Multiple Social Identities Research Articles

Encouraging majority support for immigrant access to health services: Multiple categorization and social identity complexity as antecedents of health equality

Health disparities between groups remain even after accounting for established causes such as structural and economic factors. The present research tested, for the first time, whether multiple social categorization processes can explain enhanced support for immigrant health (measured by respondents’ behavioral intention to support immigrants’ vaccination against A H1N1 disease by cutting regional public funds). Moreover, the mediating role of individualization and the moderating role of social identity complexity were tested. Findings showed that multiple versus single categorization of immigrants lead to support their right to health and confirmed the moderated mediation hypothesis. The potential in developing this sort of social cognitive intervention to address health disparities is discussed.

“Girls can't play”: The effects of stereotype threat on females' gaming performance

The current study examined the impact of stereotype threat on female online gamers' performance and further examined whether manipulating the availability of multiple social identities effectively eliminated these performance decrements. Further, participants' implicit attitudes towards female online gamers were assessed. Eighty-one participants (60 female) were assigned to one of four experimental conditions: 1), stereotype threat, 2), multiple social identities, 3), female control, and 4), male control. They completed an Implicit Association Test and a gaming task. The number of coins collected in a 5-min time period provided a measure of gameplay performance. Results indicated that stereotype threatened females underperformed on the gaming task relative to males in the control condition. The intervention of multiple social identities successfully protected females' gameplay performance from stereotype threat. Additionally, differences were found between conditions in implicit attitudes pertaining to gender-gaming competence. This research highlights the harmful effects of negative stereotypes on females' gaming performance, and suggests that these decrements may be eliminated when females identify with an alternative positive social identity.

Paved with good intentions: Paradoxical eating responses to weight stigma

Because body weight is largely seen as controllable, weight stigma—the social devaluation of those who are overweight—is not subject to the social norms that condemn open expression of racism and sexism. Indeed, rejection of peers based on perceptions of excess weight is normative. Since weight stigma is internalized, popular views (and often the views of physicians) have suggested that increasing the salience of weight stigma might produce a reduction in overeating and/or an increase in physical activity. However, that perspective is not rooted in scientific evidence. Recent randomized controlled designs demonstrate that stigma may promote overeating. Correlational evidence suggests that self-reported stigma experience is associated with risk for binge eating and decreased interest in physical exercise and dieting, for children and adults. In addition to reviewing these research studies, this paper examines the potential for intersectionality of stigma across multiple social identities and considers alternatives to stigmatizing weight loss interventions.

How Multiple Social Identities Are Related to Creativity.

The present research examined whether possessing multiple social identities (i.e., groups relevant to one's sense of self) is associated with creativity. In Study 1, the more identities individuals reported having, the more names they generated for a new commercial product (i.e., greater idea fluency). In Study 2, multiple identities were associated with greater fluency and originality (mediated by cognitive flexibility, but not by persistence). Study 3 validated these findings using a highly powered sample. We again found that multiple identities increase fluency and originality, and that flexibility (but not persistence) mediated the effect on originality. Study 3 also ruled out several alternative explanations (self-affirmation, novelty seeking, and generalized persistence). Across all studies, the findings were robust to controlling for personality, and there was no evidence of a curvilinear relationship between multiple identities and creativity. These results suggest that possessing multiple social identities is associated with enhanced creativity via cognitive flexibility.

Korean Adoptee Identity: Adoptive and Ethnic Identity Profiles of Adopted Korean Americans.

Adopted Korean adolescents face the task of grappling with their identity as Koreans and coming to terms with their adoptive status. In order to explore these dual identities, the authors conducted a person-centered study of the identity profiles of 189 adopted Korean American adolescents. Using cluster analytic procedures, the study examined patterns of commitment to ethnic and adoptive identities, revealing six conceptually unique identity clusters. Analyzing the association between these identity profiles and psychological adjustment, the study found that the identity profiles were undifferentiated with respect to behavioral development and risk behaviors. However, group differences were found on life satisfaction, school adjustment, and family functioning. Results confirm the importance of considering the collective impact of multiple social identities on a variety of outcomes. The social implications of the results are discussed.

