Against the backdrop of repeated political violence between Israel and different belligerents in the first and second decades of the 21st century (2003-2017) and by employing a social-psychological theoretical framework, this dissertation explores the effects of political violence on Israelis ’ social and national identities. The findings support the discussion of the social consequences of political violence in Israel, be them increased cohesiveness among different social groups (ethnic minority and majority) or social fragmentation and increased polarization between other groups (rich vs. poor or political right vs. left). Whereas Social Identity Theory constitutes the theoretical base for the explored hypotheses, Israeli social place-making practices are also discussed. Topic Whereas a vast amount of literature has been dedicated to the effects of exposure to violence on individuals and groups for over a century, it mainly focuses on type, duration or location of such violence. Since the relevant literature seems to consider the occurrence of political violence a unitary phenomenon, it consistently fails to attend to a most important factor- the aftermath of such violence. By overlooking the discrepancy in violence’ aftermath and by neglecting any analysis derived from it, I argue that the comprehensive literature examining the social effects of political violence and post-conflict societies is missing a vital piece of the puzzle. Accordingly, the contribution of this dissertation to the conflict literature is twofold: first, it disaggregates the aftermaths of two common forms of political violence, wars and military operations and explores their effects on individuals, groups and the Israeli society as a whole. Second, it closely examines some of the central assumptions of Social Identity Theory, one of the most comprehensive theories of group relations in the context of concrete political violence. It does so while paying special attention to highly fascinating identity components and basic social building blocks: national identification, social trust and social rifts in Israel. Methods The dissertation employs various methodologies: First, a macro-level, statistical examination of the relationship between different war outcomes and socio-national identities was conducted using two web-based experiments. Second, a qualitative analysis of Zionism in Europe and in Israel’s early years complemented a discussion of Israeli narratives of belonging, memory politics, ingredients of national pride and contemporary social challenges. Third, a quantitative micro-level analysis of the effect of successful and unsuccessful military operation on the Israeli society was conducted. The latter utilized a unique, self-compiled database, following an extensive manual content analysis , alongside data originating in annual social surveys conducted in Israel by the Guttmann institute. Knowledge gained The first empirical chapter (chapter four) was set to establish the underlying assumption upon which the dissertation is based; Namely, that different outcomes of political violence have distinctive effects on individual identities. In this chapter, predictions derived from Social Identity Theory were put into an initial macro-level analysis through two original web experiments. The latter explored the effect of different war outcomes (distinguishing between victory, defeat, stalemate and a negotiated agreement) on social and national identities . Whereas the research supported the underlying hypothesis according to which distinctive war outcomes are associated with distinctive effects when national identification is concerned, no significant differences between war outcomes were found in relation to individuals’ social identities. These results are consistent with Social Identity Theory and the self-esteem protection/enhancement strategies derived from it (BIRGing and CORFing ); the significant differences between war outcomes (mainly between victories and defeats) are explained by individuals’ tendencies to share in the glory of a successful other (to BIRG) following a positively evaluated war outcome, and to distance themselves from an unsuccessful group (to CORF), following a negatively valued war outcome. The non-significant results concerning social identities are consistent with Simmel’s conflict hypothesis suggesting that conflicting interactions strengthen the internal cohesion of pre-existing groups. In this regard, it appears as though individuals react to the conflict itself whereas its aftermath did not play any significant role. The overall outcomes obtained thus laid the foundations for an extensive micro-level analysis of the effect of outcomes of political violence on socio-national identities among Israelis. Chapter five refocused the attention on the state of Israel and the Israeli society. It provided a historical analysis of Jewish-Israeli nationalism, rooted in the Zionistic movement in Europe in the late 19th century, which preceded the establishment of the state of Israel. The analysis centered on nation-building processes which took place in Israel’s first years, namely, the constructing of a new Jewish-Israeli identity by means of institutionalizing the Hebrew language as an official language, integration of new immigrants and the role of the Israeli defense force as a melting pot. The study of the origins of Israeli national pride, both in the country’s first years and in contemporary times, complemented the discussion as it is entwined with both Jewish and Israeli identities. The analysis suggests that while Israel was established as a democracy, it was never a space of ethnic diversity. As the national home for world jury based on a Zionist narrative and highly influenced by the Holocaust, no plurality of ethnic discourses existed in Israel in over 50 years. The research describes the way state-sponsored dominant Jewish and Zionist narratives morphed into a uni-dimensional Israeli identity. This, in turn, prevented Arab-Israelis, the largest ethnic minority in Israel, from