IDENTITY NEEDS VERSUS SOCIAL OPPORTUNITIES - THE USE OF GROUP-LEVEL AND INDIVIDUAL-LEVEL IDENTITY MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

This study investigates how relative group size and group status effec t the use of direct and indirect identity management strategies, which may serve either individual or collective goals. On the basis of soci al identity theory, we hypothesized that strategy preference would be determined jointly by (1) the relative status of the in-group, (2) the nature of the comparision dimension, and (3) the level of in-group id entification. In a laboratory situation, students were assigned random ly to groups of over- and underestimators. The in-group constituted ei ther a majority or a minority group. Group status subsequently was man ipulated by false feedback on a group creativity task. The main result s showed that high status group members display in-group favoritism on status related dimensions, while low status group members consider th e in-group superior on an alternative dimension. Furthermore, group me mbers tend to accentuate the heterogeneity of the in-group on those di mensions on which they consider their group inferior. Finally, claims of in-group superiority on alternative dimensions in response to infer ior status (a group-level strategy), were made only by high identifier s, while accentuation of in-group heterogeneity (an individual-level s trategy) was observed only among low identifiers.