Social Identity Perspective Research Articles

Media, Racial Identity, and Mainstream American Values

A survey of 499 Black, Asian, and White American college students assessed their endorsement of “mainstream” American values, uncovering a 6-factor values structure, with some notable significant differences between the races. As expected, White respondents' own personal value orientations most closely matched their assessments of mainstream American values, and stronger racial identity (from a social identity perspective) corresponded to an even closer match. A variety of media consumption measures correlated with personal/mainstream American values congruence, with greater media exposure predicting greater endorsement of mainstream values, but most relationships were eclipsed when controlling for demographics, race, and racial identity. Predictors that maintained under controls included music TV and sports programming exposure, pointing to the potential importance of such particular media forms in the process of value-based cultural assimilation and reinforcement.

Social Identity Perspective on Resistance and Leadership: A Qualitative Study of Mass Protest against 16/12 Gang Rape, New Delhi

In inter disciplinary researches of social sciences, resistance as phenomena has not been explored much and conformity was considered something very natural and normal while resistance could not come to the fore. The study is a modest attempt to explore resistance following Delhi gang rape protest which is still fresh in our collective memory following social identity approach as well as sociological perspective. Semi structured interviews were conducted with 10 subjects (5 males and 5 females). Interpretive phenomenological approach was used to draw meaning out of the interview transcripts. Social identity approach outlines the following themes in understanding resistance: formation of oppositional identity, illegitimacy of the out group, affective involvement, cognitive alternatives, the role of third party etc. However, the protestors could not identify single out group to rally against which is so important in social identity, for some patriarchy as a system was out group, for some it was state machinery, political class etc. The notion of leadership was not in sync with social identity approach as the leaders were ―faceless‖ and it was ―shifting.‖ However, it was not pure resistance (Hollander & Einwohner, 2004) as there were many references to those structures by protestors against which protest was initially meant for.

Majority Member’s Recognition and Protest Against Discrimination of Immigrants: The Role of Power Threat, Deprovincialization and Common National Identity

Following the social identity perspective and using data from two national surveys, the present research examines among the native Dutch their recognition of discrimination against immigrants (Study 1) and their intention to protest against this (Study 2). It was found that stronger endorsement of a common national identity was associated with higher recognition and stronger protest intention. However, higher perceived power threat was associated with lower common identity endorsement and thereby to lower recognition of discrimination and reduced willingness to protest. At the same time, a less in-group centric perspective (deprovincialization) was associated with higher recognition of discrimination and willingness to protest because of a stronger endorsement of common identity. The similar results in the two studies support the generality of the proposed processes and add to the limited research on when and why majority members recognize and act against group-based injustices.

Measure of a Man

As social psychologists investigating topics pertaining to gender and intergroup relations, much of the research that has impacted our own work has been focused on the experiences of women. Perhaps because gender stereotypes legitimize men’s greater status relative to women (Eagly, 1987; Ridgeway, 2001), their potential negative effects on men are often overlooked. Researchers have generally focused on the ways in which stereotyping processes and traditional gender roles produce negative consequences for women, for good reason. Gender stereotypes have been shown to result in discrimination against women in the workplace (Rudman, Moss-Racusin, Phelan, & Nauts, 2012), disrupt women’s performance in counter-normative domains (such as math and science fields; Good, Woodzicka, & Wingfield, 2010; O’Brien & Crandall, 2003), and can incur negative consequences for women’s self-esteem (Good & Sanchez, 2010) and relationships (Sanchez, Phelan, Moss-Racusin, & Good, 2012). In contrast, comparatively little research has investigated the implications of gender stereotyping processes for men. The assumption that gender stereotypes uniquely or disproportionately impact women may not only reinforce unrealistic expectations of men, but also obscure a rich unexplored area ripe for empirical investigation. Recently, researchers have begun to fill this gap; results from a growing subfield suggest that despite occupying positions of societal power and dominance, pressure to adhere to a strict definition of masculinity is often associated with serious health (Courtenay, 2000), relational (Burn & Ward, 2005), and professional (Moss-Racusin, Phelan, & Rudman, 2010) consequences for men (see Vandello, Bosson, Cohen, Burnaford, & Weaver, 2008). This special issue offers a timely compendium of manuscripts from this new (yet rapidly expanding) area of research, focusing on various outcomes of gender stereotyping processes for men. Our call for papers resulted in 29 submissions, many of which represented interdisciplinary work merging social psychology with health psychology, clinical psychology, educational psychology, industrial organizational psychology, developmental psychology, media studies, sociology, and social advocacy work. The quality of the submissions made it difficult to select the six papers that seemed most relevant, impactful, and scientifically rigorous within this growing subfield. As such, this special issue includes a compelling mix of topics and theoretical approaches, reflecting the diversity and range of work being conducted on masculinity and male stereotyping. Through their studies of gendered food packaging, Zhu, Brescoll, Newman, and Uhlmann demonstrate the health impacts of gender stereotyping. First, the authors demonstrate that both men and women prefer unhealthy food when primed with masculinity, while femininity primes were associated with preferences for healthier foods. Next, they reveal that the gender stereotype congruency of food packaging (i.e., feminine packaging for healthful foods, and masculine packaging for less healthy foods) impacted ratings of product attractiveness, taste, purchasing intentions, and even the amount participants were willing to spend on the product. Of importance, they also demonstrate reactance to explicitly gendered packaging among some participants. Given that men are stereotypically associated with unhealthy eating, the implications of gender-congruent advertising on men’s health are far-reaching. Michniewicz and Vandello consider the downstream consequences of masculine identity threat, both for men and women. Across three studies, they show that participants are more likely to excuse sexism perpetrated by a man who has recently been emasculated by a woman (i.e., experienced masculine identity threat caused by a woman) relative to a man who received a gender identity threat from another man or a man who received a nongendered threat. Importantly, both male and female participants demonstrated this pattern of excusal. The importance of continuously reaffirming men’s identity therefore is not only detrimental to men, but also to women. Glick, Wilkerson, and Cuffe highlight masculine identification from a social identity perspective (i.e., strength of ingroup identification) rather than endorsement of a set of

Organizational identification and “currencies of exchange”: integrating social identity and social exchange perspectives

AbstractWe integrate social exchange and social identity perspectives to propose and test the prediction that depending on their level of organizational identification, people may reciprocate the received organizational support using different “currencies of exchange”—reducing turnover intentions or, instead, engaging in extra‐role behavior. Specifically, the relationship of perceived organizational support (POS) with turnover intentions is proposed to be stronger with lower identification, whereas POS is proposed to be more closely related to extra‐role behavior with higher organizational identification. These predictions were supported in a cross‐sectional survey of N = 1,000 employees of a financial services firm. These results speak to the added value of integrating the social exchange perspective with its roots in applied psychology and the social identity perspective with its roots in social psychology in understanding the employee‐organization relationship.

A Social Identity Perspective of Personality Differences between Fan and Non-Fan Identities

<p><em>In three studies of fan communities we examined differences in the Big Five personality traits between fans’ personal and fan identities. In all three studies, self-identified furries completed a measure of the Big Five personality traits for both their personal and furry identity. In Study 1, furries were found to rate all five dimensions higher when referring to their furry (vs. personal) identity. In Study 2 we replicated these results and further found that the effect was not limited to furries: sport fans also reported different personality ratings when referring to their fan or personal identity. In Study 3, we again replicated the results while testing predictors of personality differences between salient identities. A path model showed that felt connection to one’s fandom identity predicted greater frequency of fandom identity salience, which, in turn, predicted greater personality disparity between identities. Taken together, the results suggest the role of the social identity perspective in explaining inconsistencies in personality.</em></p>

Further Examination of the Factor Structure and Validity of the Identification with All Humanity Scale

In three separate samples, we examine the factor structure and validity of the identification with all humanity scale. Although the measure was originally proposed to contain a single factor, the results of the present studies showed two factors. The first factor contains items reflecting behaviors and feelings suggested by Adler and Maslow (e.g., helping, responsibility, loyalty). The second factor contains items previously used to assess ingroup identification from a social identity perspective. Regression analyses showed that the first factor (Adler/Maslow) is strongly influencing the associations between the identification with all humanity scale and prosocial values. The results highlight the distinction between theoretical perspectives from which ingroup identification measures are conceptualized.

