Small groups of friends—or peer groups—are a central feature of adolescence that contribute to the development of social identity and feelings of self-worth for group members. Additionally, adolescents value music highly and view it as a vital part of their lives. The purpose of this study was to examine and clarify the extent to which adolescents use music as an identity resource in small peer groups. Using Tajfel and Turner’s Social Identity Theory as a framework, I conducted a collective case study to understand (a) the ways in which adolescents use music to form and maintain a peer group, (b) the extent to which peer groups use music for the social categorization and stereotyping of other groups of adolescents, (c) the ways by which adolescents use music associated with their peer group to maintain a positive self-concept, and (d) how the peer group influences members’ enjoyment of music and music participation. I conducted group interviews with three adolescent peer groups that contained 5–8 seventh- and eighth-grade students. The peer group members shared experiences of bonding and socializing as a part of a peer group, and described time spent in their music classes. During the discussions, group members explained the role that music plays in their lives. The group members explained their peer group in the context of the school, describing instances of social categorization and stereotyping, in-group and out-group distinction, and self-concept maintenance made from comparisons to the out-groups. The participants discussed their views on school music courses, advocating for the implementation of new classes that included non-traditional instruments and the inclusion of more popular styles of music. Keywords: social identity, adolescent peer groups, in-group, out-group, social categorization, self-concept, stereotyping, adolescence music preference, positive distinctness

In recent times, African brands have been featured heavily in global landscape fashion events, with brands from Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya leading the way. Although such recognition could be traced to their expertise, the unique approach of African brands involves putting out unique designs that easily stand out in the global fashion market. However, their uniqueness goes beyond the designs they put out, as it is also strongly expressed in their media messaging and, consequentially, their marketing strategy. This study provides a content analysis of the most important characteristics of eight brands from different regions of the African continent. It examines 20 photos each from their Instagram account, analyzing a total of 160 photos. Results point out the distinct market penetration approach of the different brands from each region and how it reflects in their media brand voice as a whole.

Bakgrund: Studier visar på att den fackliga organisationsgraden som är central för maktbalansen i den svenska partsmodellen har minskat under 2000-talet men att det samtidigt finns skillnader mellan fackförbunden. Tidigare forskning visar på ett samband mellan individualiseringen i samhället och förändringar i den procentuella andelen som är anslutna till fackförbunden. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att analysera och jämföra hur fackförbundet IF Metall framställer sitt fackliga budskap genom sin medlemstidning Dagens Arbete och hur fackförbundet Unionen framställer sitt fackliga budskap genom sin medlemstidning Kollega. Detta mot bakgrund av de samhällsförändringar som medfört en övergång från ett samhälle präglat av kollektivism och Gemeinschaft till ett samhälle som domineras av individualism och Gesellschaft. Teoretisk referensram: Studiens teoretiska referensram innehåller Goffmans dramaturgiska perspektiv, Brunninges organisatoriska självförståelse, Jenkins sociala identitet samt Tönnies begreppspar Gemeinschaft och Gesellschaft. Metod: Metoden som används är en kvalitativ kritisk diskursanalys. Resultat: I resultatet framkommer att IF Metall framställer och förstår sig själv som traditionell, kollektivistisk, solidarisk, socialistisk samt principfast på ledarsidorna i medlemstidningen Dagens Arbete medan Unionen framställer och förstår sig själv som innovativ, personlig, solidarisk samt pragmatisk på ledarsidorna i medlemstidningen Kollega. / Background: Studies show that the degree of trade union organisation which is central to the balance of power in the Swedish part model has decreased during the 21st century but at the same time that there are differences between the trade unions. Previous research shows a correlation between individualisation in society and changes in the percentage affiliated with trade unions. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to analyze and compare how the trade union IF Metall presents its union message through its member magazine Dagens Arbete and how the trade union Unionen presents its union message through its member magazine Kollega. This in light of changes in society which has entailed a transition from a society characterized by collectivism and Gemeinschaft to a society dominated by individualism and Gesellschaft.   Theoretical framework: The theoretical framework of the study contains Goffmans dramaturgical perspective, Brunninges organisational self-understanding, Jenkins social identity and Tönnies conceptual pair Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft. Method: The method is a qualitative critical discourse analysis. Results: The result reveals that IF Metall presents and understands itself as traditional, collectivistic, solidarity-based, socialistic and principled on the editorial pages in the member magazine Dagens Arbete. Unionen presents and understands itself as innovative, personalised, solidarity-based and pragmatic on the editorial pages in the member magazine Kollega.

This qualitative study examines the relationship between professional group belonging and what individuals deem valuable within the creative partnership projects they carry out together in schools. There were three consecutive stages to the research. The first stage was the phenomenographic analyses of interview transcripts from twenty three teachers and twenty three creative practitioners who partnered each other to run year long projects. The second stage was the aggregation of the resulting forty six analytic outputs into formats permitting inter-group comparisons to be made. This stage included three separate analyses: not only was an individual¿s professional group belonging shown to impact on what they deemed valuable, but partnership type, i.e. new versus established, also had a substantive impact. The influence of school type was examined and shown to have a lesser effect. The third stage was the use of formal, academic theories to interrogate trends appearing in the results: social identity theory and social representations theory, alongside discursive psychology and readings of identity from cultural studies, were mobilized as consecutive lens on the analytic outcomes. These theories were found to be apposite and a deeper comprehension of creative partnership dynamics was arrived at. This study evidences not only a difference between what teachers and creative practitioners respectively value, but shows how the application of theory is a valuable aid in understanding the variations. This represents a major contribution to the field as the use of formal academic theories does not, as yet, feature in the discourses underpinning creative partnership work.

