Social categorization. We see ourselves as being in the same general category as the community (e.g., I like baseball and live in New York so I'll start watching Yankees games). Social identification. We see ourselves as a member of the group and start to adopt the shared identity (e.g., I am a Yankee fan and will wear Yankee gear to represent my fanhood). Social comparison. We identify so strongly that we start comparing our in-group to out-groups and tie our self-esteem to the status of our group (e.g., I care deeply about the success of the Yankees, and despise the Boston Red Sox).
