Premium
Categories versus groups as explanatory concepts in intergroup relations
Author(s) -
Rabbie Jacob M.,
Horwitz Murray
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
european journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1099-0992
pISSN - 0046-2772
DOI - 10.1002/ejsp.2420180204
Subject(s) - outgroup , psychology , social psychology , social identity theory , attribution , ingroups and outgroups , in group favoritism , similarity (geometry) , social category , social group , identification (biology) , face (sociological concept) , group conflict , social distance , sociology , medicine , social science , botany , disease , covid-19 , pathology , artificial intelligence , computer science , infectious disease (medical specialty) , image (mathematics) , biology
In this discussion of papers by Doise (1988) and Tajfel (1982) it is argued that a conceptual distinction should be made between social groups and social categories. A social group can be considered as a ‘dynamic whole’ or social system, characterized by the perceived interdependence among its members, whereas a social category can be defined as a collection of individuals who share at least one attribute in common. This distinction is crucial for the understanding of outgroup favouritism in the minimal intergroup situation, the basic similarity between large scale groupings and face‐to‐face groups, the difference between group identification and social identity and the issue of categorizations versus attributions in intergroup conflict.