Knowledge clip Social Identity Theory
Categorizing social world into us and them → affiliation, sense-making, self-esteem when group is doing well
Social identity approach = social identity theory + social categorizing theory
Social identity theory
- states that people categorize themselves and others into groups, identify with their in-group, and compare it to
out-groups
- to maintain a positive self-image, they usually see their in-group more favorably and often view out-groups more
negatively
Self-categorization theory
- builds on Social Identity Theory
- it explains how people don’t just see themselves as individuals, but also as interchangeable members of a group
- depending on the context, people shift between different levels of identity (personal, social, or even human) →
when and why do people categorize themselves of a certain group but not of others?
- when a social identity becomes salient, people emphasize similarities within their in-group and exaggerate
differences with the out-group, which guides their thoughts, feelings, and behavior
Whether specific social identity becomes salient, depends on accessibility x fit
- accessibility = ease with which certain social identities are activated given explicit or implicit situational cues or
personal tendencies
- eg. female lecturer with only male students → actives gender identity, even more when eg. she is a
feminist
- fit = degree to which the context supports seeing people in terms of group difference
- within group heterogeneity of in- and out-group → the more the in-group stands out from the group, the
more likely to identify
In short:
- Accessibility = readiness inside the person
- Fit = relevance in the situation
→ If you care strongly about an identity + the context makes it stand out → you will likely think, feel and act in terms of
that group identity
When social identity is activated, and even more when you want to belong to certain group, depersonalisation of
outgroup (eg. me = we)
- start to think and act in ways that they think is in line with ingroup
- collective and group-based behaviors
- good: collaboration, altruism, sharing, ingroup personality
- bad: hate speech, riot, animosity → no strong sense of personal responsibility, prove themselves to own
group
Knowledge clip Social Policy
Social policy refers to the set of guidelines, principles, legislation, and activities that governments (or other institutions)
develop to improve the well-being of society
- it focuses on areas like health care, education, housing, employment, social security, and welfare
- it’s about how societies organize support and resources to address social needs and reduce inequality
- but: it has many definitions, there is no consensus
Social policy = crucial way of how welfare states “attempt to identify and address social inequalities as well as social
risks that have societal consequences”
- welfare states → social policy often represents public or collective management of social issues
- need of education, elderly care, helping people who are unemployed
- individuals and groups can differ in needs because burdens and resources are unequally distributed →
social inequality
- other definition: institutionalized response to social and economic problems
- to improve living conditions and well-being
- driven by normative ideas about human behavior and how to motivate people to act in certain ways
Welfare state ≠ social policy
, - welfare provision is not limited to government
- social policies are not solely created by, implemented and regulated by the state
- focus in much social policy research is however much on government policy and provision of services
- government ≠ nation state → government exists on multiple levels
- policy policies will differ based on who creates, finances, implements and regulates it
- sometimes nation state will do all, sometimes more local governments will play a role
- recently, the state's role in social policy has gotten smaller in many countries → government increasingly shares
responsibility with other institutions (eg. employers, local governments, private organisations, families)
When government universal social policies → everyone pays and everyone benefits → feel solidarity
- but: more targeted at specific groups → question why some are helped over others → less solidarity / more
feelings of injustice
Knowledge clip Solidarity
Solidarity
- shared common identity
- individuals having mutual attachment in society (eg. depending on each other, like doctors), or normative
attachment (expectations, eg. working together on group project)
Forms of solidarity
- human solidarity = earliest historical conceptions of solidarity, family-ties, kinship, helping each other out, caring
between generations
- normative
- emphasises solidarity as moral imperative
- social solidarity = integrative aspect of solidarity within a given society, what holds a society together?
