'The double identity' of Taiwanese Chinese: A dilemma of politics and culture rooted in history

The 'double identity' of Taiwanese as both Chinese and Taiwanese identity was measured among both general and student samples using categorical and continuous measures. As predicted, Mingnan (native province) Taiwanese were higher in Taiwanese identity whereas outside-province Taiwanese were higher in Chinese identity. Both groups shared similar representations of the history of Taiwan, but evaluations of leaders followed patterns of in-group favoritism. These representations of history were used to predict and find zero correlations between Chinese and Taiwanese identity. Taiwanese and Chinese identities were mutually compatible in cultural domains, and mediated the effect of demographic group. However, in issues concerning politicized allocation decisions (and language), Taiwanese and Chinese identity worked in opposite directions, and demographic group (and a critical evaluation of an historical leader) were significant even after controlling for identity. Implications for social identity theory, realistic group conflict theory, and the cross-straits relationship are discussed.     

全球化时代跨界民族国家认同的心理机制

全球化迅速改变着传统的生活方式和观念, 影响着人们的国家认同建构。跨界民族的国家认同具有复杂性、模糊性和不稳定性, 在全球化时代受到的冲击更大。一旦跨界民族的国家认同偏低, 就会影响跨界民族的国家情感, 危及边疆地区甚至国家的社会稳定。本项目拟通过4个研究, 预期实现以下目标：①将国家认同分成文化认同和公民认同两种成分, 并编制符合民族实际状况的跨界民族国家认同问卷; ②探讨民族认同、穆斯林认同在群际歧视知觉与国家认同间的中介作用; ③理清民族内隐理论对国家认同的影响; ④探讨管理体制、民生政策、经济发展水平和民族政策对国家认同的影响, 并尝试建立跨界民族国家认同数据库, 及时把握跨界民族国家认同的动态建构过程。研究结果对完善民族政策、开展宣传教育具有一定的指导意义。     

Social identity complexity and immigrants' attitude toward the host nation: the intersection of ethnic and religious group identification

Social identity complexity refers to individual differences in the interrelationships among multiple ingroup identities. The present research conducted in the Netherlands examines social identity complexity in relation to Muslim immigrants' national identification and the attitude toward the host majority. Three studies are reported that focused on the interrelationship between ethnicity and religion and examined social identity complexity in different ways. Study 1 showed that lower social identity complexity is associated with lower national identification. Studies 2 and 3 examined the interaction between ethnic and religious group identification. For Muslim identifiers, higher ethnic identification was related to lower national identification and higher ingroup bias (Studies 2) and lower endorsement of national liberal practices (Study 3). In contrast, for those who did not strongly identify with Muslims, higher ethnic identification was associated with higher national identification, stronger endorsement of Dutch liberal practices, and more positive stereotypes about the Dutch outgroup (Study 3).     

Convergence and divergence of individual‐level values: A study of Malaysian managers

Malaysia is a multi‐ethnic country with Malay, Chinese and Indian being the dominant ethnic groups. This paper investigates the three ethnic cultures in Malaysia by examining the individual‐level values of managers and professionals. Based on 528 responses to a Schwartz Value Survey (SVS) questionnaire, the paper identifies partial convergence of the value systems of Malay, Chinese and Indian people. It was found that the three ethnic groups do not differ significantly in the individualistic value dimensions of Self‐enhancement and Openness‐to‐change. However, Malays are found to be more conservative and less self‐transcendent than Chinese or Indians, while Chinese and Indians attribute the same importance to these two sets of values.     

Social identity and the perception of history: cultural representations of Aotearoa/New Zealand

The context of intergroup relations in Aotearoa/New Zealand was investigated using perceptions of history by Maori (Polynesian‐descended) and Pakeha (European‐descended) samples from university and the general public. There was strong consensus that the Treaty of Waitangi was the most important event in New Zealand's history, but only Maori, the subordinate ethnic group, showed in‐group favouritism in their judgments regarding the Treaty. Pakeha, the dominant group, showed outgroup favouritism, and distanced themselves from past injustices using linguistic strategies. Maori students showed interest in their ethnic origins (ontogeny), rating the distant past and Polynesian history higher, and free‐recalling more events prior to European arrival than other groups; Maori in the general population shared a more similar perception of history to Pakeha. Both in‐group favouritism and ontogeny were found in sentence‐completion choices. Historical perceptions were strongly related to positions on current political issues. Results are related to social identity theory, social representations theory, and social dominance theory. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Monarchism,national identity and social representations of history in Indonesia: Intersections of the local and national in the sultanates of Yogyakarta and Surakarta

In the young state of Indonesia, old local authorities like sultanates have reasserted themselves. This reemergence of localized authority does not necessarily conflict with nation building. Survey research among adult samples (N = 399) in the neighbouring sultanates of Yogyakarta and Surakarta found that social representations of history were implicated in the relationship between monarchism and national identity. In Yogyakarta (but not Surakarta), a positive intersection between local and national representations of history was found: events and people associated with the sultanate were also regarded as instrumental to the birth of the nation. In Yogyakarta, support for the sultanate was higher than in Surakarta: respondents argued that Yogyakarta had the culture and history required to justify status as a special autonomous region. In Yogyakarta but not Surakarta, monarchism was positively related to national identity and trust in national democratic political institutions. The intersection between local and national representations of history, especially concerning the instrumentality of the local monarchy in giving birth to the nation in Yogyakarta, created historical continuity/positive intersectionality where the superordinate nation and the local monarchy are networked in a system of power and meaning that lends trust in democratic institutions from monarchism, and strengthens national identity.     

Review Essay Ethnicity, Identity and Nationality in Latin America

This essay surveys recent scholarship on the history of ethnicity in Latin America and the Atlantic World, exploring ways in which Jewish, Japanese and Middle Eastern minorities have transacted nationhood, identity and integration. This historiography of ethnicity offers compelling paths for understanding how transnational identities are negotiated. These include the analysis of patterns of slaveholding by Jewish communities on both sides of the Atlantic and the ways in which these communities understood blackness; the use of memory in understanding experiences of immigration; the relationships between national foreign policy and domestic ethnic politics; and the extent to which the issues of negotiating identity and asserting ethnicity are shared by a variety of immigrant ethnic groups. Together, this body of literature reflects the substantial ways in which ethnic histories interplay with other facets of national histories and with the process of historical analysis.     

The Relation Between Social Identities and Outgroup Hostility Among German Immigrant-Origin Citizens

One of the major drivers of societal conflict are the intergroup relations which rely mainly on social identity and which are rarely analyzed for immigrant groups. This article changes this point of view by investigating the extent to which national, ethnic, and religious identities relate to outgroup hostilities towards the majority of the German population, towards other immigrant groups, and towards Syrian refugees among immigrant-origin citizens. We employ a theoretical framework based on the social identity approach and use new representative survey data from 2017 for Germans of Turkish descent (N = 480) and Russian Germans (N = 471). Based on multivariate linear regression analysis, we show that ethnic identity has the strongest positive relation with outgroup hostilities, with the exception of the Russian-Germans' evaluation of the German majority population. National identity among Germans of Turkish descent lessens their hostility towards other immigrants. Our results show the importance of analyzing immigrant groups with different migration trajectories separately before making generalized claims. Not only are the identity relations different between an ingroup identification and various outgroup targets, but they are also different between the immigrant groups for the same ingroup identification and outgroup target.     

'Rallying around the flag': Can an intergroup contact intervention promote national unity?

A longitudinal study evaluated the success of a contact-based nation-building intervention (the Malaysian National Service Programme) in promoting various facets of national unity. The study assessed how post-test measures of quality of intergroup contact, outgroup evaluations, and levels of identification changed compared to their respective pre-test levels, for both National Service and control group participants. The intervention did not lead to a worsening of any of the constructs related to intergroup relations, which is noteworthy given the novelty for many participants of mixing in a multi-ethnic setting. Furthermore, all rater groups (Malays, Chinese, and Indians) maintained their ethnic identity, even in the presence of high levels of national identity, which we discuss with respect to past research on the effects of positive intergroup contact on minority group identification. However, the changes associated with the intervention yielded only small effect sizes, and, on the whole, National Service participants did not show significantly greater improvement than that experienced by control participants. We discuss the value of intergroup contact in this novel setting, considering various features of this programme that may have limited its effectiveness and discuss how such interventions can more successfully meet their goals.     

Am I ‘Chinese’ or ‘Scottish’? children’s perceptions of the adaptive nature of Chinese Scottish children’s dual identities

Chinese Scottish children (children who are born and live in Scotland with Chinese parents) face challenges in establishing their identity. However, there is lack of research that investigates ethnic minority Chinese children’s identity and associated feelings about the dual social context in which they live. The study introduced a social identity vignettes task to examine Chinese Scottish and White Scottish children’s perceptions of Chinese ethnic identity and Scottish national identity of a Scottish born Chinese character within two contrasting socio-cultural contexts (Scottish vs. Chinese). This study examines whether children’s ethnic and national identity and feelings of positivity are adaptive and sensitive to social context. In addition it explored age-related changes in perceptions of ethnic and national identification in the vignettes. The sample comprised of 161 children (8, 11, and 14 years). The results found Chinese Scottish children and White Scottish children’s judgments of the characters’ ethnic identity changed with the cultural context. Both groups of children had a similar perception of vignette characters’ feeling of positivity. Both Chinese and White Scottish children judged that the character would feel more positive about him/herself in the Chinese context. There was no main effect of age.     

Internal and External Ethnic Identity and Their Correlates: A Study of Chinese American Immigrants

The measurement of internal ethnic identity and external ethnic identity showed that Chinese American immigrants could be differentiated into different identity groups. Additionally, internal ethnic identity significantly predicted salience of ethnicity and loss of face. Income, ethnicity salience, external ethnic identity, and loss of face were significant predictors of acculturative stress.     

The role of ethnic identity and self-construal in coping among African American and Caucasian American seventh graders: an exploratory analysis of within-group variance

Much coping research has been conducted comparing members of different ethnic groups using discrete racial classifications. However, the past two decades have seen the construct of ethnicity evolve into a complex variable that must be assessed in a more comprehensive way. This study explored how ethnicity, a discrete variable, and the continuous variables of a person's ethnic identity and self-construal contribute to the use of particular coping strategies across various situations. One hundred twelve seventh graders (67 African Americans and 45 Caucasian Americans) from three suburban middle schools completed questionnaires assessing ethnic identity, self-construal, and coping strategies for medical, test, and social criticism stressors. Results supported the hypothesis that ethnicity as a discrete variable is not associated with coping, but that ethnic identity and self-construal are. It was also found that high scores on the ethnic identity and self-construal scales were indicative of more positive psychological adjustment. Implications for future research and methodological considerations are discussed.     

National (dis)identification and ethnic and religious identity: a study among Turkish-Dutch muslims

National (dis)identification is examined in three studies among Turkish-Dutch Muslim participants. In explaining national (dis)identification, the first study focuses on ethnic identity, the second on ethnic and religious identity, and the third on three dimensions of religious identity. Many participants show low commitment to the nation, and many indicate national disidentification. In addition, there is very strong ethnic and religious identification. Ethnic and Muslim identifications relate negatively to Dutch identification and, in Study 3, to stronger Dutch disidentification. Furthermore, perceived group rejection is associated with increased ethnic minority and religious identification but also with decreased national Dutch identification. In addition, in Studies 1 and 2 the effect of perceived rejection on Dutch identification is (partly) mediated by minority group identification. The findings are discussed in relation to social psychological thinking about group identification, dual identities, and the importance of religion for intergroup relations.     

Creating Divine Unity: Chinese Recruitment in the Sathya Sai Baba Movement of Malaysia

This paper examines Chinese participation in a neo-Hindu movement in Malaysia. The data, gathered in Kuala Lumpur 1995-1997, are examined with regard to their ethnic and political implications and in relation to the historical as well as the contemporary social features of Malaysia. The paper explores the way in which the Indian-dominated leadership of the Malaysian Sai Baba organisation attempts to include Chinese worshippers: while aiming to overcome ethnic boundaries, there is a tendency to reproduce them. Chinese inclusion plays a significant role in the organisation's attempt to establish a multi-ethnic and non-sectarian profile for the movement. Such a profile is relevant for the leadership's pursuit of moral legitimacy in a country where ethnicity and religion are inextricably linked to politics.     

民族本质论对跨民族交往的影响——以中国内地的藏族大学生为例

本研究以中国内地的藏族大学生为例,通过两个研究探讨了民族本质论对跨民族交往的影响。研究一通过相关研究发现,民族本质论与接触数量、接触质量呈显著负相关,与民族间的社会距离呈显著正相关;研究二启动了民族本质论和民族建构论,结果发现,相比本质论启动条件,民族建构论启动条件下藏族大学生的跨汉民族交往意愿较高。本研究说明,民族本质论是影响跨民族交往的重要因素,加强民族的社会建构论是促进跨民族交往的重要举措。     

Effects of Changes in GNP and Perceived Group Characteristics on National and Ethnic Stereotypes in Central and Eastern Europe1

This study examines changes in national and ethnic stereotypes between 1994 and 1995 among 625 adolescents from 6 central and eastern European countries. First, it was found that stereotypes of the national in‐group and ethnic minority groups were stable, while stereotypes of specific national out‐groups changed slightly in some of the countries. Second, the results indicate that foreign out‐group stereotypes, in terms of morality, became more negative as a function of the economic deterioration in the perceivers' country. Third, the results show that stereotypes of foreign national groups are affected by changes in perceived economic and relational features of the national states. The results are discussed in relation to self‐categorization theory, relative deprivation theory, social identity theory, and scapegoat theory.     

Ethnic differences in endorsement of the Protestant work ethic: the role of ethnic identity and perceptions of social class

The authors examined ethnic differences in endorsement of the Protestant work ethic (PWE; M. Weber, 1905) among Black (n = 96) and White (n = 149) college students and tested whether differences in ethnic identity and perceptions of social class mediated the relationship between ethnicity and the endorsement of PWE values. Blacks were higher in levels of ethnic identity, more likely to see themselves as working or middle class, and less likely to endorse the PWE. Only perceptions of social class partially mediated the relationship between ethnicity and PWE values. The authors concluded that perception of social class is an important construct that might influence the cultural psychology of different ethnic groups. The authors recommended further research involving PWE and other cultural variables.     

Self and Identity Among Aging Immigrants in The Joy Luck Club

This article uses George Herbert Mead's theory of symbolic interaction to examine self and identity among aging immigrants in Amy Tan's novel The Joy Luck Club (1989). Social scientists have largely bypassed analysis of fictional accounts of the Asian diaspora. My motivation for employing Mead's theory is to extend social scientific analysis to novels on aging and ethnicity. By examining self-narratives in fictional representations of the aging immigrant experience, I assess how identity develops out of particular social conditions and is achieved through social, psychological processes. Despite some limitations, symbolic interaction offers insights into the process whereby the present brings reinterpretation of the past and individuals are compelled to assign meaning to their life histories.     

Christians and Muslims in search of common ground in Malaysia

According to its constitution, Malaysia is a federation and a secular state. But due to the special position given to the Malays, who usually adhere to Islam, Islam is declared to be the ‘official’ religion in the federation — although not necessarily in all of its member states, which differ in their ethnic and religious composition. The federal constitution generally guarantees religious freedom, but it provides that the propagation of other faiths among Malays and Muslims may be prohibited by law. In recent years, however, the Christians together with the other non‐Muslims feel a growing restriction of their freedom while the federal government pursues a policy of creating a common ‘Malaysian culture’ oriented towards Malay, and thus Islamic, values. This would change the open and pluralistic character of Malaysia — which is more than just peninsular Malaya — substantially and carry the danger of compartmentalizing society.     

Hegemonic and polemical beliefs: culture and consumption in the social representation of wine

Wine, in France, is a cultural product. However, the issue of wine consumption has been at the centre of a recurring social debate. We decided to focus our study on the effect of consumption practices on this social representation as well as the variations in position-taking in very different normative contexts. Results revealed two distinct social representations according to consumption practice. Moreover, Guttman effect in principal component analysis uncovered a unique phenomenon which showed that participants (consumer vs. non consumer) were inclined to act differently only in the case of polemical issues when they perceived the investigator as a consumer vs. non consumer. Indeed, in the case of hegemonic beliefs they were inclined to act in the same way and their answers were not influenced by the status of the investigator. Results are discussed around the question of the links between social representations and social identity.