Social Identity Representation Research Articles

Queering Age-Friendly NYC: A Critical Discourse Analysis

ABSTRACT This study employed critical discourse analysis to investigate the representation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) older adults in the context of New York City’s age-friendly initiative. An extensive review of over 800 pages of public records was conducted to understand how LGBTQ+ older adults were depicted within the discourse and to identify the authorities responsible for their recognition. The findings highlight the unequal representation of social identities, notably the absence of transgender and queer older adults in the examined texts. Authorities wielded discourses of power and accountability to influence perceptions of LGBTQ+ older adults, focusing on their risks and vulnerabilities. This emphasis on deficits, without acknowledgment of strengths and protective factors, has implications for age-friendly initiatives and may lead to an oversight of information necessary for the development of culturally sensitive interventions. To foster communities that are not only friendly but also equitable and just, policymakers must recognize and address subgroup variations within the LGBTQ+ population. This research underscores the importance of ensuring that age-friendly initiatives are inclusive and responsive to the diverse needs of LGBTQ+ older adults.

Age dynamics of graphic reflection of social identity

Social identity recently has become one of the actual subjects of scientific research in social psychology, social cognitive psychology. Social identity reflects conscious and unconscious feelings of a person’s belonging to certain communities, is the context for decision-making in situations of choice. The novelty of the study lies in the analysis of little-conscious aspects of identity, namely the subjective significance of communities to which a person belongs by the fact of his birth or main activity, as well as subjective inclusion in such a community. The author has developed a procedure of graphic representation of social identity based on the techniques used in projective drawing methods. The test person is asked to draw himself and five communities (family, occupation group, locality and country of residence, all people of the world) with the help of circles. This experimental procedure was conducted in nine age groups, starting with 6-7 year olds and ending with working adults. A total of 282 people participated in the experiment. The data (21 indicators) were subjected to factor analysis by the method of principal components. The following results were obtained: for each age group the average sizes of images of self and proposed social communities were revealed, using Student’s t-criterion the conclusions about significant differences in the sizes of images of the country and territory of residence for age groups were obtained. Discussion of results and conclusions. Factor analysis by the principal component method revealed four factors of social identity, which were labeled as: multiple, hierarchical, egocentric, and diffuse social identity. The proposed types of social identity were described, their psychological interpretation was given, and criteria for identification by graphic representation were proposed. The results of the study can be used in pedagogical practice, practice of psychological and pedagogical counseling.

Dynamic and stable hippocampal representations of social identity and reward expectation support associative social memory in male mice

Recognizing an individual and retrieving and updating the value information assigned to the individual are fundamental abilities for establishing social relationships. To understand the neural mechanisms underlying the association between social identity and reward value, we developed Go-NoGo social discrimination paradigms that required male subject mice to distinguish between familiar mice based on their individually unique characteristics and associate them with reward availability. We found that mice could discriminate individual conspecifics through a brief nose-to-nose investigation, and this ability depended on the dorsal hippocampus. Two-photon calcium imaging revealed that dorsal CA1 hippocampal neurons represented reward expectation during social, but not non-social tasks, and these activities were maintained over days regardless of the identity of the associated mouse. Furthermore, a dynamically changing subset of hippocampal CA1 neurons discriminated between individual mice with high accuracy. Our findings suggest that the neuronal activities in CA1 provide possible neural substrates for associative social memory.

Linguistic Representations of Postproverbial Expressions among Selected Yoruba Speakers

Abstract Extant studies have investigated postproverbial expressions from sociological, feminist, and philosophical perspectives with insufficient attention paid to the linguistic representations of social identity in such expressions. This study, therefore, examines how social identities are constructed through postproverbials among Yoruba youths with a view to exploring the social realities that conditioned the representations of new identities in such expressions. The study adopts Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics and Tajfel and Tuner’s Social Identity Theory as framework. Ten (10) postproverbial expressions, which are from anonymous and the written collections of Yoruba proverbs by Yoruba scholars form the data. Linguistic substitutions and code-mixings characterise such expressions. Postproverbials are a conveyor of rationalist, religious, hedonistic, and economic identities, which are conditioned by western influence and are transported by the generation of conscious Yoruba youths. The paper inferred that, though proverbs and postproverbials are context-dependent, postproverbials explicate a paradigm shift in the postmodernist discourse and refract Nigerian socio-cultural realities.

Samba as Representation of Brazilianness in the Popular Songs Rhetoric

This article aims to examine the hegemonic representations of what is said “to be Brazilian”. It proposes the rhetorical analysis of the lyrics of a couple of Brazilian popular songs in order to present the psychosocial aspects that bring to light the representations of social identity. The statement of identity and symbolic bonds through musicality exposes the desirable of the groups who share their value. The construct of social identity linked to nationality is a belief reinforced by social practices which relies on the metaphor that defines Music as the “people’s soul”.

