The social identity theory

By Sarah Walley

A Brief Outline

Turner and Tajfel came up with the theory of social identity. The believed that as humans we can instantly categorise people and compare them to each different group. This could be that the group is Manchester United fans and then comparing them to Liverpool fans. We all have a group and we tend to be bias about the groups that we choose to be in. this could be in the case of music videos that you like pop videos better than rock videos because you like the music better. Whatever group the audience is in they will be bias towards it. However, every individual that is in a particular group operates for the goal of enhancement and this will be based on the esteem of the group.

2 Belief systems to achieve enhancement

1. Social mobility belief system Belief that intergroup boundaries are permeable. So, it is possible for someone to pass from a lower-status into a higher-status group to improve social identity. So in music videos this could be skipping between artists that have different audiences, and some that will have higher status audiences. This could be switching from a mainstream artist to an artist that is more niche. This will allow that individual to stand out from the crowd and seem like they are better than following the mainstream bands/artists. 2.Social change belief system Belief that intergroup boundaries are impermeable. Therefore, a lower-status individual can improve social identity only by challenging the legitimacy of the higher-status group's position. Cognitive alternativesBelief that the status quo is unstable and illegitimate, and that social competition with the dominant group is the appropriate strategy, to improve social identity. Social creativity Group-based behavioral strategies that improve social identity. but do not directly attack the dominant group's position.

How will this relate to my music video

This will relate to my music video as it will allow me to see how an audience reacts to media and the groups that my target audience will belong to in order to enhance the video for them. It will help me to target all of the social groups within the theory, and for that audience it will hopefully reflect them better, making the video more entertaining.For example, I would be have a target audience of teenagers, so they may be interested in the outdoors and the countryside as they enjoy country music. This would mean I would be able to use the countryside to get them more interested in the song, and allow the video to enhance the experience. This will allow the video to fulfil its purpose of being a marketing tool for the actual songs.