Group Identity Versus Relational Identity: the Influence of Identity Primes on Socio-Political Attitudes
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GROUP IDENTITY VERSUS RELATIONAL IDENTITY: THE INFLUENCE OF IDENTITY PRIMES ON SOCIO-POLITICAL ATTITUDES A Dissertation Submitted to the Temple University Graduate Board In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY by Chen Zeng December 2020 Examining Committee Members: Dr. Bruce W. Hardy, Advisory Chair, Temple University Dr. R. Lance Holbert, Committee Member, Temple University Dr. Kevin Arceneaux, Committee Member, Temple University Dr. Nyron Crawford, External Reader, Temple University © Copyright 2020 by Chen Zeng All Rights Reserved ii ABSTRACT While numerous studies have examined the role of group identity, particularly partisan identity, in influencing individuals’ socio-political attitudes and policy preferences, the impact of relational identity — individuals’ self-concept rooted in interpersonal relationships, roles, and responsibilities — is rarely examined. This dissertation outlines the different effects of group identity and relational identity on message processing and attitude change in socio-political contexts. This dissertation first draws on the social identity approach and motivated reasoning to understand how categorizing oneself in terms of group membership contributes to group polarization. Next, building on Brewer and Gardner’s (1996) notion of a relational self and interpersonal relationship literature, this dissertation examines the influence of relational identity on attitudes toward socio-political issues. Additionally, this dissertation offers a relational identity-based strategic communication solution that could potentially mitigate polarization resulting from group identity. Three online survey experiments were conducted in three different contexts, including immigration, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic. These three studies primed different group identities (e.g., partisan identity and national identity) and relational identities (e.g., being a friend and being a parent) and then presented issue- specific factual information. Results suggest that individuals’ partisan identities bias a broad range of judgments and lead to polarization over politicized issues, even when presented with factual information. However, linking a controversial socio-political issue and an issue-relevant relational identity has the potential to mitigate polarization resulting from group identity such as partisanship. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the generous support and guidance from my committee members. First and foremost, I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to my mentor and advisor, Dr. Bruce Hardy, who has been the most supportive and patient advisor I could have asked for. He provided ideas, guidance, critiques, and encouragement that shaped this final product into the best work that was in me. Most importantly, he provided the ultimate scholar role model, demonstrating how to balance excellence in research, teaching, mentoring, and nurturing human relationships. I want to thank Dr. Lance Holbert for inspiring me with his wisdom and his own body of research. Despite his busy schedule serving as Editor-in-Chief at the Journal of Communication, he always found time to offer comments, advice, and encouragement at every stage of this project. I was fortunate enough to work with him on several research projects. These opportunities gave me a full understanding of what it takes to see a research project through, from concept to design, data collection and analysis to writing and revising, and finally, to publication. I am also grateful to Dr. Kevin (Vin) Arceneaux for his invaluable feedback on several drafts of this manuscript, which helped me think about how to advance this research further. I am thankful to Dr. Nyron Crawford for kindly agreeing to be my outside reader. The seminar class I took with him helped inform this dissertation. I would also like to acknowledge other Klein faculty members who have been critical to my development and success. I am thankful to Drs. Nancy Morris and Tom Jacobson for their support and advice since my first semester in graduate school. I also thank Drs. Fabienne Darling-Wolf, Matthew Lombard, Deborah Cai, and Edward Fink iv for their wisdom and help along the way. A special thank you goes to Nicole McKenna, who has been extremely supportive throughout all these years. My graduate school cohort was the best anyone could ask for. I am especially grateful to Kun Xu and Luling Huang for their friendship, help, support, and also for discussing ideas, providing feedback, and simply sharing this path. I want to thank my longtime friends in China, Chao Li, Xiaozhe Yi, Yilian Chen, Kun Zhou, and Ning Jia, who have shared with me many adventures and cheered me on all these years. Last but not least, I would like to thank my loving family for their unconditional support throughout this process. I owe a great debt of thanks to my wonderful parents Jiang Zeng and Bilan Chen for their unwavering love and endless support throughout my educational endeavors. I would also like to thank my parents-in-law, Jinzhi Cai and Jintong Lai, who gave me continuous support and encouragement. I keep my final words for my husband Dehua Lai, and our two lovely children, Ryan and Liam. It was a long and uneasy journey, and you have to sacrifice a lot for what I cannot give in return. This dissertation is dedicated to you. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................ iv LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. xi LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1 2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS ...............................................................................8 The Social Identity Approach ..................................................................................8 Identity Salience, Identity Importance, and Identity Intersectionality ...................11 Identity Salience .........................................................................................11 Identity Importance ....................................................................................14 Identity Intersectionality ............................................................................15 Motivated Reasoning and Identity-protective Cognition .......................................17 Group Identity and Socio-political Attitudes .........................................................20 National Identity and Immigration Attitudes .............................................25 Empathy, National Identity, and Immigration Attitudes ...........................28 Partisan Identity .........................................................................................30 Partisan Identity and Anthropogenic Climate Change Attitudes ...............33 Partisan Identity and the COVID-19 Pandemic .........................................37 Relational Identity and Socio-political Attitudes ...................................................39 vi Defining Relational Identity ......................................................................39 Distinguishing Between Relational and Group Identity ............................41 Relational Identity, Message Processing, and Attitude Change ................43 Parental Identity and Socio-Political Attitudes ..........................................45 The Role of Parental Identity in Reducing Partisan Polarization ..........................48 3. STUDY ONE: THE IMMIGRATION STUDY ..........................................................52 Method ...................................................................................................................52 Participants .................................................................................................52 Procedure ...................................................................................................54 Stimuli ........................................................................................................55 Manipulation Checks .................................................................................57 Measures ....................................................................................................59 Data Management and Analyses ................................................................63 Results ....................................................................................................................64 The Effects of the National Identity Prime ................................................64 Identity Importance as a Moderator ...........................................................65 Empathy as a Moderator ............................................................................69 The Effects of the Friendship Prime ..........................................................72 4. STUDY TWO: THE CLIMATE CHANGE STUDY .................................................73 Method ...................................................................................................................73 Participants .................................................................................................73