Die studie fokus op etnisiteit gedurende die oorgang na 'n nuwe politieke bedeling in Suid-Afrika. Op teoretiese vlak is aandag gegee aan ideologiese strominge; dimensies van etnisiteit; die omskrywing van etnisiteit en die onderskeid tussen etnisiteit en ander vorme van groepidentifisering. Etnisiteit is verder op sosiaalsielkundige vlak ontleed, terwyl die invloed van ekonomiese, politieke en staatkundige faktore verreken is. Kontekstuele faktore tydens die ondersoek wat resultate kon be'invloed, is ook bestudeer. Die empiriese komponent het 'n vraelysopname in die Pretoria-WitwatersrandVereeniging- gebied (Gauteng) behels. Onderhoude is gedurende Januarie en Februarie 1994 voltooi, aan die vooraand van 'n nuwe politieke bedeling. Ewekansige steekproewe is getrek van 466 swartmense en 460 witmense (347 Afrikaanssprekendes en 113 Engelssprekendes). Patrone van etniese, staatkundige en rasse-identifisering; die betekenis van etnisiteit vir die individu; persepsies van die situasie van groepe en faktore wat etniese identifisering kon be"invloed, is gedek. Die konstrukgeldigheid en dimensies van skale is met hoofkomponent- en hooffaktorontledings ondersoek. Variansie-ontledings het verskille tussen groepe ge'identifiseer, terwyl meervoudige regressie-ontledings voorspellers van etniese identifisering uitgelig het. Belangrike bevindings is die volgende: * Etnisiteit was 'n belangrike bron van groepidentifisering vir sowel swartmense as witmense. 'n Sielkundige dimensie - etniese identiteit - wat verband hou met trots op en lojaliteit teenoor die onsgroep was onderskeibaar. Sterker etniese identifisering het by alle groepe gekorreleer met identiteitsverwerwing; betrokkenheid by en eksplorasie ten opsigte van die onsgroep; minder ambivalente gevoelens oor onsgroeplidmaatskap en 'n drang om onsgroepbelange te beskerm. Sterker etniese identifisering het by Afrikaanssprekende witmense met 'n positiewe selfbeeld en by swartmense met 'n negatiewe selfbeeld gekorreleer. Laer onderwyskwalifikasies het by Afrikaanssprekende witmense met sterker etniese identifisering gekorreleer. Die teenoorgestelde het gegeld vir Afrikaanssprekendes met hoer onderwyskwalifikasies. Persepsies van bedreiging het by Afrikaanssprekende witmense met sterker etniese identifisering verband gehou. Sterker etniese identifisering het by alle groepe 6f met negatiewe tussengroepgedrag 6f met negatiewe tussengroephoudings gekorreleer. Die gevolgtrekking word gemaak dat op alle terreine rekening gehou moet word met die etniese heterogeniteit van die Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing. / The study focuses on ethnicity during the transition to a new political dispensation in South Africa. At the theoretical level, attention was given to ideological trends; dimensions of ethnicity; the description of ethnicity and the distinction between ethnicity and other forms of group identification. Ethnicity was furthermore analyzed at the socio-psychological level, while the influence of economic, political and constitutional factors was also considered. Contextual factors during the investigation which could have influenced the results were also analyzed. The empirical component comprised a questionnaire survey in the PretoriaWitwatersrand- Vereeniging area (Gauteng). Interviews were conducted during January and February 1994, on the eve of a new political dispensation. Randomly selected samples were drawn of 466 blacks and 460 whites (347 Afrikaansspeaking and 113 English-speaking). Patterns of ethnic, national and race identification; the meaning of ethnicity for the individual; perceptions of the situation of groups and factors that could influence ethnic identification were covered. The construct validity and dimensions of scales were investigated by means of main component and main factor analyses. Variance analyses identified differences between groups, whereas multiple regression analyses were used to determine predictors of ethnic identification. Important findings were the following: * Ethnicity was an important source of group identification for blacks as well as whites. A psychological dimension - ethnic identity - that related to pride in and loyalty to the ingro11p was highlighted. Stronger ethnic identification correlated among all groups with identity formation; involvement with and exploration regarding the ingroup; less ambivalent feelings about ingroup membership and an urge to protect ingroup interests. Stronger ethnic identification correlated among the Afrikaans-speaking whites with a positive self-image and among the blacks with a negative selfimage. Lower educational qualifications correlated among Afrikaans-speaking whites with stronger ethnic identification. The opposite applied to Afrikaansspeaking whites with higher educational qualifications. Perceived threats were associated with stronger ethnic identification among Afrikaans-speaking whites. Stronger ethnic identification correlated among all groups either with negative intergroup behaviour or with negative intergroup attitudes. It is concluded that ethnic heterogeneity should be taken into account in all spheres of the South African society. / Department of Psychology / D. Lit. et Phil (Psychology)

