The Self in Minority–Majority Contexts

This chapter examines self-perception in minority–majority contexts. First, a self-aspect model of self-interpretation is outlined from which the distinction between the individual self and the collective self is derived. Next, the results from a series of experiments are discussed which examine the role of the collective self in minority and majority members' self-perception. This analysis takes into account not only minority–majority contexts characterized by an asymmetry in group size, but also contexts characterized by both size and status asymmetries. In addition, the role of several other factors is examined which are likely to further qualify self-perception in minority–majority contexts (i.e., meaningfulness of the underlying social categorization, accessibility of the individual self, and awareness of common fate). The chapter closes with a synthesis based on the “place metaphor”, which helps to integrate the present work into a more comprehensive perspective on the social self.