Group Identification under Conditions of Threat: College Students' Attachment to Country, Family, Ethnicity, Religion, and University Before and After September 11, 2001

Three classes of introductory psychology students at the University of Pennsylvania completed a survey including several measures of group identification on 20 March 2001, 15 September 2001, and 24 March 2003. Importance of country and university were rated higher four days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks than six months before or 18 months after. Scores on a 9-item scale of identification with country were higher immediately after 9/11 than at the other two assessments. Four theories (group dynamics, CORFing, TMT, SIT) are considered; none predicts the whole pattern of results observed. Discussion highlights group dynamics theory for understanding the increase in identification with country and introduces the possibility that the increase in identification with university might have been a response to experiencing 9/11 as loss of control. Discussion also highlights the value of assessing level of identification with multiple identity groups in order to see the complexity of identity dynamics.     

交叉分类及其对刻板印象的影响

社会分类(分类)是群体认知和印象评价的依据, 交叉分类作为一种认知过程, 是指在知觉或评价他人时, 同时在两个或多个类别维度上进行社会分类, 形成在多个类别维度上内外群体身份的交叉。研究发现交叉分类既可以降低刻板印象, 也可以增强刻板印象。对此, 类别化视角的解释强调群体身份的作用, 而个体化视角的解释强调多重类别背景下去类别化的作用。现有的研究在如何理解并考察这一影响的不同方向上仍存在分歧, 同时, 也未能认识到刻板印象对于个体认知与认同的意义, 存在明显不足。今后的研究应重点探讨类别化视角的动机与认知过程, 个体化视角的优势类别与加工方式, 以及以自我归类为基础的整合。     

The Basic Algebra of Game Equivalences

We give a complete axiomatization of the identities of the basic game algebra valid with respect to the abstract game board semantics. We also show that the additional conditions of termination and determinacy of game boards do not introduce new valid identities.En route we introduce a simple translation of game terms into plain modal logic and thus translate, while preserving validity both ways, game identities into modal formulae.The completeness proof is based on reduction of game terms to a certain minimal canonical form, by using only the axiomatic identities, and on showing that the equivalence of two minimal canonical terms can be established from these identities.     

Enacting collective support for the European integration: Participation in pro‐integration action and preference for specific transnational acculturation strategies

We propose that collective support for European integration is mani‐fested in 2 distinct forms: first, as engagement in socio‐political action by citizens who seek to change their nation and its status in Europe. Second, it is manifested as a transnational acculturation process that impacts on both nations and their citizens. These processes potentially engage social identities at 3 levels: national, European and as supporters of the European integration. Here, we examine these different levels of identification as part of a model predicting collective support for the European integration. To capture the dimension of transnationality, we collected data from 2 Romanian samples, 1 of participants living in their country of origin (N = 203), and 1 of participants living as migrants outside Romania (N = 196). We found that identification as a pro‐integration supporter flows from European and Romanian national identifications and is an excellent predictor of collective support for European integration in both its forms. We conclude by discussing how our findings can be applied to the design of intervention strategies and policies to promote support for the European Union and the integration process in the current socio‐political climate (where the unity and the very existence of European Union are under threat).     

Race and Nation: How Racial Hierarchy Shapes National Attachments

We contend that the boundaries and nature of national attachments are shaped by the position of one's group within America's racial order, with higher status yielding more racially exclusive forms of identity. We test our claims in the realm of xenophobia. Using an original survey of African Americans (n = 1,000) and Whites (n = 1,000), we assess national pride, nationalism, nativism, and racial identity, plus affect toward various immigrant groups. We establish that national attachments have racially varied meanings, thereby producing sharp differences in each racial group's response to foreigners. Although national pride is unrelated to White antipathy toward outsiders, nationalism and nativism increase White hostility to immigrants—except when they are White. In contrast, national pride diminishes African American hostility to Black and non‐Black immigrants, while nativism is generally unrelated to Black antipathy to outsiders. Finally, while nationalism heightens xenophobia among Blacks, this sentiment envelops all foreigners—including African immigrants. We discuss our results' implications for theories of national attachment in intergroup settings.     

The aesthetics of textual production: reading and writing with Umberto Eco

In The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco essentially presents an educative vision of some basic semiotic principles that infuse the textual form of a popular fictional genre—the detective story. In effect, it characterizes the postmodernization of the traditional “whodunnit” moving the genre from the realm of “the real” or the plausible into the realm of “the metaphysical” or the unthinkable. The Name of the Rose is a practical application in semiotics. Or, how the aesthetics of textual production as generated through the lexical signs and codes manifest the discursive text of a novel work. The semiotic twists and turns of the detective story facilitate this educational function and the purposeful transformation of the reader into an individual capable of appreciating and grasping the conflicting ideological viewpoints expressed through its dialogical structure. The detective genre enables the Umberto Eco to produce an educational narrative via the intricacies of plot in the detective story while teaching main aspects of semiotic theory.     

Multiple social identities and reactivity to daily stress among ethnically diverse young adults

In a sample of 181 young adults from Filipino, European, Latin and Asian American backgrounds, cluster analytic techniques were employed to determine how ethnic, American, family, and religious identity interact to form unique identity configurations. Four clusters emerged: Many Social Identities (MSI), Blended/Low Religious (B/LR), Blended/Low Ethnic and American (B/LEA), and Few Social Identities (FSI). Based on daily diary reports over 14 days, differential reactivity to daily stressors was examined on feelings of anxiety and positive mood. Results suggested that individuals in the MSI, B/LR and B/LEA clusters reported increased anxiety on days when they experienced more stressors. In addition, individuals in the MSI and B/LR clusters reported feeling less positive when they experienced stressors. Multiple identity configurations and their implications for stress reactivity are discussed.     

Coping with Identity Conflict: Perceptions of Self as Flexible versus Fixed Moderate the Effect of Identity Conflict on Well-being

In four experimental studies, we explored the moderating role of perceptions of one’s self as flexible vs. fixed on the relationship between identity conflict, well-being, and self-esteem. Across different contexts, it was demonstrated that representations of self as stable vs. changeable moderated the effect of conflicting identities on well-being and self-esteem. Specifically, the activation of conflicting identities led to a decrease in well-being and self-esteem among those who construed their self as stable, but not among those who adopted flexible representations of self. The results suggest that the net effect of multiple identities depends not only on their compatibility and importance, but also on the way in which one’s self-concept is construed.     

The challenge of a positive self-image in a colonial context: a psychology of liberation for the Puerto Rican experience

Community psychology and the psychology of liberation provide a framework to analyze colonization. Puerto Rico has always been a colony. This experience has direct negative effects on Puerto Ricans' national identities and their emotions. The purpose of this study was to explore emotions associated with Puerto Rican national identities in a sample of 35 high school students. While participating in 4 focus groups, the youths discussed negative and positive emotions associated to their national identities. The most frequent ones were shame and pride. They also identified situations which promoted negative and positive emotions. The role of a community psychology of liberation in understanding these phenomena as well as in embracing resistance to colonization is discussed.     

Establishing the First Stages of Early Reciprocal Interactions Between Mothers and Their Autistic Children

No abstract available for this article.