Social representations of refugees and prejudice: The Sakarya example

Identity is an element that individuals in society can construct in accordance with the social structure in order to express themselves to the community. Social identity is shaped as a result of the individual's interaction with the social groups they belong to, and this process occurs when the individual's thought patterns and mindset align with the cultural and societal norms of these groups. This refers to the process by which an individual engages with the beliefs, values, and ideologies of their social environment and integrates these elements into their own identity. As an inherently social being, an individual's increasing level of socialization naturally leads them to become part of various groups and different social networks. This is an inevitable outcome of the expansion of one's social connections and the establishment of more diverse relationships. This process of socialization is a component of the individual's social identity formation. While individuals have personal identities, they also possess social identities derived from the social groups to which they feel they belong. Through their social identities, they begin to evaluate themselves in the context of a group. They define themselves in relation to the group they belong to, and align their sense of self with this group. Groups they do not feel connected to are typically categorized as out-groups. The aim of this study is to understand and interpret how prejudice and discrimination affect the formation of social types and categories. In this context, in-depth interviews were conducted with fifteen participants from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, living in Sakarya province. The research revealed that prejudice and discrimination have a significant effect on the formation of social types and categories.