So, because we offer programming at Jack James that are not offered in other schools we are able to give in class support by appointment. As I have been saying in my classes, if a student wants to come in to work in class all they have to do is send me an email at kjmaclean@cbe.ab.ca requesting the time and date they wish to come in for some support. Apparently, during a sit down with my eleventh-grade social studies teacher, Mr. Sanderson had told my mother that I had a bright future. That I was poised, intelligent, and took my work seriously.

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Social identity theory, in social psychology, the study of the interplay between personal and social identities. Social identity theory aims to specify and predict the circumstances under which individuals think of themselves as individuals or as group members. The theory also considers the consequences of personal and social identities for individual perceptions and group behaviour.

History

Social identity theory developed from a series of studies, frequently called minimal-group studies, conducted by the British social psychologist Henri Tajfel and his colleagues in the early 1970s. Participants were assigned to groups that were designed to be as arbitrary and meaningless as possible. Nevertheless, when people were asked to assign points to other research participants, they systematically awarded more points to in-group members than to out-group members.

The minimal-group studies were interpreted as showing that the mere act of categorizing individuals into groups can be sufficient to make them think of themselves and others in terms of group membership instead of as separate individuals. That finding deviated from a common view at the time, namely, that an objective conflict of interest is a central factor in the emergence of intergroup conflict.

Thus, social identity theory originated from the conviction that group membership can help people to instill meaning in social situations. Group membership helps people to define who they are and to determine how they relate to others. Social identity theory was developed as an integrative theory, as it aimed to connect cognitive processes and behavioral motivation. Initially, its main focus was on intergroup conflict and intergroup relations more broadly. For that reason, the theory was originally referred to as the social identity theory of intergroup relations.

Later elaborations by Tajfel’s student John Turner and his colleagues on the cognitive factors relevant to social identification further specified how people interpret their own position in different social contexts and how that affects their perceptions of others (e.g., stereotyping), as well as their own behaviour in groups (e.g., social influence). Those elaborations constitute self-categorization theory, or the social identity theory of the group. Together, self-categorization theory and social identity theory can be referred to as the social identity approach.

Cognitive processes

Social identity theory was developed to explain how individuals create and define their place in society. According to the theory, three psychological processes are central in that regard: social categorization, social comparison, and social identification.

Social categorization refers to the tendency of people to perceive themselves and others in terms of particular social categories—that is, as relatively interchangeable group members instead of as separate and unique individuals. For example, one can think of a certain person, Jane, as a feminist, a lawyer, or a football fan.

Social comparison is the process by which people determine the relative value or social standing of a particular group and its members. For instance, schoolteachers may be seen as having higher social standing than garbage collectors. Compared with university professors, however, schoolteachers can be seen as having lower social standing.

Social identification reflects the notion that people generally do not perceive social situations as detached observers. Instead, their own sense of who they are and how they relate to others is typically implicated in the way they view other individuals and groups around them.

Someone’s social identity is then seen as the outcome of those three processes (social categorization, social comparison, and social identification). Social identity can be defined as an individual’s knowledge of belonging to certain social groups, together with some emotional and valuational significance of that group membership. Thus, while one’s personal identity refers to self-knowledge associated with unique individual attributes, people’s social identity indicates who they are in terms of the groups to which they belong.

Motivation

According to social identity theory, social behaviour is determined by the character and motivations of the person as an individual (interpersonal behaviour) as well as by the person’s group membership (i.e., intergroup behaviour).

People generally prefer to maintain a positive image of the groups to which they belong. As a result of social identity processes, people are inclined to seek out positively valued traits, attitudes, and behaviours that can be seen as characteristic of their in-groups.

That inclination may also cause them to focus on less favourable characteristics of out-groups or to downplay the importance of positive out-group characteristics. The tendency to favour one’s in-groups over relevant out-groups can affect the distribution of material resources or outcomes between in-group and out-group members, the evaluation of in-group versus out-group products, assessments of in-group versus out-group performance and achievement, and communications about the behaviour of in-group versus out-group members.