Virtual Identity, Plastic Identity. The „eighth Basque Province“ and the Genetically Imaginative Community

In this paper I propose to demonstrate how the anthropological view can highlight the effects of the relationship between ethnic nationalism and global processes. Showing the results of an ethnographical research conducted in 2015, I focus on the representation of social identity in the contemporary Basque Country. I emphasize the central role played by the new technologies for the identification of the Basque communities’ boundaries. The creation of „the eighth province“ (or province of the diaspora) shows how, in this context, Internet could transform the “imagined community” into a virtual reality. The ethnographical view proves to be useful to understand how local practices and discourses can interact with global phenomena: particularly significant is the spreading of archaeogenetic investigations in Euskal Herria, in order to verify the hypothesis of a reproductive isolation of Basque people. Moreover, a big part of local population is using genetic tests proposed online by DNA consulting agencies. It is important to identify how these genetic narratives are absorbed and reused by local populations and if they can reshape the past of a mnemonic community, influencing the representation of its future.

Culture Through Color Perception in "West Side Story"

My project is part of my larger, ongoing research interest on the representation of social identities in American cinema. My poster/paper will focus on the use of color theory to clearly characterize members of rival ethnic gangs in the 1961 film adaptation of West Side Story. Originally a 1957 Broadway musical loosely based on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story captured audiences with its groundbreaking innovation in choreography and music, while earning praise from critics for delving into contemporary issues like immigration and gang-related violence. It won an astonishing ten Academy Awards, including the Academy Awards for Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction, and still holds the record for the most Academy Awards won by a movie musical.While much of the existing research on West Side Story focuses on references of vying cultures made explicitly through song and dance, my research instead focuses on the non-verbal representations of these cultures that are expressed through color in the film. By studying the film’s iconic art direction and investigating audiences’ subsequent perceptions of characters and settings, I argue that the colors featured in the costume designs and set designs are used to denote a culturally-charged power structure within the Jets and the Sharks. Based on close examination of these various designs, the film’s overall color palette, and published scholarship, I conclude that West Side Story's non-verbal references are uniquely dangerous to its explicit references, as they subliminally promote harmful stereotypes and suggest that gang violence brings life to an otherwise drab city. Studying the connection between color theory and culture ultimately illuminates the historical roots of society's perceptions of colors and their seemingly inherent associations to certain traits.

Evolution of Social Identity Terms in Lay and Academic Sources: Implications for Research and Public Policy

AbstractIncreasingly, individuals identify with two or more racial or cultural, yet are sometimes externally misclassified, contributing to experiences of invisibility within U.S. society. Using computational techniques, we examined the transmission of cultural identity terms through time, providing some evidence for the changing representation of social identity. We examined the usage patterns of identity terms with the prefixes (mono‐, bi‐, multi‐), modifying the social identity terms: culture, ethnicity, and race (e.g., comparing monocultural, monoethnic, and monoracial). For bicultural and multicultural terms, those with ‐racial suffixes were the earliest used terms, while those with ‐cultural and ‐ethnic suffixes gained more popularity in recent years. We examined the evolution of the higher frequency social identity terms in lay sources (the NY Times, Reddit), and found that interracial and multicultural were the most popular over time, peaking recently. We examined the potential time lag in the sequence of identity terms among academic (PsycINFO, NIH, and NSF Databases), lay (the NY Times), and mixed sources (Google Books N‐Grams), demonstrating that newer terms (e.g., multicultural) are first used and gain prevalence in lay sources, then mixed sources, and eventually academic sources. The implications of these findings for research, public policy, and psychosocial experiences of individuals are discussed.

Social status and prestige in conditions of transnational migration. Ethnographic study among the Albanians from the Republic of Macedonia

The examination of social status in conditions of transnationalism is an important andfruitful topic since many of the social relations in which migrants find themselves involvedin are paralleling or intersecting the social hierarchies and identities of both the destinationand origin societies, ethnic communities and transnational social fields. It offers researchersgood opportunity to examine the links between distribution of resources, expressions ofpower and dominance, representations of social identity, imaginaries of society etc.Proceeding from these assumptions, the article examines the dynamics of ways andmechanisms through which social status and prestige are gained, maintained anddemonstrated among the Albanians from the Republic of Macedonia in conditions oftransnational migrations continuing for decades. Three different domains are considered: thefamily regarding the inter-personal relationships; the community membership focusing oncriteria of gaining and maintenance of reputation and prestige; and the Albaniancommunity’s status claims and positioning in the Macedonian society in the context ofAlbanian-Macedonian relationships. The study is based on ethnographic research in severalAlbanian villages located in the regions of Skopje, Tetovo and Struga. Key words: status groups, transnational social field, status-paradox, conspicuousconsumption, Albanians, Macedonia

