 from a middle-class family in a small urban area in the south. My family and friends were either middle to upper lower class and our community composition was mainly middle to lower class. Thus when asked about my socioeconomic social identity, I would not think twice about categorizing myself as middle or even lower middle class. This group membership is central to my thinking. I have many connections and relations within this social category and I feel positive towards my group. But for a while back then I did not feel as positively about my middle-class social identity. My father who came from a lower class background wanted his children to have the benefits of a good education, education being the key to upward social mobility. So despite the many economic sacrifices they had to make, my parents enrolled me and my sisters in an exclusive girl's school. My classmates were mostly of the moneyed class and looked it, fair skin and fine looks, expensive clothes and in a manner of and had a manner of speaking that I can now identify as the empowered way of talking by the privileged. But as a young girl thrown into a daily social comparison I felt small and powerless and an outsider to that privileged class and I felt shamed by my own middle-class status. Now in this brief lecture I would like to talk about this concept of social identity which is a large part of our self-identity and share with you some results of a research and poverty that I have been involved in, focusing on the social identity aspects of poverty and its possible implications for rising out of poverty. But first let us talk about the poverty issue in this country. One of the biggest problems in our society is poverty. While over the years government has managed to bring the level to about a quarter of our population we have not really managed to completely beat the problem. For years now poverty rates have stayed steady at approximately a quarter of our population. In fact statistics of the Philippines statistics authority indicates poverty at 26.3% in the first semester of 2015 and we can probably expect the figures to rise. What with a drop in the PESO exchange rates and the rise of prices despite government attempts of poverty alleviation like the cash transfer program. Now economists have concluded that income inequalities have not really changed. Not in the Philippines nor in the world. Despite periods of economic growth it seems that only the rich get richer while the poor have little or no share in the economic bounties. Now social psychologists Lemieux and Prato assert however that poverty is basically a product of human social relationships not of inefficient economic systems a lack of resources or even a human failure among the poor who are often seen as lacking in drive and ambition. Social relationships determine how resources are shared. Thus Filipino psychologists like Bernardo have focused on exploring how the non-poor relate with individuals belonging to lower socioeconomic categories. His major argument is that particular ways of perceiving feeling and thinking about the poor and why they are poor relate to people's stance about how to help or not to help the poor. He believed that this development of prejudice against the poor demotivated pro-social behavior towards them. But it is equally important to consider the impact of how Filipinos in the lower socioeconomic groups perceive, feel and think of themselves on their own efforts and actions to rise out of poverty. This approach underscores the important role of empowerment and human agency and the need to capacitate the poor to help them get themselves out of poverty without ignoring the importance and necessity of supportive social structures to ensure the success of individual efforts. This was the perspective taken in the research project we developed that was funded by the National Research Council of the Philippines. And while we explored many aspects of the problem, I will only present now one aspect of the research. So now let us talk a little about identity, more specifically social identity. What is it and how does it relate to the self? Identity can be more concretely appreciated if you think of your answers to the question, who am I? Results in the 20 statements test that asks this particular question from respondents indicate that answers generally fall under two categories. One related to the individual personal, like my name, my age, sex and personal characteristics, and the other related to the social. I am a daughter, I am Catholic, I am Filipino, I am from UP. We can say then that the self not only has a personal identity component, but the social identity aspect as well. In more collectivist cultures like in Asia and the Philippines, who we are is largely defined by the groups we belong to. Our social belongingness and group memberships play a very important role in our self concept and how we see ourselves. This component is what is referred to as our social identity. Now, according to British psychologist Tajfilm Turner, social identity is premised on three processes. One, social categorization, meaning we classify ourselves as belonging to particular groups. Two, social comparison. We compare ourselves to members of our own in-group as well as to members of the out-group. And three, social identity development. The first two processes of social categorization and comparison are both aimed at achieving a positive social identity. Now, in order to achieve this ultimate goal of positive social identity, we do social comparisons, wherein we favor our own group, what we call in-group bias. And denigrate or put down those who do not belong to our group, out-group. We see a lot of in-group bias and out-group discrimination in action during inter-school sports events, where students of different schools, social identity categories, indicated by the colors and uniforms they wear, are thrown into inescapable social comparisons, five-beat champions capi, kulelat sila. Now, in case the person is unable to achieve a positive social identity, like, for example, when one belongs to a marginalized or stigmatized group, like the poor or drug addicts, one can engage in social identity management strategies to restore some balance and a sense of positivity about one's identity. Natasha Colterner described three possible options for managing a problematic social identity, creativity, individual mobility, and collective action. Creativity is a passive strategy and does not really solve the problem. Since the individual merely refrains the situation to make it more positive and acceptable, for example, in the face of poverty, thinking, I may be poor, but I am rich in all the things that money cannot buy. Individual mobility, on the other hand, is a more self-focused strategy, where the individual does everything possible to escape and leave one stigmatized group behind. So, for example, a woman can marry a rich man to escape poverty, or you can migrate, like many of our countrymen do. Collective action is the more group-oriented and cooperative action, where the individual works together with fellow group members to uplift the conditions of the whole group. For example, a laborer joins a protest rally to demand an increase in the minimum wage. Collective action requires a more progressive and politically empowered perspective compared to the more individualistic social mobility strategy. Now, in our research on the factors facilitating or inhibiting the individual's rise out of poverty, social identity was one of the factors explored. We wanted to look at how the poor internalized their social identity as members of a disadvantaged social economic class and the consequences of this identity on their attempts to rise out of poverty. We used Cameron's three component measures of social identity with items that looked into how much people thought about being poor, how connected they felt to fellow in-group members, and how positively they felt towards their in-group. Aside from the measure of identity strength, we also asked our respondents who they usually compare themselves with. Social comparisons, after all, contribute