Social identity in adolescence

Social identity theory (SIT) was used to investigate the effects of social categorization on adolescents' intergroup behaviour. One hundred and forty-nine male adolescents aged 14–15 years made comparisons between an ingroup and an outgroup along a series of dimensions. Participants displayed consistent ingroup-favouring behaviour in their ratings: the ingroup was associated to a greater extent than the outgroup with positively valued dimensions, and to a lesser extent with negatively valued dimensions. Those participants who demonstrated the most discrimination reported highest levels of ingroup identification. The utility of applying predictions from SIT to the study of adolescence is discussed.