High Group Identification Research Articles

From Loose Groups to Rigorous Organizations: The Transitional Logic of Chinese Fan Communities from the Perspective of Media Development

Currently, Chinese fan organizations demonstrate strong internal cohesion and efficient executive force, far exceeding previous fan groups. This article explores the development of Chinese fan communities and finds that the Internet, a new kind of media that breaks through time and space limitations, has caused this change. Firstly, the development of the Internet has made timely interaction between fans possible, strengthening the internal cohesion of fan groups. Besides, the information cocoon brought by personalized recommendation algorithms further makes the fan communities change into homogeneous groups with similar value orientations and high group identification regarding their respective idols.Meanwhile, the flow economy based on the Internet has prompted fan groups to seek ways to achieve efficient data labor, leading to the division of labor within fan groups. As a result, these previously loose fan groups evolve into rigorous organizations with a hierarchical structure, functional division of labor, and institutional norms. The common emotional foundation—is the recognition of idols; the common goal—is creating internet flow for idols; the field of collective action is the internet and social media platforms; and the mechanism of unified action—the hierarchical and functional system makes the current Chinese fan organizations unprecedentedly strong.

Drug network identification predicts injecting risk behavior among people who inject drugs on hepatitis C virus treatment in Tayside, Scotland

The risk of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) acquisition among People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) remains high when injecting risk behavior within networks endures. Several psychosocial factors influence such behavior. Following a drive within Tayside, a geographic region in Scotland, to achieve World Health Organization HCV elimination targets, addressing HCV re-infection risk as a barrier to elimination is critically important. This cross-sectional study seeks to address this barrier to elimination by investigating associations between group identification (one’s subjective sense of belonging and connectedness to a social group coupled with a sense of shared goals, beliefs and values with the other members of the group) and injecting risk behavior among PWID on HCV treatment at needle and syringe provision sites in Tayside. Participants completed psychosocial questionnaires between treatment weeks zero and three of treatment. Correlation analyses were undertaken, and significant factors included in multiple linear regression models for injecting risk behavior. Injecting frequency, drug network identification, and family identification, were correlated with injecting risk behavior, and drug network identification had a positive predictive on injecting risk behavior. Identification with a social group, conventionally associated with improved health, may pose health risks in specific contexts. Healthcare providers should consider stratifying individuals with higher group identification with PWID networks for enhanced harm reduction engagement to mitigate transmissible infection risk among PWID. Additionally, psychological interventions to strengthen group identification with networks which impact positively on health behavior should be explored.

Association Between Group Identification at School and Positive Youth Development: Moderating Role of Rural and Urban Contexts.

These studies are framed within Social Identity Theory and the Positive Youth Development approach. The aim is: (1) to analyze the relationship between group identification at school and key positive development variables (such as self-esteem, self-efficacy, assertiveness, empathy, alexithymia, satisfaction with life, and academic performance); and (2) examine the moderator role of context (rural or urban areas of residence) and sex in these relationships. The samples were composed of 246 adolescents from a rural context (Study 1) and 156 students from rural and urban contexts (Study 2). As proposed in our hypotheses, the results show statistically significant relationships between group identification and all the variables considered, higher group identification with the class in the rural context, and a moderator role of the context in the relationships between group identification and satisfaction with life, assertiveness, and empathy. These results are relevant for designing and implementing psychoeducational programs to promote positive youth development in both rural and urban contexts.

群体认同对群际敏感效应及其行为表现的影响

The intergroup sensitivity effect(ISE) shows that people have more pronounced negative emotional responses and are less likely to respond with acceptance to criticism from outgroup members than to criticism from ingroup members. Although ISE has been confirmed in a variety of group contexts(e.g., country, religion, and gender), many issues still remain to be resolved. For instance, it is still unknown how social interaction may affect the strength of ISE and what its aftereffects may be. Therefore, the first aim of the current study was to assess the applicability of ISE in an inter-group interaction context and examine the effect of intra-individual group identification on ISE. The second aim of the current study was to explore the behavioral aftereffects of ISE and its emotional-behavioral mechanism. Experiment 1 a(N = 93) repeated the test of ISE in Chinese participants who identified with a specific college group. Experiment 1 b(N = 114) examined the influence of negative group evaluations from different sources(an ingroup critic versus an outgroup critic) on emotion in the context of inter-group interaction with the minimal group. In experiment 2(N = 137) we explored the influence of negative group evaluations from different sources(an ingroup critic versus an outgroup critic) on emotion by instructing participants to read their school’s negative evaluations on college BBS, and we also assessed their group identification. Experiment 3(N = 138) further tested group-donation behavior as an indicator of positive intragroup behavior to examine the influence of group identification and sources of negative group evaluations(an ingroup critic versus an outgroup critic) on behavioral consequences, while the negative emotions may act as important intermediates in the relationship between the interaction and positive intragroup behavior. The results showed the following: a) We replicated and extended the basic view of ISE and found negative evaluations from outgroup members can cause more intense negative emotional responses than similar evaluations from ingroup members, even within an inter-group interaction context. b) Group identification was found to play a moderate role in ISE: for high-group identification individuals, negative evaluation from outgroup members caused stronger negative emotional responses than from ingroup members, while for those low-group identification individuals, this effect was not significant. c) Group identification performed a mediated moderating role on the influence of different sources of negative group evaluations on negative emotion response and positive intragroup behavior: under high-group-identification condition, sources of negative group evaluations had an indirect positive effect on positive intragroup behavior via emotional responses, whereas under low-group-identification condition, emotional responses did not mediate the relationship between sources of evaluation and positive intragroup behavior. In conclusion, the current work is the first study to explore the intergroup sensitivity effect in China. We examined the influence of negative group evaluation on individual emotion and behavior and its mechanism from the perspective of group identification. This study provides a new theoretical basis and empirical support for the individual’s psychological and behavioral response in the inter-group interaction context, and has important implications for future inter-group relationship research. Future research should further explore the dynamic relationship for the change of inter-group attitude and behavior caused by negative group evaluation and the influence of interactions of situational factors and intra-individual factors on intergroup sensitivity effect.

The Moderating Role of Group Identification in Perceptions of Diversity—Exemplified by a Vignette Analysis of Diversely Characterized Muslims in Germany

This paper explores the role of in-group identification of the members of the majority group in relation with the recognition of diverse Muslims in German society. It claims that comprehensive recognition does not only depend on the Muslims’ achievement of skills and acquirement of characteristics that are associated with the majority society. The crucial factor for accepting diversity is the identification of the perceivers with his own group. To investigate this hypothesis, the paper uses representative secondary data from a vignette experiment employed in a telephone survey in Germany. In particular, it examines perceptions of Christian respondents with low and high group identification regarding a hypothetical situation in which a Muslim or a Christian person marries into the respondent’s family. Among the respondents with low group identification, the Muslim category loses relevance when the person in question is a woman and is combined with the achievement category of volunteering at the retirement home. Differences in evaluations of a Muslim woman and an identically characterized Christian woman disappear completely. When the person in question is a man, none of the used vignette variables work to change the perception of the Muslim person and differences in evaluations of a Muslim man and identically characterized Christian man remain. The results have practical implications for understanding integration as a one-sided process of adaptation to the norms and values of the majority society solely carried out by migrant or minority groups. Results are discussed and suggestions for further research are made.

Reducing stress: Social support and group identification

Three studies systematically explored the relationship between social support and group identification in the context of how individuals cope with stress. In Study 1, 101 participants took part in a simulated group task where they either received social support or not under conditions of either high or low demand. Social support was associated with higher group identification, and this mediated the effect of social support on more positive appraisals and task satisfaction. In Study 2, 83 participants were either made aware of their group membership or worked as individuals on a group task under high or low demand. In this study, group membership salience was associated with greater perceived support, which was associated with greater group identification, and subsequently more positive primary and secondary appraisals, more problem-focused coping, and task satisfaction. Study 3 assessed the perceived social support and group identification reported by 71 volleyball team members before and after a game. Results were more consistent with the notion that support and identification were two concurrent perceptions associated with being in a group, rather than identification priming the recognition of support or support increasing identification.

Explaining the procedural justice–perceived legitimacy relationship: Relying on relational concern or instrumental concern?

AbstractPeople can extract relational information (i.e., relational concern) as well as instrumental information (i.e., instrumental concern) from decision‐making procedures. Thus, both instrumental and relational concerns are assumed to influence the procedural justice–perceived legitimacy relationship. Drawing from social exchange theory, the different kinds of concerns may lead to form different exchange relationships (social exchange relationship vs. economic relationship), which can be indicated by two forms of trust (affect‐based trust vs. cognition‐based trust). We built a model of trust mediation in which procedural justice predicted affect‐based and cognition‐based trust. Further, we also tested the hypothesis that high (compared with low) group identification individuals are more likely to rely on relational concern to construct procedural justice and judge legitimacy of authority, because they use procedural fairness information to infer the quality of their relationships with the authority. The results of an experiment (Study 1) demonstrated that both affect‐based trust and cognition‐based trust mediated the procedural justice–perceived legitimacy relationship. Moreover, a field study (Study 2) showed that affect‐based trust mediated the relationship between procedural justice and perceived legitimacy primarily among individuals with high group identification whereas cognition‐based trust mediated this relationship primarily among those with low group identification.

Does shared group identification lead to group creativity? Group regulatory focus as a moderator

AbstractRegarding the effect of identification on creativity in groups, two theoretical views compete. One view emphasizing group‐welfare motives underlying identification proposes a positive identification–creativity relationship in groups because members sharing high group identification are motivated to engage in behaviors that they believe are optimal for their group, including those that depart from the group's status quo, thus resulting in enhanced group creativity. The other view highlighting affiliative motives underlying identification, in contrast, posits a negative identification–creativity relationship in groups because highly identified members are motivated to engage in behaviors that certify their belongingness in the group, that is, behaviors that conform to the existing group norms and status quo, which constrains the group's potential for creativity. This study aims to reconcile these competing perspectives by invoking regulatory focus theory. Drawing on the notion that group identification effects rely on the content of group identity that the identification is based on, the authors suggest that group regulatory focus, as a critical group identity content, moderates the identification–creativity relationship in groups; the relationship is positive when the group's regulatory focus is highly promotion‐oriented, whereas it is negative when the group's regulatory focus is highly prevention‐oriented. Analyzing data from 65 workgroups in a cosmetics company in Korea, the authors show evidence that the identification–creativity relationship is positive in groups with a high promotion focus. The prediction regarding the prevention–focus moderation effect is not supported. The implications of the findings for both theory and practice are discussed.

Low self-control and high group identification - The aftermath of Umbrella Movement

The seed of “localism” was sown in Hongkonger’s mind since the Leftist Riot in 1967. In recent years, the demolition of Queens Pier, the refusal to implement universal suffrage for the selection of the Chief Executive, the crackdown on illegal street food hawkers and the parallel trading among mainland tourists kept encouraging the revival of “localism” and frequent collective actions. Mongkok Riot is the second largest protest ever happened since Umbrella Movement and is a collective action to denounce the seriousness of socio-political problems. This study aimed to explore the underlying psychological elements of collective action participation—emotional and rational decision-making processes. Pro-movement respondents ( n = 1413) aged between 19 and 67 were included and self-reported questionnaire was used as the main measure. Results revealed that there were distinct differences across self-control and group identification between rioters and protestors. In which, protestors showed high self-control and low group identification than rioters. Low level of self-control and high level of group identification were found to be an individual characteristic for repeated collective action participations. The findings also revealed that self-control, centrality to group and in-group affect are significant variables in predicting collective action participation. This study implied that the likelihood of collective action participation is determined by decision-making process which strongly influenced by self-control and group identification.

When does procedural justice influence perceived legitimacy? The role of standing uncertainty and group identification

Many empirical studies have shown that procedural justice is the key determinant of whether an individual perceives an authority figure as legitimate. However, based on relational models of procedural justice and the uncertainty management model, there is reason to believe that the association between procedural justice and perceived legitimacy may be stronger for individuals who are uncertain about their standing as group members (moderation); this interaction might predict group identification and, in turn, perceived legitimacy (mediation). We tested this mediated moderation model in two experiments (Studies 1a and 1b) and a field study (Study 2) using different operationalizations of standing uncertainty across studies. The results of Studies 1a and 1b demonstrated that the association between procedural justice and perceived legitimacy was stronger for participants with high (vs. low) standing uncertainty. Study 2 showed that group identification mediated the association between this interaction effect and perceived legitimacy. Together, the results of the mediated moderation analysis showed that procedural justice was positively associated with perceived legitimacy through high group identification when standing uncertainty was high. The theoretical contributions and practical implications of our findings are discussed.

Do Group and Organizational Identification Help or Hurt Intergroup Strategic Consensus?

Implementing strategy demands an organizationwide effort, where teams should not operate in isolation. A challenge many organizations face in implementing their strategy is eradicating silo thinking and creating shared understanding of strategy between interdependent teams—that is, intergroup strategic consensus. However, strategy process research is silent on how such intergroup strategic consensus can emerge. Drawing on social identity theory, we offer a lens to understand what influences the degree of intergroup strategic consensus. We unveil a tension between organizational and group identification such that organizational identification enhances intergroup strategic consensus, whereas group identification reduces it. Moreover, we hypothesize that high group identification crowds out positive effects of organizational identification on intergroup strategic consensus. Data from 451 intergroup relationships between 92 teams within a service organization support these hypotheses. We replicate our results using 191 intergroup relationships between 37 teams from another organization. These results allow us to develop an understanding of intergroup strategic consensus, expand the conversation in strategy process research to between-team interdependencies, and challenge the assumption in management literature and practice that higher identification is always desirable.

"The Power of Words: The Role of Re-naming, Re-labeling, and Self-labeling Stigmatized Groups"

Group labels are often carriers of contempt and stigma that negatively affect stigmatized group members’ outcomes in teams and organizations. This symposium explores strategies – re-naming, re-labeling, self-labeling – that stigmatized groups can use to battle derogatory group terms. The first talk explores the phenomenon of re-naming: replacing an old label with a new one. Using archival and experimental methodologies, Hall and Townsend find that the newer label “African American” is associated with fewer stigmas than the label “Black.” The second talk investigates re-labeling: altering an existing label. Wang finds that women rate a re-labeled term “lipstick feminist” more positively than the original term “feminist.” The final two talks explore what happens when people don’t replace or modify an existing label but embrace it through self-labeling. Galinsky and Anicich demonstrate that power leads to self-labeling and self-labeling makes people feel more powerful. Whitson investigates the role that group identification has on self-labeling, finding that higher group identification is a cause and consequence of self-labeling. These final two talks also show that self-labeling helps re-value the stigmatized term, making it more positive. In association with our All-Academy theme, these four talks collectively demonstrate the power of words by showing how re-naming, re-labeling, and self-labeling help battle the stigma in derogatory labels. The reappropriation of stigmatizing labels: The relationship between power and self-labeling Presenter: Adam D Galinsky; Columbia U. Presenter: Eric Anicich; Columbia U.

When Increased Group Identification Leads to Outgroup Liking and Cooperation: The Role of Trust

ABSTRACT Two studies explored the influence of group identification and the functional relations between groups on outgroup liking. In a laboratory study, Study 1 (N = 112) found that outgroup liking was highest when group identification was high and relations between groups were cooperative, but outgroup liking was lowest when group identification was high and relations were competitive. In a field replication of Study 1, Study 2 (N = 181) similarly found more liking with high group identification and cooperative relations between groups. Additional analyses revealed that the Identification × Relations interactions found in Studies 1 and 2 were mediated by outgroup trust. We discuss how trust is an important factor for predicting outgroup bias for both high and low group identification.

Intergroup Evaluations and Norms about Learning Ability

AbstractChildren's evaluations of classmates with learning difficulties tend to be less positive than their evaluations of classmates without learning difficulties; but it is not clear if these evaluations are associated with age, group norms, and group identification. These associations were examined within the context of inclusive elementary school classrooms. Participants (N = 192) were asked about their attitudes and their peers' attitudes towards children with or without learning difficulties. They were also asked to evaluate fictional target children who gave biased or unbiased opinions about children with or without learning difficulties. Results showed that group identification was predicted by age and group judgment. Participants with high group identification and judgment scores in favour of children without learning difficulties were inclined to believe other children would be similarly biased. However, most participants preferred the target child who gave unbiased opinions. Theoretical and educational implications are discussed.

Social identity and the transition to entrepreneurship: The role of group identification with workplace peers

What role does social identity play in the transition from employed work to entrepreneurship? It was expected that social identity affects the cognitive processes that, according to the theory of planned behavior (TPB), underlie the formation of entrepreneurial intentions. Focusing on academic scientists' intentions to commercialize research knowledge, we investigated social identity (scientists' group identification with their workplace peers in academia) as a moderator in the TPB model. Our hypotheses were tested in a sample of 488 German scientists. The data revealed that entrepreneurial intentions were predicted by attitude, social norms, and perceived control and that group identification was negatively associated with perceived control. Multi-group structural equation modeling further showed that group identification moderated the TPB-intention link. Scientists with low group identification based their entrepreneurial intentions not so much on social norms and attitudes but on their self-initiative and control beliefs. Among scientists with high group identification, in turn, entrepreneurial intentions were mainly a function of social norms. These results, in sum, illustrate the long-neglected importance of identification with, and social cohesion within, peer groups at the workplace for the transition to entrepreneurship.

The costs of caring: Gender identification increases threat following exposure to sexism

The current research examined whether group identification moderates the extent to which perceived ingroup discrimination is threatening, as indexed by physiological and self-report measures. Women read and gave a speech summarizing an article describing sexism as prevalent or rare. They then completed a distraction task and sat for a recovery period. Cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) was used to index threat experienced on an automatic level and self-reported anxiety was used to index threat experienced on a controlled level. Regardless of group identification, participants in the prevalent sexism (vs. rare sexism) condition exhibited a pattern of CVR consistent with threat during the speech and reported greater anxiety post-speech. During recovery, however, highly identified participants in the prevalent sexism condition exhibited a sustained threat pattern of CVR and reported higher anxiety post-recovery compared to low identifiers. High group identification may heighten the psychological and physiological burden of discrimination.

Ingroup perception and responses to stigma among persons with mental illness

Mental illness stigma is common, but it is unclear why it affects some individuals more than others. We tested the hypothesis that the way persons with mental illness perceive their ingroup (people with mental illness) in terms of group value, group identification and entitativity (perception of the ingroup as a coherent unit) shapes their reaction to stigma. Ingroup perceptions, perceived legitimacy of discrimination and reactions to stigma (educating or helping others, social performance, secrecy, social distance, hopelessness) were assessed among 85 people with mental illness using questionnaires and a standardized role-play test. Controlling for depression and perceived discrimination, high group value and low perceived legitimacy of discrimination predicted positive reactions to stigma. High group identification and entitativity predicted positive reactions only in the context of high group value or low perceived legitimacy of discrimination. Group value and perceived legitimacy of discrimination may be useful targets to help people with mental illness to better cope with stigma.

Group Loyalty: Impact of Members' Identification and Contributions

This study investigated how members' identification with a group and value (contributions) to it affected their loyalty/disloyalty. Loyalty was defined as helping the group while harming oneself, whereas disloyalty was defined as harming the group while helping oneself. For high contributors, loyalty was manifested by staying in the group and disloyalty was manifested by leaving. For low contributors, loyalty was manifested by leaving the group and disloyalty was manifested by staying. Results indicated that high group identification increased the likelihood that both high and low contributors decided to stay in the group. However, the impact of this decision on other members' welfare influenced how much stress participants experienced and how they evaluated themselves. Discussion focuses on the psychological mechanisms underlying group loyalty and the factors influencing its behavioral manifestations.

Self-Categorization and Leadership: Effects of Group Prototypicality and Leader Stereotypicality

A self-categorization model of leadership is introduced (leaders have the prototypical characteristics of a psychologically salient in-group) and contrasted with leadership categorization theory (leaders have the appropriate stereotypical properties of a leader schema) in a 2 × 2 × 2 experiment. Under conditions of high or low group salience, and in anticipation of a group activity, subjects evaluated the leadership effectiveness of a randomly nominated leader who was group prototypical or nonprototypical and whose behavior was stereotypical or nonstereotypical of a leader schema. As predicted from the authors' self-categorization analysis, group protoypicality was a significant basis for leadership for subjects who identified with the group but notfor those who did not. There was a general effect, consistent with leader categorization theory, whereby stereotypical leaders were perceived to be more effective than nonstereotypical leaders. However} as predicted, this effect was weaker under high group identification.