This study aims to investigate the attitudes towards the employer brand of an individualcompany from an employee perspective. By applying the Employer Attractiveness scale(EmpAt) (Berthon et al. 2005), it is investigated how the employees perception ofattractiveness of the employer varies depending on selected demographic components.Furthermore, the purpose is to establish whether a statistically significant relationship existsbetween employees loyalty and perception of the employer attractiveness. A quantitativeresearch method in terms of an online survey is used when collecting the data of the study,which is later analyzed using the statistical computer program SPSS. The results indicate thatthere are no significant demographic differences regarding the perceived attractiveness of theemployer. A strong positive correlation has been identified between the attractiveness of thestudied company and its employees loyalty. The results of the study are only applicable to theparticipating population, and cannot be generalized to a different population than the studyparticipatory. / Denna studie syftar till att undersöka medarbetares attityder gentemot ett enskilt företagsemployer brand. Genom tillämpning av Employer Attractiveness-skalan (EmpAt) (Berthon etal. 2005) studeras hur medarbetarnas uppfattning av attraktiviteten hos arbetsgivaren varierarberoende på utvalda demografiska komponenter. Vidare är syftet att ta reda på huruvida ettstatistiskt signifikant samband existerar mellan medarbetarnas lojalitet och medarbetarnasuppfattning om arbetsgivarens attraktivitet. En kvantitativ forskningsmetod i form av endigital enkätundersökning tillämpas vid insamling av studiens datamaterial, vilket analyserasi det statistiska dataprogrammet SPSS. Resultaten visar att det inte råder några signifikantademografiska skillnader vad gäller den upplevda attraktiviteten hos arbetsgivaren. Ett starktpositivt samband har identifierats mellan det undersökta företagets attraktivitetsvärde ochdess medarbetares lojalitet. Studiens resultat är endast applicerbara för den deltagandepopulationen, och kan inte generaliseras till en annan population än den i studien deltagande.

Psychological factors specific to overuse injury pain in physical activity contexts were explored within a social identity theoretical framework. Study 1 involved development of a method for designating overuse injury pain occurrence of hikers (N = 751), along with exploration of relationships between psychological measures, overuse injury pain occurrence, and effort levels. The findings of this cross-sectional, mixed-methods investigation revealed that social identification, social identity content, and mental toughness differentiated hikers who incurred overuse injury pain or selected a higher-effort behaviour from those who did not. From qualitative analysis, several social identity constructs (i.e., group member's presence, in-group status, social creativity, additional social identity content) emerged as contributors to overuse injury occurrence. The focus of Study 2 was a prospective examination of the aforementioned psychological factors in relation to overuse injury severity of hikers (N = 283). Additionally, the Test of Intentions to Reduce Effort (TIRE) was developed to identify individuals with susceptibility to higher overuse injury severity. Results provided evidence of factorial, construct, and predictive validity of TIRE factor scores. TIRE factors and social identity content significantly predicted higher severity of hikers' overuse injury pain. Mental toughness scores moderated the relationship between social identification and overuse injury severity. Study 3 consisted of a qualitative examination of social identity mechanisms of overuse injury pain in a physical activity context, CrossFit®, involving the presence of group leaders, and in which group members view each other. Findings revealed mechanisms pertaining to social identity content, in-group status, and social threats. Overall, the findings support a new means for assessing overuse injury occurrence and susceptibility to higher overuse injury severity, whilst demonstrating the potential applicability of social identity theory to the study of overuse injury. Knowledge gained may ultimately aid development of interventions to reduce overuse injury occurrence and severity of physical activity participants.

