Social Self-Regulation

The social identity and self-awareness approaches to group members' behavior are described. It is suggested that identity salience should not be assumed to have direct effects on behavior. A model is presented that attempts to address this problem through an integration of the social identity (specifically, self-categorization theory) and self-awareness approaches. This model distinguishes between salience of self; a perceptual/interpretive process giving rise to particular self-images, and attention to self behavioral regulation in relation to particular self-selected goals or standards. The model has greater flexibility and wider applicability to individuals' collective behavior than either the social identity or the self-awareness approach alone.