Henri Tajfel is the father of which theory?

Correct option is D

Henri Tajfel developed Social Identity Theory (SIT) in the 1970s along with John Turner. This theory explains how people's sense of who they are is based on their group membership and how this influences intergroup behavior. Tajfel's minimal group experiments demonstrated that even arbitrary group categorizations can lead to in-group favoritism and out-group discrimination, revealing the fundamental role of social identity in human psychology.

Information Booster:
1. Core Concept: People derive part of their self-concept from the social groups they belong to (social identity) in addition to their personal identity
2. Minimal Group Paradigm: Tajfel's experiments showed that mere categorization into groups, even on trivial bases, produces intergroup discrimination
3. Three Processes: Social categorization (classifying people into groups), social identification (adopting group identity), and social comparison (comparing in-group favorably to out-groups)
4. Positive Distinctiveness: People are motivated to achieve positive social identity by favorably distinguishing their in-group from out-groups
5. Applications: Explains prejudice, stereotyping, intergroup conflict, and discrimination; influential in understanding nationalism, racism, and organizational behavior

Additional Knowledge:
• Equity Theory (A): Developed by J. Stacy Adams, concerns fairness in social exchanges
• Social Exchange Theory (B): Associated with George Homans and Peter Blau, analyzes social behavior as exchange of resources
• Balance Theory (C): Developed by Fritz Heider, concerns consistency in cognitive relationships