220 Personality and Social Psychology Review 18(3) indicator is therefore their r ion of shared social iden nds on whethe tification in impo rtant and valued domains (Eggins with (Doosie.Haslam.Spears,Oakes O'Brien,Reynolds,Haslam,&Crocker,2008).The fact &Koomen,1998:Hopkins&Murdoch,1999);what it means that it is the subjective experience of belonging to a socia to be compas depends o on compares on mann（0 norato 2004:Rev 2000 In this way,the SIA conceptualizes the self not as a set of Hypothesis 4 (4):Subiective indicators of social rela stable traits but as a potentially fluid process.That said,in nshins will he better predictors ofdepre essive symptoms y con d as stable b than objective indicators. stable CTumer et al.1994).Indeed.it is worth noting tha The foregoing claim that objective reality influence psychologists and psychological methods often go to great huma ony indirectly through th engths to ensure this stability (e.g.. the yar which hun tion transforms reality has long been a dominant focus of ing to personal and social identity formation over the short (particularly in the cognitive tradi term and long term (see Blanz,1999:Oakes,Haslam, psychological rese ing that thi 06 Haslam, wever,It Is won :de en to than for most other models previouslyused tocon the role of social relationships in depression. perceivers to use them)andf(Oakes,Bruner I hes tignmCmticadonasectionhtsocialidcnif6 1957).This means that people will be inclined to define an the in term th that othe of soc ness(e.g.instrumental or emotional support)cannot be ben cample.Jane ma eficia I for health.Nevertheless,it does suggest that socia be more likely to define herself as the supporter of a partic oup n Thi ar football team if she regularly attends the games of tha ng on as a gr ber)wi for ple that whether or not is beneficia ese two contexts for health will depend,among other things,on the degree to workingasa psychologist. who she is asa persor which the source of that support and who she sees herself to be group mer ific group mem feel that the groun matters to them and that they matter to ol w ed and tious (Tumer,Reynolds,Haslam,&Veenstra,2006). ion is tha below Hypothesis 5 (H5):Social identification will det er Hl and H2)should he conditioned by both the ace the impact of the various social factors (e.g.,social sup- port)that are implicated in depression man (say de i Key Pre mise 3:Social ldentific ion Is a Dyr th hi a cess Tha sponds to Me mic ningful Variation in seen as relevant to the issue at hand (e.g dealing with the the Social World stress of parenthood rathe than with s of work;Sani This point Is pa Within the SIA.individuals are understood to define both nd oth as it allows us to son.That is,"self"is defined,in part,through contrast to what when such interventions will affect the self-concept and is"ot self."At a group level,this mea ns that who are is of an individua nd thus,be ng or More specifi lly,it leads to th wing hypothesi defined by who"youare (and what I am not).How Hypothesis 6 (H6):Social interventions for depression the comparative context within which the self is understood will be more effective to the extent that they increase changes,so too will the meaning of self.What it means to be social identification.220 Personality and Social Psychology Review 18(3) indicator is therefore their perception of shared social iden￾tification in important and valued domains (Eggins, O’Brien, Reynolds, Haslam, & Crocker, 2008). The fact that it is the subjective experience of belonging to a social category that underpins meaningful group behavior (Turner & Oakes, 1997) leads to our fourth hypothesis: Hypothesis 4 (H4): Subjective indicators of social rela￾tionships will be better predictors of depressive symptoms than objective indicators. The foregoing claim that objective reality influences human experience and behavior only indirectly through the lens of perception should not be a controversial proposition. On the contrary, the variety of ways in which human percep￾tion transforms reality has long been a dominant focus of psychological research (particularly in the cognitive tradi￾tion; Kruglanski, 1989). However, it is worth noting that this theme provides a stronger focus for social identity research than for most other models previously used to conceptualize the role of social relationships in depression. These arguments lead to an assertion that social identifi￾cation is the “active ingredient” of social connectedness. This does not mean that other aspects of social connected￾ness (e.g., instrumental or emotional support) cannot be ben￾eficial for health. Nevertheless, it does suggest