The individual within the group: Balancing the need to belong with the need to be different
Matthew Hornsey and Jolanda Jetten review how people balance the need to belong to groups with the need to be different. Social identity theorists had traditionally treated differentiation of an individual within a group as harmful to identification with it. The authors propose eight strategies that reconcile the two needs without violating social identity principles. Four draw on optimal distinctiveness theory and resolve the tension by maximising the distinctiveness of the group, and four let individuals differentiate themselves within a group while still identifying with it. The review integrates these strategies with recent empirical research and the social identity perspective.
Matthew Hornsey and Jolanda Jetten review how people balance the need to belong to groups with the need to be different. Social identity theorists had traditionally treated differentiation of an individual within a group as harmful to identification with it. The authors propose eight strategies that reconcile the two needs without violating social identity principles. Four draw on optimal distinctiveness theory and resolve the tension by maximising the distinctiveness of the group, and four let individuals differentiate themselves within a group while still identifying with it. The review integrates these strategies with recent empirical research and the social identity perspective.
Written from the abstract as shown on the SAGE record, read 2026-10-28.
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Hornsey, M. J., & Jetten, J. (2004). The individual within the group: Balancing the need to belong with the need to be different. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 8(3), 248-264. doi:10.1207/s15327957pspr0803_2 https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327957pspr0803_2