Kenneth Pike developed the terms etic and emic, which are two different approaches to examining culture. An etic approach assumes that culture can be examined with predetermined categories that can be applied to all cultures in the search for cultural universals. In contrast, an emic perspective approaches each culture as a unique entity that can only be examined by constructs developed from inside the culture. This entry explores etic and emic approaches and their relationship to social identity.

Etic accounts of social identity assume people develop ...