People identify with lower-status groups despite self-esteem motives

Evidence

Although individual and collective self-esteem is conceptualized as a core motive in SIT and has seen immense attention in social identity research (Abrams and Hogg 1988), it is not the only motive that may drive identification with a social group. Indeed, there is ample research and theorizing that people identify with lower status social groups in many social domains (e.g., Degner et al. 2025; Flöther and Degner 2025). — Anna X. Huang, Jacqueline M. Chen, and Juliane Degner, Being One or the Other, Both or Neither, 89

Categorization

• XREF: Challenges the self-esteem motive dominance in SIT; connects to broader debates about affiliation with stigmatized groups. — connects to: Downward and intraclass comparisons protect the self-esteem of low-status groups; Social identity theory cannot explain negative in-group stereotypes among the disadvantaged — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2895; In-group identification boosts well-being through gains in perceived control, not self-esteem. — Immo Fritsche, Agency Through the We: Group-Based…, 24

Broader Connections

• Downward and intraclass comparisons protect the self-esteem of low-status groups #complicates (0.78)
• Social identity theory cannot explain negative in-group stereotypes among the disadvantaged #corroborates (0.75) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2895