Ideological Social Identity: How Psychological Attachment to Ideological Groups Shapes Political Attitudes and Behaviors Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Christopher John Devine, B.A., M.A. Political Science Graduate Program The Ohio State University 2011 Dissertation Committee: Kathleen McGraw, Advisor Herbert Weisberg Paul Allen Beck Copyright by Christopher John Devine 2011 ABSTRACT Spatial conceptualizations of ideology dominate the political science literature. In this dissertation, I challenge the comprehensiveness of such conceptualizations, and the standard self-placement measure associated with them, by analyzing the social identity components of ideological identification. My theoretical motivation for this analysis is Social Identity Theory (SIT), which posits that individuals often view valued social groups as extensions of self-identity, which in turn motivate group-based thought and action. SIT is highly influential within the social science literature, and it has become increasingly influential in political science. Yet scholars have never examined the potential for ideological social identity and what effects it might have on political attitudes and behavior, by itself and in combination with other politically-relevant social identities. In this dissertation, I use two original surveys and data from the 1984-2008 American National Election Studies (ANES) to study the credibility and empirical value of a social identity approach to ideological identification. My analysis indicates that ideological social identity (ISI) represents a distinct dimension of ideological identification not adequately captured by the standard ideological self-placement measure. In the mass public, and particularly among party elites, feelings of ii psychological attachment to an ideological in-group are common today and they have become increasingly common over the past quarter-century. For approximately one- quarter of the mass public, and one-third of party elites, ideological social identity even exceeds the strength of partisan social identity. What is more, ISI is somewhat stronger among conservatives and it clearly becomes stronger in response to electoral competition. Most importantly, ideological social identity influences a variety of important political attitudes and behaviors. ISI significantly impacts evaluations of political in- groups and out-groups; as ISI becomes stronger, inter-group bias toward ideological groups, partisan groups, and ideological sub-groups within parties also becomes stronger. ISI also causes ideological constraint to increase, because, I argue, individuals with strong ISI are likely to seek out and follow in-group behavioral cues in order to maintain group norms and a stable sense of social identity. Finally, I find strong evidence of an interaction effect whereby ideological social identity conditions ideological self-placement‟s relevance to vote choice in various elections. Across most experimental and actual elections, and each of the 1984-2008 presidential elections, self-placement‟s effect on vote choice is significant only when ISI is at least moderate in strength. As ISI becomes stronger, self-placement‟s effect on vote choice becomes greater. These findings support my argument that integrating the ISI and self-placement scales yields an exceptionally comprehensive measure of ideological identification more capable than traditional measures of precisely estimating ideology‟s behavioral significance. Together, these analyses attest to the credibility as well as theoretical and empirical value of accounting for psychological attachment to ideological groups when iii evaluating the nature and political significance of ideological identification. I discuss the scholarly contributions of this dissertation, and the many ways in which future research might expand and improve upon my analysis. iv DEDICATION To Trudy, my wife and closest friend v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Completing this dissertation is bittersweet, largely because it represents the culmination of my graduate studies at The Ohio State University. I am deeply indebted to the Political Science Department‟s faculty, staff, and students, for helping me to grow academically, professionally, and personally during my five years at Ohio State. In particular, I thank the three distinguished and eminently capable members of my dissertation committee – Kathleen McGraw, Herb Weisberg, and Paul Beck – for their many integral contributions to this dissertation and to my development as a political scientist. I am more grateful than I can express for their diligence and sound advice throughout the dissertation process, and for providing honest, thorough, and friendly counsel for the various projects and goals that I have pursued as a graduate student. I am responsible for any of this dissertation‟s shortcomings, but they are responsible for many of its strengths. Thank you so much for all of your hard work and kindness to me. Many others have contributed to the completion of this dissertation and to my professional and personal development in ways that I can only begin to acknowledge here. Above all, I thank God for blessing me with the incredible opportunity to pursue my intellectual passion, thus far and in years to come, while experiencing great joy and growth in the process. I have learned many things in my life, but none has proven truer vi or more profound than this: “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). I am also indebted beyond words to my remarkable wife, Trudy Lynne Devine, whose love, support, encouragement, and friendship has been my greatest inspiration and will be for many years to come. Being your husband is my greatest honor and achievement, Trudy. You are what matters to me most of all. All that I have accomplished would not have been possible without a lifetime of love and support from my wonderful family: Michael and Donna Devine, my parents; my siblings, Jennifer and Mikey; Herbie and Edith Wilson; Frank and Mary Devine; Evie Schmidt; and, of course, Sammy. The character and values that my family instilled in me guide everything I do, and everything I am. Thank you for believing in me always, and for sacrificing so much to help me live out my dreams. You are the foundation of everything I am, and everything I have achieved. Marrying Trudy has brought me a wealth of new family, also, and I am very grateful for the many ways in which they have blessed my life. Thanks to all of you: Dave and Vicky Halker; Job, Jammie, Kirby, Keaton, Reese, Anne Marie, Abigail, and Chase Halker; Jeb, Adele, Adeleigh, Carver, and Maddox Halker; Paul, Sara, Allie, Eli, and Owen Schroeder. I also remember and thank Hattie Halker and Bob Litten. For the many ways in which they have contributed to this project and/or to my personal and professional growth at Ohio State and elsewhere, I also extend my sincerest thanks to the following individuals: Herb Asher; Larry Baum; Lamar Benton; Marilynn Brewer; Sarah Bryner; Jeff Budziak; Tracy Burdett; Bryan Cole; Mike Gauch; Dave vii Hampson; Dorothy James; Josh Kertzer; Kyle Kopko; Mark Kopko; Steve Nawara; Mike Neblo; Tom Nelson; David Pound; Retta Semones. Finally, this dissertation includes data from two original surveys that would not have been possible without generous financial support. First, I thank Time-Sharing Experiments for the Social Sciences (TESS) for providing financial support to conduct the survey experiment that I analyze in Chapter 2, using a nationally representative sample of the mass public. In particular, I thank Penny Visser, Jeremy Freese, the anonymous reviewers, the TESS personnel, and the Knowledge Networks personnel, for approving and administering my survey experiment. I am tremendously grateful for their support, and I commend them for their contributions toward expanding the presence of representative survey experiments within the social science literature. Second, I thank The Ohio State University‟s Department of Political Science for awarding me the 2010 Randall Ripley Graduate Research Grant. Receiving this generous grant enabled me to conduct an original survey of 2008 national party convention delegates that I analyze in Chapter 3. For their hard work in raising money for this award and evaluating my application, I thank the organizers, donors, and administrators of the Ripley Grant. I also thank Randall Ripley for providing the inspiration for this award, and for his interest in my research. Last but not least, I thank the many convention delegates who generously gave of their time to participate in my survey. viii VITA 1984………………………………………...Born in Springfield, Massachusetts 2002………………………………………...Diploma, Westfield High School (Westfield, Massachusetts) 2006………………………………………...B.A., Government and English, Summa Cum Laude, Connecticut College (New London, Connecticut) 2006 to present ..............................................Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of Political Science, The Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio) 2008………………………………………...M.A., Political Science, The Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio) PUBLICATIONS 1. Devine, Christopher J., and Kyle C. Kopko. 2011. “The Vice Presidential Home State Advantage Reconsidered: Analyzing the Interactive Effect of Home State Population and Political Experience, 1884-2008.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 41: 1-17. ix 2. Kopko, Kyle C., Sarah McKinnon Bryner,