being incorporated into the Israeli society. Recurrent political violence as part of the on-going Israeli Palestinian conflict further contributed both to the exclusion of Arab-Israelis from the original Israeli narrative and to the bonding of Jewish Israelis. It was only in the last decades and against the backdrop of significant changes endured by the Israeli society that place-making processes were put on the political and social agenda. Whereas nation and community-building processes are still prominent in contemporary Israel, they now exist side by side a vibrant and vocal discourse of post-Zionism, Jewish secularism and “Israelism” which is not based on Judaism but on an Israeli cultural narrative. Persistent political violence that contributed to social fragmentation in Israel’s first decades alongside cultural commonalities between Jewish and Arab Israelis now begin to serve as a common denominator in contemporary Israeli society. If those continue to resonate among Israelis, it is thus not implausible that they would eventually substitute Judaism and Zionism as social unifiers in the process of creating a “same boat” society. Under such circumstances and with diminishing boundaries between Arab and Jewish Israelis, the former will no longer be construed as an “out-group” by the Jewish majority in Israel. Nonetheless, drifting away from the original Jewish integrator and common factor of more than 75% of the country’s population may threaten the Jewish communities of Israel with social fragmentation. Consequently, the study of the effect of political violence on both Jewish and non-Jewish communities in Israel set forth in the upcoming chapters is of great importance for the future of Israel. Chapter six set out to examine the relationship between Israelis and their nation-state following different outcomes of Israeli military operations. Special attention was paid to changes in levels of national pride among Jewish Israelis, Arab Israelis and new immigrants across a tempestuous ten-year period (2003-2013) and in conjunction with successful and unsuccessful conclusions of Israeli warfare, as perceived by the Israeli public. Using a regressing analysis of data originating in social surveys, the research tested the validity of predictions derived from Social Identity Theory in both the individual and the social levels. Results indicate that the effect of recurrent warfare on national identification among Israelis is highly mitigated by the perceived outcome of such warfare as well as by sub-group membership (ethnic/social majority vs. minority). Consistent with Social Identity Theory, an Israeli military success was highly associated with increased national identification for the general Israeli population. However, contrary to conventional wisdom and to the “minority hypothesis ”, the same effect was also registered among Israeli Arabs. While Israeli Arabs, the largest ethnic minority in Israel, might share neither the country’s collective Jewish narrative nor its Zionist ethos they are Israeli citizens who nonetheless feel a sense of belonging to the state of Israel . As such, they are a part of a larger in-group which shares personal and economic interests. Those are equally and existentially threatened when Israel is experiencing unsuccessful military operations. This positivistic evidence suggests that Israeli Arabs’ identification with the state of Israel lies in the area of “Israeliness that is beyond Jewishness”. The analysis also affirmed the existence of an “embedded identity effect” concerning national identification among Jewish Israelis; Israeli Jews, the majority ethnic group in Israel, maintained high national-identification levels regardless of the way the warfare was concluded. This finding is unsurprising considering Israel’s Jewish character and the circumstances of its creation. Whilst societies subjected to external threat may unite in the face of a common enemy, chapter seven sought to examine whether this is true in the Israeli context and if so, whether the outcomes of political violence mitigate the effect. Whereas a large scholarship examined the effect of violence on social cohesion and political tolerance in Israel, it mostly focused on Arab-Israelis and immigrant. The research presented in chapter seven studied the effect of discrepant outcomes of Israeli warfare on social cohesion, social tensions and trust between the various communities of Israel (both Jewish and non-Jewish). The research focused on the general level of social trust in society alongside six specific social rifts, prevalent in present-day Israel: the intercommunal rift (between the Israeli Jewish community and the Israeli-Arab community), the Jewish intercommunal rift (between Jews of Ashkenazi and Sephardic/Mizrachi origins), the religious rift (between orthodox and non-orthodox Jewish communities), the ideological/political rift , the socio-economic rift and the nativist tension (between native Israelis and new immigrants). Results revealed a highly significant effect of Israeli military success concerning all six social rifts and a very mild effect concerning social trust. For all but one rift (the Jewish inter-communal rift), successful termination of Israeli warfare was associated with an increased social tension between the different communities in Israel (though in different levels of significance). This unfortunate finding which points to increased fractionalization among the different communities in Israel following Israeli military successes is in line with several other studies examining the effects of political violence on political exclusionism in Israel. Whereas the literature supports the notion that in time of crisis social cohesion increases, it is not surprising to find increased tensions following military successes rather than failures. An exception to the observed rise in social tensions in Israel is the increased cohesion between Ashkenzi and Sephardic/Mizrachi Jews (the Jewish intercommunal rift). The results support the conclusion that the Jewish population, the