- Kant, Durkheim → dependency and interdependency of others
- relational aspect, no matter what happens, social solidarity ensures some kind of cohesion
- political solidarity = group of people connected by shared interests, willing to stand up for these shared interests
- brotherhood, 18th century
- civic solidarity = welfare state solidarity, welfare state redistributes resources
- focus on obligates of welfare state, eg. government
Critique
- within these four types, distinction between objects and subjects of solidarity is not always clear
- subjects = actors, who is being solidaristic by giving something?
- objects = what is being given or exchanged
- the distinction is only about either the subject or the object, often nothing about what is exchanged
- distinction of four types seems to presume that the types is exclusive → being solidaristic means excluding others
- eg. social solidarity excludes member of other societies
- but: not true → can also be inclusive to people with who we do not share something
When is solidarity inclusive or exclusive?
- exclusionary ingroup solidarity = solidarity between a group of people with shared identity, common interest
and/or cultural/territorial heritage
- excludes those who do not share this
- inclusionary outgroup solidarity = solidarity between groups of people or individuals who do not share identity,
common interests and/or socio-cultural/territorial heritage
Knowledge clip Capability Approach
Key elements of the capability approach:
- structure
- agency
- capabilities
- functionings
- conversion factors
Capabilities = the real opportunities to achieve something (eg. working, voting, being healthy)
Conversion factors = contextual and relation factors that shape our ability to translate means into real opportunities
, - explain why people with the same resources may end up with different capabilities
- personal (eg. health, skills, gender)
- social (eg. norms, discrimination)
- environmental (eg. infrastructure, climate)
Structure = external social, economic and institutional contexts that shape people’s opportunities
Agency = ability to pursue goals they value within structures
- how individuals perceive and interpret social situations
- ability to reflect and take decisions within the world that you are
- concept is actually at debate
Critique: not all individuals have sense of agency
- eg. people with mental health issues who have been moved from institution to own housing, municipality become
in charge but are not really inequipped → these people experience problems but their agency is low
Situated agency emphasizes that people’s actions are always shaped and constrained by their context → social norms,
institutions, resources, and environment
- highlights that agency is never fully “free”; it’s always exercised within structural limits
Active agency emphasizes that, despite constraints, people can take initiative and make meaningful choices to pursue
goals they value
- highlights the capacity to act intentionally
Active agency is exercised within the context described by situated agency. In other words, people act actively, but their
choices, opportunities, and strategies are situated, shaped by social, cultural, and material conditions.
Knowledge clip Social Justice
Normative justice = what should justice look like
Descriptive justice = what do people, in reality, consider just and unjust? How do people deal with injustice?
Justice is …
- multidimensional → eg. process and outcome need to be just
- contested → justice is subjective to everyone
- but it is generally:
1. fair outcomes
2. fair decision processes
3. inclusion of all relevant parties
4. in a manner that fairly recognizes and equally values all
Social justice entails …
- fair distribution of burdens and benefits
- based on fair decision-making process
- where all relevant stakeholders are included
- where all relevant stakeholders are acknowledged and treated fairly
Distributive justice = distribution of burdens and benefits according to predefined principles (outcome focus)
- principles are division rules
- equity = outcome is relative to input
- equality = outcome is evenly distributed
- need = benefit to ones who truly need it most
Procedural justice = fairness of process that lead to certain outcome (process focus)
- people need to be able to voice their opinion
- this opinion needs to be taken into account by decision makers
- transparency, consistency, lack of bias also important
- study: crucial for accepting courts decisions, especially when decision is negative for self
Scope of justice = to whom elements of justice should apply
, - link to solidarity and boundary drawing → most concern to own group being treated just
- group can differ across situations
Recognitive justice = acknowledging all stakeholders fairly
- how we value others, how this value takes shape in treatment of others
- recognizing others as full and equal partners, equally worthy, especially when they have different views
Knowledge clip Welfare State Regimes
Welfare state = ways in which nation state provides support to citizens to live decent life
- eg. minimum wage, education, housing, etc.
