Collective Self Definition
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.
For example, a person may hold a self-definition of being an environmentalist. When this collective self-aspect becomes relevant, similarities with other environmentalists (e.g., a sense of responsibility for the environment) are emphasized, whereas unique characteristics of the person (e.g., being honest) move to the background. It is not essential for self-definition that the individual has close personal relationships with other environmentalists, as collective identity is based on the common identification with the group of environmentalists. The collective self-concept comprises characteristics that the person shares with other environmentalists and that differentiate environmentalists from other people (e.g., relying on public transportation vs. using cars, or voting behavior).
Collective Self Background
Marilynn Brewer and Wendi Gardner suggested a theoretical framework that encompasses three levels of self-definition: personal self, relational self, and 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 developed a framework which distinguishes elements of collective identity: self-categorization, evaluation, importance, attachment, social embeddedness, behavioral involvement, and 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.
- Ashmore, R. D., Deaux, K., & McLaughlin-Volpe, T. (2004). An organizing framework for collective identity: Articulation and significance of multidimensionality. Psychological Bulletin, 130, 80-114.
- Brewer, M. B., & Gardner, W. (1996). Who is this “we”? Levels of collective identity and self-representations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 83-93.
- Sedikides, C., & Brewer, M. B. (Eds.). (2001). Individual self, relational self, collective self. Philadelphia: Psychology Press.