Strategies for status improvement

Social Studies 9mr. Mac's Virtual Existence Pdf

The motivation to establish a positive social identity is thought to lie at the root of intergroup conflict, as members of disadvantaged groups strive for improvement of their group’s position and social standing and members of advantaged groups aim to protect and maintain their privileged position.

According to the individual-mobility belief system, individuals are free agents who are capable of moving from one group to another. The defining feature of the system is the notion that group boundaries are permeable, such that individuals are not bound or restricted by their group memberships in pursuing position improvement. Thus, individuals’ opportunities and outcomes are viewed as dependent on their talents, life choices, and achievements rather than on their ethnic origin or social groups.

A very different belief system, known as the social change belief system, holds that changes in social relations depend on groups modifying their positions relative to each other. Status security depends on the perceived stability and legitimacy of existing status differences between groups. Stability and legitimacy tend to mutually influence each other: when positions are subject to change, existing intergroup differences in status appear less legitimate. Conversely, when the legitimacy of existing status differences between groups is questioned, the perceived stability of such relations is likely to be undermined.

The two belief systems, in turn, determine what people are most likely to do when they pursue a more positive social identity. Social identity theory distinguishes between three types of strategies for status improvement: individual mobility, social competition, and social creativity.

Individual mobility allows people to pursue individual position improvement irrespective of the group. It can also be an individual-level solution for overcoming group devaluation.

Social competition is a group-level strategy that requires group members to draw together and combine forces to help each other improve their joint performance or outcomes.

Finally, social creativity implies that people modify their perceptions of the in-group’s standing. That can be achieved by introducing alternative dimensions of comparison in order to emphasize ways in which the in-group is positively distinct from relevant out-groups. A second possibility is to reevaluate existing group characteristics to enhance in-group perceptions. A third possibility is to compare one’s group with another reference group in order to make the current standing of the in-group appear more positive.

Social creativity strategies are generally characterized as cognitive strategies because they alter people’s perceptions of their group’s current standing instead of altering objective outcomes. Nevertheless, it has been demonstrated that these strategies can constitute a first step toward the achievement of social change. Because social creativity strategies help preserve identification with and positive regard for the in-group, even when it has low status, over time those strategies can empower group members to seek actual position improvement for their group

Social Studies 9mr. Mac's Virtual Existence Reality

American Factfinder from the U. S. Census Bureau
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml
Ancient Egypt from University of South Florida
http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/cairo/

American History sites from Georgetown
http://resources.library.georgetown.edu/libdata/rqs.phtml?core=1&subject_id=63
More sites from Georgetown -
http://resources.library.georgetown.edu/libdata/resources_by_subject.phtml
American History information for kids
http://web.archive.org/web/20030312154216/www.lksd.org/kongiganak/kongiganak/ContinuousEdCarnagie/Carnagie/AmericanHistory/AmericanHistory.htm

Bellingham, Washington sites - explorers activities and webquests
http://wwwbir.bham.wednet.edu/class/hinshaw/socst/explorer.htm

The Best of History Websites - http://www.besthistorysites.net/index.shtml

Brad Bowerman's Geography World - tons of good stuff
http://geographyworldonline.com/

CNN - http://www.cnn.com
CNN for Kids - http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/index.html
CNN Education - hhttp://schoolsofthought.blogs.cnn.com/
The Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov

Center for Civic Education -curricular materials on left
http://www.civiced.org/index.php
Sample Lessons - http://www.civiced.org/index.php?page=lesson_plans

Central Intelligence Agency with facts about countries of the world
2002 Fact Book
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
CIA for Kids site
https://www.cia.gov/kids-page/index.html

Social Studies 9mr. Mac's Virtual Existence According

Crossroads - American history curriculum from New York for K-12
http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED430841.pdf
Mr. Donn's History
http://www.mrdonn.org/
Mr. Donn's US History
http://americanhistory.mrdonn.org/index.html