Brief report: When does identity lead to negative affective experiences? A comparison of Turkish–Bulgarian and Turkish–German adolescents

We examine relationships between social identity domains (ethnic, national, and religious) and negative affect among Turkish–Bulgarian and Turkish–German youth. Path analysis confirmed a multiple social identities (MSI) factor that has negative relations to experiencing negative affect for Turkish youth in both countries. Beyond this negative relationship, the component of national identity showed a positive relationship to negative affect for Turkish–Bulgarians, but not for Turkish–Germans. Our findings indicate that beyond the generally adaptive effect of MSI on youth development, unique components of social identity may not always be an asset: In an assimilative acculturation context (i.e., Bulgaria), the endorsement of national identity was not adaptive. Our research therefore highlights the need for a contextually differentiated view on “healthy” identity formation among immigrants for research and practice.

Effects of trustors' social identity complexity on interpersonal and intergroup trust

AbstractAlthough previous literature has revealed the effect of a single social identity on trust, only few studies have examined how multiple social identities affect trust in others. The present research examined the effects of trustors' social identity complexity on their level of trust toward another person (interpersonal trust), outgroup members (outgroup trust), and ingroup members (ingroup trust). Study 1, which was a correlational study, indicated that trustors' social identity complexity was positively related to their interpersonal and outgroup trust. Three experimental studies were performed to identify causal relationships. Study 2 found that activating trustors' high social identity complexity produced high levels of interpersonal trust, and Studies 3 and 4 found that this effect was more pronounced when the trustee was an outgroup member (outgroup trust) rather than an ingroup member (ingroup trust). The implications of these results for social harmony are discussed.

The Role of Social and Personal Identities in Self-Esteem Among Ethnic Minority College Students

This study examined the latent personal-social identity profiles that emerged from simultaneous consideration of ethnic, national (United States), and personal identities among ethnic minority college students (N = 3,009) as well as how personal and social identities are jointly associated with self-esteem. Results indicated that the structure of personal-social identity profiles significantly differed across ethnicity, but also indicated some commonalities. The study identified three profiles among Blacks, four among Asian Americans, and two among Latinos. Some personal-social identity profiles were common across multiple ethnic groups, but others were unique within one specific ethnic group. Overall, the profiles indicated important associations between ethnic identity, U.S. identity, and personal identity. These profiles were linked with self-esteem such that individuals who reported high levels of multiple social and personal identities had the highest self-esteem compared to other profiles.

Racial Identity and Disability: The Perception of the “Other” in a Group of Italian School Teachers

Racial identity and disability are separate issues, but both contribute to the multiple social identities. This study compares attitudes towards an ethnic group and a non ethnic group with physical psychic disabilities. The research involves 167 support teachers, completing: Subtle and Blatant Prejudice Scale an ad Hoc questionnaire to investigate knowledge and prejudice towards disability. Results show that individuals with an high ethnocentrism and reaction out-groups express refusal for disability. In school in which social adaptation is considered a priority, it is possible to compare the racial difficulties to those of disabled people.

Keeping Secrets or Educating Others: A Dyadic Analysis of Group Entitativity’s Influence on Spouses’ Label Management Connected to AATD

In 1963, Goffman argued that forming a group based on shared stigma may provide benefits. However, there is no empirical research on whether perception that a separate, unique, coherent group exists (i.e., group entitativity) influences coping, such as educating others or secrecy, for the stigmatized individual or his or her spouse. Further, little is known about how spouses influence each other in terms of promoting the education of others about a stigmatizing condition, especially when it comes to the role of believing that stigma-based groups, to which they may both belong, exist. This study provides a step toward bridging this gap in the research by applying the label management model in efforts to understand coping for couples in which one spouse is diagnosed with genetic mutations leading to alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD). This study included 50 married couples in which one spouse is diagnosed with genetic mutations leading to alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD). We found that group entitativity related to those with AATD counterbalanced the influence of genetic stigma on spouses’ intentions to keep the diagnosis secret or to educate others about it. Intrapersonal and interpersonal influences appeared among spouses. Attention is needed on the power of creating groups for stigmatized persons and their relatives. Indeed, people live within a dynamic world of group entities, and multiple social identities including spousal and familial. While attention has been paid to the diffusion of stigmas to loved ones, less has been paid to the uplift of group entities for them.