majority ethnic group in Israel, is united behind the idea that Israel is a homeland for the Jewish people (and possibly a necessary refuge from rising anti-Semitism around the globe). A decrease in Jewish intercommunal tension following Israeli victories supports the cohesive potential of in-group pride and is consistent with the Jewish foundation and Zionistic narrative of Jewish Israelis and with the existence of an embedded Jewish-Israeli identity . As for the national level, a “rally around the flag” effect is a term used to describe the uniting power of common threats. An underlying motive for this surge in national unity is linked to patriotism, as individuals respond to threats by identifying with their in-group . However, when the crisis is over, politics and society quickly revert to normal and existing social rifts resurface. Whereas an unsuccessful termination of an Israeli military operation is likely to induce a “rally around the flag” effect, a military success demonstrates the opposite effect. Consequently, the seemingly rising tensions between various communities in Israel observed following an Israeli military success is consistent with a reverse “rally around the flag” effect and reflects the fractionalized nature of the Israeli society. Another explanation to the observed trend of increased social tensions following a successful warfare may be directly linked to the experience of in-group guilt or shame despite a successful outcome. Such gilt might lead to rising tension between those who are more/less supportive of the outcome, or perhaps feel that more should have been done to achieve a more solid outcome. Finally, the increased tensions may speak to the theorized dynamic at the heart of the present and similar works that reflects the more destructive side of pride and in-group glorification. According to that scholarship, out-group hate can even extend to people perceived to be “hostile minorities ”. Whilst the increase in intercommunal tension is expected and in line with the results of similar studies examining the effect of violence or stress on the relationships between Jewish and Arab Israelis, the increase in religious tensions, socio-economic tension and ideological tensions could be reflective of a second circle of out-group hate; Supporters of the political left alongside less observant and wealthier elements of the Israeli society , may experience in-group guilt and possibly shame despite the perceived successful outcome, thus distancing themselves from those experiencing pride at the outcome. The effect of education, in particular higher education, in reducing social tensions and increasing social trust emerges as another important finding of this research. Whether education provides a sense of optimism and control over one’s life that allows people to trust, or whether it provides opportunities for contact and networks’ creation with others, the study confirms the potential role of education in reducing social tension even in a highly diverse and conflict-torn Israeli society. Moreover, since social divisions may be exploited by political entrepreneurs, and since increasing social tensions might result in the erosion of social capital, raising the alarm would be the first step in directly addressing such important issues (for example, by policy making). Lastly, any serious peace negotiation with a Palestinian leadership would require difficult concessions to be made by both parties. As such, the way towards a peaceful conclusion of the Israeli Palestinian conflict would inevitably depend, among others, on the social strength and cohesion of the Israeli civil society.:Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1.1 Background and Motivation ................................................................................. 7 1.1.1 National Identification ............................................................................ 10 1.1.2 Social Trust ............................................................................................. 14 1.1.3 Focusing on Israel ................................................................................... 16 1.2 Prologue ............................................................................................................. 17 1.3 Contribution Scope ............................................................................................. 18 1.4 Overview of Aims and Chapters ........................................................................ 20 2. Theoretical Framework: Conflict Research, National Identification and Social Trust Part I: Conflict Research 2.1 Conflict Research ................................................................................................. 24 2.1.1 General Theory and Practices ................................................................ 25 2.1.2 Contemporary Trends and Challenges ................................................... 26 2.1.3 Looking Forward ................................................................................... 27 Part II: Belonging, Identity and the Nation 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Identity Formation ................................................................................................ 28 Social Belonging and Group Identification ......................................................... 29 The Sense of Belonging, Nationhood and Statehood .......................................... 30 2.4.1 What is a Nation? ................................................................................... 30 2.4.2 National Identification ........................................................................... 32 2.4.3 Hierarchies of National Belonging ........................................................ 33 2.4.4 The Nation State .................................................................................... 34 2.4.5 Nationhood and Statehood ..................................................................... 35 Conflict Patriotic Affinity: Conceptual Outlines ............................................................. 