Social Identity Theory

Abstract Social identity theory was initially developed to understand intergroup relations from a social psychological analysis perspective. Over the years, it has been extended to examine how identification with social groups can influence a variety of behaviors, including health‐related ones. The core proposition of the theory is that people define the sense of self in terms of the social groups they belong to. The conceptual focus is on one's collective self (vs. individual self) and social identity (vs. personal identity). Identification with a group involves a cognitive awareness of the identity, a value connotation associated with the group, and an emotional attachment to the group. When people strongly identify with a particular group, they are likely to behave in terms of group membership. In the context of health communication, the impact of social identity on health‐related behaviors can be explained by conformity to group norms, perceived social support, and enhanced self‐efficacy. One way of using social identity as a strategy for health messaging is to tailor the message to the group membership of the intended audience. A related challenge is to persuade people who have an identity that is associated with certain unhealthy behaviors, as messages that target this group of audience may be perceived as a threat to their identity.