Alla människor möter dagligen olika former av attityder. En utländsk bakgrund kan dock medföra fler eller annorlunda utmaningar i mötet med attityder. Denna studie fokuserar på unga vuxna med utländsk bakgrund i åldrarna 18–25 år, och har till syfte att utforska attityder de möter i sin vardag. Studien tittar även på hur attityderna påverkar utvecklingen av den personliga respektive den sociala identiteten hos individer med utländsk bakgrund. Studien har genomförts med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer av unga vuxna med utländsk bakgrund. I den konventionella innehållsanalysen i studien framkom många intressanta perspektiv. Resultaten belyser att acceptans ledde till de positiva attityder man sökte, men i vissa fall kunde medföra nya problem. Individer som genom förändringar av den egna identiteten lyckats med integrationsprocessen möttes av negativa attityder från andra med utländsk bakgrund. Vidare belyser resultatet att för några var behovet av extern bekräftelse mer trivialt, då de visar upp en högre nivå av egen bekräftelse. Sammanfattningsvis visar resultatet att attityder - positiva som negativa - har ett inflytande på utvecklingen av densociala såväl som den personliga identiteten hos unga vuxna med utländsk bakgrund. / All individuals face different kinds of challenges on a daily basis. A foreign background can however come with its own set of challenges when it comes to attitudes. This study focuses on young adults with a foreign background aged 18-25 and explores the different types of attitudes these young adults face on a daily basis and the effect of such attitudes on the formation of the personal and social identity of these individuals. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with young adults from a foreign background and to analyse their response we used conventional content analysis. The results highlight that acceptance into the individual’s new context led to more positive attitudes, but in some cases we find that when becoming more integrated sometimes other foreign people might react badly towards the integrated person, giving them negative attitudes following the change in identities. Further the results showed that for some, the importance of exterior validation is more trivial, following a greater internal validation. To conclude the results, show that attitudes, be they positive or negative, do have an impact on the personal and social identity formation of young adult immigrants.

This study examines the experiences of multiracial and multiethnic young adults in Finland, aged between 24-28, as they negotiate their daily lived experiences and construct their identities in the framework of ethnicity, race, belonging, and discrimination. The study utilises a qualitative research approach with a thematic analysis of four semi-structured interviews. In addition, drawing on Richard Jenkins' (2014) theory of social identity, the study discusses the relationship between these individuals and Finnish society. The findings highlight the impact of white normativity on the participants' self-identification and externally assigned identification, as well as fluidity in identity construction and challenges in belonging to Finnish society. Finally, the study highlights that the interviewees have a perception of what it means to be Finnish based on cultural and social norms.

As social creatures, our social encounters matter. They matter for how we experience the world, as well as ourselves. The role of psycho-social experiences has recently been recognized in the neurocognitive literature on the sense of agency. Defined as the experience of control over one’s actions and outcomes, researchers have begun exploring how social interactions and contextual cues modulate this experience, using an implicit task known as intentional binding. This task claims to capture the sense of agency by assessing differences in perception of time across conditions that are theoretically considered to be higher in sense of agency as compared to those that are lower. Drawing inspiration from this new literature, this thesis explores, across five studies, the impact of different psycho-social experiences, particularly those related to stigmatized racial minority groups, on the sense of agency. Our first two studies (n= 36, n=123) indicate that reflection on both negative and positive psycho-social experiences, including racial stigma, bias, and acceptance, reduces the sense of agency, as indexed by lower action-effect interval estimates. Further, our latter three studies (n=45, n=44, n=44), which focus on North American and international samples, suggest that expectations of racial bias reduce the sense of agency and that this reduction is greatest amongst people who experience a threat to their identity because of the event, as well as people who are low-self monitors. Insights from these studies are used to advance neurocognitive and social cognitive work, including psycho-social modulates of intentional binding and psychological mechanisms that affect racial minorities. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / One of the most fascinating aspects of human consciousness is our ability to feel in control of our actions and their outcomes. This experience, better known as a sense of agency, allows us to distinguish our own actions from others and feel responsible for the events we cause in the world. As an important psychological phenomenon, many researchers have taken an interest in understanding how this experience is shaped within our subjective minds. This work has revealed that individual characteristics, as well as social/environmental processes, can affect the sense of agency, at times, even disrupting/impairing the experience. Extending these early findings, this thesis aims to explore the role of psycho-social factors, namely, racial stigma, on the sense of agency. Across five experiments, we reveal that race-based experiences, including perceived and expected racial bias as well as racial acceptance, decrease the sense of agency. With replication and further inquiry, these studies have important implications for the neurocognitive and social-cognitive literature, as well as society at large.

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