38 2.6.1 Between Patriotism and Nationalism ..................................................... 41 Coping With Threatened Social Identity ........................................................... 42 and Group Identification ........................................................................ 36 2 3 2.7.1 Social Identity Theory ......................................................................... 42 2.7.2 Basking In Reflected Glory ................................................................. 45 2.7.3 Cutting Off Reflected Failure .............................................................. 46 2.7.4 Self-Embedded Social Identity ............................................................ 48 2.7.5 National Identity of Ethnic Minorities ................................................ 50 Part III: Social Trust and Cohesiveness 2.8 Social Capital and Cohesion .............................................................................. 52 2.9 Unraveling the Riddle of Social Trust ............................................................... 54 2.9.1 Threats to Social Trust and Social Cohesion ....................................... 56 3. Methodology 3.1 Macro-level Analysis ......................................................................................... 60 3.1.1 Appropriateness ..................................................................................... 60 3.1.2 A Short History of Web Experiments .................................................... 61 3.1.3 Web Experiments: Advantages and Challenges .................................... 63 3.2. Micro-level analysis ........................................................................................... 69 3.2.1 Focusing on The state of Israel and Israeli Society ............................... 69 Contemporary Israeli Media .................................................................. 72 Military Censorship ............................................................................... 75 3.2.2 Episodes of High Intensity Political Violence ....................................... 75 3.2.3 Perceived Outcomes of Political Violence ............................................ 77 3.2.4 Relevant Issues Concerning the Use of Survey Data ............................ 78 Vague Concepts .................................................................................... 78 Categorizing Identities .......................................................................... 80 3.2.5 The Israeli Democracy Index ................................................................ 82 3.2.6 Control Variables ................................................................................... 83 3.3 Framing in Communication and Their Effect on Public Opinion ...................... 84 3.3.1 The Use of Emphasis and Equivalence Framing in Shaping Public Opinion .................................................................................................. 85 3.3.2 The Effect of Frames in Shaping Individual Perceptions ...................... 87 3.3.3 Assessing a Frame’s Strength in Political Settings ................................ 88 4. The Ending matters: National and Social Identification Following Discrepant War Outcomes 4.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 90 4.2 Experimental Study I ........................................................................................... 93 4.2.1 Procedure and Experimental Design ..................................................... 93 4.2.2 Measures ................................................................................................ 95 4.3.3 Results .................................................................................................... 95 4.2.4 Discussion .............................................................................................. 99 Seriousness Check ................................................................................. 99 National Identity .................................................................................. 100 Social Identity ...................................................................................... 102 4.3 Experimental Study II ......................................................................................... 103 4.3.1 Using video Vs. Text in Experimental Research ................................. 103 4.3.2 Procedure and Experimental Design .................................................... 104 4.3.3 Measures .............................................................................................. 105 4.3.4 Results .................................................................................................. 106 4.3.5 Discussion ............................................................................................ 109 Seriousness Check ............................................................................... 109 National Identity .................................................................................. 109 4.4 Limitations ....................................................................................................... 110 4.5 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 111 5. Focusing on the State of Israel and Israeli Society 5.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 114 5.2 Jewish Nationalism and the Zionist Movement in Europe .............................. 114 5.3 Zionism, National Identity and Hebrew Culture Following the Establishment of The State of Israel ....................................................................................... 118 5.3.1 The Israeli Defense Forces .................................................................. 119 Serving in the Israeli Defense Forces .................................................. 120 Education, Socialization and Nation Building ..................................... 121 The Effect of the IDF on the Israeli Society ........................................ 123 5.3.2 Sport as an Integrative Tool for Shaping Israeli Collective Identity ... 