Date of Award

2024

Degree Type

Open Access Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Psychology, MA

Advisor/Supervisor/Committee Chair

Michael Hogg

Dissertation or Thesis Committee Member

William D. Crano

Terms of Use & License Information

Terms of Use for work posted in Scholarship@Claremont.

Rights Information

© 2024 Samantha Gardner

Keywords

group identification, group processes, leadership, leadership rhetoric, self-uncertainty, social identity

Subject Categories

Social Psychology

Abstract

Uncertainty identity theory (e.g., Hogg, 2021a) posits that when feelings of self-uncertainty arise, we are motivated to reduce those feelings, and one way we can do this is to identify with a distinctive group that has a clearly defined identity. In these circumstances, we look to the group’s leaders to provide an identity message, and to do so in an unambiguous and affirmational manner. This analysis generates a hypothesis that has attracted partial support (Gaffney et al., 2019), but requires more rigorous testingin conditions of high self-uncertainty, identity-affirming rhetoric used by leaders increases (a) group identification, (b) perceived group entitativity, and (c) leadership support. The current study is a 2 x 2 between-participants design (N = 199) in which two independent variables, identity language and self-uncertainty, were manipulated. Texas residents, recruited via CloudConnect, were randomly assigned to conditions that elicited either high or low self-uncertainty, and were then exposed to a message from a Texas leader that used either affirmational or negational identity rhetoric. Group identification, perceived group entitativity, and support for the leader were measured post-manipulation. No support was found for our hypothesis, though exploratory results revealed insightful significant interactions of political ideology and self-uncertainty used on entitativity and political ideology and language used on leader support.

ISBN

9798342762939

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