Social Studies 9mr. Mac's Virtual Existence Key

Mr. Dowling's Electronic Passport
http://www.mrdowling.com/

EconEdLink - economics lessons
http://www.econedlink.org/

EDSITEment Lesson Plans -
http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plans

Enchanted Learning - K-3
http://www.EnchantedLearning.com/Home.html

Evansville - ancient civilizations
http://eawc.evansville.edu/index.htm

Excellent American History site from the Netherlands
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/H/1994/index.htm
Also: http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/H/index.htm

Federal Reserve Publications for Teachers - websites and publications
http://app.ny.frb.org/education/index.html

First Gov For Kids - http://www.kids.gov/
State information http://www.kids.gov/k_5/k_5_states.shtml

Fourth of July, American history, and History Center from Education World
http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson069.shtml
http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/archives/history.shtml
http://www.education-world.com/history/

Fun State Facts from the US Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov/schools/census_for_kids/index.html

Greentown Themes and Units and Online Activities
http://www.northcanton.sparcc.org/~greentown/grtheme.htm

History-Social Science Course Models for grades 2-5 from CA
http://www.history.ctaponline.org/
Mr. Hokanson's Social Studies (US History and World Geography)
Outlines, objectives, tutorials, notes, and activities plus more
http://homepage.mac.com/nhokanson/Sites/socialstudies/

Learn About the US Department of State
http://www.state.gov/youthandeducation/
The History Channel - This Day in History
http://www.thehistorychannel.com/

The History Net - Where History Lives on the Web
http://www.thehistorynet.com

History/Social Studies for K-12 Teachers
http://k-12historysocialstudies.com/boals.html

(Really big site from) Indiana - Social Studies Sources
http://www.indiana.edu/~socialst/
Library of Congress - includes Thomas, American Memory, and exhibitions
http://www.loc.gov

Mapquest - world atlas with printable maps or map your trip
http://www.mapquest.com
http://atlas.mapquest.com/
Memphis State - ancient world cultures including Color Tour of Egypt
http://www.memphis.edu/egypt/index.htm

National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies
http://www.socialstudies.org/standards/introduction
National Geographic Society - Maps, searchable lesson plans,interactive sites - http://www.nationalgeographic.com
For teachers - http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/?ar_a=1
http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/teaching-resources/?ar_a=1
http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/explore-topics/st/?ar_a=
New Hampshire Geographic Alliance - excellent resources for NH teachers
http://www.nhga.net/

Odyssey Online from Emory University -ancient civilizations info and art
http://carlos.emory.edu/ODYSSEY/

SCORE history and social studies lesson plans and resources from California - http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/

Smithsonian Institution - http://www.si.edu/
Education and Outreach - http://smithsonianeducation.org/
Lesson Plans - http://smithsonianeducation.org/educators/index.html
Students - http://smithsonianeducation.org/students/index.html
Resource Library - http://smithsonianeducation.org/educators/resource_library/resource_library.asp

Social Studies Lesson Plans and Resources for Teachers
http://www.csun.edu/~hcedu013

Teacherlink - Resources (NASA, graphics, lesson plans, maps, teacher opportunities, searchable database)
http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/

TerraServer - satellite views
http://www.terraserver.com/

Topo maps - topographic maps online
http://nationalmap.gov/ustopo/index.html
http://nationalmap.gov/
http://mapserver.mytopo.com/homepage/index.cfm?CFID=13606733&CFTOKEN=32577592
http://topomaps.usgs.gov/

United Nations Cyberschoolbus - Global Teaching and Learning Project
http://www.cyberschoolbus.un.org/
US Maps - http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/united_states.html

Social Studies Resource Links
http://www.free.ed.gov/?sid=9
http://www.beavton.k12.or.us/vince/vose/resources/social.html#social

The White House - historical info plus modern
http://www.whitehouse.gov

World History information for kids
http://web.archive.org/web/20041111022456/http://www.lksd.org/kongiganak/kongiganak/ContinuousEdCarnagie/Carnagie/WorldHistory/WldHistoryMain.htm
WWW-VL History Central Catalog - teacher reference
http://vlib.iue.it/history/index.html