Social Identity Theory and its Impact on People’s...

Abstract This study aimed to investigate whether the social identity theory applies when it comes to peoples’ reactions to petrol queue jumping. It intended to ascertain whether participants demonstrated more reaction to those who jump queues, outside their own in-group (those who drive luxurious cars as opposed to non-luxurious car drivers). This study was influenced by a similar experiment conducted by Helweg-Larsen LoMonaco (2008) about queuing among U2 fans and their reactions to queue jumping. The experiment involved 49 participants who indicated they didn’t drive a luxury car, in a Melbourne metropolitan petrol queue, 26 of whom were males, aged 18-58 years (M =33:82; SD = 11.26), in addition to this there were 23 females, aged†¦show more content†¦This study is relatable to other research particularly one executed by Thoitis Virshup (1997) in which groups of people were classified into â€Å"me’s and â€Å"we’s† and this is a clear represe ntation for in-groups and out-groups. They discussed the notion that there is a sense of obligation and protection of one’s own ingroup as they are willing to empathise with those perceived to be similar to the individual as oppose to the â€Å"we’s† who were seen as dissimilar to the individual (Thoitis Virshup, 1997). In terms of human behaviour, social identity theory and queue jumping can be closely interrelated as queue jumping has been was investigated by Helweg-Larsen LoMonaco (2008). In this study U2 fans where given a questionnaire whilst waiting in an overnight line to obtain floor spots at his concert the following day. The purpose was to reflect on their reactions to line-intrusion and the results showed that the queue is a social system and line intrusion was most upsetting to fans with a greater the commitment; the more dedicated the fan the more upset they were by queue jumping (Helweg-Larsen LoMonaco, 2008). In regards to queue jumping, there is much curiosity as to whether the social identity theory can be proven but little research. It is important to study reactions toShow MoreRelatedStrategic Marketing Management337596 Words   |  1351 Pages4.7 4.8 4.9 4.10 Learning objectives Introduction: the changing business environment (or the new marketing reality) Analysing the environment The nature of the marketing environment The evolution of environmental analysis The political, economic, social and technological environments Coming to terms with the industry and market breakpoints Coming to terms with the very different future: the implications for marketing planning Approaches to environmental analysis and scanning Summary 5 Approaches