Three characteristics of welfare state regimes
1. Level of decommodification
- decommodification = degree to which individuals can maintain a livelihood without being entirely
dependent on the labor market → eg. does individual need to have paid job to earn living? can individuals
sustain themselves without being part of working force?
- low decommodification = you need to work in order to survive, no social support
2. Degree of social stratification
- degree to which welfare state regimes change or keep societal hierarchies intact
- support upward social mobility → people are able to move from low to higher socioeconomic group, eg.
by support education → stratification is low
3. Scope of solidarity
- welfare state targets specific groups or whole society in policies
→ level determine liberal, conservative, social democratic regime
Liberal welfare regime
- freedom and minimal state interference
- welfare state support is seen as reduction of freedom, state trying to control citizens and interfering
- little state support, only for those who fall under minimal agreed upon level, only when absolutely necessary
- further support is left to market
- levels of decommodification are low
Conservative welfare regime
- focus on maintaining male breadwinner, female caregiver system
- welfare support is given as social insurances against social risks like old age, sickness, etc. to make sure family
can support themselves
- family benefits encourage motherhood
- only interfering with family when family’s capacity to care for its members is exhausted
Social democratic welfare regime
- egalitarianism
- equality of the highest standards, enabling participation of all members of society
- state interference goes beyond providing minimum decent life for all, towards society where everyone can flourish
- most extensive support system for citizens
- generally considered universal → everyone pays, everyone benefits
- decommodification is high, focus on reducing (income) inequality across social groups
- citizens have to pay high taxes to support system → also focused to increase labor force
Critique
- three ideal types, most countries don’t fit one of these three types very neatly, welfare states are always involved
- eg. sweden is prime example of social democratic, uk is liberal
- centers mainly around welfare provision for traditional social risks in the form of social transfers
- neglects welfare services, eg. childcare and education
- focus on decommodification → takes workers in paid jobs as central agents of typology → fails to acknowledge
informal work and unpaid care work → gender bias
- but: still useful tool for comparing countries regarding welfare state support
1: Spicker (2023; pp. 1-12)
Opening summary
Categorizing social world into us and them → affiliation, sense-making, self-esteem when group is doing well
Social identity approach = social identity theory + social categorizing theory
Social identity theory
- states that people categorize themselves and others into groups, identify with their in-group, and compare it to
out-groups
- to maintain a positive self-image, they usually see their in-group more favorably and often view out-groups more
negatively
Self-categorization theory
- builds on Social Identity Theory
- it explains how people don’t just see themselves as individuals, but also as interchangeable members of a group
- depending on the context, people shift between different levels of identity (personal, social, or even human) →
when and why do people categorize themselves of a certain group but not of others?
- when a social identity becomes salient, people emphasize similarities within their in-group and exaggerate
differences with the out-group, which guides their thoughts, feelings, and behavior
Whether specific social identity becomes salient, depends on accessibility x fit
- accessibility = ease with which certain social identities are activated given explicit or implicit situational cues or
personal tendencies
- eg. female lecturer with only male students → actives gender identity, even more when eg. she is a
feminist
- fit = degree to which the context supports seeing people in terms of group difference
- within group heterogeneity of in- and out-group → the more the in-group stands out from the group, the
more likely to identify
In short:
- Accessibility = readiness inside the person
- Fit = relevance in the situation
→ If you care strongly about an identity + the context makes it stand out → you will likely think, feel and act in terms of
that group identity
When social identity is activated, and even more when you want to belong to certain group, depersonalisation of
outgroup (eg. me = we)
- start to think and act in ways that they think is in line with ingroup
- collective and group-based behaviors
- good: collaboration, altruism, sharing, ingroup personality
- bad: hate speech, riot, animosity → no strong sense of personal responsibility, prove themselves to own
group
Knowledge clip Social Policy
Social policy refers to the set of guidelines, principles, legislation, and activities that governments (or other institutions)
develop to improve the well-being of society
- it focuses on areas like health care, education, housing, employment, social security, and welfare
- it’s about how societies organize support and resources to address social needs and reduce inequality
- but: it has many definitions, there is no consensus
