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The collective self consists of those aspects of the self that are based on memberships in

social groups or categories. It refers to a perception of self as an interchangeable exemplar


of some social category rather than a perception of self as a unique person. The collective
self is based on impersonal bonds to others that are derived from the shared identification
with a social group. Those bonds do not necessarily require close personal relationships
between group members. The collective self-concept is composed of attributes that one
shares with members of the group to which one belongs (the ingroup). That is, it includes
those aspects of the self-concept that differentiate ingroup members from members of
relevant outgroups. Commonalities with groups may be based on stable characteristics,
such as race or gender, or on achieved states, such as occupation or party membership.

Marilynn Brewer and Wendi Gardner’s framework:

Three levels of self-definition:

1. personal self
2. relational self
3. collective self.

The collective self refers to the representation of self at the group level (e.g., “I am a student
of psychology”). It corresponds to the concept of “social identity” as described in social
identity theory and self-categorization theory. Recently the term collective self has been
preferred to the term social identity, as all aspects of the self are socially influenced. The
collective self can be distinguished from the personal self and the relational self.

The personal self concerns the definition of self at the individual level (e.g., “I am smart”); it
refers to characteristics of the self (e.g., traits or behavior) that one believes to be unique to
the self.

The relational self alludes to the interpersonal level; it is derived from relationships with
significant others (e.g., “I am a daughter”).
The term collective self corresponds to the interdependent self as defined by Hazel Markus
and Shinobu Kitayama in their analysis of cultural differences between self-concepts in
Japan and the United States. The relational self refers to people to whom one feels
emotionally attached, such as close friends or family members. In contrast, the collective
self may include people whom one has never met but with whom one shares a common
attribute, such as occupation or gender.

Richard Ashmore, Kay Deaux, and Tracy McLaughlin-Volpe’s framework:

Elements of collective identity:

1. self-categorization
2. evaluation
3. importance
4. attachment
5. social embeddedness
6. behavioral involvement
7. content and meaning

Self-categorization refers to identifying the self as a member of a particular social group. It


is the basis for the other dimensions of collective identity. Social categorization has been
assumed to be an automatic process that occurs as soon as people have a basis for grouping
individuals into categories. But often there are many categories that may be used in any
given situation (e.g., “student,” “woman,” “Democrat”). Relevant goals in a situation are
among the factors that determine the type of categorization occurring.

The dimension of evaluation represents the positive or negative attitude that a person has
toward a social category. Accordingly, collective self-esteem is the extent to which
individuals evaluate their social groups positively. Rija Luhtanen and Jennifer Crocker
developed a collective self-esteem scale that comprises four subscales: (1) private
collective self-esteem (i.e., the extent to which individuals feel positively about their social
groups), (2) public collective self-esteem (i.e., the extent to which individuals believe that
others evaluate their social groups positively), (3) membership esteem (i.e., the extent to
which individuals believe they are worthy members of their social groups), and (4)
importance to identity (i.e., the extent to which individuals believe their social groups are
an important part of their self-concept).

The framework includes further elements that cannot be addressed in detail here, for
example, the importance of a particular group membership to a person’s overall self-
concept, or attachment, defined as a feeling of affective involvement and belonging to a
group.

Importance of Collective Self

A variety of behaviors and conditions can be predicted from elements of collective identity.
The collective self has been linked to individuals’ reactions and behaviors toward other
people, especially toward members of other groups. It plays an important role in group
perception and behavior, for example, prejudice, inter-group stereotyping, and
discrimination. According to social identity theory, individuals seek to achieve and
maintain a positive social identity (i.e., collective self-esteem) by establishing favorable
comparisons between their own groups and outgroups. To achieve this, people
discriminate against or derogate outgroup members relative to ingroup members. It has
been found that the mere act of categorizing oneself as a group member is sufficient to lead
people to evaluate ingroup members more positively than others and to allocate more
rewards to them than to members of other groups.

Elements of the collective self also predict outcomes at the individual level. For example,
collective self-esteem is related to psychological well-being (e.g., higher satisfaction with
life, lower depression, hopelessness, and burnout). Furthermore, there is evidence for
relationships between ethnic and more specific, context-relevant identities and
achievement.

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