that social identification (i.e., seeing oneself as a group member) will largely determine the impact of these processes. This means, for example, that whether or not social support is beneficial for health will depend, among other things, on the degree to which the source of that support is perceived to be an in￾group member. In other words, the benefits of social rela￾tionships for health should be most apparent when individuals feel that the group matters to them, and that they matter to the group. Both these points have empirical support in pre￾dicting depression, as will be outlined further below. Hypothesis 5 (H5): Social identification will determine the impact of the various social factors (e.g., social sup￾port) that are implicated in depression. Key Premise 3: Social Identification Is a Dynamic Process That Responds to Meaningful Variation in the Social World Within the SIA, individuals are understood to define both themselves and others through a process of social compari￾son. That is, “self” is defined, in part, through contrast to what is “not self.” At a group level, this means that who “we” are is defined partly by our understanding of “them” (and what we are not); whereas at a personal level, who “I” am is partly defined by who “you” are (and what I am not). However, as the comparative context within which the self is understood changes, so too will the meaning of self. What it means to be a psychologist depends on whether one compares oneself with physicists or historians (Doosje, Haslam, Spears, Oakes, & Koomen, 1998; Hopkins & Murdoch, 1999); what it means to be compassionate depends on whether one compares one￾self with Mother Theresa or Adolf Eichmann (Onorato & Turner, 2004; Reynolds & Oakes, 2000). In this way, the SIA conceptualizes the self not as a set of stable traits but as a potentially fluid process. That said, in many contexts, the self will be experienced as stable because the contexts in which it is located (or studied) are relatively stable (Turner et al., 1994). Indeed, it is worth noting that psychologists and psychological methods often go to great lengths to ensure this stability (e.g., through the standardiza￾tion of testing regimes; Reynolds et al., 2010). There are a range of factors that the SIA sees as contribut￾ing to personal and social identity formation over the short term and long term (see Blanz, 1999; Oakes, Haslam, & Turner, 1994; Postmes & Jetten, 2006; Postmes, Haslam, & Swaab, 2005). Broadly, though, the salience of particular identities is seen to reflect their accessibility (the readiness of perceivers to use them) and fit (Oakes, 1987; after Bruner, 1957). This means that people will be inclined to define and understand themselves in terms of categories that have proved to be useful in the past, and that allow them to make sense of their current circumstances. For example, Jane may be more likely to define herself as the supporter of a particu￾lar football team if she regularly attends the games of that team (high accessibility) and if she is in a conversation about football with a supporter of a rival team (high fit) rather than working as a psychologist. Moreover, in these two contexts, who she is as a person—and who she sees herself to be—is likely to reflect the norms of the specific group membership that informs her identity: So that at the game, she is loud and emotional, whereas at work, she is reserved and conscien￾tious (Turner, Reynolds, Haslam, & Veenstra, 2006). One key implication of this analysis for depression is that the ability of an individual to benefit from the social connect￾edness that flows from internalized group membership (as per H1 and H2) should be conditioned by both the accessibil￾ity of a suitable group membership and its contextual fit. So, for example, it should be easier for a man (say) to benefit from the social support that his family can provide if he has a history of strong ties with his family and if his family is seen as relevant to the issue at hand (e.g., dealing with the stress of parenthood rather than with stress of work; Sani, Magrin, Scrignaro, & McCollum, 2010). This point is par￾ticularly important for interventions that seek to improve social connectedness in depression, as it allows us to specify when such interventions will affect the self-concept and social identities of an individual and thus, be beneficial. More specifically, it leads to the following hypothesis: Hypothesis 6 (H6): Social interventions for depression will be more effective to the extent that they increase social identification. Downloaded from psr.sagepub.com at Remen University of China on September 6, 2015