Social Psychology provides leading theories that explain why oppression exists and continues to persist in the world. The first theory is Social Identity Theory developed by Henri Tajfel. It suggests that a person’s self-identity is developed based on the social groups in which they belong to (David & Derthick, 2017). People find a great deal of pride and self-esteem in social groups. In-group pride pushes people to favor the members of their own groups. An example is a sports fan that grows supporting the Lakers. They believe that their team is the best place to direct their support and will do anything to disapprove of other fans’ opinions.
Jima Sidanius and Felicia Pratto developed the Social Dominance Theory in 1999. The theory explains how social structures supported by a hierarchy of groups such as age and race can lead to imbalance in the distribution of resources causing marginalization of specific social groups (David, & Derthick, 2017). An example of this theory in real-life situations is the discrepancy that exists between non-citizens and US citizens. The latter enjoys fewer privileges than a citizen would. The Terror Management Theory was developed by Jeff Greenberg, Sheldon Solomon, and Tom Pyszczynski. The theory explains that human defensive thinking arises due to the awareness of inevitable death (David, & Derthick, 2017). A person may be willing to do anything to evade death. An example is a Christian who adheres to their religion and spirituality in the belief that their life will be prolonged and continued in the afterlife even after their deaths.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The Right-Wing Authoritarianism theory suggests that people are always willing to protect and hold on to their values (David, & Derthick, 2017). Unlike the TMT theory, RWA values are directly connected to the social groups in which the person belongs to. An example is gender beliefs held by queer groups. The Colonial Theory suggests that oppression occurs because some groups of people believe it is okay to exploit other lands and their occupants based on the belief that it is their right to do so (David, & Derthick, 2017). The situations developed in the colonies are designed to benefit the colonizers while oppressing the native occupants. An example is how the US took the lands of Native Americans and exploited their resources.
Reference
David, E. J., & Derthick, A. O. (2017). The Psychology of Oppression . Springer Publishing Company.
