Henri Tajfel was a Polish social psychologist, best known for his pioneering work on the cognitive aspects of prejudice and social identity theory, as well as being one of the founders of the European Association of Experimental Social Psychology.
Plaque on the building in his native city Włocławek
Social identity is the portion of an individual's self-concept derived from perceived membership in a relevant social group.
Social scientist William Graham Sumner
Henri Tajfel suggests that soldiers of opposing armies, fighting outside of view, is an illustrative example of behaviour at the extreme intergroup end of the intergroup-interpersonal continuum (shown: U.S. Marines in Fallujah, 2004).
The "black is beautiful" movement and the associated African American embrace of African hairdos (like afros), culture, traditions, and music was provided by Tajfel and colleagues as an example of the cognitive creativity of low-status groups in the face of stable intergroup relations (shown: Lauryn Hill, 2005).