Collective Social Identity: Synthesizing Identity Theory and Social Identity Theory Using Digital Data

Abstract

Identity theory (IT) and social identity theory (SIT) are eminent research programs from sociology and psychology, respectively. We test collective identity as a point of convergence between the two programs. Collective identity is a subtheory of SIT that pertains to activist identification. Collective identity maps closely onto identity theory’s group/social identity, which refers to identification with socially situated identity categories. We propose conceptualizing collective identity as a type of group/social identity, integrating activist collectives into the identity theory model. We test this conceptualization by applying identity theory hypotheses to the “vegan” identity, which is both a social category and part of an active social movement. Data come from comments on two viral YouTube videos about veganism. One video negates prevailing meanings of the vegan identity. A response video brings shared vegan identity meanings back into focus. Identity theory predicts that nonverifying identity feedback elicits negative emotion and active behavioral response, while identity verification elicits positive emotion and an attenuated behavioral response. We test these tenets using sentiment analysis and word counts for comments across the two videos. Results show support for identity theory hypotheses as applied to a collective social identity. We supplement results with qualitative analysis of video comments. The findings position collective identity as a bridge between IT and SIT, demonstrate innovative digital methods, and provide theoretical scaffolding for mobilization research in light of emergent technologies and diverse modes of activist participation.

Bridging the Action Gap by Democratizing Climate Change Education—The Case of k.i.d.Z.21 in the Context of Fridays for Future

“…The higher level of individual concern among FFF participants is especially relevant since this is a critical factor for environmental-friendly action [44]. This is also evidenced in van Zomeren's theory of collective identity, where perceived injustice, a very similar factor to individual concern, influences group identification and collective action in the last instance [17,72].…”

“…Here, the limits of ambiguous causality must also be considered since people are more likely to get engaged politically if they already obtain a personal sense of competence, as well as a belief in their collective competence [16]. Nevertheless, FFF-participants' perceived increased sense of self-efficacy is in line with the hypothesis of enhanced collective efficacy resulting from the theory of group identity [17,72,91].…”

“…A potential influence of climate protests on young peoples' climate change awareness is assumed due to the group identity model of collective action [72]. According to this, participating in opinion-based groups, like FFF, contributes to form a collective identity.…”

When too much adjustment is bad: A curvilinear relationship between expatriates’ adjustment and social changes in HCNs

“…The above literature has integrated social identity theory for suggesting a critical role of membership of new social groups for individuals (Jetten et al, 2002). In general, the dynamic nature of social identity theory has been studied under two major dimensions, including social identity changes (Tajfel, 1981) and self-categorizations (Davis et al, 2019;Turner et al, 1987). Social identity changes, also referred to as positive social identity changes, reflect individuals' willingness to identify themselves with other groups and help individuals in embracing social changes (Brown, 2020;Tajfel, 1981).…”

“…In line with the literature on social identity theory, which suggests that social identity changes are not static and change with time (Jetten et al, 2002), we argue that a holistic understanding of the dynamic nature of social identity theory may be developed by including positive as well as negative social identity changes in a single model. The complex nature of positive and negative social identity changes may be adequately revealed by focusing on multicultural social groups with distinct self-identities and significant differences (Davis et al, 2019;Peltokorpi & Pudelko, 2020;Sharma, 2016). Hence, we have focused on social groups in international assignments to develop a deeper understanding of the relationship between expatriates' adjustment and social change experiences of HCNs.…”