129 5.4 The Jewish and Democratic Nature of the State of Israel ................................ 132 4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5 Current Challenges to Contemporary “Israeliness” ........................................ 134 5.5.1 Ethnic-religious Classification of Israelis- Between Citizenship and Nationality ........................................................................................... 136 5.5.2 Israeli Nationalist Particularism ........................................................... 137 Israeli Patriotism and Ingredients of Israeli National Pride ............................. 140 5.6.1 Tzedakah, Gemilut Hasadim and Tikun Olam ..................................... 141 5.6.2 Mashav ................................................................................................. 142 5.6.3 Operation “Good Neighbor” ................................................................ 144 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 148 6. Together We Stand? Perceived Outcomes of Political Violence and National Pride 7. 6.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 150 6.2 Hypotheses ...................................................................................................... 151 6.3 Data, Measures and Method ........................................................................... 153 6.3.1 Focusing on Israel .............................................................................. 153 6.3.2 Military Operations ............................................................................ 154 6.3.3 Survey Measures: National Identification ......................................... 155 6.3.4 Perceived Outcome of Military Operation ......................................... 157 6.3.5 Control Variables ............................................................................... 158 6.4 Findings and Discussion ................................................................................ 159 6.4.1 Preliminary Findings .......................................................................... 159 6.4.2 Disaggregating the Israeli Society ..................................................... 163 6.4.3 Interaction Analysis ........................................................................... 164 6.5 Robustness Checks ......................................................................................... 169 6.5.1 Israel’s General Situation ................................................................... 170 6.5.2 Proximity to the Center of Violence .................................................. 171 6.6 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 172 In Us We Trust? The Effect of Military Operations on Social Cleavages and Social Cohesion in Israel 7.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 174 7.2 Hypothesis ....................................................................................................... 175 7.3 7.4 6 Data, Measures and Method ............................................................................ 179 7.3.1 7.3.2 7.3.3 7.3.4 The Israeli Society in Context ............................................................ 179 Military Operations ............................................................................ 181 Perceived Levels of Tension and Trust in the Israeli Society ........... 183 Perceived Outcomes of Israeli Military Operations .......................... 185 Control Variables .............................................................................. 185 7.3.5 Findings and Discussion .................................................................................. 186 7.4.1 7.4.2 7.4.3 Preliminary Findings ......................................................................... 187 The Effect of Individual Level and Country Level Variables on Social Tensions and Social Trust ....................................................... 189 Examining the Effect of Israeli Military Operation on Inter-group Tensions ............................................................................................. 193 Exploring the Rise and Fall of Social Trust ...................................... 197 7.4.4 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 200 7.5 8. Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 203 8.1 Limitations ...................................................................................................... 210 8.2 Going forward: Ideas for Future Research ...................................................... 213 8.3 Final remarks/Epilogue ................................................................................... 215 9. References ................................................................................................................ 218 10. List of Figures .......................................................................................................... 254 Appendices A. The Evolution of Conflict Research in the 20th Century ................................. 255 B. Supplementary Material Chapter Four ............................................................ 268 B.1 Experiment I .......................................................................................... 268 B.2 Experiment II ......................................................................................... 274 B.3 Witnessing a Real Conflict as a Potential Covariate ............................. 287 C. Supplementary Material and Robustness Checks, Chapter Six ....................... 288 D. Supplementary Material and Robustness Checks, Chapter Seven .................. 308

