Özet:

This research aimed at identifying social psychological processes contributing to deprovincialising behaviours (Pettigrew, 1997), which support social integration in Europe. We tested whether EU residents’ sense of identity, defined as complex (Linville, 1982; Brewer & Pierce, 2005) and inclusive (Dovidio, Gaertner, & Saguy, 2009), orient them toward EU-wide behaviours by mitigating intergroup concerns toward crime, immigration, and terrorism – and by improving optimism about their future within the EU. European adults (N = 28,004; females 54.3%; age M = 50.05, SD = 18.34) residing in one of the 28 EU member states completed the 2014 Eurobarometer survey (Standard EB 81, 2014) and contributed to our key analyses. Mediation analyses confirmed that reduced intergroup concerns and general optimism acted as pathways to pro-Europe integration orientations associated with complex and inclusive identities. This work highlights the promising value of deprovincialization as a concept that imbues both a behavioural and a time dimension. Keywords: EU integration, deprovincialization, identity complexity, identity inclusiveness, intergroup concerns, optimism How to Cite: Sanatkar, S., Paolini, S., Damigella, D., & Licciardello, O. (2018). Identity and Deprovincialization: Identity Complexity and Inclusiveness Encourage EU-Wide Behavioural Intentions via Reduced Intergroup Concerns and Increased Optimism. International Review of Social Psychology, 31(1), 23. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/irsp.151 Handling Editor: Eva Green Université de Lausanne, CH X close 312 Views 92 Downloads 13 Twitter Published on 29 Aug 2018 Peer Reviewed CC BY 4.0 In the present article, we aim at contributing to a social psychological body of research on identity processes in Europe (see Abrams & Vasiljevic, 2014), some of which have used public opinion Eurobarometer data (e.g. Bruter, 2003; Duchesne & Frognier, 1995; Kohli, 2000). In particular, we examine ways to boost Europeans’ willingness to engage in cross-border, EU-wide behaviours (e.g. living and working in other EU countries) as an individual-level proxy of European integration. We focused on identity complexity (Linville, 1982; Brewer & Pierce, 2005) and identity inclusiveness (Dovidio, Gaertner, & Saguy, 2009) as predictors of these trans-national behavioural intentions because we expected these personality dimensions to be the ‘engine room’ of a dynamic process of deprovincialization of the self (Pettigrew, 1997) within contemporary Europe. This assumption aligns with King and Ruiz-Gelices’ (2003) findings, indicating that having a European identity predisposes British students to prospective transnational behaviours.

Anahtar Kelimeler: