<\/p>\n\n\n\n Part of the reason why social identity has been somewhat overlooked<\/a>\nis because, both as individuals and as a culture, we look almost exclusively at\nourselves from within, either in terms of changing some overplayed personality\ntrait (\u2018\u2026this year I\u2019m going to rein in my temper and be kinder to my\ncolleagues\u2019) or some character weakness we must discipline (\u2018\u2026no more weekday\ndrinking, and I\u2019ll cut out sugar while I\u2019m at it.\u2019). The intention may be good,\nbut the change is often only approached from the inside, out. But what if we\nstart from the outside,\nand work in<\/a>? What if we begin to look at what\u2019s going on in the world\naround us, identify what influences us and then identify what we might begin to\nchange. Here\u2019s where social identity can help you make that change so it sticks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Research<\/a>\nshows us that social identity is where behaviour change happens. But what does\nthat mean? If we start writing a list that begins: \u201cwho am I?\u201d we quickly begin\nto see just how much of who we are relates to how we categorise ourselves<\/a>\nwith other people, such as gender, nationality, ethnicity, education, profession,\nskills, parenting roles, sporting preferences. We define ourselves in this way\nthroughout the day, moving between different categories as we go about our\ndaily life: parent, partner, commuter, team-member, caf\u00e9-customer, friend,\nvolunteer. Each of these categories come with their own socially-constructed \u2018guidebooks\u2019,\nif you like, that give us some extremely important reference points: what makes\nus different from others; what to expect from ourselves and other people who\nare like us; what behaviours are and aren\u2019t acceptable. Without these we\nwouldn\u2019t have a clue about how to make sense of things around us or how to\nbehave as we move through our day. Our social\nidentities<\/a> gives us the handholds that we grasp for direction and\nreassurance as we navigate everyday life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So what happens when we want to change something? What do we\ndo when we mentally commit to being a better environmentalist \/ more effective\nleader \/ new business owner \/ more capable parent? We tend to lose ground the\nmoment we focus overly on \u201cI\u201d. We\u2019d be much better to start by thinking\nabout \u201cus\u201d.<\/a> We should start by asking ourselves: \u201cwhat are people like \u2018us\u2019,\nlike?\u201d<\/em> The \u2018us\u2019 can be anything: \u2018eco-minded citizen\u2019; \u2018politically engaged\ncommunity member\u2019; \u2018calm parent\u2019; \u2018team leader\u2019. As we list the characteristics\nof the groups we belong to, we begin to see the \u2018guidebook\u2019 that shapes our\nbehaviour. Some maybe very positive (\u2018people like us [leaders] are visionary,\ngood communicators, empathetic\u2019), or less so (people like us [leaders] are dogmatic,\nego-centric, brash). <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, when we want to think about changing how we work, or\nmanage our relationships, these social identities \u2018guidebooks\u2019 are a good place\nto begin. Look through the list you\u2019ve generated about \u2018people like us\u2019 and then\nyou can draw a line from these to your own behaviours. Ask yourself: do I<\/em>\ndo these things? Does it help me achieve<\/em> what I want when I\u2019m in this\nrole? Are there things here I can aspire<\/em> towards? It\u2019s also worth asking\nyourself whether membership of other groups, different identities, inhibits you<\/a> from achieving\nthe goals you\u2019ve set for yourself elsewhere in your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By looking at change from this angle, the outside in, we can see just how much of what we think and do is directed by the identities that we conform to. When we stop looking for individual faults and differences and see how each and every day we live in an incredible web of social influence<\/a> that directs our footsteps, we find we have a road map for making change happen. With this perspective we soon recognise a world full of social identities, each with their own guidebooks that we both help write and take direction from. And as we act, so we either reinforce this guidance, or begin to shift it. So, this new term, if you\u2019re not happy with something, start with social identity, for a change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Susie Ballentyne<\/a> is a doctoral researcher<\/ins><\/a> in psychology at the University of Sussex. As a social psychologist, she consults on identity for Making Change Happen<\/a><\/ins> and is a co-Director of Leading 4 Life. Through her research, Susie is also developing and practicing a new approach to psychological coaching based on social Identity change: Identity Based Coaching (IBC).<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Susie Ballentyne Over half of us make a new year\u2019s resolution to change something about our behaviour, yet very few of us stick to our intentions. So why, with all the right sign-posting to a new decade, the fresh…<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/psychology\/files\/2020\/02\/Identity-form-Canva.png?resize=550%2C309&ssl=1\")
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