| has gloss | eng: Optimal distinctiveness is a social psychological theory which asserts that individuals desire to attain an optimal balance of assimilation and distinction within and between social groups and situations (Brewer, 2003). These two motives are in constant opposition with each other; when there is too much of one motive, the other must increase in order to counterbalance it and vice versa (Brewer, 1991). The theory of optimal distinctiveness was first proposed by Dr. Marilynn B. Brewer in 1991. |
