title: When self-categorization makes sense: the role of meaningful social categorization in minority and majority members' self-perception.
abstract: The authors examined the joint influence of meaningful social categorization and relative in-group size on the depersonalization of self-perception. Meaningfulness of social categorization was varied following the fit principle, introduced by self-categorization theory. In Experiment 1, the authors predicted and found that minority members show more depersonalized self-perception than majority members if, and only if, the meaningfulness of the underlying in-group-out-group categorization is high as opposed to low. Experiment 2 further substantiated that a meaningful social categorization affects only minority members' self-perception. Finally, the conceptual relationship between fit, meaning, and identity is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Psychologisches Institut IV, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Germany. simon@psy.uni.muenster.de
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hastedt
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Aufderheide
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003861:Depersonalization / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000523:psychology*; D012649:Self Concept; D012925:Social Conformity; D012931:Social Environment; D012933:Social Identification; D012938:Social Perception; D013240:Stereotyping; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology