Self-stereotyping

In social psychology, self-stereotyping (or autostereotyping) is a process by which an individual integrates and internalizes commonly held characterizations (i.e. stereotypes or prototypes) of an in-group into their self-concept. It is described as part of social identity theory (SIT) and, more specifically, self-categorization theory (SCT).

According to SIT, group membership is most likely to influence self-concept and self-esteem when the cognitive processes of identification and categorization interact. In other words, when an individual identifies strongly with a group and categorizes him or herself as a member of that group, group membership becomes integrated into the person’s identity.