9514398 Brewer Social identities are those aspects of an individual's self concept that derive from his or her membership in emotionally significant social groups. Optimal distinctiveness theory is an extension of self- categorization theory, developed by the PI to account for why individuals seek identification with social groups and to explain the role of social identities in achieving and maintaining a stable self-concept. The theory is based on the thesis that distinctiveness per se is a factor underlying the selection and strength of social identities, independent of the positive evaluation associated with membership in particular social categories. It is proposed that social identities are selected and activated to the extent that they help the individual to achieve a balance between feelings of inclusion and feelings of distinctiveness in a given social context. The purpose of the proposed program of research is to explore the implications of optimal distinctiveness theory for psychological processes at the individual level. Nine sets of experiments are proposed that are designed to test the consequences of seeking and maintaining optimal group identification for (a) self evaluation, (b) self stereotyping and the content of the self concept, (c) presentation of the self to others, and (d) protection of ingroup identity through differentiation from outgroups. Together these experiments will serve to test the validity of the fundamental assumptions about social motivation underlying optimal distinctiveness theory. %%% The purpose of this program of research is to investigate the consequences of group membership for the formation, maintenance, and change of a person's self-concept and sense of self-worth. It is designed to test the theory that opposing needs for belonging (similarity to others) and distinctiveness (differentiation from others) shape individual identity and attitudes toward their own and other socia l groups. An adaptive self-concept satisfies both needs simultaneously. Failure to meet either produces anxiety and instability of the self-concept (disequilibrium). A series of experiments is proposed, designed to assess the effects of such disequilibrium on individual self-esteem and prejudice toward members of other social groups. ***