Sustainability in social brand communities: influences on customer equity

This study addresses how social brand communities generate sustainable customer equity by enhancing perceived quality. The study shows that social brand community experiences affect attitude both toward the brand community and toward the brand and purchase intentions. In contrast to online communities, socially embedded brand communities allow their members to perceive multiple social identities with the brand community, the brand, the company and the social network. The study illuminates similarities and differences between social brand communities and online brand communities. The concept of customer equity is critical for sustaining relationships between social brand community experiences, perceived quality and customer equity. Implications for marketing academics and practitioners are discussed.

Silent and Infertile

To date, the preponderance of research on infertility in the United States has been conducted with affluent, White couples seeking advanced medical interventions. However, racial/ethnic minorities are equally, if not more, likely to experience infertility in the United States. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 50 African American women of different socioeconomic backgrounds, our study uses an intersectional framework to explore the experiences of African American women who cope with infertility. First, we found that experiencing infertility greatly impaired women’s sense of self and gender identity. Moreover, the imperative to be an African American mother was influenced by an interplay of gendered, racial, and religious mandates. Second, women’s relationships with friends and family members were characterized by a deep sense of silence and isolation; several explanations for this finding are proposed, including stereotypes about African American women’s sexuality. Third, interactions with medical professionals were influenced by women’s multiple social identities, with no single identity conferring an advantage in medical settings. Finally, we highlight several interventions, such as the dissemination of information featuring a greater range of African American women’s reproductive experiences, and we underscore the clinical importance of normalizing African American women’s experiences with infertility, thereby lessening women’s sense of shame and isolation.

Unreconciled strivings and warring ideals: the complexities of competing African-American political identities

Although much has been written about the diversity of black political opinions, less research has addressed the fact that blacks often have multiple social identities that they utilize in viewing the political world. This observation raises several important questions including: Which group memberships (racial or race-neutral identities) do blacks feel are most important? And, what factors account for blacks’ expressed preferences for one social identity over others? Utilizing the 2008 Center on African-American Politics and Society (CAAPS)/ABC News Black Politics Survey, our analysis documents divides among African-Americans regarding preferences for national versus racial identities, individual versus communal beliefs, and social class versus racial attachments. The findings reveal that blacks’ views about the primacy of identities are conditioned by experiences with discrimination, attitudes toward racial identity, social class standing, residency in black neighborhoods, and sense of financial security. We also discuss the broader implications of competing black political identities for understanding American public opinion.

Construing multiple ingroups: Assessing social identity inclusiveness and structure in ethnic and religious minority group members

AbstractThe combination of multiple social identities into a coherent ingroup construal is of immediate relevance in today's complex and diverse societies. This paper proposes a conceptual and operational framework to examine how individuals subjectively construe their ingroup in the context of multiple, cross‐cutting group memberships. The subjective combination of multiple social identities is described in terms of structure (social identity structure) and inclusiveness (social identity inclusiveness (SII)). Two studies assess SII and social identity structure in community samples to whom the subjective combination of multiple, cross‐cutting ingroups is of particular relevance: a sample of Turkish‐Belgian Muslims (Study 1) and Turkish‐Australian Muslims (Study 2). Across both studies, SII uniquely predicted attitudes toward a range of outgroups, over and above identification with singular ingroups. Moreover, a wide range of social identity structures were identified, further attesting to broad individual differences in the construal of the perceived ingroup. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Thinking Outside the Box

Rigid thinking is associated with less creativity, suggesting that priming a flexible mind-set should boost creative thought. In three studies, we investigate whether priming multiple social identities predicts more creativity in domains unrelated to social identity. Study 1 asked monoracial and multiracial participants to write about their racial identities before assessing creativity. Priming a multiracial’s racial identity led to greater creativity compared to a no-prime control. Priming a monoracial’s racial identity did not affect creativity. Study 2 showed that reminding monoracials that they, too, have multiple identities increased creativity. Study 3 replicated this effect and demonstrated that priming a multiracial identity for monoracials did not affect creativity. These results are the first to investigate the association between flexible identities and flexible thinking, highlighting the potential for identity versatility to predict cognitive differences between individuals who have singular versus multifaceted views of their social selves.

