Self-interest is redefined by whatever level the collective self-categorisation occupies

Evidence

Once the boundaries of concern have been extended from the personal self to a collective self – which might be defined as “those of us affected by the emergency” – this shared social identity motivates helping, cooperation, and also broader forms of solidarity such as courtesy. In this account, it is assumed that we normally orient to, and care about, “our” own wellbeing. However, since who “we” are varies as a function of level of self-categorisation, so too do self-interest and other motivations. — John Drury, The role of social identity processes…, 50

Categorization

• DEFINE: Spells out the core theoretical move of the social identity account: self-interest is not fixed but tracks the shifting boundaries of self-categorisation.
• DEEPTHINKING: The claim that self-interest itself is elastic depending on self-categorisation level is a quietly radical reframing of a foundational assumption in economics and rational-choice disaster research.
• corroborated: 5 independent passages support this claim — John Drury, The role of social identity processes…, 50
• XREF: connects to: Expressions of narrow self-interest are rhetorical performances rather than literal self-reports — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”: The work of avoiding…, 3; Self-interest shifts which stereotype category gets applied; Perceivers choose among competing category labels to serve self-interest (+5 more)

Related

• Common fate shifts self-categorisation from individuals to a group (similarity 0.79)
• The emergency itself, not an outgroup, can define group boundaries (similarity 0.79)
• People act collectively in emergencies despite being conditioned toward individual self-interest. (similarity 0.79)
• Salient self-categories make people perceive themselves as interchangeable group exemplars. (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• People strategically select which stereotype to apply based on self-interest #expands (0.88)
• Rational self-interest calculation presupposes a defined identity #expands (0.85)
• Self-interest shifts which stereotype category gets applied #expands (0.82)
• Ingroup membership is a shifting, context-dependent self-definition tied to self-enhancement #corroborates (0.82) — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 424
• Perceivers choose among competing category labels to serve self-interest #expands (0.80)