Social Identity Complexity Theory: How Complex are Our Social Identities?

The theory of “Social Identity Complexity” put forward by Roccas and Brewer (2002), was created with a notion that social identities owned by individuals are highly complex and with an attempt to explain how they represent these identities that they feel attached to. Social Identity Complexity consists of two interrelated sub-components called “overlap” and “similarity” complexity (Roccas and Brewer, 2002). Overlap complexity is based on the quantitative interpretation of relationships between member groups and identified as the overlap rate of individuals experienced in different groups they feel attached to, while similarity complexity is an evaluation made by individuals as to how these groups are similar to each other. There are research findings that present an increase in tolerance towards out-groups as social identity complexity of individuals increases, yet no such study related to Social Identity Complexity has been found in Turkey. A theory of Social Identity Complexity has been localized into Turkish and introduced for the first time to the literature of Turkey; and premises of the concept, methods of measurement and the findings of the studies conducted in the field have been evaluated