9.7 Relationships Between People

(The Importance Of Interpersonal Identification Between Valued And Devalued People)

ESSENTIAL SRV: Relationships Between People

Our social identity is a product of our interactions with other people. We build a richness of social identity from the variety of contact that we have with others. Knowing others, and having other people value us, protects us from harm.

Devalued people often have a limited set of people to interact with and often have fewer and less intense real supportive relationships.

They also suffer from the fact that many people in society see them as ‘not like me’.

If people see devalued people as very akin to them, they will feel better about them and treat them better.

If devalued people are seen as being identified with valued people, less harm will come to them.

Empathy and sympathy may be valuable parts of this interpersonal identification. However, this should not descend into charity or pity imaging. So long as that is avoided, the positive elements of ‘there but for the grace of God, go I’, or the feeling that one should help because of a personal moral imperative, may be useful.

Strategies for Fostering Interpersonal Identification

Improving the approachability of each party by the other, e.g. via:

Presence, e.g., Physical Integration

Appearance

Conduct, including courtesy, helpfulness, unselfishness, affection

Assure that when contact occurs, it is expereinced as positive.

Engage each party in experiences that make them see the world through each other’s eyes, e.g., via:

Media, Literature, and other interpretations.

Participation by devalued persons in typical lifestyles and activities, e.g. community residences, public education, full-day productive work.

Fostering empathy with devalued people.

Engage parties in shared intensive experiences

Foster each party’s sense of responsibility for the other.

REWRITE USING RACE AND WOLF

ADD FROM IDENTITY AND DIFFERENCE

9.7.1 Introduction To The Theme Of Relationships Between People

9.7.2 The Psychology And Sociology Of Relationships Between People

QUERY USE THE CONCEPT OF SOCIOGRAM

Introduction

This is to do with how we enable people-at-risk to get a sense of belonging with other valued people.

People gain many benefits from being among and sharing with other valued people. This is often denied to people-at-risk.

Belonging to a Valued Community is something that we all value. The community to which we belong to or strive to belong to will often determine the type of life that we have.

If this is denied to people-at-risk, then their life chances will be limited.

The Contact Hypothesis

The contact hypothesis springs from moves toward racial tolerance in the USA. Allport hypothesised that for stereotypical discrimination to be overcome, the following were necessary:

Contact was necessary but not sufficient. The contact must :

1/ Be prolonged and involve co-operative activity

2/ Occur within a framework of official and institutional support for integration. Legislation is not sufficient, but may be necessary to cause change.

3/ Involve groups of equal social status.

Use of Similarities

Much avoidance due to stereotyping is due to misunderstandings about the degree and type of difference between the in-group and the out-group. If people are encouraged to initiate and continue contact, similarities are likely to be discovered and concentration on differences minimised or ignored.

Individuals Versus Groups

Three models of improvement in attitudes towards out-groups were suggested

1/ Bookkeeping- accumulation of favourable information about an outgroup gradually improves the stereotype

2/ Conversion- dramatically counter-stereotypic information about an outgroup causes a sudden change of attitudes

3/ Subtyping- stereotype-inconsistent information produces a sub-type within the out-group.

Research indicates that contact improves attitudes towards individuals in the out-group, but that it does not easily generalise to the group as a whole. This is also applicable to people at risk who come to see ‘normal’ society as an out-group.

9.7.3 Relationships Between People And SRV

Five Practical Implications of Interpersonal Identification

People who identify with others will generally

1/ Want good things for the others

2/ Want to be with the others

3/ Communicate good things about the others

4/ Want to please the others; do what the others ask

5/ Possibly want to be like them.

Strategies For Fostering Interpersonal Identification

Make it easier for both people-at-risk and the valued public to interact

By ensuring that people-at-risk are enabled to be there in society (have presence), and to appear acceptable to society by appearance and by behaviour.

Assure that when contact occurs it is experienced as positive by both parties

It is no use if contact occurs, but it is seen as negative by either party.

Improve Communication Between The People-at-Risk and Valued Citizens

Help both the people-at-risk and the valued public to understand the world-view of the other group by: positive presentation in media, literature and other interpretations, participation by people-at-risk in typical lifestyles and activities, and by fostering empathy with people-at-risk.

Encourage Each Party’s Sense Of Responsibility For The Other

People who feel that they have an investment in another person or group of people are more likely to continue identification with them.

The Challenges of Interpersonal Identification in Social Role Valorisation

Getting privileged people to see a reflection of themselves in people who are devalued/at risk (to identify with them and accept them as equals in humanity).

Getting devalued people to identify with persons of adaptive identity and look

to them as models.

9.7.4 Summary Of The Theme Of Relationships Between People