Syftet för denna studie är att undersöka hur kandidaters upplevelse kan påverkas av interaktion med rekryterande chefer och rekryteringsprocessens olika delar. Likväl skapa en förståelse för den sammanställda kandidatupplevelsens inverkan på en organisations employer brand. Teoretiskt sett påverkas kandidatupplevelsen av faktorer som; processlängd, ansökningssätt, kommunikation, transparens samt engagemang visat gentemot kandidaten. För studien skapades ”Den kombinerade modellen” (Söderström, 2020), vilken inspirerades av Miles och McCayme (2018) samt Xie et al. (2015) tidigare forskning om ämnet kandidatupplevelse och employer brand. En kvalitativ metodologi användes, med ett hermeneutiskt perspektiv och abduktivt slutledningssätt. Sex intervjuer genomfördes, varav med tre chefsrespondenter och tre kandidatrespondenter, via video- och telefonsamtal. Organisatoriska attribut och Social identitetskongruens visade sig spela en stor roll i detta arbete. Eftersom det i studiens resultat kunde utläsas att kandidatrespondenterna utvärderade och jämförde sina karaktärsdrag med organisationens. Huruvida de kunde se en överensstämmelse eller inte påverkade sedan deras beslut om att ansöka tjänsten och accepterandet av ett potentiellt erbjudande. Som ett resultat av den analyserade empirin reviderades den tidigare modellen och den ”Nya kombinerade modellen” (Söderström, 2020) presenterades. Den nya modellen illustrerar när i rekryteringsprocessen som de tre komponenterna för social identitet initieras, vilket är ett unikt fynd för denna studie då det i tidigare forskning inte var specificerat. Slutsatsen för denna studie är att en interaktion mellan chefer och ansökande visade sig ha en positiv inverkan på deras emotionella anknytning till arbetsgivaren, samtidigt som det hjälpte dem i utvärderandet av ett potentiellt medlemskap. Detta bidrog separat till den totala kandidatupplevelsen, jämte de attityder som skapats mot arbetsgivaren. Denna upplevelse visades sedan att spridas vidare genom privata nätverk och beroende på om den var positiv eller negativ påverkar en organisations employer brand och framtida rekryteringar. Detta då resultaten påvisade att organisationsrykte påverkade deras val av arbetsgivare att interagera med samt att de delade sin upplevelse med sin närhet. / The purpose of this study is to investigate how candidates’ experiences can be affected by the interaction with recruiting managers and the different parts of the recruitment process. Also, to create an understanding of the concluded candidate experience influence the organization’s employer brand. Theoretically candidate experience is influenced by factors such as process length, application means, communication, as well as transparency and commitment shown towards the candidates. For this study ”The combined model” (Söderström, 2020) was created, inspired by the work of Miles and McCayme (2018) and Xie, Meland and Bagozzi (2015) regarding the phenomenon that is candidate experience and employer brand. A qualitative methodology was used with a hermeneutic perspective and abductive approach. Six interviews occurred whereof three manager respondents and three candidate respondents, via video- and phone calls. Organizational attributes and social identity congruence played a big role in the study, as it was shown by its result that the candidate respondents evaluated and compared an organization’s characteristics to their own. Whether they could relate to the employer or not influenced the decision to apply for the job and accepting a potential offer. As a result of analysed material, the earlier model was readjusted and the “New combined model” (Söderström, 2020) was presented. The new model illustrates where the components of social identity first are initiated during the recruitment process, which is a unique finding for this study because earlier research does not specify the matter. The conclusion of this study is that the interaction between managers and candidates was shown to have a positive influence on their emotional connection to the employer, as it simultaneously aids them in the evaluation of a potential membership of the group. This contributes separately to the total candidate experience accompanied by the attitudes towards the employer. Their experience was later shown to disperse via private networks and depending on whether it was a positive or negative experience affect the organization’s employer brand and future recruitments. Thus, because the results proved that company reputation influenced their choices of employers to interact with and that they shared their experience with their environment.

This thesis focuses on the transformation of identities of international master students attending Örebro University along with their perception of how this experience will affect their future. A qualitative content analysis of 10 semi-structured interviews was employed to explore the topic and answer the research questions. The thesis is guided by the theoretical background that stands on the synthesis of Jenkins’ perception of identity and the identity theory, supplemented by the understanding of international students as ‘student travellers’. The analysis of respondents’ narratives revealed that all aspects of their identity were affected. International students, throughout their stay abroad, live in a certain bubble as they distance themselves from the society on one hand and identify with the international students’ group on the other, affecting their social identity. However, before a new identity is formed and while the old one is being changed, the students experience a state of limbo during which uncertainty of roles emerges. Their person identity is influenced as well due to the international experience providing an opportunity to consciously alter some aspects of personality and, furthermore, to promote their independence, open-mindedness, and awareness of other cultures. Additionally, through contact with these other cultures, the international student develops into a person of two minds – international and of the country of their origin. In regards to the students’ perception of the future, the desire to stay international, to travel and live abroad is essential in creating something of a nomad life. Moreover, the respondents considered the international experience to have a positive impact on their career through an advantageous position over others along with the acquisition of an international network.