Workplace misbehaviour is seen to be a neglected feature of organizational study (Ackroyd and Thompson; Vardi and Weitz, 2004). Where research has been undertaken into misbehaviour the emphasis tends fall into two broad categories. First of all, organizational behaviour theorists use the term misbehaviour as a means to highlight how the ‘negative’ behaviour of employees gets in the way of formal organizational goals. Secondly, radical sociologists tend to use the term misbehaviour as a means to critique Foucauldian labour process theory. Here an argument is made that suggests the disciplinary affects of new management practices associated with human resource management and total quality management have been overstated. Furthermore, radical sociologists also use the term misbehaviour as means to critique organizational behaviour accounts, which are believed to paint overly optimistic accounts of organizational life. However, on further examination it was discovered that neither a radical sociological approach, nor a traditional organizational behaviour approach, sufficiently addresses the current deficit in our understandings and explanations for workplace misbehaviour. Hence, one of the main themes of this thesis was to design a theoretical and methodological framework to address the deficit in our understandings and explanations. As such, a view was taken of how a radical sociological approach (orthodox labour process analysis) combined with an emerging social psychological perspective (a social identity approach (Haslam, 2001)) could help overcome previous theoretical problems associated with researching misbehaviour. Empirical support for this approach is provided by the detailed examination of the objective and subjective working conditions of four different sets of low status workers. The findings are based on longitudinal covert participant observations, as well as covert interviews and the covert gathering of company documents. The findings depart from previous insights into workplace misbehaviour in stressing the importance of acknowledging and investigating both the organizational and sub-group social identities of low status workers, in relation to such activities. As such, a great deal of the misbehaviour noted in the findings can be attributed to the poor treatment of low status workers by management, yet misbehaviour is equally if not more attributable to the empowering or inhibitive qualities of the many psychological groups that worker can associate with or disassociate themselves from. Recommendations are made about the direction of future research into workplace misbehaviour. There are many suggestions made and include examining misbehaviour in a wider range of settings, sectors and levels of organizations.

Die studie fokus op etnisiteit gedurende die oorgang na 'n nuwe politieke bedeling in Suid-Afrika. Op teoretiese vlak is aandag gegee aan ideologiese strominge; dimensies van etnisiteit; die omskrywing van etnisiteit en die onderskeid tussen etnisiteit en ander vorme van groepidentifisering. Etnisiteit is verder op sosiaalsielkundige vlak ontleed, terwyl die invloed van ekonomiese, politieke en staatkundige faktore verreken is. Kontekstuele faktore tydens die ondersoek wat resultate kon be'invloed, is ook bestudeer. Die empiriese komponent het 'n vraelysopname in die Pretoria-WitwatersrandVereeniging- gebied (Gauteng) behels. Onderhoude is gedurende Januarie en Februarie 1994 voltooi, aan die vooraand van 'n nuwe politieke bedeling. Ewekansige steekproewe is getrek van 466 swartmense en 460 witmense (347 Afrikaanssprekendes en 113 Engelssprekendes). Patrone van etniese, staatkundige en rasse-identifisering; die betekenis van etnisiteit vir die individu; persepsies van die situasie van groepe en faktore wat etniese identifisering kon be"invloed, is gedek. Die konstrukgeldigheid en dimensies van skale is met hoofkomponent- en hooffaktorontledings ondersoek. Variansie-ontledings het verskille tussen groepe ge'identifiseer, terwyl meervoudige regressie-ontledings voorspellers van etniese identifisering uitgelig het. Belangrike bevindings is die volgende: * Etnisiteit was 'n belangrike bron van groepidentifisering vir sowel swartmense as witmense. 