Social Identity Theory

Communication theory can be used to support the positive impact the advertising industry is attempting to make towards the empowerment of women. Change takes time, support and effort and because of brands like Nike, Dove and Always, positive messages are being received by women of all ages. Tajfel and Turner’s 1986 Social Identity Theory (SIT) suggests that individuals prefer to use social organizations or groups to communicate through, rather than by expressing their opinions individually (Tajfel & Turner, 1986). Tajfel and Turner believe that people often do not communicate as individuals but rather as representatives of groups that help define a person and that social identity is based upon intergroup behavior (Griffin, 2007). Social behavior tends to depend on the stance of the larger group rather than from an individual perspective and people often classify themselves and others into various social categories, such as organizational membership, religious affiliation, gender and age cohort (Tajfel & Turner, 1986).

The advertising brands are representing change as a group; they are attempting to change social and gender perception to create equality between men and women. Tajfel and Turner infer that individuals will align with groups, which will influence how we communicate with others surrounding a topic (Tajfel & Turner, 1986). According to Tajfel and Turner’s SIT, “the basic hypothesis, then, is that pressures to evaluate one’s own group positively through in-group/out-group comparisons lead social groups to attempt to differentiate themselves from each other” (1986, p. 16). These brands and those individuals, who support them, have taken the step to recognize that gender identity exists and impacts the perception that women have on themselves and the perception that men have towards women. This coupled together could be an influence as to why men dominate leadership roles within organizations but could also be the way social change occurs.

Would you rather state your opinions in an individual or group setting? Do you think a group has more influence when it comes to making change happen?

Griffin, E. (2009). A first look at communication theory. (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Tajfel H., & Turner, J.C. (1986). The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. In S. Worchel & W.G. Austin (Eds.), Psychology of intergroup relations (2nd ed, pp. 7-24). Chicago: Nelson-Hall