E., & Kessler, T. (2014). Managing one’s social identity: Successful and unsuccessful identity management. European Journal of Social Psychology, 44, 748–757. doi:10.1002/ejsp.2056.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martiny, S. E., Kessler, T., & Vignoles, V. L. (2012). Shall I leave or shall we fight? Effects of threatened group-based self-esteem on identity management strategies. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 15, 39–55. doi:10.1177/1368430211415439.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milanov, M., Rubin, M., & Paolini, S. (2014). Different types of ingroup identification: A comprehensive review, an integrative model, and implications for future research. Psicologia Sociale, 3, 205–232. doi:10.1482/78347.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, M., & Badea, C. (2012). They’re all the same!…but for several different reasons: A review of the multicausal nature of perceived group variability. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21, 367–372. doi:10.1177/0963721412457363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, M., Badea, C., & Jetten, J. (2014). Low status groups show in-group favoritism to compensate for their low status and to compete for higher status. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 17, 563–576. doi:10.1177/1368430213514122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, M., & Hewstone, M. (1998). Social identity theory’s self-esteem hypothesis: A review and some suggestions for clarification. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 2, 40–62. doi:10.1207/s15327957pspr0201_3.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, M., & Hewstone, M. (2004). Social identity, system justification, and social dominance: Commentary on Reicher, Jost et al., and Sidanius et al. Political Psychology, 25, 823–844. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9221.2004.00400.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, M., Hewstone, M., & Voci, A. (2001). Stretching the boundaries: Strategic perceptions of intragroup variability. European Journal of Social Psychology, 31, 413–429. doi:10.1002/ejsp.51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, M., & Paolini, S. (2014). Out-group flies in the in-group’s ointment: Evidence of the motivational underpinnings of the in-group overexclusion effect. Social Psychology, 45, 265–273. doi:10.1027/1864-9335/a000171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheepers, D., Spears, R., Manstead, A. S., & Doosje, B. (2009). The influence of discrimination and fairness on collective self-esteem. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35, 506–515. doi:10.1177/0146167208329855.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sherif, M. (1967). Group conflict and cooperation. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sidanius, J., Pratto, F., van Laar, C., & Levin, S. (2004). Social dominance theory: Its agenda and method. Political Psychology, 25, 845–880. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9221.2004.00401.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swann, W. B. (1987). Identity negotiation: Where two roads meet. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 1038–1051.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tajfel, H. (1979). Individuals and groups in social psychology. British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 18, 183–190. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8260.1979.tb00324.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tajfel, H. (1981). Human groups and social categories: Studies in social psychology. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tajfel, H., Billig, M. G., Bundy, R. P., & Flament, C. (1971). Social categorization and intergroup behaviour. European Journal of Social Psychology, 1, 149–178. doi:10.1002/ejsp.2420010202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W. G. Austin & S. Worchel (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33–47). Monterey, CA: BrooksCole.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, S. E., & Brown, J. D. (1988). Illusion and well-being: A social psychological perspective on mental health. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 193–210. doi:10.1002/ejsp.2420010202.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, J. C. (1975). Social comparison and social identity: Some prospects for intergroup behaviour. European Journal of Social Psychology, 5, 1–34. doi:10.1002/ejsp.2420050102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, J. C. (1996). Henri Tajfel: An introduction. In W. P. Robinson (Ed.), Social groups and identities: Developing the legacy of Henri Tajfel (pp. 1–23). Oxford, England: ButterworthHeinemann.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, J. C. (1999). Some current issues in research on social identity and self-categorization theories. In N. Ellemers, R. Spears, & B. Doosje (Eds.), Social identity: Context, commitment, content (pp. 6–34). Oxford, England: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, J. C., & Reynolds, K. J. (2001). The social identity perspective in intergroup relations: Theories, themes, and controversies. In R. Brown & S. L. Gaertner (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of social psychology: Intergroup processes (pp. 133–152). Malden, MA: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway

    Sarah E. Martiny

  2. The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia

    Mark Rubin

Authors
  1. Sarah E. Martiny
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mark Rubin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sarah E. Martiny .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom

    Shelley McKeown

  2. Department of Psychology, Laurentian University, Barrie, Ontario, Canada

    Reeshma Haji

  3. Department of Psychology, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom

    Neil Ferguson

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Martiny, S.E., Rubin, M. (2016). Towards a Clearer Understanding of Social Identity Theory’s Self-Esteem Hypothesis. In: McKeown, S., Haji, R., Ferguson, N. (eds) Understanding Peace and Conflict Through Social Identity Theory. Peace Psychology Book Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29869-6_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation