Colin Wayne Leach

Who they are

Colin Wayne Leach is a social psychologist. His work on this site is the 2008 paper written with Martijn van Zomeren, Sven Zebel, Michael L. W. Vliek, Sjoerd F. Pennekamp, Bertjan Doosje, Jaap W. Ouwerkerk and Russell Spears, in volume 95, issue 1 of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Key papers

• Leach, C. W., van Zomeren, M., Zebel, S., Vliek, M. L. W., Pennekamp, S. F., Doosje, B., Ouwerkerk, J. W., & Spears, R. (2008). Group-level self-definition and self-investment: A hierarchical (multicomponent) model of in-group identification. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(1), 144-165.

The paper proposes five components arranged in two dimensions: self-definition, which holds individual self-stereotyping and in-group homogeneity, and self-investment, which holds solidarity, satisfaction and centrality. Seven studies tested the structure and its links to established measures and to orientations toward real intergroup relations.

Key ideas

The paper starts from the observation that in-group identification matters but was conceptualised and measured in many ways. Its response is a structured model in which identification has a self-definition side and a self-investment side.

The model is described at hierarchical multicomponent model of in-group identification and sits within the wider construct of group identification.

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