Stratification economics and identity economics

Stratification economics represents an important new approach devoted to explaining economic inequality in terms of how social groups are separated or stratified according to relative group status. This paper combines stratification economics with identity economics to address complications that the phenomenon of intersectionality—people having multiple social group identities—creates for stratification economics. It distinguishes two types of social identities recognised by social psychologists, categorical and relational social identities, and uses this distinction to explain how individuals’ personal identities, understood as ordered sets of social identities, can be seen to be both socially and self-constructed. Individuals order and rank their categorical social identities according to weights they assign to them in interactive social settings in which their role-based relational social identities combine different categorical social identities. Research in social psychology in the stigma identity-threat literature is then reviewed to distinguish two opposed ways in which individuals respond to others’ stigmatisation of their social groups in interactive settings. The paper argues that the ways in which individuals respond to stigma reflect social group power relationships and the scarcity logic of individualist social ontologies and tend to reinforce social stratification.

Stillbirth and Stigma: The Spoiling and Repair of Multiple Social Identities

This study investigated mothers' experiences surrounding stillbirth in the United Kingdom, their memory making and sharing opportunities, and the effect these opportunities had on them. Qualitative data were generated from free text responses to open-ended questions. Thematic content analysis revealed that "stigma" was experienced by most women and Goffman's (1963) work on stigma was subsequently used as an analytical framework. Results suggest that stillbirth can spoil the identities of "patient," "mother," and "full citizen." Stigma was reported as arising from interactions with professionals, family, friends, work colleagues, and even casual acquaintances. Stillbirth produces common learning experiences often requiring "identity work" (Murphy, 2012). Memory making and sharing may be important in this work and further research is needed. Stigma can reduce the memory sharing opportunities for women after stillbirth and this may explain some of the differential mental health effects of memory making after stillbirth that is documented in the literature.

Telling the time: researching generation politics

This contribution explores how far notions of ‘political generation’ – formed in and through common experience and agency – is sustainable. It draws on a research study to show how generation can be understood as multifaceted (traversed by multiple social divisions and identities), dynamic (rather than a static form of belonging) and recursive (rather than denoting clear, temporally sequenced, distinctions). However, a focus on generation does offer one important way of ‘telling the (political) time’.

Recursos humanos e a diversidade LGBT no Brasil: aspectos jurídicos e boas práticas para as organizações

Na sociedade ocidental atual, os não heterossexuais são compreendidos como um grupo com várias categorias identitárias. O movimento LGBT (Lésbicas, Gays, Bissexuais, Transexuais e Transgêneros), surgido na década de sessenta, procura abranger e representar tais identidades. Apesar dos avanços sociais conquistados no Brasil e no mundo, os casos de homofobia ainda proliferam especialmente os relacionados à condenação moral da homossexualidade, assim como seu tratamento enquanto patologia. Foi recentemente, a partir dos anos 1970, que progressivamente o ordenamento jurídico dos países ocidentais foi alterado para retirar a condenação da homossexualidade, resultado da ação conjunta de movimentos sociais, juristas e pesquisadores de diversos campos; embora em muitos países onde não há separação entre Religião e Estado, ou em ditaduras, a homossexualidade continue sendo punida. Quando se acredita que as questões de sexualidades são assuntos privados, deixamos de perceber suas dimensões sociais e políticas. A homofobia, assim como outras formas de intolerâncias, se articula tanto no âmbito das emoções e das crenças, quanto no campo das ações, práticas e normas, permeando ainda ideologias e poderes. Não constitui apenas uma violência contra homossexuais, mas uma ameaça aos valores democráticos de compreensão e respeito a outro ser humano. Acreditamos que, mais que sobre a homossexualidade propriamente dita, é através de sua visibilidade que os preconceitos são desencadeados. Se por um lado a maior visibilidade de gays e lésbicas, assim como a expressão de movimentos públicos, em determinados círculos, contribua para redução da rejeição e para a incorporação de alguns traços de comportamento, estilo de vida, moda e outras características dos grupos homossexuais; por outro lado, acirra manifestações homofóbicas, estimula a organização de grupos violentos e revigora campanhas conservadoras de toda ordem. A questão da visibilidade é objeto de diversos estudos e está associada a conceitos e ações importantes, especialmente para as organizações. Homossexuais fazem parte da população ativa. Embora ainda haja muitos aspectos antagônicos no contexto da questão da homossexualidade, ela é uma questão pública e, portanto, também organizacional na medida em que delineia comportamentos, constrói expectativas, define posições, acesso a cargos e vantagens sociais. É frequente na literatura associar-se a elaboração e implantação de políticas mais eficazes para maior diversidade nas organizações, assim como as sugestões para coibir práticas de violência moral no ambiente de trabalho, à maior compreensão das múltiplas orientações sexuais existentes. Como consequência disso, espera-se a melhoria da qualidade de vida dos empregados, com reflexos nos resultados organizacionais. A discriminação direcionada a homossexuais no local de trabalho colabora com o estresse psicológico vivenciado por grupos estigmatizados. Este estresse pode provocar alienação, internalização de valores sociais negativos e atitudes negativas relacionadas a uma determinada orientação sexual. Da discriminação decorrem injustiças e sofrimentos; a exclusão, proposital ou não, de indivíduos não-heterossexuais das políticas públicas e organizacionais, eventos ou atividades sociais. Tais consequências repercutem no ambiente e no desempenho do trabalho. Neste trabalho apresentamos conceitos, pertinentes ao tema, discutimos as medidas que vêm sendo adotadas no âmbito organizacional e os aspectos jurídicos envolvidos e sugerimos melhores práticas aos gestores de recursos humanos. Compreendemos que, melhor do que tentar ignorar as múltiplas identidades sociais, visíveis ou não, e pretendermos que as organizações sejam entidades neutras e assépticas, seria reconhecermos e compreendermos as realidades organizacionais buscando estabelecer as ações mais adequadas. Inseridas em seus ambientes, as organizações formam um sistema e como tal, com eles interagem e sofrem suas influências. Junto com as pessoas, entre tantas outras coisas, discriminações, preconceitos, pensamentos e atitudes negativas entram nas organizações e cabe ao gestor de recursos humanos prevenir e intervir nessas situações.

When entrepreneurial identity meets multiple social identities

Purpose – This paper aims at exploring the dynamics of multiple identities of women entrepreneurs (WE). The paper analyse how WE do identity work in relation to specific identity regulations in the particular French cultural context. The objective is to understand how the entrepreneurial identity process of women is built through both confrontation and synergy with other social identities. Design/methodology/approach – The paper opted for a qualitative and abductive methodological design. In total, 41 French WE from diverse business activities were interviewed. The empirical material was subject to thematic analysis. Findings – The findings reveal the ability of these WE to deal with numerous and various identities. Their daily strategies to accommodate different roles depict how their entrepreneurial activity is intertwined with their personal and social life. The paper are far away from the picture of a monolithic entrepreneur without social dimensions. Given that, the findings broaden the too simplistic vision of WE as an homogeneous whole. Within this group of French WE, the analysis reveals that forms of identity work are along a continuum from accepting conventional norms and social expectations and integrating them in self-identity, or challenging them by accommodation or transformation, or, in turn, by redefining and proposing new norms. It also brings a nuanced understanding of complexity and multidimensionality of their daily life. Originality/value – Finally by studying French WE, the paper identify new practices, new interactions between social roles which could be also relevant for men. In fact, the study challenges the traditional framework on entrepreneurship, which produces an incomplete view of entrepreneurs, by omitting historical and social variables. This disembodied vision of entrepreneur could not be applied to women and probably could not be applied to contemporaneous men either.