Social Identity, Self as Structure and Self as Process

Social identity theory has contributed enormously to our understanding of intergroup relations and group processes. However, cast as it is within the framework of a conflict structuralist model of society ( Hogg and Abrams, 1988 ), it leaves us with a rather heavily deterministic view of the impact of groups and categories on individuals. The later development of self-categorization theory ( Turner et al ., 1987 ) moved the focus towards cognitive processes and developed the emphasis on categorization and contrast. There remain some difficult problems for both theories, such as the motivational components of group processes (cf. Hogg and Abrams, 1993 ). However, the issue addressed in this chapter is how best to conceptualize the relationship between social groups and self.