Impact of Identity on Support for New Roles in Health Care

Identity threat can be understood from a social identity perspective where people interrelate based on group memberships. Language use may indicate the presence of identity threat. We explored reactions of doctors to planned expanded roles for nurses to perform gastrointestinal endoscopy in Australia. Specialist doctors have traditionally performed endoscopic procedures, yet the level of doctor support for nurse endoscopy is relatively unknown. We present results of our valence and discourse analyses of text box responses in a national survey that explored doctors’ attitudes toward this role expansion. We found low levels of support for the role, and frequent expression of identity threat in three main areas: (1) framing nurses as incompetent, (2) use of contracted statements to evoke authority, and (3) emotive expression. Findings indicated that stakeholders should consider intergroup attitudes when facilitating changes in health professional scope of practice.

Generational Conversion? The Role of Religiosity in the Politics of Evangelicals

The political environment for evangelical Protestants has changed substantially since the Christian Right reached its apex, as a more issue and ideologically diffuse political environment has emerged. The present study tests two different theoretical perspectives on whether these contextual changes may have altered Millennial evangelicals’ political perspectives vis‐à‐vis those of previous generations of evangelicals. On the one hand, theoretical perspectives related to differential political socialization processes across generations would lead to expectations of generational change among evangelicals. On the other hand, theoretical perspectives related to social identity theory would suggest far less change across generations. Using Pew's 2007 U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, we test these expectations by comparing the relationships between religiosity and political attitudes across three generations of evangelicals. Ordered probit and logistic regression models estimate the impact of religiosity on various political attitudes. These models reveal that Millennial evangelical religiosity continues to be strongly related to Republican Party identification and opposition toward abortion, which is largely consistent with the social identity perspective. Generational change is most evident in a variety of nonsocial issues in which religiosity is associated with less conservatism among Millennials. Additional analysis using the 2012 Religion and Politics Survey with a smaller sample of Millennial evangelicals confirms these results.

How the Poor Deal with Their Own Poverty: A Social Psychological Analysis from the Social Identity Perspective

The focus of psychological studies of poverty is usually on the psychological outcomes, causal attributions and the personality characteristics of the poor. Different from previous psychological accounts, the present study considered poverty as a group level phenomenon in the frame of Social Identity Theory, addressing the question of how poor people deal with the negative poor identity. In order to explore which of the three identity management strategies suggested by SIT (so-called individual mobility, social creativity and collective effort) would most likely be adopted by the poor to deal with the negative poor identity, a semi-structured interview study (N = 50) and a survey study (N = 170) were conducted of a sample of Turkish adults living below the poverty line, based on data from a 2011 Report of Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (TURK-IS, 2011). The analysis of the interviews showed that when people see group boundaries as permeable and the social structure as unstable, they tend to move into higher status groups, even if they perceive the unequal social structure to be illegitimate. On the other hand, when the social structure is perceived as stable, they tend to use creative strategies. The analysis of the survey data mostly confirmed the proposed model, which suggests that a poor identity leads poor people to endorse one of the three identity management strategies through the perceptions of permeability between the poor and the wealthy, and through the perceptions of stability and illegitimacy of the status relations between the poor and the wealthy group.

The perceived value of team players: a longitudinal study of how group identification affects status in work groups

Theory and research on status attainment in work groups primarily focuses on members’ abilities and characteristics that make them appear competent as predictors of their status in the group. We complement the abilities perspective with a social identity perspective by arguing that another important determinant of a member’s status is based on the extent to which the member serves the group’s interests. Specifically, we assert that a member’s identification with the group affects performance on behalf of the group, which in turn affects other members’ assessment of the member’s status. We test this social identity perspective on status attainment by studying the influence of members’ group identification on their performance and status in the group, while controlling for the members’ abilities and status characteristics. In a three-wave longitudinal field study following 33 work groups during a six-month group project, we find that members’ identification enhances their performance on behalf of the group, which in turn increases their status within the group. As such, our study advances insights in the determinants of status attainment in work groups and points to the relevance of the social identity approach for research on the antecedents of status in work groups.

Why and how does shared language affect subsidiary knowledge inflows? A social identity perspective

Extending existing international business (IB) research, we conceptualize shared social identity as an outcome rather than only an antecedent of multinational enterprise knowledge flows to provide an alternative reason for why such knowledge flows occur. We further argue that shared language among subsidiary and headquarters (HQ) managers is an insufficient condition for subsidiary knowledge receipt. Accordingly, we develop a moderated mediation model at the subsidiary level to examine how shared language affects subsidiaries’ tacit knowledge inflows from HQ. Specifically, we study (1) whether this relationship is mediated by the extent to which subsidiary managers share HQ goals and vision, and the extent to which Human Resources decisions are centralized at HQ; and (2) whether subsidiary type (greenfields vs acquisitions) moderates these mediated relationships such that in both cases the mediation will be stronger in foreign acquisitions compared with foreign greenfields. Building on a sample of 817 subsidiaries in 9 countries/regions and a novel subjective measure of shared language, we find support for our model. Implications for research on HQ–subsidiary knowledge flows, social identity theory and the literature on sociolinguistics, and international Human Resource Management are discussed and managerial implications outlined.

The Relationship Between Tenure and Outside Director Task Involvement: A Social Identity Perspective

Drawing from corporate governance research and social identity theory, the authors argue that the relationship between outside directors’ time in office and outside director task involvement is more complex than generally anticipated. By using a unique multisource data set composed of peer ratings provided by fellow outside directors rating a focal director’s task involvement, this study analyzes director task involvement at the individual director level of analysis. The authors propose and empirically demonstrate that outside director tenure has an inverted U-shaped relationship with outside director task involvement that is moderated by a director’s social identification with the organization. As such, the authors demonstrate that social identification with the organization provides a critical contingency for the curvilinear relationship between outside director tenure and outside director task involvement. Findings suggest that outside directors who socially identify with the organization are more likely to grow “stale in the saddle” at lower levels of tenure. These findings provide support for the merit of analyzing outside directors at the individual level of analysis and suggest that a “one-size-fits-all” approach may not be most appropriate in assessing the effects of tenure on outside director functioning.

How rural-urban identification influences consumption patterns? Evidence from Chinese migrant workers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine spending pattern of Chinese migrant workers from rural regions to urban cities from a social identity perspective, which stems from Chinese Hukou system (household registry system). This study proposes a theoretical model for consumer utility function (a combination of economic utility and social utility) which takes into account the choice of social identification. Design/methodology/approach – This study focusses on the influence of rural and urban identification on consumption patterns of Chinese migrant workers. These assumptions were verified based on a survey with 650 samples in Shanghai, one of the most developed cities in China. Findings – Results indicate that affirmative social identification has a significantly positive effect on the level of consumption for migrant workers. High level of rural identification has a more significant impact than urban identification on survival consumption including food, medicine and family support. On the other hand, high level of urban identification has a more significant impact than rural identification on development consumption including education for children, training and recreation. Besides, there are significant interaction effects between income and identity on consumption, which confirms the identity effect on classical economic model and is in line with identity economics’ arguments. Originality/value – This study outlines the importance of social identity in both economics and marketing domains and proposes a theoretical model which advances understanding of a model on similar lines proposed by Akerlof and Kranton’s (2000) and Benjamin et al. (2010). Empirical tests with Chinese migrant workers’ data present that their consumption patterns are influenced by their level of social identifications.

Routes to team goal attainment in retail

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the routes of team goal attainment through individual and social mechanisms. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on a qualitative thematic analysis of interviews, annual reports and observations of team meetings conducted within a Finnish department store. Findings – The key findings of our analysis are three fold. First, we identified four routes to team goal attainment: team leadership, one’s own work, customer service and team work. We propose that for team members, these routes to goal attainment are more important than the organizational goals of sales and reputation themselves, since sales and reputation may be too far removed from the team’s everyday work. Second, both individual and social mechanisms are needed for team goal accomplishment. This finding highlights the importance of the social identity perspective in binding individual and collective motivations together. Third, teamwork in our case department store is somewhat affected by non-participative conventions, but many employee-involving practices can also be identified. These employee-involving HRM practices offer the employees a voice, and give the teams and team supervisors sufficient power in work organization. Research limitations/implications – The limitations of this study are mostly due to the qualitative case study design which hinders the generalization of the results. The wide perspective of the study can also be seen as a limitation. Practical implications – The results suggest that HR professionals and line managers should be more aware of and support the processes through which teams and team members attain organizational goals. This requires detailed knowledge of the processes – routes to team goal attainment – at the shop floor level. Originality/value – This study highlights the interconnectedness of individual and team level attributes in retail team work, and proposes the perspective of social identity theory as a lens for analysis.

