Yoshiko M. Herrera

Identity as a Variable

As scholarly interest in the concept of identity continues to grow, social identities are proving to be crucially important for understanding contemporary life. Despite—or perhaps because of—the sprawl of different treatments of identity in the social sciences, the concept has remained too analytically loose to be as useful a tool as the literature’s early promise had suggested. We propose to solve this longstanding problem by developing the analytical rigor and methodological imagination that will make identity a more useful variable for the social sciences. This article offers more precision by defining collective identity as a social category that varies along two dimensions—content and contestation. Content describes the meaning of a collective identity. The content of social identities may take the form of four non-mutually-exclusive types: constitutive norms; social purposes; relational comparisons with other social categories; and cognitive models. Contestation refers to the degree of agreement within a group over the content of the shared category. Our conceptualization thus enables collective identities to be compared according to the agreement and disagreement about their meanings by the members of the group. The final section of the article looks at the methodology of identity scholarship. Addressing the wide array of methodological options on identity—including discourse analysis, surveys, and content analysis, as well as promising newer methods like experiments, agent-based modeling, and cognitive mapping—we hope to provide the kind of brush clearing that will enable the field to move forward methodologically as well.

Measuring identity : a guide for social scientists

Identity is a central concept in the social sciences. We present a laboratory experiment that measures the effects of induced group identity on participant social preferences. We find that when participants are matched with an ingroup member (as opposed to an outgroup member) they show more charity concerns when they have a higher payoff and less envy when they have a lower payoff. Likewise, while participants are more likely to reward an ingroup match for good behavior, they are less likely to punish an ingroup match for misbehavior. Furthermore, participants are significantly more likely to choose social-welfare-maximizing actions when matched with an ingroup member. All results are consistent with the notion that participants are more altruistic towards an ingroup match. As a result, ingroup matching generates significantly higher expected earnings.

Measuring Identity: CONTENT ANALYSIS AND COGNITIVE MAPPING

Identity is a central concept in the social sciences. We present a laboratory experiment that measures the effects of induced group identity on participant social preferences. We find that when participants are matched with an ingroup member (as opposed to an outgroup member) they show more charity concerns when they have a higher payoff and less envy when they have a lower payoff. Likewise, while participants are more likely to reward an ingroup match for good behavior, they are less likely to punish an ingroup match for misbehavior. Furthermore, participants are significantly more likely to choose social-welfare-maximizing actions when matched with an ingroup member. All results are consistent with the notion that participants are more altruistic towards an ingroup match. As a result, ingroup matching generates significantly higher expected earnings.

Measuring Identity: Frontmatter

Identity is a central concept in the social sciences. We present a laboratory experiment that measures the effects of induced group identity on participant social preferences. We find that when participants are matched with an ingroup member (as opposed to an outgroup member) they show more charity concerns when they have a higher payoff and less envy when they have a lower payoff. Likewise, while participants are more likely to reward an ingroup match for good behavior, they are less likely to punish an ingroup match for misbehavior. Furthermore, participants are significantly more likely to choose social-welfare-maximizing actions when matched with an ingroup member. All results are consistent with the notion that participants are more altruistic towards an ingroup match. As a result, ingroup matching generates significantly higher expected earnings.

Measuring Identity: Index

Identity is a central concept in the social sciences. We present a laboratory experiment that measures the effects of induced group identity on participant social preferences. We find that when participants are matched with an ingroup member (as opposed to an outgroup member) they show more charity concerns when they have a higher payoff and less envy when they have a lower payoff. Likewise, while participants are more likely to reward an ingroup match for good behavior, they are less likely to punish an ingroup match for misbehavior. Furthermore, participants are significantly more likely to choose social-welfare-maximizing actions when matched with an ingroup member. All results are consistent with the notion that participants are more altruistic towards an ingroup match. As a result, ingroup matching generates significantly higher expected earnings.

Measuring Identity: DISCOURSE ANALYSIS AND ETHNOGRAPHY

Identity is a central concept in the social sciences. We present a laboratory experiment that measures the effects of induced group identity on participant social preferences. We find that when participants are matched with an ingroup member (as opposed to an outgroup member) they show more charity concerns when they have a higher payoff and less envy when they have a lower payoff. Likewise, while participants are more likely to reward an ingroup match for good behavior, they are less likely to punish an ingroup match for misbehavior. Furthermore, participants are significantly more likely to choose social-welfare-maximizing actions when matched with an ingroup member. All results are consistent with the notion that participants are more altruistic towards an ingroup match. As a result, ingroup matching generates significantly higher expected earnings.

Measuring Identity: Contents

Identity is a central concept in the social sciences. We present a laboratory experiment that measures the effects of induced group identity on participant social preferences. We find that when participants are matched with an ingroup member (as opposed to an outgroup member) they show more charity concerns when they have a higher payoff and less envy when they have a lower payoff. Likewise, while participants are more likely to reward an ingroup match for good behavior, they are less likely to punish an ingroup match for misbehavior. Furthermore, participants are significantly more likely to choose social-welfare-maximizing actions when matched with an ingroup member. All results are consistent with the notion that participants are more altruistic towards an ingroup match. As a result, ingroup matching generates significantly higher expected earnings.

Measuring Identity: SURVEY METHODS

Identity is a central concept in the social sciences. We present a laboratory experiment that measures the effects of induced group identity on participant social preferences. We find that when participants are matched with an ingroup member (as opposed to an outgroup member) they show more charity concerns when they have a higher payoff and less envy when they have a lower payoff. Likewise, while participants are more likely to reward an ingroup match for good behavior, they are less likely to punish an ingroup match for misbehavior. Furthermore, participants are significantly more likely to choose social-welfare-maximizing actions when matched with an ingroup member. All results are consistent with the notion that participants are more altruistic towards an ingroup match. As a result, ingroup matching generates significantly higher expected earnings.