'n Sielkundige dimensie - etniese identiteit - wat verband hou met trots op en lojaliteit teenoor die onsgroep was onderskeibaar. Sterker etniese identifisering het by alle groepe gekorreleer met identiteitsverwerwing; betrokkenheid by en eksplorasie ten opsigte van die onsgroep; minder ambivalente gevoelens oor onsgroeplidmaatskap en 'n drang om onsgroepbelange te beskerm. Sterker etniese identifisering het by Afrikaanssprekende witmense met 'n positiewe selfbeeld en by swartmense met 'n negatiewe selfbeeld gekorreleer. Laer onderwyskwalifikasies het by Afrikaanssprekende witmense met sterker etniese identifisering gekorreleer. Die teenoorgestelde het gegeld vir Afrikaanssprekendes met hoer onderwyskwalifikasies. Persepsies van bedreiging het by Afrikaanssprekende witmense met sterker etniese identifisering verband gehou. Sterker etniese identifisering het by alle groepe 6f met negatiewe tussengroepgedrag 6f met negatiewe tussengroephoudings gekorreleer. Die gevolgtrekking word gemaak dat op alle terreine rekening gehou moet word met die etniese heterogeniteit van die Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing. / The study focuses on ethnicity during the transition to a new political dispensation in South Africa. At the theoretical level, attention was given to ideological trends; dimensions of ethnicity; the description of ethnicity and the distinction between ethnicity and other forms of group identification. Ethnicity was furthermore analyzed at the socio-psychological level, while the influence of economic, political and constitutional factors was also considered. Contextual factors during the investigation which could have influenced the results were also analyzed. The empirical component comprised a questionnaire survey in the PretoriaWitwatersrand- Vereeniging area (Gauteng). Interviews were conducted during January and February 1994, on the eve of a new political dispensation. Randomly selected samples were drawn of 466 blacks and 460 whites (347 Afrikaansspeaking and 113 English-speaking). Patterns of ethnic, national and race identification; the meaning of ethnicity for the individual; perceptions of the situation of groups and factors that could influence ethnic identification were covered. The construct validity and dimensions of scales were investigated by means of main component and main factor analyses. Variance analyses identified differences between groups, whereas multiple regression analyses were used to determine predictors of ethnic identification. Important findings were the following: * Ethnicity was an important source of group identification for blacks as well as whites. A psychological dimension - ethnic identity - that related to pride in and loyalty to the ingro11p was highlighted. Stronger ethnic identification correlated among all groups with identity formation; involvement with and exploration regarding the ingroup; less ambivalent feelings about ingroup membership and an urge to protect ingroup interests. Stronger ethnic identification correlated among the Afrikaans-speaking whites with a positive self-image and among the blacks with a negative selfimage. Lower educational qualifications correlated among Afrikaans-speaking whites with stronger ethnic identification. The opposite applied to Afrikaansspeaking whites with higher educational qualifications. Perceived threats were associated with stronger ethnic identification among Afrikaans-speaking whites. Stronger ethnic identification correlated among all groups either with negative intergroup behaviour or with negative intergroup attitudes. It is concluded that ethnic heterogeneity should be taken into account in all spheres of the South African society. / Department of Psychology / D. Lit. et Phil (Psychology)

I den här studien undersöks hur användningen av sociala medier ser ut, när socialt kommunikativa gymnasieungdomar med stor social tillhörighet, umgås. Studien ämnar ta reda på hur användningen ser ut, av vilka anledningar socialt kommunikativa ungdomar med social tillhörighet använder sociala medier och hur umgängesklimatet påverkas när sociala medier används under fysiskt pågående umgänge.  Idén till studien grundar sig i en observation av ungdomar med ovan presenterade egenskaper, som under tiden de umgås med sina vänner frekvent använder sociala medier. En kvalitativ intervjustudie genomförs med utgångspunkt i den medie- och kommunikationsvetenskapliga teorin Uses and gratification theory samt Social identity theory, som är en välanvänd teori bland tidigare genomförd forskning inom sociala medier. Fem djupintervjuer genomförs således och vid avkodning av intervjumaterialet utkristalliseras tre huvudspår, utifrån frågeställningarna och fem underkategorier: ”Hur använder socialt kommunikativa ungdomar, med social tillhörighet, sociala medier när de umgås med sina vänner?”, ”Av vilka anledningar använder kommunikativa ungdomar med social trygghet sociala medier?” med tillhörande underkategorier, identitetsskapande, Fear of missing out, brist på underhållning, sociala medier som tillflykt samt vanebeteende och slutligen ”Hur påverkas umgängesklimatet när sociala medier används?” Resultatet visar, bland annat, att ungdomarna ofta väljer att använda sociala medier för att ta paus och hämta ny energi för att sedan orka vara sociala, i det pågående umgänget, igen.