The presence of the past: Identity continuity and group dynamics

Social psychologists are increasingly interested in the temporal dimensions of social life and in identity continuity in particular. Focusing on ethnicity and national identity we discuss the implications of perceived group continuity and collective self-continuity, and their interplay, for group dynamics. Using the social identity perspective and theories of identity motivation, we show, first, that the need for collective self-continuity forms a unique motivational basis for group identification. Second, we demonstrate that people are more likely to derive a sense of collective self-continuity from groups that are seen as relatively stable and immutable over time (i.e., essentialist in-groups). Third, we find that existential threats to group identity strengthen a sense of collective self-continuity, which, in turn, increases in-group defence mechanisms in the form of negative attitudes towards immigrant out-groups and towards social developments that potentially undermine in-group continuity. Fourth, we discuss empirical findings that indicate that group-based nostalgia for the nation is an identity management strategy in response to in-group continuity threats and that nostalgia leads to immigrant out-group exclusion.

Visions of Change as Visions of Continuity

Despite wide consensus that leader vision is a key vehicle for leaders to motivate followers to support organizational change, it remains far from clear what characterizes an effective vision of change. Research on organizational change that uses a social identity perspective has asserted that one important reason why followers resist change is because change may pose a threat to their subjective sense of continuity of organizational identity. Accordingly, we hypothesize that leaders that communicate visions of change can address this resistance by assuring followers that the essence of the organizational identity will remain unchanged – making their vision of change also a vision of continuity. In line with our proposition that collective continuity is valued because it serves an uncertainty-reduction function, such visions should be more predictive of vision effectiveness the higher follower work-related uncertainty. Across a field study and an experimental study we found support for these predictions.

A social identity perspective on aspirational advertising: Implicit threats to collective self-esteem and strategies to overcome them

This research explores the effects of consumers' self-comparisons with specific social identities associated with a product-based out-group that are primed by aspirational advertising. We hypothesize and find that when a consumer's relevant identity is inferior to the primed social identity, product attitudes suffer. The process accounting for this effect consists of a negative social comparison between the two that reduces the consumer's related collective self-esteem. This outcome is more (less) apparent under conditions of high comparison salience (identification with the inferior in-group). We also demonstrate two marketer strategies that alleviate this negative effect: facilitated affiliation (i.e., making desired out-group membership appear accessible) and indirect self-affirmation (i.e., improving perceptions of worth associated with other self identities). The results advance theoretical knowledge of social identity processes influencing consumer attitudes.

Ideal selves as identity management strategies

This research addresses the relationship between ideal selves and social context from a social identity perspective. Based on Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979, 1986) and related research, it is argued that ideal selves stand in a functional relationship with identity management strategies and that, consequently, shared beliefs about relevant intergroup relations influence the preferences for ideal selves. Three studies conducted with black and white adolescent and adult South Africans tested the assumption. The overall results of the studies confirmed that whether ideal selves corresponding to social change, social mobility or social creativity were preferred depended on whether the intergroup relations between black and white South Africans were perceived as secure or insecure.

Directors' Social Identifications and Board Tasks: Evidence from Finland

Manuscript Type Empirical Research Question/Issue Scholars and practitioners have been interested in the tasks of boards of directors, yet we know relatively little about the impact of directors' social identification on their engagement in specific board tasks. Examining the 92 largest Finnish industrial organizations, we explore how the directors' identification with the organization, its shareholders, and customers affects the extent to which the board engages in external legitimacy, networking, advice and counsel, top management monitoring, financial monitoring, strategic participation, and strategic evaluation tasks. Research Findings/Insights Following the social identity perspective, we provide new insight to understand the relationship between board tasks and the directors' relevant identifications. We find that organizational identification is positively related to the level of board task involvement. We also discover that shareholder identification is negatively related to strategic participation tasks and only weakly related to other board tasks. Theoretical/Academic Implications We contribute to the present literature on boards of directors by applying an empirical, analytical lens to theories on how and why directors engage in board tasks. In particular, we show that different social identifications of the directors have different explanatory power towards the subsets of resource provision and monitoring tasks. Practitioner/Policy Implications Our findings suggest a re-evaluation of the shareholder supremacy view as the only driver of value creation for the organization. Additionally, we advocate that board, organization, and industry characteristics are similarly weak in predicting the involvement of the directors in the board tasks examined.