“I Still Exist!”: Late Soviet Cinema Through the Prism of the Relational Sociology of Harrison White (Et Vice Versa)

The article is devoted to the popular Soviet cinema of the 1970s and 1980s, and examines the prevalent modes of the representation of social identity and social interaction in the culture of late socialism. The author selected the relational sociology of Harrison White as her theoretical framework. Attention is primarily paid to White‘s concept of identity. He associates identity with the seeking of control, and attaches a crucial meaning to the process of switching between different “netdoms”; in the process; an interiorization of the “social noise” (contradictory, inconsistent, and without corresponding social roles and images of social reality) is inescapable. Based on White’s theory, the author of the article concludes that such a process was extremely hindered in the conditions of a totalitarian society when an attempt of political monopolization of control was undertaken. The Stalin-era official narrative implied the elimination of any “social noises”, that is, any contradictions between the various domains of Soviet life and the adjusted anthropology of Soviet man, who is obliged to be absolutely identical to himself (and to the normative prescriptions) in different contexts. At the same time, the destruction of the horizontal ties and the increasing social atomization had a place in the pre-narrative levels the of social reality, so the mechanism of switching could not have been sufficiently operative as well. The article demonstrates that in post-totalitarian late Soviet cinema which arose after the dissolution of the canons of the Stalinist “Grand Style”, the forms of representation of social domains became substantially more complicated, but the mechanism of switching between them seems to be broken. This was reflected in the fact of the conglutination of different contexts of the social interaction (“formal” and “informal”, for example), the vagueness of the role and interpersonal boundaries peculiarly longing for the “authentic self”, and the regular escaping from the role interaction to the imaginary spaces of dream, reminiscences, etc.

Social Identity and Attitudes Toward Cultural Diversity

Prior research indicates that there may be a disharmonious relationship between positive attitudes toward ethnic and cultural diversity and social identity within a socially dominant group. Recent work in cultural psychology, however, has implied that this disharmonious relationship may be confined to a specific representation of social identity. This research examined this possibility. Study 1 ( N = 51,238) found that the negative association between national identity and diversity attitudes found among participants from Western societies did not extend to participants from non-Western societies. Study 2 ( N = 222) recruited American and Japanese participants, disentangled two distinct representations of their social identity—collective and relational social identity—and found their differential associations with positive attitudes toward multiculturalism. Implications are discussed.

Sociology through Photography

This chapter describes how photography can inspire and cultivate sociological mindfulness. One set of assignments uses self‐portraiture to highlight the complexity of visual representations of social identity. Another uses photography to guide sociological inquiry. Both sets of assignments draw on the Literacy Through Photography methodology, using the interplay of image making and writing to foster creativity and insight and strengthen communication and observation skills.

A shared dual identity promotes a cardiovascular challenge response during interethnic interactions

We examined the influence of the social identity representation of an ethnic majority-group member on physiological responses during interactions with an ethnic minority-group member. Before engaging in a collaborative task with a Moroccan-Dutch confederate, native Dutch participants studied the advantages of a “one-group” representation that emphasizes their common Dutch nationality or a “dual identity” representation that simultaneously emphasizes their different ethnic subgroups and their overarching “Dutch” nationality. During the task, cardiovascular indices of challenge and threat motivational states were measured in accordance with the biopsychosocial model (Blascovich, 2008). We found that a salient dual identity representation led to more benign cardiovascular arousal (i.e., challenge instead of threat), but only when the minority-group interaction partner also expressed preference for a dual identity. Results are discussed in terms of the fruitfulness of a dual-identity approach for improving intergroup relations, and the importance of social identity factors for turning intergroup threat into challenge.

Hindi, Hinglish: Head to Head

Hindi, Hinglish: Head to Head

Identidades sociais, letramento visual e letramento crítico: imagens na mídia acerca de raça/etnia

Este artigo tem como objetivo analisar a representação das identidades sociais de raça e etnia que perpassam a imagem publicada em 2005 no jornal Folha de São Paulo. Para contextualizar a questão da identidade social de raça e etnia no Brasil, reflito sobre a questão da identidade e classificação de cor/raça/etnia. No artigo, faço a proposição de uma atividade de ensino utilizando os referenciais do letramento visual e do letramento crítico (BAMFORD, 2009; BROWETT, 2009; LANKSHEAR, 2002). Concluo que imagens publicadas pelos meios de comunicação são ferramentas que podemos utilizar como uma forma de letramento crítico e, assim, colaborar para uma leitura que possibilita a formação de cidadãos críticos.

