An Experiment Using Race and Religion to Determine Whether the Effects of Cross-Cutting Identities are Additive or Interactive Open Access
Wiegert, Tyler Mathew (2016)
Abstract
Political science has operated until now without an explicit theory of identity, with researchers restricting their inquiries to one identity at a time often relying on the common assumption that conflict arises out of differences in identity. When cross-cutting or overlapping identities are relevant, researchers employ an additive model wherein shared identities increase peace and differing identities increase conflict. This has left the discipline unable to explain situations where conflict arises out of overlapping identities, and the salience of one dimension of identity versus another appears important. Tajfel (1974) and Turner's (1975) social identity theory suggests an interactive model of identity that can explain these occurrences. To examine whether an additive or interactive model is more accurate, and to improve understanding of the relationship between overlapping identities and conflict, this thesis uses an original survey experiment to determine how religious and racial identities affect whether an individual supports hostility against a foreign government. In accordance with social identity theory, respondents who matched one of the leaders' identities were significantly more hostile than respondents who matched neither identity. In addition, race and religion were found to have an interactive effect on hostility, and independent effects were found for several demographic factors.
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Literature Review 3
Political Science Conception of Cross-Cutting Identities 3
Social Identity- The Social-Psychological Foundations 6
How Identities Interact From Each Perspective 8
Political Science Conception of Identity Interactions 9
Social Identity Theory Conception of Identity Interactions 9
Foundations of Group Formation and Group Behavior 10
Ethnic and Religious Identification 15
Ethnic Identification 15
Religious and Ethnic Identification 17
Research Design 22
Survey Recruitment 24
Independent Variables 25
Main Experiment 28
Hypotheses 29
Treatment Group I 30
Treatment Group II 30
Treatment Groups III and IV 31
Religious Control Questions 33
How the Literature Measures Religiosity 33
How I Measure Religiosity 38
Ethnic Control Questions 40
Control Variables 41
Dependent Variable 42
Methodology and Results 42
Survey Recruitment and Treatment Group Assignment 43
Methodology 43
Results 45
Dependent Variable Scoring and Treatment Group Comparison 46
Methodology 46
Results for the Primary Question: Which Theory Better Describes Identity Interactions 47
Results for the Secondary Question: Direct and Interactive Effects of Race and Religion 58
Direct Effects of Matching the Scenario's Race and Religion 58
Interactive Effects of Matching the Scenario's Race and Religion 59
Hostility Toward Christians vs. Muslims 65
Results for the Tertiary Question: Independent Effects of Demographic Factors 66
Demographic Factors 66
AvgHostility 68
MaxHostility 73
Discussion 77
Result 1: Intermediate Levels of Shared Identity Create Support for Hostility 78
Intersectionality 78
Ethnic Fragmentation 80
Political Framing 85
Treatment Group I 88
Results 2: There is an Interactive Effect Between Religion and Race 90
Result 3: Demographic Variables Have Independent Effects 90
Religion 90
Race 92
Gender 93
Ideology/Partisanship 94
Income 95
Education 96
Limitations 97
Recruitment Method 97
Assignment Method 98
Survey Formatting 99
Scope Limitations 100
Conclusion 101
References 103
Appendix A: Survey 113
Appendix B: Additional Tables 123
Treatment Group I T-Tests 123
Hostility Toward Christians vs. Muslims 125
Direct Effects of Religion and Race on Hostility 127
About this Master's Thesis
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