Social Identity Theory explains how valued group memberships and comparisons shape self-definition and intergroup behavior. Boundary permeability and perceived status legitimacy and stability influence responses to disadvantage. It helps identify identity stakes in communication without assuming that demographic categories determine behavior or that ingroup preference necessarily means hostility.
- FamilyModel
- CategoryTheories & Explanatory Models
- DomainGroups & Decisions
What these mean
Editorial orientation · Family
Model
In this series, Model names the editorial family primarily used to understand and explain communication: theories, frameworks, effects, traditions, principles and other conceptual resources. It is an umbrella for a route into the field, not a claim that every included object is a predictive model.
Editorial orientation · Category
Theories & Explanatory Models
Explains how or why a communication process works by relating mechanisms, conditions or variables. Its value is an account that can guide inquiry into what produces an outcome, rather than a name for the outcome alone.