Recovery, place and community mental health services

BackgroundWhile some studies have examined recovery in relation to specific contexts (e.g. housing and work), few have looked in detail at the social and environmental conditions in which recovery occurs.AimsTo explore the relationship between the recovery of people receiving community mental health services and the places in which they live; to generate knowledge concerning aspects of locality which impact on recovery.MethodGrounded theory methodology was employed as a framework for collecting and analysing qualitative data. The study incorporated aspects of Photovoice () and ethnography.ResultsFour overlapping theoretical accounts are presented. These are: housing, space and agency; representations of social identity; natural environments; and replacement communities.ConclusionsRecovery can be understood as a variety of interacting ecological processes occurring in the context of the social, economic and physical environment. This offers new ways of thinking about recovery-orientated services.

Representaciones de la sociedad urbana actual en la telecomedia española contemporánea: costumbrismo e identidad social

Desde sus origenes, la telecomedia de produccion espanola se ha caracterizado por el marcado perfil costumbrista de sus personajes, narraciones y contenidos. Siendo un genero permanentemente explotado, incluso las producciones contemporaneas denotan tal caracter, adaptando sus discursos a la propia realidad de su tiempo. A partir del analisis de dos telecomedias recientes de marcado exito comercial, el presente articulo trata de analizar las representaciones de caracter topico y estereotipico que llevan a cabo de la sociedad urbana actual para, a partir de ahi, detenerse especificamente en su retrato de la identidad social de la realidad en la que se inspiran.

“Whose Second Life Is This?” How Avatar-Based Racial Cues Shape Ethno-Racial Minorities' Perception of Virtual Worlds

Research on social identity contingencies suggests that situational cues, such as a numerical representation of social identities in a given social environment, can trigger identity-associated threat for individuals whose social identity is marginalized. Given that popular virtual worlds (e.g., Second Life [SL]) are often criticized for White-avatar dominance or White bias, we examined the psychological effects of the alleged White dominance in avatar-based virtual worlds by conducting two experiments in which participants read fictitious profiles of SL resident avatars. White and non-White participants were randomly assigned to view either a set of White-dominant avatar profiles or a set of racially diverse ones. After reading the profiles, participants had an opportunity to customize avatars using the SL interface. The findings of Experiment 1 (n=59) revealed that non-White participants exposed to the White-dominant avatar profiles, when compared with those exposed to the racially diverse profiles, reported significantly lower levels of sense of belonging and intention to participate in SL. Experiment 2 (n=64) demonstrated that non-White participants exposed to the White-dominant avatar profiles gave significantly higher estimation of the White user population within SL; the data also showed that exposure to the White-dominant avatar profiles resulted in a greater sense of limitation on skin customization among non-White participants than among White participants. The present research suggests that ethno-racial minorities, when exposed to avatar-based cues that signal White dominance, may perceive the virtual world as identity threatening, thereby feeling psychologically disconnected and detached from it. Implications regarding racial/ethnic diversity in virtual worlds are discussed.

Manufacturing Consent: A corpus‐based critical discourse analysis of New Labour's educational governance

This paper presents selected findings from a historical analysis of change in the discursive construction of social identity in UK education policy discourse from 1972–2005. My chief argument is that through its linguistic forms of self‐identification the government construes educational roles, relations and responsibilities not only for itself, but also for other educational actors and wider society. More specifically, I argue that New Labour's distinctive mode of self‐representation is an important element in its hegemonic project, textually manufacturing consent over its policy decisions, and helping to articulate its self‐styled ‘enabling’ model of governance. As evidence for these claims I discuss two prominent trends in New Labour's education policy rhetoric, which I characterise as ‘personalisation’ and ‘managerialisation’. Respectively, these relate to the discursive representation of social identity and social action.

RENDERING EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY POLICIES IN UK HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

As employers, higher education institutions in the UK are now under a statutory obligation to institute and implement equal opportunities policies. Integral to the process of instituting and implementing equal opportunities policies is effective communication of the policies. In this paper I conduct a critical discourse analysis of the staff equal opportunities policies of six UK higher education institutions as they were presented on their websites in October 2004. The aim of the analysis is to map out the policy documents' genres and styles, the types of audiences addressed and anticipated, the representation of social identities, and the inter-textual meanings that are incorporated and presupposed. It is argued that the policy statements draw upon and intersect several genres which do not sit quite comfortably with each other and which create some ambiguities as to their communicative purpose, and that they are organized around performative enunciations of promises and commitments largely oriented towards the future. I will also explore the ways in which the policy statements relay and re-inflect the statutory obligations emanating from governmental legislation, and the tensions and contradictions following from the policy statements' attempts to reconcile the principle of equal opportunities with the ideological construct of meritocracy. And finally, considering the aggregate configuration of the six higher education institutions' policies, I highlight the differential topicalization of equal opportunities ‘areas’ in the policy documents.