People seek a balance between uniqueness and belonging that breeds ingroup bias

Evidence

Although the categorization process may place the person at either extreme end of the continuum from social identity to personal identity, Brewer’s (1991) Theory of Optimal Distinctiveness suggests that there is an intermediate point along this continuum that optimally satisfies a person’s needs for identity. At this point, an individual’s need to be different from others (i.e., to be unique) and need to belong (i.e., to share a sense of similarity to others) are balanced. Optimally, perceiving one’s group as especially positive and distinctive relative to other groups satisfies both needs for belonging and distinctiveness simultaneously. Unfortunately, one consequence of this process can be intergroup bias. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 549

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains Brewer’s Theory of Optimal Distinctiveness as a point balancing uniqueness against belonging on the identity continuum.
• XREF: connects to: Humans balance opposing needs for belonging and uniqueness through group identification. — Anna X. Huang, Jacqueline M. Chen, and Juliane Degner, Being One or the Other, Both or…, 96; Different identity motives drive Mixed individuals toward different target groups. — Anna X. Huang, Jacqueline M. Chen, and Juliane Degner, Being One or the Other, Both or…, 105