Social policy = crucial way of how welfare states “attempt to identify and address social inequalities as well as social
risks that have societal consequences”
- welfare states → social policy often represents public or collective management of social issues
- need of education, elderly care, helping people who are unemployed
- individuals and groups can differ in needs because burdens and resources are unequally distributed →
social inequality
- other definition: institutionalized response to social and economic problems
- to improve living conditions and well-being
- driven by normative ideas about human behavior and how to motivate people to act in certain ways
Welfare state ≠ social policy
, - welfare provision is not limited to government
- social policies are not solely created by, implemented and regulated by the state
- focus in much social policy research is however much on government policy and provision of services
- government ≠ nation state → government exists on multiple levels
- policy policies will differ based on who creates, finances, implements and regulates it
- sometimes nation state will do all, sometimes more local governments will play a role
- recently, the state's role in social policy has gotten smaller in many countries → government increasingly shares
responsibility with other institutions (eg. employers, local governments, private organisations, families)
When government universal social policies → everyone pays and everyone benefits → feel solidarity
- but: more targeted at specific groups → question why some are helped over others → less solidarity / more
feelings of injustice
Knowledge clip Solidarity
Solidarity
- shared common identity
- individuals having mutual attachment in society (eg. depending on each other, like doctors), or normative
attachment (expectations, eg. working together on group project)
Forms of solidarity
- human solidarity = earliest historical conceptions of solidarity, family-ties, kinship, helping each other out, caring
between generations
- normative
- emphasises solidarity as moral imperative
- social solidarity = integrative aspect of solidarity within a given society, what holds a society together?
- Kant, Durkheim → dependency and interdependency of others
- relational aspect, no matter what happens, social solidarity ensures some kind of cohesion
- political solidarity = group of people connected by shared interests, willing to stand up for these shared interests
- brotherhood, 18th century
- civic solidarity = welfare state solidarity, welfare state redistributes resources
- focus on obligates of welfare state, eg. government
Critique
- within these four types, distinction between objects and subjects of solidarity is not always clear
- subjects = actors, who is being solidaristic by giving something?
- objects = what is being given or exchanged
- the distinction is only about either the subject or the object, often nothing about what is exchanged
- distinction of four types seems to presume that the types is exclusive → being solidaristic means excluding others
- eg. social solidarity excludes member of other societies
- but: not true → can also be inclusive to people with who we do not share something
When is solidarity inclusive or exclusive?
- exclusionary ingroup solidarity = solidarity between a group of people with shared identity, common interest
and/or cultural/territorial heritage
- excludes those who do not share this
- inclusionary outgroup solidarity = solidarity between groups of people or individuals who do not share identity,
common interests and/or socio-cultural/territorial heritage
Knowledge clip Capability Approach
Key elements of the capability approach:
- structure
- agency
- capabilities
- functionings
- conversion factors
Capabilities = the real opportunities to achieve something (eg. working, voting, being healthy)
Conversion factors = contextual and relation factors that shape our ability to translate means into real opportunities
, - explain why people with the same resources may end up with different capabilities
- personal (eg. health, skills, gender)
- social (eg. norms, discrimination)
- environmental (eg. infrastructure, climate)
Structure = external social, economic and institutional contexts that shape people’s opportunities
Agency = ability to pursue goals they value within structures
- how individuals perceive and interpret social situations
- ability to reflect and take decisions within the world that you are
- concept is actually at debate
Critique: not all individuals have sense of agency
- eg. people with mental health issues who have been moved from institution to own housing, municipality become
in charge but are not really inequipped → these people experience problems but their agency is low
Situated agency emphasizes that people’s actions are always shaped and constrained by their context → social norms,
institutions, resources, and environment
- highlights that agency is never fully “free”; it’s always exercised within structural limits
Active agency emphasizes that, despite constraints, people can take initiative and make meaningful choices to pursue
goals they value
- highlights the capacity to act intentionally
Active agency is exercised within the context described by situated agency. In other words, people act actively, but their
choices, opportunities, and strategies are situated, shaped by social, cultural, and material conditions.
Knowledge clip Social Justice
Normative justice = what should justice look like
Descriptive justice = what do people, in reality, consider just and unjust? How do people deal with injustice?
Justice is …
- multidimensional → eg. process and outcome need to be just
- contested → justice is subjective to everyone
- but it is generally:
1. fair outcomes
2. fair decision processes
3. inclusion of all relevant parties
4. in a manner that fairly recognizes and equally values all
Social justice entails …
- fair distribution of burdens and benefits
- based on fair decision-making process
- where all relevant stakeholders are included
- where all relevant stakeholders are acknowledged and treated fairly
Distributive justice = distribution of burdens and benefits according to predefined principles (outcome focus)
- principles are division rules
- equity = outcome is relative to input
- equality = outcome is evenly distributed
- need = benefit to ones who truly need it most
Procedural justice = fairness of process that lead to certain outcome (process focus)
- people need to be able to voice their opinion
- this opinion needs to be taken into account by decision makers
- transparency, consistency, lack of bias also important
- study: crucial for accepting courts decisions, especially when decision is negative for self
Scope of justice = to whom elements of justice should apply
, - link to solidarity and boundary drawing → most concern to own group being treated just
- group can differ across situations
Recognitive justice = acknowledging all stakeholders fairly
- how we value others, how this value takes shape in treatment of others
- recognizing others as full and equal partners, equally worthy, especially when they have different views
Knowledge clip Welfare State Regimes
Welfare state = ways in which nation state provides support to citizens to live decent life
- eg. minimum wage, education, housing, etc.
Three characteristics of welfare state regimes
1. Level of decommodification
- decommodification = degree to which individuals can maintain a livelihood without being entirely
dependent on the labor market → eg. does individual need to have paid job to earn living? can individuals
sustain themselves without being part of working force?
- low decommodification = you need to work in order to survive, no social support
2. Degree of social stratification
- degree to which welfare state regimes change or keep societal hierarchies intact
- support upward social mobility → people are able to move from low to higher socioeconomic group, eg.
by support education → stratification is low
3. Scope of solidarity
- welfare state targets specific groups or whole society in policies
→ level determine liberal, conservative, social democratic regime
Liberal welfare regime
- freedom and minimal state interference
- welfare state support is seen as reduction of freedom, state trying to control citizens and interfering
- little state support, only for those who fall under minimal agreed upon level, only when absolutely necessary
- further support is left to market
- levels of decommodification are low
Conservative welfare regime
- focus on maintaining male breadwinner, female caregiver system
- welfare support is given as social insurances against social risks like old age, sickness, etc. to make sure family
can support themselves
- family benefits encourage motherhood
- only interfering with family when family’s capacity to care for its members is exhausted
Social democratic welfare regime
- egalitarianism
- equality of the highest standards, enabling participation of all members of society
- state interference goes beyond providing minimum decent life for all, towards society where everyone can flourish
- most extensive support system for citizens
- generally considered universal → everyone pays, everyone benefits
- decommodification is high, focus on reducing (income) inequality across social groups
- citizens have to pay high taxes to support system → also focused to increase labor force
Critique
- three ideal types, most countries don’t fit one of these three types very neatly, welfare states are always involved
- eg. sweden is prime example of social democratic, uk is liberal
- centers mainly around welfare provision for traditional social risks in the form of social transfers
- neglects welfare services, eg. childcare and education
- focus on decommodification → takes workers in paid jobs as central agents of typology → fails to acknowledge
informal work and unpaid care work → gender bias
- but: still useful tool for comparing countries regarding welfare state support
1: Spicker (2023; pp. 1-12)
Opening summary