This bachelor thesis provides an analysis of hair and its role for the racial and ethnic identity of Black women living in Sweden. This is achieved by analyzing interviews with five women who reside in different urban areas throughout Sweden. In the analysis, the concept of Othering and social identity theory by Fiske and Taylor (2016) have been used to examine the position of the interviewees within Swedish society and the role of hair in their racial and ethnic identity. The results of the analysis show, that hair is a significant part of the interviewed women’s racial and ethnic identity. Furthermore, the results also show the ambivalence of hair for the women; though their hair is crucial for their self-identification and self-esteem, women are in a constant struggle with insecurities stemming from perceived external identification processes through negative labels attached to their hair.

The goal of this thesis is to conduct qualitative research aimed at psychological aspects of tattoos in the form of ethnographic study. The research follows a relationship between an individual and his tattoos with the main topics being a motivation for getting a tattoo, meaning of the tattoo for the owner, and the relationship between the artist and his client. Data were gathered using unstructured interviews with an emphasis on building trust between the researcher and the interviewee. The study concludes the motivation can be distinguished into internal and external. The internal motivation represents the benefits tattoos can bring to his owner while the external motivation shows the ways an individual can use the tattoo to send a message to others. As for the owner-tattoo relationship, results show variations in how can one perceive his tattoos and what tattoo could mean for the owner. Some of the respondents viewed their tattoos as just a body decoration, others used them as symbols of their own deeper thoughts and lifestyle. When exploring the artist-client relationship, it has been found out trust and mutual sympathies as well as setting up proper boundaries to keep the relationship on the professional level all seem to play an important role. KEYWORDS tattoo, self-expression, identity,...

Syftet med den här studien är att skapa en förståelse kring hur kvinnor inom generation Z:s attityder till mode och kläder påverkas av influencer marketing som marknadsföringsstrategi. Det grundar sig i att det har identifierats ett antal kunskapsgap som att det saknas forskning på generation Z som konsumenter och även inom fenomenet influencer marketing. Dessutom på förändrade digitala konsumentbeteenden i och med pandemin Covid-19. Vidare har en framtidsanalys presenterats för att försöka täcka upp för de kunskapsgap som identifierats. Resultaten från studien visar att kvinnorna inom generation Z:s attityder till mode och kläder i högsta grad påverkas av influencer marketing. Då de dagligen använder sig av sociala medier och det faktum att det har kommit att bli en normalitet inom generationen att söka efter inspiration till mode och kläder via influencers på sociala medier. Attityder gentemot företag och influencers inom klädbranschen och således mot mode samt kläder påverkas också av faktorer som en influencers tillit och expertis. Det vill säga, generationen följer influencers de anser som pålitliga och de med tillräckligt hög genomslagskraft ses då även som pålitliga även i andra områden. Vilket innebär att företag som samarbetar med “rätt” influencers hamnar inom konsumenternas radar och i och med det kan påverka attityderna åt sin fördel.

According to social identity theory people categorize themselves and others into groups based on political affiliation. The political group identity makes them favor policies and people associated with the political ingroup and disapprove of policies and people associated with the political outgroup. The purpose of this study was to investigate if this effect could extend to attitudes on non-political clothes associated with politicians. 638 Swedish adults partook in an online experimental survey. Participants evaluated pictures of clothes worn by famous Swedish politicians and non-political persons on two occasions. On the first occasion, identity was unknown, and on the second occasion, identity was revealed. When revealing identity, participants rated clothes worn by outgroup politicians less beautiful and clothes worn by ingroup politicians more beautiful. They were also willing to pay more for clothes that they learned were worn by ingroup politicians. Participants were also analyzed by their political left or right placement. Both leftist and rightist participants rated clothes worn by opposite political groups less beautiful. This tendency was stronger for rightists. Additionally, rightists rated clothes worn by rightist politicians more beautiful and were willing to pay more for them when learning about their political affiliation. In conclusion, by associating non-political items with politicians our attitudes towards those items can change, thus political association can affect our attitudes outside of the political realm.

