Groups Social and Organizations
Labels and Out-Groups
Sometimes we perceive a person to be a member of an out-group and interpret his or her
behaviors very differently from our own. Men may think of another man who strives to succeed
professionally as being ambitious, but they might label a woman who exhibits the same
behaviors as being pushy. The members of a particular religious background might consider
themselves secure in their beliefs but call members of another religion self-righteous for
demonstrating similar levels of certainty in their respective religions.
Identifying a group as an out-group can serve several functions. By pointing out a group that we
are not part of, we increase our commitment to the groups of which we are members. If we claim
that a particular out-group espouses beliefs that we disavow, we confirm our ideological
compatibility with the groups to which we belong. By claiming that an out-group is bad, we are
implying that, in comparison, our group is good.
Reference Groups
The group to which we compare ourselves for purposes of self-evaluation is called a reference
group.
Example: Susan graduates from college and lands a job as a marketing assistant in a large
corporation. To find out whether the proposed salary is fair, she can compare the offer against
those of the other members of her graduating class or against the salaries of marketing assistants
at similar corporations nationwide. Her reference groups would be her graduating class and all
marketing assistants, respectively.
Self-evaluation is largely a social phenomenon, in that look we for others with whom to compare
ourselves. In our society, people compare themselves to others in similar age groups and with
similar educational levels to determine how successful they are materially. If a person who rents
an apartment sees that others of the same age and education own their own homes, his or her
self-evaluation will be negative. On the other hand, if a person owns a home and a vacation
home while his or her peers own only one home, his or her self-evaluation will be positive.
Specific Groups as Reference Groups
Primary or secondary groups can serve as a reference group.
If we feel stymied in our career progress, we look to our best friends to see how they are
doing and then evaluate ourselves in comparison to them.
If we think that we should be paid more, we can look to other members of our company
and see how much they are making.
A general category can also serve as a reference group. If a person worries about approaching
thirty without being married, he or she can look at a general cross-section of thirty-year-olds to
see whether the majority of them are married and adjust the self-assessment accordingly.
People often use celebrities as reference groups. If a woman wants to know whether shes slim
enough and uses a supermodel as a reference, the answer will probably be no. If she compares
herself to a more full-figured woman, the answer might be yes. A young man who aspires to a
career in sports will compare his career progress to that of his favorite player and judge himself
by how closely his career mirrors that of his idol.