Gordon Allport Formation Of In Groups Summary

“The Formation of In-Groups” by Gordon Allport is very compelling article that contemplates and discusses the conception of the different in-groups of our society, and how each individual values themselves in relation to their various groups. The article begins by explaining that the things that are familiar in our lives, although they may not always be positive, hold a certain value (Allport).

From a very early age young children are able to understand that they are part of a particular group. As Gordon Allport stated, a child as young as five is capable of a sense of ethnic identification but until he is around nine or ten he will not understand what his membership signifies- how for example Jews differ from gentiles, or Quakers from Methodists, but he does not wait for this understanding before developing his strong sense of loyalty to his group. A lot of this loyalty stems from the rewards that we receive from our own particular in-group (Allport). As young children, our in groups are first determined by the groups our parents choose to be part of or belong to. We can then determine later on what other in-groups we may want to belong to or become part of (Allport).
Some membership types are an ascribed status type such as Sex as an in group where women are viewed as an entirely different species from men, usually an inferior species