Theories of Socio-Political Change and the Dynamics of Sub-Group Versus Superordinate Interests
Abstract
Social change is a core topic within political and social psychology. In light of recent world-wide protest movements directed at social change it is timely to reflect on where current theory and research on socio-political change stands, what the unresolved issues are, and what the necessary next steps. In this paper, three dominant theoretical models are critically evaluated – social identity theory, social dominance theory, and system justification theory – and points of similarity and divergence are highlighted. In addition, it is argued that inclusion of different levels of self-categorization and associated self-interest in the theories has the potential to provide a more “integrated” account of the psychological processes that underpin both system stability and system change.
References
2011). All else being equal: Do men have higher SDO than women? European Journal of Social Psychology, 41, 796–806.
(2000). Social identity theory: Past achievements, current problems and future challenges. European Journal of Social Psychology, 30, 745–778.
(1999). The intergroup dynamics of collective empowerment: Substantiating the social identity model of crowd behavior. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 2, 381–402.
(2005). Explaining Enduring Empowerment: A Comparative Study of Collective Action and Psychological Outcomes. European Journal of Social Psychology, 35, 35–58.
(1993). The influence of socio-structural variables on identity management strategies. European Review of Social Psychology, 4, 27–57.
(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.
(1999). The interactive effects of social dominance orientation, group status, and perceived stability on favoritism for high-status groups. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 2, 119–143.
(2000). Placating the powerless: Effects of legitimate and illegitimate explanation on affect, memory, and stereotyping. Social Justice Research, 13, 219–236.
(2003). The ASPIRe model: Actualizing Social and Personal Identity Resources to enhance organizational outcomes. Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, 76, 83–113.
(1996). Achieving positive social identity, social creativity, and permeability of group boundaries. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 241–254.
(2001). Outgroup favoritism and the theory of system justification: An experimental paradigm for investigating the effects of socio-economic success on stereotype content. In , Cognitive social psychology: The Princeton symposium on the legacy and future of social cognition (pp. 89–102). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
(2011). System justification theory as a compliment, complement, and corrective to theories of social identification and social dominance. In , Social Motivation (pp. 223–263). New York, NY: Psychology Press.
(1994). The role of stereotyping in system-justification and the production of false consciousness. British Journal of Social Psychology, 33, 1–27.
(2004). A decade of system justification theory: Accumulated evidence of conscious and unconscious bolstering of the status quo. Political Psychology, 25, 881–919.
(2000). Attitudinal ambivalence and the conflict between group and system justification motives in low status groups. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26, 293–305.
(2001). The psychology of legitimacy: Emerging perspectives on ideology, justice, and intergroup relations. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
. (2003). Social inequality and the reduction of ideological dissonance on behalf of the system: Evidence of enhanced system justification among the disadvantaged. European Journal of Social Psychology, 33, 13–36.
(1980). The belief in the just world: A fundamental delusion. New York: Plenum.
(2008). Cross-sectional and longitudinal differences in social dominance orientation and right wing authoritarianism as a function of political power and societal change. Asian Journal of social Psychology, 11, 116–126.
(1994). Stereotyping and social reality. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
(1984). “Different” just means “better”: Some obvious and hidden pathways to ingroup favoritism. British Journal of Social Psychology, 23, 363–367.
(2000). The “relative self”: Information and judgmental consequences of comparative self-evaluation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 23–38.
(1999). Go with the flow or fight the power? The interactive effects of social dominance orientation and perceived injustice on support for the status quo. Political Psychology, 20, 1–24.
(2004). The context of social identity: Domination, resistance, and change. Political Psychology, 25, 921–945.
(2006). On the agency of individuals and groups: Lessons from the BBC Prison Study. In , Individuality and the group: Advances in social identity (pp. 237–257). London, UK: Sage.
(2012). Social identity, prejudice and social change: Beyond the Allportian problematic. In , Beyond prejudice: Extending the social psychology of conflict, inequality and social change (pp. 48–69). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
(2004). Commentary on Reicher, Jost et al., and Sidanius et al., Political Psychology, 25, 823–844.
(2003). Attitudes toward group-based inequality: Social dominance or social identity? British Journal of Social Psychology, 42, 161–186.
(1999). Social dominance: An intergroup theory of social hierarchy and oppression. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
(1998). Collective identification and social movement participation. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 74, 646–658.
(2001). Politicized collective identity: A social psychological analysis. American Psychologist, 56, 319–331.
(2008). Identity and politicization among Turkish migrants in Germany: The role of dual identification. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 1354–1366.
(1994). “People like us”: The influence of personal deprivation and group membership salience on justice evaluations. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 30, 277–299.
(1996). Ability and outcome evaluations as a function of personal and collective (dis)advantage: A group escape from individual bias. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 690–704.
(2001). The (il)legitimacy of ingroup bias: From social reality to social resistance. In , The psychology of legitimacy: Emerging perspectives on ideology, justice, and intergroup relations (pp. 332–362). New York: Cambridge University Press.
(2008). The Political Solidarity Model of Social Change: Dynamics of Self-Categorization in Intergroup Power Relations. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 12, 330–352.
(2011). Power consolidation in leadership change contexts: A social identity perspective. In , How Power Changes Hands: Transition and Succession in Government (pp. 174–190). Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
(2012). Where to from here for the psychology of social change? Future directions for theory and practice. Political Psychology, 33, 61–74.
(1978). Differentiation between social groups: Studies in the social psychology of intergroup relations. London, UK: Academic Press.
(1974). Social identity and intergroup behaviour. Social Science Information/sur les sciences sociales, 13, 65–93.
(1971). Social categorization and intergroup behaviour. European Journal of Social Psychology, 1, 149–178.
(1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In , The social psychology of intergroup relations. Monterey, CA: Brooks Cole.
(1987). Disadvantaged group responses to perceived inequality: From passive acceptance to collective action. Journal of Social Psychology, 127, 259–272.
(1975). Social comparison and social identity: Some prospects for intergroup behaviour. European Journal of Social Psychology, 5, 5–34.
(1984). Social identification and psychological group formation. In , The social dimension: European developments in social psychology, Vol. 2, (pp. 518–538). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
(1985). Social categorization and the self-concept: A social cognitive theory of group behaviour. In , Advances in group processes, Vol. 2, (pp. 77–122). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
(1987). Rediscovering the social group. In , Rediscovering the social group: A self-categorization theory (pp. 19–41). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
(1978). Social status, cognitive alternatives and intergroup relations. In , Differentiation between social groups: Studies in the social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 201–234). London, UK: Academic Press.
(1987). Rediscovering the social group: A self-categorization theory. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
(1994). Self and Collective: Cognition and Social Context. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 20, 454–463.
(2003). Why social dominance theory has been falsified. British Journal of Social Psychology, 42, 199–206.
(1984). Social identity and equity concerns in intergroup perceptions. British Journal of Social Psychology, 23, 351–361.
(2012). Social identity complexity and immigrants’ attitude towards the host nation: The intersection of ethnic and religious group identification. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 38, 1165–1177.
(1999). Strategic Collective Action: Social psychology and social change. In , Blackwell handbook of social psychology: Intergroup Processes. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
(1990). Responding to membership in a disadvantaged group: From acceptance to collective action. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 994–1003.
(