Extending Theory on Social Categorization

• In Event: 2323 - Student Forum Refereed Roundtable
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: 9. Race, Identity, and Conflicts in Social Lives

Abstract

Major theories in psychology and sociology have proposed that personal identities draw from social identities based on membership in important social groups, commitment to salient social roles, and desire to tell a compelling narrative of one’s origin and purpose. I propose a similar framework but shift attention from self-identity to how we perceive the identity of others. Using survey data form a study on the legitimation of authorities, I explore differences in the perception of criminal justice authorities by social group and find evidence that the social group or role to which we classify others changes how we evaluate that other. Moreover, I argue that characterization – how that other features in our life narratives – can alter our perception of them from what is suggested by role or group prototypes.

Author

• Kwan-Lamar Blount-Hill, CUNY Graduate Center/John Jay College of CJ