Social identity theory is a social psychological theory that explains how people's conception of who they are (their self-concept) is associated with their membership of social groups and categories, and with group and intergroup behaviors. The theory defines group membership in terms of people's identification, definition, and evaluation of themselves as members of a group (social identity), and specifies cognitive, social interactive and societal processes that interact to produce characteristic group phenomena.

Originating in Britain in the work ...