Syftet med studien är att utifrån barnets perspektiv förstå upplevelser kring föräldrarnas separation och dess betydelse för vuxenlivet. Utifrån en kvalitativ metod studeras vuxna skilsmässobarn och deras upplevda emotioner samt innebörd för den sociala identiteten. Studien baseras på tio semistrukturerade intervjuer med åtta kvinnor och två män. Studiens resultat tyder på att barnet kan uppleva känslor av skuld och övergivenhet, men också lättad. Barnets positiva eller negativa upplevelse baseras på graden upplevda konflikter i hemmet och föräldrarnas hantering av separation. Samtliga informanter som uppger att separationen har haft inverkan på deras psykiska mående har upplevt hög grad av familjekonflikter och har en negativ upplevelse av separationen. Majoriteten av informanterna har upplevt konflikter i samband med föräldrarnas separation. / The aim of this study is to understand experiences regarding parental separation from a child’s perspective and the significance for adult life. Based on a qualitative method, adult children of divorce and their perceived emotions as well as the influence of social identity are studied. This study is based on ten semi-structured interviews with eight women and two men. The results of the study indicate that the child may experience feelings of guilt and abandonment, but also relief. The child’s positive or negative experience of the separation is based on the degree of conflict as well as the parent ́s handling. All informants who state that the separation had an effect on their mental health also experienced a high degree of family conflicts and have a negative experience of the separation. The majority of the informants have experience of conflicts due to the separation.

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Under covid-19 pandemin har människors vardag påverkas i varierande grad, inte minst för nyblivna mammor. Aktiviteter, mötesplatser och andra sociala arenor som riktar sig mot föräldralediga, har under stora delar av pandemin varit helt inställda. Syftet med studien var därför att skapa förståelse för hur nyblivna mammor upplever att covid-19 pandemins restriktioner och råd som riktat sig mot nyblivna föräldrars begränsade sociala aktiviteter eventuellt har haft effekt på nyblivna mammors möjligheter att skapa en positiv social identitet utifrån medlemskap i den social kategorin “mamma”. Studien är kvalitativ, genomfördes med socialpsykologisk inriktning och har studerats med hjälp av socialidentitetsteori och socialt stöd. Semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med tio nyblivna mammor. Resultatet visade att flera av respondenterna upplevde att pandemins restriktioner gällande aktiviteter för föräldralediga påverkat upplevelsen av föräldraledigheten i negativ riktning. De flesta hade trots det hittat andra strategier för att upprätta social gemenskap och känna tillhörighet och således skapa en positiv social identitet som mamma. Några av respondenterna beskrev hur de fått möjlighet att umgås mer ensamma med sitt barn och därmed skapa ett starkare band mellan sig och barnet, vilket ansågs vara en positiv aspekt av pandemins restriktioner. Socialt stöd anses vara av stor vikt i nyblivet föräldraskap samt var en bidragande orsak till att respondenterna blev trygga i mammarollen trots pandemins restriktioner som påverkat möjligheten till aktiviteter för nyblivna mammor. / During the COVID-19 pandemic, people's everyday lives have been affected to varying degrees, not least for new mothers. Activities, meeting places and other social arenas aimed at parents on parental leave, have during large parts of the pandemic have been completely cancelled. The purpose of the study was therefore to create an understanding of how new mothers feel that covid-19 pandemic restrictions and advice aimed at newparents' limited social activities may have had an effect on new mothers' opportunities to create a positive social identity based on membership in the social category "mother". The study is qualitative, was conducted with a social psychology focus and has been studied using social identity theory and social support. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten new mothers. The results showed that several of the respondents felt that the pandemic's restrictions on activities for parental leave had a negative impact on the experience of parental leave. Most people had nevertheless found other strategies to create social community and feel belonging and thus create a positive social identity as a mother. Some of the respondents described how they had the opportunity to spend more time alone with their child and therefore create a stronger bond between themselves and the child, which was considered a positive aspect of the pandemic's restrictions. Social support is considered to be of great importance in new parenting and was a contributing factor in the respondents becoming safe in the role of mother despite the pandemic restrictions that affected the possibility of activities for new mothers.