Bakgrund I dagens samhälle är CSR, samhälleligt ansvarstagande, en viktig fråga för företag. De studier som undersökt medarbetare i företag som arbetar med CSR har visat på ett positivt samband mellan detta arbete och medarbetarnas motivation. Däremot har få kvalitativa studier fokuserat på medarbetaren och ingen studie har tidigare använt meningsskapande som perspektiv för att skapa förståelse om detta fenomen. Syfte Syftet med denna studie är att med en komparativ utgångspunkt belysa vilken mening medarbetare skapat i deras arbetsgivares samhälleliga ansvarstagande för att skapa förståelse för betydelsen av arbetsgivares förhållningssätt till samhälleligt ansvarstagande för medarbetares självbild, motivation och organisatoriska engagemang. Metod Studien har antagit en komparativ fallstudiedesign. En kvalitativ metod och en iterativ ansats med deduktiva inslag har använts. Det empiriska materialet har samlats in genom tre semistrukturerade intervjuer med medarbetare på respektive fallföretag. Slutsatser Medarbetare ser att arbetsgivarens samhälleliga ansvarstagande finns till för att tillgodose medarbetarnas behov av att vara en del av något som gör gott för andra intressenter. Medarbetares motivation och organisatoriska engagemang kan härledas ur deras arbetsgivares samhälleliga ansvarstagande såvida medarbetarna själva tycker att den typen av arbete är viktigt. Detta förklaras av att individens självbild och arbetsgivarens organisatoriska identitet och båda parters underliggande värderingar överensstämmer. / Background In our society, the question of social responsibility is of importance for most companies and it has long been a subject for scholars. Studies of employees in social responsible companies indicate a positive correlation between CSR activities and motivation. However, only a few have focused on the employee and none of the previous studies have used sensemaking as a theoretical perspective to deepen our knowledge and understanding of employees’ behavior within a socially responsible company. Aim The aim of this study is to illustrate, with a comparative approach, what meaning employees have given to their employer’s social responsibility to provide an understanding of the significance of employers’ various approaches to social responsibility for the social identity, organizational engagement and motivation of employees. Methodology The research design is a comparative case study. A qualitative methodology was used with an iterative approach, although the initial approach was deductive. The empirical data was gathered through three semi-structured interviews with employees on each company. Conclusions Employees consider that the purpose of their employer’s social responsibility is to fulfill their need to belong to a company that does good for other stakeholders. Employees’ motivation and organizational commitment may be derived from their employer’s social responsibility if the employees themselves consider these activities important. This is explained by congruence between the individual’s social identity, the employer’s organizational identity and the underlying values of these identities.

Personas är något som används av företag idag inom en mängd branscher och däribland modebranschen. Det används för att skapa en bild av sin kund och rikta sig mot en tydlig målgrupp. Tidigare forskning talar emot att utveckla personas internt inom företag och denna studie har genom en fallstudie, på ett klädföretag som gjort det, undersökt om det går att utveckla personas internt utan extern kundinformation. Modebranschen karaktäriseras av snabba förändringar och befinner sig därmed på en dynamisk marknad. Teorin om optimal distinctiveness menar på att företag på dynamiska marknader behöver anpassa sig till omvärlden för att vara optimalt distinkta, det vill säga att vara distinkta för att sticka ut från sina konkurrenter men uppnå konformitet för att inte bli irrelevanta för det segmentet. Idéen om dessa motstridiga krafter har undersökts för att studera om teorin optimal distinctiveness skulle kunna appliceras på personametoden för att utveckla den, detta genom modellen Optimal Distinct Persona. Fallstudien har genomförts med hjälp av intern information från Företag X, en kvantitativ enkät som genomförts i Företag Xs butiker samt två kvalitativa fokusgrupper. Resultatet från denna fallstudie visade att det går att utveckla personas internt inom företag även fast inte alla kunder stämmer in på samtliga attribut i personabeskrivningen. Resultaten visade även att teorin optimal distinctiveness skulle vara behjälplig för att utveckla personametoden då den i dagsläget kan innebära vissa problem. Modellen Optimal Distinct Persona kan minimera dessa problem genom att använda teorin optimal distinctiveness vid utvecklingen av attribut till personabeskrivningen men även genom att konstant anpassa attributen till omvärlden och kundernas ändrade preferenser. / Personas is something that is used by companies today in a number of industries, including the fashion industry. It is used to create an image of its customer and aim at a clear target group. Previous research speaks against developing personas internally within companies and this study has through a case study, at a clothing company that has done so, investigated whether it is possible to develop personas internally without external customer information. The fashion industry is characterized by rapid changes and is thus in a dynamic market. The theory of optimal distinctiveness means that companies in dynamic markets need to adapt to the outside world in order to be optimally distinct, that is to be distinct in order to stand out from their competitors but achieve conformity in order to not become irrelevant to their segment. The idea of ??these contradictory forces has been investigated to study whether the theory of optimal distinctiveness could be applied to the persona method to develop it, this through the model Optimal Distinct Persona. The case study was conducted using internal information from Company X, a quantitative survey conducted in Company X's stores and two qualitative focus groups. The results from this case study showed that it is possible to develop personas internally within companies even though not all customers match on all attributes in the person description. The results also showed that the theory of optimal distinctiveness would be helpful in developing the persona method as it currently involves certain problems. The Optimal Distinct Persona model can minimize these problems by using the theory of optimal distinctiveness in the development of attributes to the persona description but also by constantly adapting the attributes to the outside world and customers' changing preferences.

