From Categories to Context: Identity Meaning and Political Engagement

Vanessa Bouché

Social Science Quarterly, 2018, vol. 99, issue 2, 711-727

Abstract: Objectives The objective of this article is to set forth and test the identity meaning theory. Borne out of extant theories in sociology and social psychology, this theory posits that all individuals have a salient identity that is hierarchically superior, that individuals attach a subjective meaning to their salient identity that varies in an interpersonal†intergroup matrix, and that the subjective meaning of the salient identity ultimately guides behavior, in this context specifically political engagement. Methods I operationalize the identity meaning concepts in a public opinion survey and test the reliability and validity of these new measures on a matched representative sample of 400 Americans. I then test whether these concepts predict individual political engagement. Results I find strong support for the identity meaning theory as a predictive measure of political engagement. The meaning individuals attach to their salient identity has a significant impact on affective and behavioral political engagement. Conclusions While a shared categorical identity (e.g., race or gender) impacts political behavior, this research shows that a shared meaning of a salient identity—regardless of what the salient identity is—can also have an impact on political behavior, even if the categorical identities are different. Thus, there is room for a new understanding and conceptualization of identity in political science.

Date: 2018
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12457

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:socsci:v:99:y:2018:i:2:p:711-727

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.blackwell ... bs.asp?ref=0038-4941

Access Statistics for this article

Social Science Quarterly is currently edited by Robert L. Lineberry

More articles in Social Science Quarterly from Southwestern Social Science Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().