greatly to how positively or negatively we might view our identity. A few compare themselves with the rich, possibly triggering more negative self-views, or to the poor who are much worse off than them, hence possibly feeling much better about themselves. The great majority compared themselves with their fellow poor who are most similar to them in poverty status. Now results in the Cameron's scale indicated that social identity as poor was generally weak. In experimental terms, we say the means were lower. We, in fact, had respondents who refused to identify themselves as poor, despite the existence of contrary evidence. Business particularly noted in rural areas were despite the fact that income was low and unstable, community support could always be counted on to survive, and hence one could, in a sense, avoid problematizing one's poverty. Now the strongest measure was on the component of in-group ties, meaning our respondents felt very connected with their fellow poor. This effect is particularly pronounced among those respondents who were part of the government's cash transfer program, compared to the non-benefactors of the cash transfer. Perhaps the activities of the program fostered closer ties among fellow members of the in-group, as the group met regularly for the discussions and various trainings, like how to parent, livelihood programs, etc. Results of the centrality factor of the scale showed that in general, the poor did not really think too much about their identity as poor. It would appear that being poor was not central or too important in their thinking about themselves. Or perhaps they were just too busy with day-to-day surviving. There is little time left to dwell on one's negative social identity. But how did they feel about being poor? This is what the third factor, affect, about the social identity as poor, measured. Results indicated that affect was slightly negative, meaning a respondents were not too happy about being poor, and this certainly comes as no surprise. Based on the Touchfeller-Turner criteria, negative feelings about membership in a disadvantaged group, in this case being poor, is an indicator of a conflicted identity, and could motivate the individual to take steps to manage the problematic identity. A negative identity is inherently uncomfortable, and several strategies are available to the individual to restore consonance and equanimity about this aspect of the self. As I have already mentioned, these include reframing, escaping, and fighting for social justice. Sioux, another Filipino psychologist, studying a sample of Filipino poor, discovered a fourth option, consistent with Filipino culture, passive acceptance of one's fate, and taking no further action. We also included this option among our measures. Our respondents showed a marked preference for social creativity or reframing of their situation in order to make it appear less negative. An example would be the statement, I may be poor, but I am rich in friends, and I have fewer worries than the rich. One respondent, even jokingly commented, I am poor, but I am rich in friends. Making light of the situation is certainly a way of reframing one's circumstance. The second choice for social identity management was individual mobility or escape, and social competition, both apparently at the same level of preference, not being significantly different from each other on a paired samples T test. Faith acceptance and doing absolutely nothing was the least preferred social identity management strategy. It would appear then that our respondents' first preference is a more passive, individual approach of creative reframing, and this makes sense. This strategy immediately makes one feel better about being poor without exerting too much effort that could just lead to further frustration and failure. As an initial coping strategy, this may be quite effective by providing the individual some respite or breathing space before confronting the hard and painful facts of one's disadvantaged state. But while this might make one feel better about one state, it does not change anything about the situation. Thus, using this mode of social identity management predominantly or solely may not be promoted of personal efforts exerted to rise out of poverty. Now, the two active strategies, a second preference, provide more concrete outcomes for the individual using social mobility or the group via social competition. These are also possibly the desirable outcome targets for a poverty alleviation program that the individual either takes concrete action to get out of poverty or alternatively engages in concerted action with fellow poor to alleviate their group's condition. Our rural respondents provided many anecdotes about in-group members who had successfully escaped poverty through various social mobility strategies, finishing college and landing a well-paying job, working as an overseas contract worker, employment in a call center in the city, marrying a foreigner, or migrating abroad. Collective action strategies were more common among the urban poor, especially those who had joined organized militant groups. Now, the least preferred social identity management strategy was passive acceptance of fate. Although the overall rating for the strategy was still above the midpoint, this means that although passive acceptance of fate was least acceptable in comparison to the other choices, it was still rated fairly positively and seen as an acceptable option for managing a negative social identity. Now, in the face of extreme hardships in poverty, what can one do but give up all struggles and just accept the general unfairness of life? This is the learned helplessness way and may have adverse psychological implications for the individual. Psychological studies have shown that learned helplessness kills motivation and the individual no longer reacts, even when options are finally made available. Now, so what is the importance of knowing about the social identity processes of members of the economically disadvantaged class? For students in a class on self and society, this provides interesting insights into the relationship between our self processes and societal implications that have implications for the self. Men or women is not an island. We are continually shaped by our social environment, the people around real and now even virtual, as well as the societal structures which serve as our context. Hopefully, we understand our own social identity processes and how it can drive some of our behaviors in situations needing human agency and action. And hopefully, we also become more aware and compassionate towards those belonging to stigmatized or marginalized groups. But beyond our own self awareness and learning, the study findings also have important insights for those in government and other groups involved in poverty alleviation projects. The poor as a social category is not a homogenous group. There are subgroups within with different ways of looking at themselves and their poverty with potentially different ways of behaving with regard to their poverty. A one size fits all top down policy or strategy by groups hoping to alleviate the poverty situation may not be the best approach to solving the problem. Lastly, poverty is a complex problem. It involves a dynamic social psychological system consisting of the many different categories of poor and non poor interacting in a setting with many layers of political power and organization. Thus, to overly focus on the individual psychological factors might be too simplistic and attribute too much causality and agency to the person in poverty conditions while deemphasizing the role of social structures. But to only attend to the structural aspects would also be ignoring the element of human agency that could be effectively harnessed to facilitate the impact of structural changes. We need solutions that would empower the individual and raise our social capital. But at the same time, we should also strengthen social structures that would effectively support genuine and long term poverty alleviation. You will and should be part of this solution.