Les perturbations de l'identité suite à une commotion cérébrale liée au sport (CCS) ont été explorées du point de vue de l'identité athlétique. Cependant, ces études négligent d'autres constructions identitaires importantes, comme l'identité personnelle (p.ex. la personnalité, les émotions) et sociale (p. ex. la famille) ainsi que le concept de soi, c'est-à-dire l'identité collective, personnelle et sociale. En utilisant l'approche de l'identité sociale pour conceptualiser le concept d'identité, cette étude qualitative multiméthodes a exploré l'impact d'une CCS sur les constructions identitaires de sept athlètes élites (n = 6 femmes, M = 25,1 ans). Deux entretiens semi-structurés (durée moyenne de 83,7 minutes et 76,9 minutes respectivement) et l'outil nommé Social Identity Mapping Tool ont été utilisés pour collecter les données. Suite à une analyse thématique réflexive, trois thèmes ont été développés. Thème A : L’impact de la CCS durant le rétablissement sur les constructions identitaires des participants menace le concept de soi. Le thème B : L’identité post-commotion décrit comment les constructions identitaires des participants ont changé après le rétablissement de la CCS. Le thème C : La gestion de l’identité via l’identité sociale explique comment les dynamiques du réseau social des participants impactent leurs constructions identitaires. Les résultats démontrent que les athlètes élites ayant subi une CCS peuvent éprouver une perturbation allant au-delà de l’identité athlétique. Les futures recherches devraient explorer les interventions nécessaires afin de gérer adéquatement cette perturbation de l’identité. / Researchers have explored the impact of a sport-related concussion (SRC) on athletes’ identity almost exclusively through the lens of athletic identity. However, this approach neglects other important identity constructs, such as personal (e.g., personality, emotions), and social identity (e.g., family, student), and the self-concept (i.e., collectively, personal, and social identity). Using the Social Identity Approach, this qualitative, multi-method study explored the impact of SRC on the identity constructs of seven (n = 6 female, M = 25.1 years) elite soccer, swimming, ice hockey, and curling athletes. We collected data using two semi-structured interviews (Mtime = 83.7 and 76.9 minutes, respectively). The second interview included the Social Identity Mapping Tool, a comprehensive visual display of individuals’ social identity and social network. We used a reflexive thematic analysis and organized the data into three themes. SRC Experience Threatening the Self-Concept (Theme A) explored disruption to participants’ identity constructs during SRC recovery. Post-Concussion Identity (Theme B) described how participants’ identity constructs changed when recovered. Identity Management Through Social Identity (Theme C) explained how the dynamics of participants’ social identity impacted disruptions to identity constructs throughout the SRC experience. Results highlight that elite athletes with SRCs may encounter identity disruption that extends beyond merely their athletic identity. Although this study expands the knowledge around identity disruption from SRCs, we suggest future research explore potential intervention strategies for managing identity disruption from SRCs.

På senare tid har de uppmärksammade härjningarna och våldsamma metoderna som används av Islamiska Staten i Irak och Syrien (ISIS) bidragit till en ökad oro och diskussion om vad som får muslimska ungdomar ifrån väst att ansluta sig till sådana hänsynslösa organisationer. Mot bakgrund av detta ville jag undersöka vilka tankar och antaganden som konstruerar en muslimsk ungdoms världsbild avseende identitet och tillhörighet. Denna studie syftar därför till att uppnå ökad förståelse för hur fenomenet radikalisering kan relateras till identitetsskapande hos muslimska ungdomar och vilka processer i identitetsskapandet som kan utgöra en risk för vägen mot radikalisering. För att lyckas med detta har jag utfört semistrukturerade utforskande djupintervjuer med muslimska ungdomar i Malmö. Min avsikt med denna studie har inte varit att utgå från att alla muslimska ungdomar är, eller har potential för att bli radikaliserade. Min avsikt har snarare varit att utforska hur identitet och tillhörighet kan säga något om vägar (pathways) till radikalisering oavsett av religiös tillhörighet. För att analysera informanternas berättelser har begrepp och ramverk från Social identitetsteori använts. Studien påvisar en stabil grund för bi-kulturell identifiering med en svensk och en muslimsk kontext bland ungdomarna som ingått i denna studie. Samtidigt går det att spåra en kluvenhet i att på grund av sin religiösa identitet inte alltid accepteras fullt ut i alla sammanhang och en känsla av medialt utpekande av muslimer som grupp. Informanternas berättelser synliggör också en upplevd intern konflikt bland muslimska samfund då terrorism som utförs i islams namn tvingar medlemmar i gruppen att både internt och externt markera ställningstagande i frågan om religiöst motiverat våld och terrorism. Denna konflikt i kombination med ett upplevt utanförskap som svensk muslim kan i sig vara grunden för att vissa ungdomar vänder sig in i andra delar av den muslimska gruppen för att söka acceptans och bekräftelse. I denna process finner en del av dessa ungdomar radikala och extrema rörelser. Dessa rörelser är isolerade från omvärldens intryck vilket möjliggör för extremism att gro. När medlemmar inom en sådan grupp vill öka sin status kan beteende och handlingar eskalera vilket kan leda till våld och terrorism. Ett sätt att förhindra denna väg mot radikalisering av unga muslimer skulle således kunna vara att skapa förutsättningar för muslimska ungdomar att kunna känna tillhörighet i sina olika sociala identiteter som både svensk och muslim. / As the brutality and violent means of the Islamic state in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has become evident a general concern and public discussion has emerged about what makes young Muslims from the Western world to join such devious organizations. In light of this I wanted to examine the thoughts and assumptions that constructs the feelings of identity and belonging of young Muslims in the city of Malmo. This study thus aims to create a wider understanding of how the phenomenon of radicalization can be related to identities of Muslim youth and how the processes of forming identity can compose a risk for the individual to find pathways to radicalization. To accomplish this explorative semi-structured interviews with young Muslims in Malmo was conducted. My intention with this study has not been to assume that all Muslim youth is, or has the potential to become radicalized. My intention rather has been to explore how identity and belonging can tell something about routes (pathways) to radicalization regardless of religious affiliation. To analyze the stories of the young Muslims who participated in this study concepts and frameworks from Social Identity Theory has been applied. This study shows that among the young Muslims participating in this study there is a stable basis for a bi-cultural identification with both a Swedish and a Muslim context. It is though possible to trace some ambivalence in the bi-cultural identity of these individuals as their experience as being Muslims e.g. their religious identity are not always compatible or fully accepted in all contexts. Additionally the participants also perceive that Muslims as a group is being publicly singled out and criticized by media. The stories also reveals a perceived internal conflict among Muslim communities as terrorism conducted in the name of Islam compels members of the Muslim group to both internally and externally mark position concerning religiously motived violence and terrorism. This conflict joint with the experience of exclusion among Swedish Muslim can potentially become the reason for some young Muslims to turn into the wide range of Muslim communities in search for acceptance and affirmation. In this process some individuals will find radical and extremist movements. The isolation these movements/groups experience from outside impressions then enables extremism to flourish inside the group. When members of such a group strives to improve individual status the behavior and actions of the group can escalate which in turn can result in violence and terrorism. Thus to avoid this pathway to radicalization the solution lies in creating conditions that allows for young Muslims to feel belonging and inclusion in their bi-cultural identities as being both Swedish and Muslims.