Social Identity and Intergroup Competition

This chapter adopts a social identity approach to explain the nature of competition between groups. The role of the self is central in social identity theory. The ways in which the drive to attain a positive sense of self through identification with groups motivates competitive intergroup behavior forms the core of this chapter. The chapter begins with a brief discussion of realistic conflict theory and discusses the role of independent versus interdependent goals between groups in driving competitive versus cooperative intergroup behavior. Social identity theory is then invoked in the remainder of the chapter to discuss how competition between groups is sparked by the need for a clear, distinctive, and positive identity among group members through competition over status with the outgroup. The ways in which intergroup competition is viewed as adaptive by groups in crystalizing group boundaries and negotiating intergroup status and prestige is highlighted. A clearly defined social identity is also essential to group members in the management of self-uncertainty—a primary motive for social identification. The chapter ends with a discussion of contexts in which group members’ self-uncertainty is provoked and heightened such that they seek groups with rigidly defined ideologies wherein competitive relations spiral into radical, even violent behavior toward the outgroup and support for ingroup leaders who are authoritarian.