Definition
A person’s social category is salient when he or she is perceived, or perceives himself or herself, as a group member rather than as a unique individual. Category salience implies that the impression of and the behavior towards the person shift from the interpersonal level to the intergroup level.
Introduction
Psychological theory and research has extensively focused on the process of social categorization, its antecedents, and consequences. A person’s social category is salient when he or she is perceived, or perceives himself or herself, as a group member (e.g., a “woman” or a “manager”) rather than as a unique individual. Category salience implies that the impression of and the behavior towards the person shift from the interpersonal level to the intergroup level. Without category salience, intergroup behavior is not possible – behavior between groups can only be shown if people categorize each other into...
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Bosak, J., Asbrock, F., Meyer, B. (2018). Salience of Category. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2425-1
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